Colorado River 1980:
Day 1 - Page
Day 1 - Page
Note: This travelog was written in 2018, so many details have long been forgotten since we took the trip.
This was a trip that Debbie took with her family when she was a teenager, so all text is from her perspective. Unlike the 1978 trip, she took almost no notes, so very little detail is available any more. Photos are from many different sources, so they differ in quality and color balance.
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Monday, July 21, 1980: We drove from Minnesota out to Arizona over the weekend. We spent some time at the North Rim of Grand Canyon, so here we are at Bright Angel Point along the North Rim. From left to right: my brother, Doug, me, my high school friend, Kathy, and my mom, Irene. Not pictured: my dad, Bob, who took many of the photos in this travelog. |
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From the North Rim, we could see the South Rim in the distance, where there were thousands more visitors than here. Grand Canyon Village would be on the horizon in about the center of this photo. |
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The North Rim is further away from the Colorado River and river glimpses aren't possible from this viewpoint. |
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From the North Rim, it's nearly a three-hour drive to Page, Arizona where our Colorado River trip would be starting. Here's the view from Navajo Bridge on our way. We'd be floating under it the very next day. |
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We arrived in plenty of time to enjoy a swim in the motel pool. We were staying at the Empire House, which was down the road from the Page Boy Motel, where we stayed on our previous river trip two years earlier. |
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Orientation for the trip was held in the motel courtyard. We were traveling with Sanderson River Expeditions again, so we were familiar with the process of packing our wet bags and ammo cans for waterproof storage. |
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We spent some time mingling with our guides and fellow passengers before heading to our rooms to prepare for the upcoming week. |
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If you'd like to learn more about the trip, here is the original brochure: |
Copyright © Deborah Schilling/Thomas Bundy