I got up around 5 am, took everything I wanted to and walked over to the Maswik Lodge. My journey, kind of a package tour, started off in a reluctant mood/mode, but all traces of reluctancy vanished pretty soon, with Rick (Guiding Driver) lightening up everybody and the view from the Desert View. Soon after, I went upto Rick and sat next to him for most of the remaining journey - taking some very good pictures (in Sports Mode) and enjoying the sight all the way. One must not forget to visit this beautiful place called Page, which I was later told that has the famous Horseshoe Bend in Colorado River, as a part of Glen Canyon. We reached Lake Powell by about 10 am and after the usual security check and drive through a two mile long tunnel, we arrived at the starting point for the soft water rafting. It was nice of the organizers to arrange individual group photo session and I got into Paul’s raft. The dam itself in an engineering beauty, given the type of rock formation found in this area.

It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as our tour guide, Paul, was an extremely learned person having worked as a Park Ranger for nearly a decade. His explanations seemed very logical and language was very clear. He stopped at the best possible places for us to enjoy the water and the breathtaking beauty of the Glen Canyon. The first stop, Acclimatization Beach as Paul called it, was the first time we, the people on boat, started interacting and following the Price family, I took a dip in the freezing waters of Colorado (first of the wild things I did today). It sure felt so good/thrilling and I was so eager to plunge in, that I forgot to keep my wallet aside. Journey continued, with raft speed varying according to the places of interest and stopped at a place that had Step Trail and some petrogyphs, some as old as few thousands of years. There was dramatic, 30 F, difference in temperature from the on the river to just 15 feet above!

After having travelled for about 90 minutes or so, we stopped for food, and there was something for me too. I jumped into the waters, though it was very close to the deepest point of Colorado, had some food, then swam for couple minutes, talked to some more fellow travellers. I was very surprised to learn that some one had actually come to UP for their last year’s vacation! During the reminder of the journey, we passed through the famous Horseshoe Bend, a 270 degree turn, and stopped for one last time in the transition zone - transition between Glen Canyon System and Grand Canyon System and transition being apparent even to the naivest of eyes. I had to do quite a bit of circus to find a suitable place to set my camera up for a group picture, and it did come out pretty nice. Paul did another short stop at Mile Zero on Colorado before ending the tour at Lee’s Ferry. It is about a quarter mile from here that White Water Rafting starts and a tiny tributory that joins Colorado, changing its color from prestine bluish green muddy brownish.

The return journey was good too. From Cameron till we reached Maswik Lodge, I talked to a family from New York area : topics varied from general Science, Physics, Astronomy, Solar System, Network Security, Patience, Family Affairs, Infosys, Narayana Murthy, mothers loosing a part of their brain while upbringing their kids, and so on. Like a cute little girl (aged about 3 I guess) said it, everyone on the bus had started to feel like being a part of an extented family… At the end of the day, I was just glad that I did not cancel this trip; and was left thanking my stars and counting my blessings….