I helped with breakfast duty... omelettes! Yum!

We loaded up and headed off down the river again.

Layers of amazing color

We stopped to scout Bedrock Rapid. Located at mile 130.5, the rapid is a 6-8 on the scale with an 8-foot drop. A very large rock splits the river in half. The standard advice is "Whatever you do, don't go left!"

Going down to scout the rapid

Yup, that's a big rock out there.

The mud looks almost like plastic.

Just above the rapid is an interesting formation called the Doll House. It is a large granite and schist rock formation that has been cut by the river to make distorted rooms with sandy bottoms. The many levels of holes form doors and windows.

One of the 'rooms' is to the right.

We made another stop to scout Dubendorff Rapid.

Preparing to disembark and tether the raft

A Desert Bighorn Sheep blocks the way!

The bighorn seems equally amazed by our presence.

Eventually he bounds off, all the while keeping a watchful eye on us.

The Prickly Pear Cactus (also known as nopales or Paddle Cactus) has flat, fleshy pads that are actually modified branches or stems that serve the functions of water storage, photosynthesis and flower production. Most prickly pear cacti have yellow, red or purple flowers, even among the same species.

Dubendorff Rapid (at mile 131.7) is frequently misspelled. It is a 5-8 on the scale with a 15-foot drop and known for being a bit messy with a lot of rocks. It is named after Seymour Dubendorff, who flipped his boat here in 1909.

We ran too far right and almost hit some rocks made it safely through in the end! It's amazing how quickly everything happens. I am constantly impressed with the skill of all the oarsmen!

Back to some gentle floating

We spent the night at Racetrack Camp near Tapeats Creek. It was very hot! People scattered and did their own things, eventually returning for dinner, which was chili, cornbread and cheesecake.

Dinner

Spending so much time with people who may be very different from you can be tough. Throw in potentially stressful situations (such as life on the river) and it becomes even more difficult. Add too much alcohol and things can get out of hand quickly. Such was the case this evening. Suffice to say there were extremely harsh words, some threats with a large kitchen knife, and an all-night disappearance. Once the drama had passed, the rest of us did our best to enjoy the remainder of the evening.