Absolutely Breathtaking Rafting Trip
We were very lucky to have been able to sign up with Western River Expeditions and that became evident from the day we sent an inquiry as to availability for the seven day trip, all the way through to the post trip recovery program. Thanks to your very professional web site, PDF, and pre-trip notifications, we were well prepared for our experience.
The ride through 188 miles of the Grand Canyon was way beyond our best expectations. The guides provided full geological descriptions in a delightful way through millions of years of rock strata and accentuated the history by providing endless colorful stories about the early exploration and history of both the canyon and river.
The daily camp cooked meals were delicious and the variety provided was exceptional.
The raft configuration provided all of us the opportunity to experience the river head on, breathtaking, and invigorating or to take a break by relaxing on the mid raft seating and enjoy the beauty of the rock color and lighting around every bend.
The seven days we were on the raft with our other "boat buddies" we formed very close friendships which we will continue to cherish as a lifetime bonus. I can't recall another trip where there were so many smiles, laughter and good cheer from everyone.
The side trips provided along the way and the camp sites chosen for us were fun, pleasant, and beautiful. An added benefit occurred for us because we happened to have a near full moon which brightly illuminated our camps at night.
The last day we were treated to an exciting ride out of the canyon by helicopter and flown to the Bar Ten Ranch for much appreciated warm showers and a great lunch. After lunch we boarded a shuttle back to our car in Marble Canyon.
On the trip I shot 2.5 hours of GoPro video and 1160 still pictures. It has been difficult to select the few to share with friends because each has such wonderful memories. My wife took the email addresses from everyone on our raft and the guides. I have created a short video of the raft riding experience, and a video slide show of the photos I took on the trip. Also, I shared two Google Photo web sites with all the photos and 21 short video clips of our adventure, all available for download for our “boat mates.”
In conclusion, although we were very active when we were young, both my wife and I are over seventy and were a little worried about handling the physical nature of the trip. However, we found that the raft design and the guides were perfect for us.
Thank you for such golden memories of one of the best adventures we have ever experienced.
