I'm slowly getting used to Bianca's 5:15 coffee wakeup call.  After breakfast and packing the boat, we head toward the Unkar Delta, where we stop to do a loop day hike and view some of the Indian ruins.  The flowers and cactus are all in bloom.

Brittlebush 4-30-2007 @ 8:49	Sacred Datura 4-30-2007 @ 8:52

Prickly Pear Cactus 4-30-2007 @ 8:32	Cholla 4-30-2007 @ 8:33	Prickly Pear Cactus 4-30-2007 @ 8:37

     Our hike takes us by numerous old ruins.  About all that remains of the ruins are the base layer of stones marking where their houses once stood.  The view of the river and Apollo Temple to the north is really good.  I hiked by here last month on the Escalante Route on the other side of the river.

Indian ruins, Unkar Delta 4-30-2007 @ 8:45	Colorado River-Apollo Temple 4-30-2007 @ 9:00

     Our next stop is on the beach below the Kaibab suspension bridge to allow a visit to Phantom Ranch.  Although I have been there many times on my Canyon hikes, I never tire of getting their one-of-a-kind T-shirt and mailing some postcards stamped with their famous red "Mailed by Mule Team" stamp.  Then it's back to the beach for lunch, something our crew has never done here before.  We are just finishing lunch when the morning mule team coming down the Bright Angel Trail crosses the bridge.

Jake and Ryan on the boat 4-30-2007 @ 1:24	Richard and Beth Phantom Ranch 4-30-2007 @ 12:51	Mules crossing the Kaibab suspension bridge 4-30-2007 @ 1:27

     We are a little behind schedule, so Carolyn really motors our way through the "Gems" section, the area between Boucher Rapids and Bass Rapids where many of the side canyons are named for precious stones (Ruby, Turquoise, Sapphire, Topaz, Emerald).  Boucher Rapids is named for Louis Boucher, often referred to as the Hermit of Grand Canyon, and Bass Rapids is named for William Wallace Bass.  She successfully makes the run through Crystal Rapids, one of the toughest in the Canyon.  Her skill at driving the boat, affectionately called the "White Whale" by Jake, has been obvious the entire trip.  We stop for the night just before Bass Rapids on a small sand beach named Parkins.  The hundred year old inscription on the stone wall explains the name.

Third night camp 4-30-2007 @ 5:35	Third night camp 4-30-2007 @ 5:35	Parkins stone engraving 4-30-2007 @ 5:40

     All this black rock next to our campsite has been absorbing heat all day and is now radiating it back toward us.  My down sleeping bag has been too warm to sleep inside the last two nights, so its natural warmth combined with the heat from the rocks may make for a restless night.  We have chicken for supper tonight.

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