Our timing was good, another group was just leaving and we would be leaving just as another group arrived. All the pictures I had seen of the Little Colorado River displayed muddy water that was reddish brown in color. This water here was a beautiful shade of robin’s egg blue. It reminded me a lot of the travertine-laden waters of Havasu Creek.

Tyler directed, “Bring your life jackets.”, and we headed upstream for about a mile to a series of small pools and wave trains that made a perfect spot for play. The water was much warmer than the Colorado. We would jump in at the top and ride the waves to a large pool below. I would repeat this process many times. At one point we formed a large chain with almost everyone in the group participating; the feet of one person was tucked under the arms of the person in front.

By late afternoon we were over 3400 feet and 545 million years below the rim. Off in the distance we could see the famous Desert View Watchtower. We were leaving Marble Canyon and entering upper Grand Canyon.

At mile 68 we stopped at Upper Tanner Camp for the night. After unloading gear I found a spot in the shade by the river. The sand was very fine almost powder. There was a 30 degree slope to the river. I was tired from all the play in the Little Colorado. I wriggle into a comfortable position, and settled in for a nap.

I caught Amber and Tres’ attention. They were concerned that I had been overcome by the heat. Amber greeted me with a cold can of pop and a mug full of ice. I reassured her that I was fine but took her up on that soda and ice. It was a really nice treat.

We were camped at the base of a bluff that had a trail leading past petro glyphs to the top. We waited for an hour for the sun to get lower in the sky and then did the hike. The view from the top was awesome. We came back down for lasagna and cheese cake with strawberries for desert.