jet set

 Oh my heck, where did that week go?!?

In any event, we were down in Moab over Memorial Day weekend.  It was probably crowded but since we stayed away from the parks and didn't go out to eat, it didn't affect us.  H's parents came to visit and we tried to take advantage of the very pleasant weather - sunny, mostly calm and not too hot - with scenic drives through the La Sals and along the Colorado River, picnics at our new favorite picnic spot above the Colorado River ...

The last bit of shade for two hours

Speaking of the Colorado River, we booked a two-hour scenic river tour with Moab Jett.  We were at the HQ at 9:30 a.m. to sign waivers; once everyone was there (the boats seat ten passengers and besides the four of us there were two other couples, plus Rob, our driver/guide) we loaded up on the shuttle bus for the ride to the river.  They fitted us with life jackets, loaded us aboard and we were off.

Looking upriver

The river was running high (around 36,000 c.f.s.) and fast; anyone who was taking rafting or paddling tours was going to have a quick trip.  We started off downstream, so they could get photos of us coming up under the footbridge, and then roared upstream.  The trip is 26 river miles round trip: thirteen miles up to Red Cliffs Lodge and then back down again.  Rob told us that his primary focus would be safety - since the river was so high, there was quite a lot of floating debris to dodge - but he stopped often to point out features and talk about the area.  He was great.

Couple of wooden dories heading downriver

The highlight was near the Big Bend campground where we spotted a small herd of desert bighorn sheep.  We didn't see any lambs but there were 8-10 sheep on the top of a cliff overlooking the river.  We stopped to watch them for quite some time; our guide was as enamoured with them as we were.

Sure-footed sheep

Because the river was so high, a lot of the usual rocks were far below the surface.  This didn't mean that there weren't any rapids, however.  There were a couple of spots that had some churn to them and when we got to our turnaround spot, there were some standing waves that were at least four feet high.  Rob gave us a tiny taste of what the adventure tour must be like by hitting some of them (in the adventure tour, he said, they often have to stop to bail out the boat) before heading back downriver.

Sheep on a cliff

There was lots more river traffic at this point (nearing noon) and almost everyone seemed to know Rob, who has been driving for Moab Jett for nine years.  Back at the take out, he roared us through a swampy patch before splitting the bridge pylons and bringing us safely back to shore.  The take out was swarming with people now, rafters and kayakers and SUPers and tubers, lots with dogs and everyone keen to get out on the river.  It was nice that we'd had an early trip and had largely had the river to ourselves.

Once ashore, we had a quick parking lot lunch before stopping off for a beer and a trip rehash.  Was it touristy?  Absolutely.  Was it fun?  It was so much fun and we heartily recommend it to anyone.  In fact, both H and I have decided that we're going to have to go back a little later in the summer and do the adventure tour, just to see what that's all about.

TLDR: book a Moab Jett tour - it's worth it!