February 4-7th, 2011. As ambitious as they come. A 22 mile canoe row, kids and all.

Instead of a bowl of chips, a pool of bets, or a BBQ with friends for Superbowl weekend, we headed out to Willow Beach, Arizona for a 4 day paddle up to the Hoover Dam and back. We loaded up our canoe and towed a raft containing our sleeping bags.

We headed out rather late in the afternoon, basically evening, and hit our first camping spot when it was getting pretty dark. Along the banks of the river, one can camp anywhere they wish.

Morning proved our camping spot to be the ultimate serene setting. Absolutely breathtaking.

Choosing a trip over the Superbowl weekend was brilliant. The weather was in the 70s, and best of all, there wasn't a soul on the river except one couple in kayaks that we kept running into.




Mike taking Declan on the 'stuff' raft for a little ride.



We paddled into Emerald Cave, which you can't tell so much from our pictures, but it's a gorgeous green, hence the name.

Our second campground:

We stopped along the way for a little water play when our 'stuff' raft got some wake action and splashed our sleeping bags. Let's just say, a 'stuff' raft, we learned, is a stupid idea for future reference haha.

The water was gorgeous. Apparently, as our kayaking friends with experience of this area informed us, we got incredibly lucky because there's usually a strong wind that would have impeded our upstream progress immensely, and as we had a big of a workout paddling upstream as it was, we were thankful for the perfect weather and the calm current.

We finally made it up the 11 miles to Hoover Dam! Thanks to our kayaking couple, we have the proof! Talk about feeling accomplished!

We made it! ...Then we had to turn around for the 11 miles back! We stopped at some caves.

Explorers!



Dead fish. Bleh.

 We found Sauna Cave, and man did it feel like one! A naturally moist and warm cave. It went all the way back to a makeshift bench someone had placed there. You have to wade through about two feet of jacuzzi temp water the whole way.

We stopped at a warm waterfall flowing onto the beach.

We also stopped at the hot springs...clothing optional!

The river was amazing and smooth, reflecting the cliffs on either side. Our third night, we learned that the Hoover Dam lets through significantly more water when Vegas is super crowded and in need of more energy. Mike's bare butt waded through the cold water to rescue our canoe from the river rise in the dark. I laughed so hard, I cried.

It was a fantastic trip. Our arms were sure sore after those four days. We stopped at Paris Hotel in Las Vegas on the way home for a well-deserved and certainly well-enjoyed buffet.

Until next time, Colorado River!

~M~