Randy's Green River Float 2014
(or through the Gates of Lodore and back again)
The impetus for this trip was a former neighbor / camping pal / the girls’ “Uncle” Charlie turning 60 and deciding to take a white water rafting, bucket-list trip down the Green River. He announced his decision last December and asked me to join him, his wife Jo Ann and any of his other cronies that could make it. I only hesitated long enough to ask if it was cool with Bethany first. Bethany was invited too but she had zero desire to go herself but definitely advocated me going. If I wavered at all, it was over the significant cost in both terms of $ and husband / dad points for leaving everyone else behind. However, I’ve reached the point in my life that when trying to decide whether to do something or not, I ask myself “If not now, when?”, which rarely fails to prompt me to choose action over continued delayed gratification (Enjoy Yourself, It’s Latter than You Think). The only other person to join the group was my Rolla pal Anthony, who’s been part
of the Fall and Spring camping trips with Charlie for the last 8 years or so, and has also been up for punching out items on his bucket list of late too.
So where's the Green River, Dinosaur National Monument and the Gates of Lodore?
| Colorado and Green River Canyons Map |
Dinosaur National Monument Map |
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Anyway the plan was to take a four day / three night trip on the Green River, starting at the Gates of Lodore in Colorado and ending near the Dinosaur Fossil Quarry of Dinosaur National Monument (DNM) in Utah. I’ve been to the Fossil Quarry site three times in my life before:
• July 1972 with my Mom, sister, and Grandmother in the best trip of my childhood (and DNM my favorite place)
• Halloween 1999 as an exciting single guy camping along the Green River with the cottonwood tree in brilliant golden glory
• July 2012 with Bethany and the girls retracing much of my 1972 Colorado trip.
| 2012 - Curti at the DNM park entrance |
Bethany, Cate and Jane at the quarry wall |
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The Fossil Quarry is sort of a Mecca for dinosaur nerds as one of the world's greatest accumulations of dinosaur bones in the world, and the most accessible to the general public. The fossil beds were discovered in 1909 by paleontologist Earl Douglas collecting for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. The first big find was the most complete Apatosaurus skeleton ever discovered (a.k.a. the Brontosaurus / Sinclair gas dinosaur of my Baby-Boomer’s youth. A scientific mistake but the sentimental side of me agreed with naturalist Stephen Jay Gould’s argument of Bully for Brontasaurus.). The quarry in the Morrison Formation of the late Jurassic, 145–150 million years ago also yielded quantities of Allosaurus, Diplodocus and Stegosaurus bones. In 1915, President Woodrow Wilson set aside the 80 acres of the Quarry creating DNM. For 13 years, the Carnegie Museum funded the excavations but there were still quantities left. Douglas suggested "leave the bones and skeletons in relief and house them" arguing it would create "one of the most astounding and instructive sights imaginable”. Still the quarry only represents a tiny part of the DNM, as in 1938, it was expanded over 2,500 times to include the stunning canyons of the Green and Yampa Rivers. This would be the first visit for me to really appreciate the overlooked river scenery (Not that I feel guilty about the excitement of Dinosaur Bones).
Although there were four of us going, time and some return trip agendas dictated going in two cars. Anthony and I chose to generally wing it on the way out there like we would do in the days of our youth before committing domesticide. The only constraint on us was having to be in Vernal, UT by 5 pm on Saturday the 16th for the pre-trip briefing and coordination meeting.
Day 1 - Webster Groves to Estes Park, CO
The trip started by leaving Webster Groves at 6 am on Thursday, August 14 and heading to Columbia to pick up Anthony and his family Sienna mini-van and head West. We hadn’t gone far when Anthony offered to treat me to lunch at Jack’s Stack BBQ in Downtown Kansas City, with a $100 gift card he “won” at a charity auction. Not wanting to be rude and being a bad vegetarian, I happily agreed. It was an hour plus stop on a day when we were looking to make a lot of mileage but the ribs, burnt ends, cheesy corn and beans were fabulous as was the service (the bottomless Diet Coke they filled at least six times helped keep us alert for rest of the day). In fact, we ordered an extra order of burnt ends as “snacks” for the road (not that we were wanting for snacks in the car). There wasn’t much balance left on the gift card when we left.
