Thursday, July 10, 2008
Today's river trip was amazing- rafting down the Colorado River was a journey through time! The fast-moving river swept us through canyons of rock where nearly 100 million years of this continent's geologic history towered above our heads. Vertical cliffs of red, grey and brown rocks showcased patterns of sediments that were sculpted by ancient winds, buried by more sediment, then compacted and cemented together to form layer after layer of sandstone and shale. As the river that we now call the Colorado began flowing over the top of this layer-cake, it slowly but inevitably cut its way through the solid rock like a water knife.
We drifted along through this geologic cathedral, marveling at impossibly balanced spires of rock that stood like sentinels at the entrance of deep canyons, at massive blocks of stone that had peeled away and tumbled down the face of towering cliffs, and at the tenacity and beauty of the trees, shrubs and grasses that thrive in the dry wind-swept landscapes away from the river's edge. We saw bald eagles, hawks, cliff swallows (lots - plenty of real estate for them!), turkeys, even a coyote patrolling the river bank.
With our life jackets securely buckled, we even floated down the river alongside the rafts like human driftwood caught up in the current.
What a day - what an awe-inspiring experience.
Tomorrow, we travel to Moab Utah to visit the site of some of the best preserved dinosaur trackways found anywhere in the world.
Dan Summers, education curator at the Virginia Living Museum
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