The Grand Time

Tom's Journal

May 23 2007 - Day 8

View A Different Day

For the next few days, my friend Lars Hard will be along with me in his kayak; not wanting to miss the thrills in Shoshone, he and Joe Beverage boated it at about 9 am while I snapped some photos of them.

After a hearty breakfast Lars and I left Two Rivers Park at noon. The weather was better than yesterday, but still much colder than normal.

This is the most visible part of the river because of its close proximity to Interstate 70. In six hours we descended over 700 vertical feet and covered almost 50 miles to the town of Parachute.

Wildlife sightings included a mule deer, a raccoon, a bald eagle, an osprey, many blue herons including two of their rookeries, several egrets and countless ducks and geese. Obviously, Lars knows how to identify these creatures better than I do.

The smells of all the new growth and sounds of so many types of birds kept our senses on high alert. At one point the river cuts through large hogback, which is a geologic feature rising from the surrounding area. At a time like this, what do you think it is called: The Grand Hogback

The river moved fast and there was a surprising amount of waves and other assorted whitewater. As the day progressed, so did the weather.

By about 6:45 pm we were tired but happy to have met our daily distance goal. The next two days will be equally long, so I’ll close so we can get out there and do it all again.

View A Different Day

Mile by Mile Photos

May 23 2007 - Day 8
Mile 169 through Mile 217

May 16 2007 - Day 1May 17 2007 - Day 2May 18 2007 - Day 3May 19 2007 - Day 4May 20 2007 - Day 5May 21 2007 - Day 6May 22 2007 - Day 7May 23 2007 - Day 8May 24 2007 - Day 9May 25 2007 - Day 10May 26 2007 - Day 11May 27, 2007 - Day 12May 28, 2007 - Day 13May 29, 2007 - Day 14May 30, 2007 - Day 15May 31, 2007 - Day 16June 1, 2007 - Day 17June 2 - 11, Day 18 - 27June 12, 2007 - Day 28June 13, 2007 - Day 29June 14, 2007 - Day 30June 15, 2007 - Day 31June 16, 2007 - Day 32June 17, 2007 - Day 33June 18, 2007 - Day 34June 19, 2007 - Day 35June 20, 2007 - Day 36June 21, 2007 - Day 37June 22, 2007 - Day 38June 23, 2007 - Day 39June 24, 2007 - Day 40June 25, 2007 - Day 41June 26, 2007 - Day 42June 27, 2007 - Day 43June 28, 2007 - Day 44June 29 2007 - Day 45June 30, 2007 - Day 46July 1 - 13, Day 47 - 58July 15, 2007 - Day 59
The last day; The river’s end