Breakfast this morning is pancakes and bacon.  There are still a lot of lava flows in this part of the Canyon.   

Starting the day 5-8-2009 @ 7:38	More lava flows 5-8-2009 @ 7:52

     We pass several oar groups.  Some try to spray us with large water guns they have.  There are very few rapids in this area and the River is flowing slowly, so it would be no fun having to row a raft with oars right now.

A group of oar rafts 5-8-2009 @ 9:06	A group of oar rafts 5-8-2009 @ 9:10

     We float by Pumpkin Spring at mile 213.  People used to swim in the spa-like enclosure until they found out that the water there is some of the most toxic in the Canyon.

	Pumpkin Spring 5-8-2009 @ 10:28

     Our first stop of the day is at Three Springs Canyon.  A short hike up the hill reveals a lot of the usual desert plants and several you might not expect to find in the Canyon.

Cholla 5-8-2009 @ 11:01	Ocotillo 5-8-2009 @ 11:02	Creosote Bush 5-8-2009 @ 11:03

Barrel Cactus 5-8-2009 @ 11:03	Globemallow 5-8-2009 @ 11:04	Krameria 5-8-2009 @ 11:05

Buckley's Centaury 5-8-2009 @ 11:06	Cardinal Monkeyflower 5-8-2009 @ 11:07	Bushy Beardgrass 5-8-2009 @ 11:07

     This place is very pretty and has a nice stream that Rachel uses to cool off some.  At the side is an indentation in the rock where the Indians ground their corn.  Above the corn grinder are some Pictographs, one representing corn.

A pretty stream in Three Springs Canyon 5-8-2009 @ 11:09	Rachel cooling off in the stream 5-8-2009 @ 11:11

Pictographs Three Springs Canyon 5-8-2009 @ 11:13	Pictographs Three Springs Canyon 5-8-2009 @ 11:13	Pictographs Three Springs Canyon 5-8-2009 @ 11:14

     After lunch, we continue downstream and can soon see Diamond Peak in the distance.   We pass Diamond Creek at mile 225, where many of the boats and most of the rafts take out.

Diamond Peak 5-8-2009 @ 1:39	Diamond Creek 5-8-2009 @ 1:59

     Our next stop is Travertine Grotto, a series of small waterfalls that cascade down from a cave.  On my last raft trip, we got to climb to the cave above the waterfalls, but we are behind schedule, so due to time constraints, Carolyn only allows us to visit the lower falls.

Girish and Jim in the waterfall 5-8-2009 @ 2:29	Girish in the waterfall 5-8-2009 @ 2:29	A rope ladder above the falls 5-8-2009 @ 2:30

     We have gone by several fine examples of Fluting.  This is where a rock gets caught in a crevice, is spun around by the flow of the River, and eventually drills a hole down through the rock crevice.  Some of the holes are perfect cylinders. 

Fluting 5-8-2009 @ 3:02	Fluting 5-8-2009 @ 3:02

     Mile 238 was the site for the second proposed dam in the Grand Canyon called Bridge Canyon Dam Site.  When that project was stopped in the 1960s, the site was abandoned with no cleanup whatsoever done.  All their materials were just left on the hillside.

Second proposed dam site 5-8-2009 @ 4:00	Second proposed dam site 5-8-2009 @ 4:00

     We pass Separation Canyon near mile 239, the spot where three of John Wesley Powell's men left his first expedition, hiked out to the North Rim, and were killed.  Some historians believe they were killed by Shivwits Indians who mistakenly thought the group had killed an Indian woman.  Other historians believe they were killed by Mormons.  A plaque in their honor was later erected on the hillside.  On my last raft trip, there was a buoy marking the division line between Grand Canyon National Park and Lake Mead National Recreation Area, but that is gone.  When we arrive at Spencer Canyon, our campsite for the night, a raft party of two large boats is already here.  That means we are relegated to the less desirable sites.

Camp at Spencer Canyon 5-8-2009 @ 5:50	Camp at Spencer Canyon 5-8-2009 @ 5:50	Camp at Spencer Canyon 5-8-2009 @ 5:50

     Supper tonight is Mexican food with fajitas and tamales.  This week has gone by fast.

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