C&Y Adventures

This will be a long blog of our trip through the Grand Canyon.  We started on the evening of Sep. 28 for orientation and our river bags to pack our belongings. Sunday we were up at 05:00 to be downstairs in the hotel by 06:00.  We took a bus from Flagstaff to Lees Ferry and the start of our trip of 226 miles (362 km.).  There were 6 rafts – 1 paddle raft with 6 guests and 1 guide and 5 rafts with a guide using oars.  All of our supplies for the trip were packed on the rafts.  Each day we had hiking that could be as short as 1 hour or as long as 7 hours. Some of the hiking was fairly technical with scrambling over boulders and climbing up rock walls.  Often we were hiking along a creek in side canyons so we were in and out of water while hiking.

Both Yvonne and I spent time on the paddle raft as well as trying the oars.  I learned to row forward but could not read the river well.  Our guides were very friendly, knowledgeable and encouraging.  For the first half of the trip there were 18 guests and 16 for the second half.  All the guides were very a good cooks and we had great meals.  All but one night we slept under the stars.  Sleeping on the ground took a bit getting used to.  We were up early, usually by 05:30 and often ate our supper in the dark with head lamps.  Since it got dark early we were always in bed early so got lots of sleep.

The Colorado River has a lot of silt in it so it is quite brown looking.  There are over a hundred rapids that we went through and a few required checking out prior to entry.  Many times we got wet and we even had the opportunity to “swim” a few rapids.

Our first hike

Side canyon reflection

A game of Ultimate Frisbee in Red Wall Cavern

Beautiful waterfall

Yvonne climbing up waterfall

16 days of not shaving

I have been remiss in updating the blog.  We got back home after a 3 day trip from Prince Rupert with stops in Smithers and McBride.  There was no wi-fi available on the Alaska ferry from Haines to Prince Rupert.  Off and on wet weather accompanied us so we had the rain suits on every day of this trip. Again great scenery and good roads.

Mount Robson with clouds

On Monday we rode to Skagway, AK with a stop in Carcross.  Beautiful scenery with mountain valleys and towering peaks.  Tuesday we relaxed in Whitehorse thankful we are not riding in the rain. Enjoyed the Frantic Follies with a fun filled multi talented cast.  Today we rode to Haines via Haines Junction. Unfortunately we had a very cool and windy ride with some showers to make it feel cooler.  Thankfully Yvonne and I could use our heated jackets to keep warm and our rain gear to mostly keep dry.  We celebrated our 38th anniversary with a great meal with our friends in the hotel restaurant.

Beautiful Scenery

Flowers on the side of the highway

Yesterday we rode from Fort Nelson to Watson Lake. The scenery was spectacular with wildlife such as black bears, wood bison, goats and even a fox.  Along the way we stopped in Liard Hot Springs. The water near the source was very hot but quite nice a little downstream.  We stayed at the Air Force Lodge in Watson Lake, the oldest building in town. The washrooms and showers were down the hall which reminded some of nursing residence.  For the longest day some stayed up to 11:00 but it never really got dark.  Today we rode to Whitehorse. It was quite cool especially going over the continental divide.  There were a couple of gravel sections of a few kilometres each but no problem for experienced riders such as us.  Again we had some showers on the route but the scenery is very enjoyable.

Mountain Goat

Wood Bison

Near the Divide

Gravel Section

Today we started at Mile Zero of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek. The first stop was the curved wooden Kistatinaw bridge on the old Alaska Highway.  From there it was Taylor, Fort St. John and through forest to Fort Nelson.  We had a brief but hard shower about 30 km. from Fort Nelson and the rain gear came on.  The rest of the trip we had sun and cloud with very good riding temperatures.  Total riding distance 460 km.

Mile Zero, Alaska Highway

Kistatinaw Bridge

Ready to head out

Fallen Four Memorial

Ed planned our annual trip this year.  We will be riding to Haines, Alaska, take the ferry to Prince Rupert and return.  Today we started in light rain and mist but after Onoway we had dry weather and progressively warmer.  Glen noted, that we started in the rain and ended with bugs.  We stopped at the Fallen Four Memorial in Mayerthorpe for an early lunch and tour of the memorial.  In Grande Prairie we had supper at Drew and Angela’s consisting of pulled pork, salad and veggies. After supper we continued to Dawson Creek for a total distance of 630 km.

Supper at Drew & Angela’s

Yesterday we went back to the Notre Dame to climb to the top of the tower. We had great views of Paris from there.

View from Notre Dame

Next we had a coffee on another boat cafe before finding some gelato recommended by Jeremy.

Relaxing on beautiful day

Since it was our last day we walked along the Champs Élysées to look at the shops and climb the Arc de Triomphe.  Afterwards we celebrated our trip at a restaurant close to our apartment.  It has been a great trip.

We had a very warm and sunny day.  We started with a tour of the Notre Dame church. There was a mass going on (10:00) and the pews were full with worshipers. The pipe organ music and singing was impressive. Due to the line up we did not go to the top of the church.

Notre Dame

For lunch we found a cafe on a boat on the Seine.  It was very nice to sit outside in the sun enjoying our meal and our friends company.  After lunch we toured the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa along with some other great art.

Lunch on the boat

Louvre

We walked back to our apartment which was about 5 km. away.  It was a nice walk with tree lined streets and many interesting sites.

On Thursday we took the Metro to the Montmarte area and toured the Sacre Coeur and walked up the 300 steps to the dome where we had a great view of Paris.

Sacre Coeur

Toured the artist area and continued shopping for scarves and souvenirs.  After dinner we took a night cruise on the Seine. The Eiffel Tower was lit up when we returned.

The Seine at sunset

Eiffel Tower at night

On Friday we took the metro to Versailles.  It was a beautiful sunny day but there were also a lot of people. The palace is very large with beautiful art.  The garden (800 hectares or 2000 acres) is also very large. Fortunately it was not crowded in the garden.

A painting of Versailles

Part of the garden at Versailles

On Tuesday we walked around Amsterdam some more including Vondalepark. We now probably know all the streets in central Amsterdam.  For lunch, since we are in the Netherlands, we had pannekoeken.  We picked up our bags at the hotel (we used a winch to lower bags from the 3rd floor rather than carry them down).  A tram took us to Central Station to catch the Thalys train to Paris.

Arriving in Paris, we eventually found our way to our apartment and settled in.  Don and Karen caught up with us as we were finishing our dinner.

Today we walked to the Eiffel Tower just as it was about to open. Riding to the top, we had a great 360 degree view of Paris.

Yvonne at the Eiffel Tower

Back on the ground we walked to the Place de Chaillot and the Trocadero gardens.

Another view of the Eiffel Tower

After lunch we continued walking, this time to the Arc de Triomphe.  We wanted to go up to the top but a one day strike had it closed.

Arc de Triomphe from the middle of the Champs Élysées

On the Champs Élysées we found a double-decker bus and took a 2 hour tour of Paris that showed us all the highlights.  Due to a road being closed we had the bus driver drop us off 1 block from our apartment.  The weather was better than forecasted and we had a great day.