Last night was a long night. Starting at 10 pm, the canyon winds blew. They blew and blew and blew. I had picked a high place to camp, just above mile 23 ½ mile rapid. I picked this place because I could look straight downstream and I was just above the rapid. And I am far enough away from all other campers not to hear them. I am at the top of the hill, which has its down side when the canyons winds blow. I am sandblasted. I get sand blown into my eyes, my ears, etc. I seek refuge in my sleeping bag even though it is still too hot to actually need one. I finally decide to move. I find my light and look around for a lower sleeping place. I chase the scorpions away and take shelter behind some rocks. I fall in and out of sleep through the rest of the night. I wake to the light pouring into the canyon. We have coffee and breakfast. We prepare for the day.

We stop at river mile 31 and see the Anasazi ruins that are just above the river. There are pottery shards and petroglyphs etched into the rocks. It is a beautiful place and feels very peaceful.

We stop at Redwall cavern, which is at mile 33. It is am amazing place. It is a large cavern, which was dug out with water. It has a sandy bottom and is really huge. We stop to explore and play Frisbee. We see a split apart-fossilized crinoid. We pass Vasey’s Paradise, which is fed by underground springs. It is a good place to fill up water bottles. And it is a place to be careful when exploring because it is filled with poison ivy. Major Wesley Powell named it for his botanist George Vasey who accompanied him on several expeditions. He decided Vasey would be in paradise.

The wildlife that we see today are many. We see osprey, great blue heron, peregrine falcon, and lots of little birds. We get to see mule deer drinking from the river.

We travel through lots of rapids today. They are roaring twenties, 25 mile rapid, cave springs rapid, Tiger Wash rapid, 36 mile rapid, President Harding rapid, and Nankoweep rapid.

We stop at saddle canyon, mile 46 ¾ and hike up the side canyon for about 1 ½ mile into the canyon. It is a delight to hike in, because there is a treat at the end of the hike. There is a pool of water and a waterfall to get in. And I do!

We stop for the night at the lower Nankoweap Rapid campsite, river mile 52 ½, and have a wonderful dinner of halibut, asparagus and rice. Tonight I pick a low place to sleep, twenty feet from the river. I fall asleep under the twinkling stars.