Breathtaking raft journey down the Colorado River

Our group of 6 was joined by a father and son from Boston on the all day adventure; it was an hour and 40 minute bus ride to the start and an hour and 10 minute bus ride from the end back to Moab

National Geographic called Westwater Canyon the West's Best Short Whitewater Trip; the rapids weren't all that challenging with no rafts flipping and no paddlers ending up in the river

Supposedly this section of the Colorado River has class III and IV rapids but I don't think they were that severe; there are no dams upstream so water flow varies greatly by month

Do you see the evil monster jutting out from the rock?; the inner gorge of the canyon is made up of black Precambrian rock which is some of the oldest on Earth

With these two on board the rafting trip was non-stop entertainment; while in Moab I'd definitely recommend rafting since it's a refreshing alternative to long hikes

Bob and I aren't lunch eaters so we just relaxed during the break; apparently the Colorado River is always cloudy due to the sediment being swept downstream

Our rafting trip coincided with my birthday so having the group together was extra special; given David's knee and hip surgeries, he opted to stay in Moab since sitting in the raft all day would not have been pleasant

We covered 17 miles on the raft starting from near the Utah/Colorado state line; our guides were all Mormons who graciously answered our many questions (no coffee, no smoking, 2 years for mission work, no say in assignments, rotating partners, etc)

There are plenty of rafting tours offered in Moab but we chose to use the Moab Adventure Center due to their excellent reviews; the guides were all excellent and provided plenty of information during the journey

The rafting cost $198 each plus tax and tip which included the long bus rides and lunch; the geology through the canyon was fascinating and allowed us a perspective only seen from the water

Our river guide had just graduated from BYU and was studying to take the entrance exam for medical school; he had grown up rafting the river since his father had also been a guide

Due to the low water level, there were stretches where the 4 rafts of our group were roped together and motored through the flats; if we had to paddle those stretches it would have taken days

Before the rest of the group arrived, I visited this swimming hole at Mill Creek one afternoon; I stayed an hour and there were dozens here when I left; kids would carefully jump from the top into the very shallow waters