It was an incredibly “quick” drive across Kansas and the eastern third of Colorado (a.k.a. West Kansas) as we shared stories and talked about the world effortlessly for hours. We took Denver’ I-470 tollway outer belt saving us on the order of an hour going through Downtown arriving in Boulder just before 9 pm (the ~$15 toll bill came about a month later to Anthony at they pulled the toll stations for photo enforcement and payments). We hung out on Pearl Street in Boulder for a few hours, drinking beer and had some “Happy Hour” sushi at 10 pm, trying Bacon soda (Byuch!) and hangin out with the 20-somethings and the adult affluent, Uber-liberals. Using the new-fangled internet, we were able to find a relatively cheap hotel room in Estes Park (the Roadway Inn) outside of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), arriving there at 1 am, driving through the scenic route north in the pitch black. A long but satisfying day.
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Bacon Soda Tasting in Boulder
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Day 2 - Rocky Mountain National Park to Hot Sulphur Springs
The next day, we slept in some and lingered around Estes Park to allow Charlie and Jo Ann to catch up with us, have some morning drinks and a nice Mexican lunch next to the Thompson River through town. Our schedule didn’t allow much of a visit to RMNP beyond a drive across the top. It was dark, gloomy and rainy as we passed the Alpine Visitor’s Center, where we parted company with Charlie and Jo Ann who had made hotel reservations on the west side of Colorado so had somewhat of an agenda.
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Jo Ann, Charlie, Randy & Anthony at RMNP
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Our plan was to camp on the west side of the RMNP but it was an easy agreement to skip that plan once we visited the very soggy and nearly treeless campground of Timber Creek, so we left the setting up in the rain to sleep in a puddle to the young, poor and hardcore mountaineers. Instead of continuing to fight the rain, we stopped and had some pints at the Grand Lake Lodge during a brief deluge/hail storm and were pleased with our opportunistic wisdom. We figured pushing on westward along US 40, we might find a dry campground and plus we heard stories of a free municipal campground along the Colorado River in Hot Sulphur Springs along with a funky spa/resort. We were sold on visiting the hot spring which had the very reasonable rates of $18 a day as visiting a hot spring was Anthony sole road trip requirement other than the river trip. When the “resort” said they had one room with two Queen sized beds left for the evening, it seemed like kismet especially as we told ourselves the first $72 was free (two people for two days, for an evening and morning soaks). The terms “spa” and “resort” overstate the refinement of the establishment of quant, tired rooms adjacent to the few dozen quirky spring fed pools of varying temperature, size, and shape. Modest yes but we had great fun trying out all the pools and meeting the eclectic clientele that traveled from all over to visit. The smell of sulphur was constant at the resort but it wasn’t overbearing (and the drinking water was fine). Another drawback was the spa was immediately adjacent to railroad which was required to sound the air horn at the ungated crossing leading only to the resort. As a railroad mainline the siren went off sporadically all through the night. The hotel included ear plugs with the room to help with the noise but we didn’t have any trouble going to sleep at 10.
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Hot Sulphur Springs - Anthony enjoying the grotto
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Day 3 - Glory Hole to Vernal, UT
On Saturday morning we had an exceptional breakfast at the very good but uncomfortably named Glory Hole Café (try the green chili sauce) in town before leaving Hot Sulphur Springs. The drive westward on US highway 40 is nice but doesn’t proffer stunning scenery as one goes through Steamboat Springs and Craig. We got to the DNM Fossil Quarry around 2:30 which allowed plenty of time for Anthony to enjoy visiting before we needed to head into Vernal (Having recently been to the quarry, I didn’t insist on spending hours lingering at the kiosks or hiking around the fossil trails outside. Not everyone had dreams of paleontology as a kid).
