The morning routine begins around 5:15 with Bianca's call for coffee.  Our crew fixes a great breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon.  For roughing in on the beach, it doesn't get much better than this.  The plan each day is to leave by around 7:30.  Our first stop of the day is at the Redwall Cavern, an opening discovered by John Wesley Powell.  It is huge and has some fossils on a rock at the west side.

Redwall Cavern 4-29-2007 @ 8:21	Redwall Cavern 4-29-2007 @ 8:21	Fossils at Redwall Cavern 4-29-2007 @ 8:25

     Our next stop is below the Nankoweap granaries, a feature I have wanted to see for some time.  The Nankoweap Trail off the North Rim is considered the toughest trail in the Canyon and is one I haven't done, so I wasn't sure I would ever get to see the granaries by hiking here.

Nankoweap granaries 4-29-2007 @ 12:00	River view part way up the climb 4-29-2007 @ 12:43

     Ryan, Beth, and I head up the steep trail.  It is hot and this is a strenuous day hike, so only about half the people make the climb.  The granaries are on the side of a cliff with some mild exposure.  I am surprised the granaries are so small inside.  Somehow I was expecting something large.

Ryan, Beth, and Richard 4-29-2007 @ 12:51	Nankoweap granaries 4-29-2007 @ 12:52	Nankoweap granaries 4-29-2007 @ 12:59

     On the way back down to the beach and our waiting lunch, we pass some flowers I haven't seen before and the cactus are starting to bloom.  Lunch is again great.  Ryan and I are sitting in the shade by some Tamarisk trees when he suddenly jumps straight up about four feet.  A large snake crawled out of its hole and slithered right by him.

Prince's Plume 4-29-2007 @ 1:06	Hedgehog cactus 4-29-2007 @ 1:23

     After lunch we continue downstream, stopping where the Little Colorado River meets the Colorado River.  A short hike upstream in the Little Colorado brings us across from the cabin used by Ben Beamer, a prospector in the late 1800s.  The temperature of the Colorado River is usually around forty-five degrees because it flows under the Glen Canyon Dam from the bottom of Lake Powell.  The water of the Little Colorado River is fairly warm since it is not coming from a dam and it has this beautiful blue-green color, so several of our group float down it.

Ben Beamer's cabin 4-29-2007 @ 3:42	Little Colorado River 4-29-2007 @ 4:04	Ryan floating the river 4-29-2007 @ 4:05

     On the way back to the boat, I find a geological survey marker.  I have seen several of these on my Canyon hikes, but this is the first one without elevation data or date information.  The view looking up the Colorado River at the confluence is awesome. 

Geological survey marker 4-29-2007 @ 4:09	Colorado & Little Colorado Rivers 4-29-2007 @ 4:25

     The Desert View Watchtower, designed by Mary Jane Colter and completed in 1932, is now in view.  We stop for the night a few more miles downstream at Lava Canyon and Lava Creek.  This is a very nice spot with isolated camping spots for each person.  The Lone Star Mine, worked by Seth Tanner in the early 1900s, is nearby.  Beth, Ryan, and I explore the mine.  The shaft goes back a few hundred feet and then makes a right turn for another hundred feet or so.  At the very end, a hanging bat is startled and flies by us. 

	Lone Star Mine 4-29-2007 @ 6:19

     Our crew fixes us halibut tonight.  I'm wondering how they're going to top all this great food we've had the first two days.

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