SALT CREEK (Day 3)

It got quite cold last night! But as soon as the sun peeked above the cliffs, things heated up quickly. Too quickly, actually.

It would be a short float today, from Mile 6 to 8. There were no canyons to stop at, which was ok since Cliff was feeling even worse. So he slept in while I explored the area. Unfortunately I couldn't go very far. Campsites limited me in either direction along the river, and thick shrubbery covered the hills a short ways inland.

As soon as I went to put on my sandals, they fell apart. They were old and apparently the water had dissolved the last of the glue holding them together. I would have to rely on only my hiking shoes from now on.

A stroll along the rocky beach

My stroll inland, looking back towards the tent

A dried riverbed marked as far as I could go.

An acrobatic wasp

By the time I returned to camp, Cliff was up and starting on French toast!

By the time we were all packed up and on the river, it was almost 11:30.

Desert varnish is a dark brown thin coating of concentrated iron and manganese compounds and clays that forms on rock surfaces over thousands of years. Water seeping over rocks transports and deposits these dissolved metals, sometimes creating long black streaks.

A Roman soldier? An Egyptian mummy?

A pair of bald eagles

After about 2 miles, we began looking for our campsite on the left. When we spotted some trees, we knew that must be it. Unfortunately the big, easy landing was for the first campsite. We had to squeeze past some rapids and then quickly pull into the smaller, steep second one.

We unloaded a few things from the boat but didn't set up camp. It was SO hot out! And tiny flies buzzed everywhere. Cliff took a nap in the shade while I wandered about for a bit. There wasn't a lot of shade! A bighorn sheep quickly bounded across the rocky cliff and disappeared... too fast for my camera to catch him.

A small lizard ... and empty shell

Cliff was awake upon my return. I suggested a walk down the canyon I had discovered. He still wasn't up for it, so he started making dinner while I took an evening stroll. It had cooled off a lot and the flies and bugs had disappeared.

Evidence of bighorn sheep ... and other smaller prints

A quick bird ... and an extremely fast velvet ant

Dinner was waiting for me when I returned!

As night fell, we watched a whole flock of wild turkeys along the banks of the other side of the river. Later, from inside the tent, we heard the gunshots of someone obviously hunting them!

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