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Palentologist Wanna-Be
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As planned at 5 we arrived at the DRE garage/shop in Vernal, conveniently located in the same building as a local microbrewery Dinosaur Brew Haus. We met up with Charlie and Jo Ann, our fellow travelers (Francois, Mathil-16 and Marion-12 from France and Jim from Kansas City) and our tour guides (Josh, Shawn and Brett). We got issued dry bags and final instructions by the owners and guides, which included a discussion of when we could drink. Just by happenstance Charlie had selected the ONLY river guides that allowed people to drink while floating, which would have sealed the deal on which ones to go with there. Not that any of us get drunk but a couple few beers over the course of the day is rather pleasant, especially in the safe confines of a large raft guided by others). Their pre-trip briefing discussion also convinced us that a complete rain suit as opposed to simply a poncho in the desert really was a good idea and not a superfluous suggestion on the What To Bring List. This proved correct as it rained three of the four days for part of the time (and far more than we expected even after the lecture). Anyway, the need for rain suits necessitated a group trip to the local sporting goods shop to purchase some Frog Toggs, a $20 hooded jacket and pants made from green Tyvex. Cheap, super light weight, breathable and rain proof albeit not exceptionally sturdy nor stylish.
We also decided we needed to buy more beer, which meant a trip to the Utah state liquor store. The “state stores” haven’t changed in 30 years since I last summered in Utah (and turned 21). They are still very Spartan with free standing shelves 8 feet away from the wall proffering a meager and very pricey selection: Our case of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale cans was just under $50 but it was the best option of the six choices of canned beer they had (bottles being taboo on the river). We grumbled at the costs and speculated on the wisdom of smuggling in larger quantities into the state with us and using that as our tip for the guides as opposed to simply cash (a beer tip would seem like 2-3 times as much as the same in cash). Anyway we returned to the Brew Haus having some excellent local Amber Ale and meals (salmon steak) that was quite pleasing. We ended the evening by packing and repacking our dry bags at the TownePlace Suites as we had brought more clothes than would fit them along with everything else. Anxious anticipation for the trip only kept us up to ten.
Day 4 – Vernal to Lodore
DRE scheduled us to meet at 7 am on Sunday with a planned leaving of time of 8 am in the 15 passenger van. The hour window allowed for plenty of straggling, as expected, and we were off in about half that time for the 90 mile drive back to Colorado along US 40 to Maybell and then another 50+ miles along 318 to just south of the Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge where the Gates of Lodore river put in sits (about a 3 hour trip in all). Note, the term “park” here refers to an open river bottom surrounded by canyons.
The Green River (river mile 243.6) at the Browns Park NWR is a rather unimpressive meandering lazy river that would take lots of effort paddling to get very far. (I‘m sure we wouldn’t have been as dismissive if we’d been migrating bird or birders instead of the white-water craving flatlanders we were.) Our guides had arrived a few hours before and had the three 18 foot rafts ready to go for us. They obviously didn’t get much sleep. The short safety lecture included tips on what to do if you fell out of the boat (i.e. lay back and point your feet downstream) and a tight cinching of our PFDs as that was how they were going to haul us back in the boat from the water if we fell in. Anthony and I quipped they would need more than just a tight vest to haul us back in the raft. Once we got the general idea on not being stupid, all we had to do was clip in our dry bags before heading out on our 4 day, 3 night adventure.
| Our Group at the start (Marion, Mathil, Francois, Josh, Anthony, Brett, Shawn, Randy, Jim, Jo Ann & Charlie) |
Charlie & Jo Ann outside of Lodore |
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Anthony and I availed ourselves of one of the two Duckies (i.e. specifically National River Supply (NRS) Maverick II Inflatable Kayaks the guides also brought along. Calle “kayaks”, honestly they more like inflatable canoe). The Duckies are more fun and active than the raft where the guides did all the work and the passenger’s only real responsibility was staying in the boat, which was not really a challenge at all with the skill of our guides who took pride in getting through the rapids with the least amount of excitement or drama. In retrospect one or two episodes of people going in the drink would likely cure them of seeking to make it more exciting for the guests but we would have preferred the excitement of the danger.
It didn’t take long for us to enter the canyon of the Gates of Lodore. It was truly stunning and the pictures don’t really do it justice at all. In the pictures to see the people in a boat, one has to trim out the canyon walls but to see the scale of the walls, the boats all but disappear. It was awesome in the true sense of the word and not the mindless use of the term by today’s youth for things that are merely good.
| Randy and Anthony in the Duckie |
In Lodore Canyon looking upstream |
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The inflatable Duckies are very stable and forgiving if you hit anything but they do not really handle as well as a regular canoe or kayak. Still they handle well enough for most of the stretches of the river. We had looked forward to facing the Class 3 + rapids but the guides chose caution and made us get out for the infamous Disaster Falls where John Wesley Powell’s 1869 Geographic Expedition lost one of their wooden boats as detailed in his 1895 book Canyons of the Colorado I read the chapters of the book dealing with our trip’s portion of the Green River the night before for inspiration (and nerdy fact dropping to annoy the others with).
| One-armed Civil War hero, geologist, explorer, Bad Ass John Wesley Powell |
Powell Expedition Map |
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| Randy in Lodore Canyon |
Randy and Anthony in some rapids |
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After an easy eleven miles we stopped off at Triplet Campsite (@ river mile 232.6 miles), which was a sandy beach within the canyon and made our camp for the evening. After setting up our tent and campsite for the evening, the group availed themselves of a great rock on the edge of a deep section of the river that was perfect for cannon balling (diving with life jackets wasn’t really an option). Everyone in the group jumped in at least once (except Jo Ann and Jim) with many of us doing it over and over until we were tried out (which was likely the guides plan when they demonstrated it).
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Randy jumping into the Green River
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While they prepared dinner, we lounged in the chairs around the metal fire pit they set up (being taken care off was OK). The DNM Green River rules required everything that was brought in and be taken out including fire ashes. It also included solid human wastes, which required the use of the beloved Groover.
The name Groover comes from the grooves left in ones buttocks when surplus ammunition cans were used to cart out the waste in the past. They’ve been improved quite a bit and have a regular toilet seat to avoid the grooves and allowed us to No. 2 with a view the whole trip. No. 1 was to be done IN the river as opposed to the Missouri guidelines to do it a 50-100 feet back from the river. A function of yearly rainfall not allowing the dilution of the uric acid apparently.
The guides prepared a fine dinner of salad and seafood pasta followed by strawberry short cake for desert with whipped cream (in a can), which lead to goofing around with stupid whipped cream glob tricks by the guides and girls. Our only responsibility was washing our own dishes but a tone of mutual cooperation and camaraderie was set by gathering the finished dinner plates to wash them for the group. A tiny gesture that was followed by all of us in the following days, that seemed to cement a bond between the group and the guides.
| Gates of Lodore plate from Powell's Canyons of the Colorado |
Wreck at Disaster Falls plate from Powell's Canyons of the Colorado |
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That evening I queried the guides about the initiation rituals they put their new guides through as it was Brett’s first year on the river and last trip of the year. They claimed, somewhat convincingly, that there were no rites of passage except raftman-ship ability and people skills (which may not be obvious at first but is probably more of a make or breaker). When I prodded further to suggest they didn’t even make them learn the poem The Cataract of Lodore by Robert Southey by heart, they still avowed no, adding that up to that point none off their previous guests had even suggested a reading of the 1800s poem. Shortly thereafter to my chagrin, they provided me a copy of the 500+ word poem to read aloud to the group that provided the inspiration for the Canyon’s name for one of Powell’s men, who had been forced to memorize it as a school boy (Clear evidence there was no concerns about hazing rituals at British boarding schools back in the day). The poem is a lengthy pre-Seuss-ian string of adjectives about water flow through a rapids (…Dividing and gliding and sliding, And falling and brawling and sprawling, And driving and riving and striving, And sprinkling and twinkling and wrinkling… - you get the idea). It would certainly be hazing to force someone to memorize but having little choice, I managed to make the best of it, reading it as quickly as possible for comic effect (and to be done as quickly as possible).
Later that evening after some prodding, I shared the verses to a few adult camp songs to the group (sans French teenagers), in particular Barnacle Bill the Sailor, which proved way more popular than expected. The group proved insatiable requesting additional verses of the classically bawdy tune of a sailor’s debauchery that becomes ever baser as the verses go on.
The evening ended with some star gazing on the beach into the wee hours of the night between the canyon walls. The lack of any city lights for miles made for some of the best star gazing of my life (right up there with Glacier NP and Big Bend NP).
Day 5 – Hell’s Half Mile to Echo Park to Whirlpool Canyon
On Monday, August 18 we started off our second day going through Triplet Falls followed by Hell’s Half Mile. The names were provided by Powell’s Expedition for the Class III to IV rapids. The guides once again had everyone in the rafts with the Duckies tied to the back (albeit for the last time). After that Anthony and I commandeered the red Ducky and paddled with comic efficiencies past the stunning geology of Mitten Park Fault and the cliffs surrounding the confluence of the Green and Yampa Rivers (@river mile 225) around Steamboat Rock into Echo Park where we had lunch next to the boat launch.
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Heading into the Green and Yampa River Confluence
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After lunch, the guides led us on a hike back into Pool Creek Canyon, visiting the coolness of Whispering Cave and visiting some petroglyphs, which were impossible to see with my prescription sunglasses on (or off). Other petroglyphs on the way back were better.
| Anthony playing Atlas in Whispering Cave |
Petroglyphs - Pool Creek Canyon |
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After lunch, we passed on the other side of Mitten Park Fault and then into Whirlpool Canyon. About a half mile past the proposed Echo Canyon Dam site (circa 1950s) we made on second camp at the Seacliff Campsite (@ river mile 221.2). There wasn’t any giant rocks to cannonball off of, so for late afternoon entertainment the guides turned one of the Duckies upside down, creating a slide into the river when water was tossed on it. The usual suspects participated again in the simple fun.
| Floating through Whirlpool Canyon |
Anthony & Randy in Whirlpool Canyon |
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After dinner, while sitting around the fire pit, 12 year old Marion decided to compete again Anthony in who could dig the deepest hole in the sand. Serendipitous silliness. Afterwards we sang family friendly songs in the evening including Bill Crogan’s Goat, One Dark Night and Little Cabin in the Woods. Despite a high potential for rain (and a dripple or two), Anthony and I decided to roll the dice and NOT set up our tent and were able to drift off to sleep star gazing without a tent to interfere with our view.
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Jo Ann & Randy leading Little Cabin in the Woods
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Day 6 – Whirlpool Canyon to Island Park
River Day 3 Tuesday, August 19, we broke camp BEFORE it started running, letting us get our tent and gear stashed while still dry. It would rain for the next few hours making us all really glad that we bought the Frog Togg rain gear before coming on the trip and for having fleece jackets underneath to take off the chill (Did I mention this was the desert?). None-the-less everyone had excellent attitudes as we floated a few miles in a downpour and then stopped at Jones Hole Canyon (@ river mile 218.6). We hiked a couple-few miles along the creek in the drizzle to view some excellent petroglyphs and goofed around at the Ely Creek Waterfall. Colloquially called Butt Dam Falls for the ease one was able to stop the flow by inserting one’s tushy in the very narrow creek channel in the rock. Anthony and I were the only ones to demonstrate the ease this was done (I was the only one the chose to enjoy the brisk refreshment of the falls through my hair in a YOLO moment (something that would be far more enjoyable on a warm sunny day as opposed to our wet chilly day).
| Petroglyphs - Jones Hole Canyon |
Group shot at Ely Canyon Waterfall |
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Continuing our inquisitive nature, Anthony crossed the Jones Hole Creek to check out some caves on the cliffs on the other side while the rest of the crew started hiking back. It was most notable for there being an impressive amount of sheep scat at the bottom of the overhang openings, which I brought back a big sample of on my buttocks from having accidently tripping and sitting in it. Fortunately there was water available to wash myself off with at the bottom of the hill. On the walk back to the boats through Jones Hole Canyon we came across a harem of seven ewes with a ram. We were about 30-40 feet away and lingered for quite awhile, wordlessly enjoying the view.
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Randy with a ram and a harem of ewes
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Happily the rain stopped so we could enjoy lunch. Anthony and I rode in the raft in the afternoon through the remainder of Whirlpool Canyon enjoying our Sierra Nevedas and the fabulous scenery.
| Jo Ann & Charlie ready to Duckie |
Randy and Anthony enjoying some beer on the raft |
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| Randy impersonating the Ram River God of Death? |
More awesome canyon scenary |
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Near the end of the afternoon, we started flirting with the rain again, so that when we got to campsite for the night at Island Park (@ river mile 212.1), we rushed to get out our tent up under a cottonwood. Between being wet, the chill and low body fat Jo Ann had a touch of hypothermia that gave us a bit of fright but dry clothes and body hugs brought her around. The guides set up a rain fly to allow the group to huddle up during a 30 minute deluge. They also started a fire with the wet wood by using the propane jets from a cooker to start it (a neat trick).
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Randy feeling a little maggoty
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Once the rain stopped, we were treated with the very rare, complete double rainbow over Island Park, which lasted for about 10 minutes. We quickly took lots of pictures but most don’t due complete justice to the phenomena. Better cameras would have helped but having water proof cameras won the spot on the packing list. In a trip filled with stunning scenery and awesome views of nature, I think this was the most special one of all.
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Double Rainbow Randy
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Double Rainbow
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As the guides prepared dinner, Anthony and the French family played a game of horseshoes, which was fun to watch as the two sisters displayed some clear sibling rivalry as the completion wore on (the had been delightfully unannoying the whole trip, leading us to speculate what factors lead to the good behavior that was generally absent in our own off spring). The chill of the damp night, made the evening’s campfire all the more enjoyable and the adults stayed up late talking and finishing off most of the remaining liquor (i.e. vodka tonics). While pirate RRRrrrring, laughing and reminiscing about the ballad of Barnacle Bill the Sailor, one of the guides, 24 year old Shawn, penned another verse where the Fair Young Maiden ponders “What if we raft through Lodore?” with the old salt responding in another act of sodamey, to the great amusement of the group.
Shawn and I stayed up to talking as the last embers of the fire burned on. There was still a small amount of vodka left and well, I had a desire not to let the experience of the trip end any sooner than possible. This was a young man who had chosen a pathway in life I envied in many ways but found himself in, like many of us, on a spiritual journey on the Road to Find Out. I poured out some nuggets of the wisdom of life I gathered over the years, perhaps seeing a mirror of the self I might have been and wanting to give a younger me something of use. Eventually we succumbed to the night and called it a night about 1.
Day 7 – Island Park to Vernal
It was a chilly, dark grey drizzly day that greeted us on Day 4, Wednesday, 20 August, However good attitudes continued, especially after we entered the rapids of Split Mountain Canyon, which proved to be the most enjoyable stretch of rapids of our trip. By lunch, the sun was out and the remainder of the run of the river through the canyons was a bit melancholy as the end was near of a magical trip. The Green River rolled out of the canyon @ river mile 199.4 about 2 miles away from the DNM fossil quarry.
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More Beautiful...
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| Randy & Francois Duckie |
Randy, Francois and more bighorns |
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The group at the end
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We got back to Vernal and had arranged for a hotel again, as did the others except for the French family that which headed on to Colorado National Monument in Grand Junction). After showers, Anthony offered to treat our three guides to dinner with the rest of the us in a farewell gesture of thanks for pampering of us for the previous four days (yes we paid handsomely for this and tipped accordingly but none-the-less we, the Jolly Floatmen of the Confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, appreciated their hospitality). Sleep came easily by 9:30 that night.
Days 8 & 9 – Vernal to Missouri
The way home was anticlimactic, like most road trip stories, yet still enjoyable. On Thursday, we drove on I-70 and checked out No Name City in Glenwood Canyon that calls out for a return visit. It was another long day on the road in the Sienna with Anthony that passed by quickly with talking about life the universe and everything. The Motel 6 in Hayes, KS met our need for a cheap place to sleep but we were very pleasantly surprised by the very up-scale micro-brewery in the downtown area that could readily stand with completion from more upscale location.
Friday, was the last day of the trip, and Anthony did not fail to direct us to another fine place to eat lunch while passing through Kansas City: Café Corner in Lee Summit. The 5 side plate was terrific. Returning to my car in Columbia for the 2 hour ride home, I became very thankful for air conditioning, which had stopped working in the Sidekick but didn’t seem worth fixing so late in the year.
It was pleasant to arriving home to Bethany and the girls regaling them with a few bits of the story but happy to return to the comforts of home, much like Bilbo Baggins at the end of the Hobbit.
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