Day 1, Wednesday, September 19, 2001--- We're on the Green River !

Loading up at Tex's early morning.

Our adventure has begun.

We put into the river at noon at Mile 115.5 at Crystal Geyser. It was warm! Not a cloud in the sky. Our outfitter was Tex's Riverways of Moab. They furnished canoes, ice chest, paddles, potty & PFDs. We carried all our own cooking gear, tents and food. We used normal food as we had no portaging. No freeze dried drivel this trip.

At Crystal Geyser trying to sort out the gear and find a place for all the gear to fit in the canoes.

Brian decides to walk along side his canoe until we can eat up enough food to allow him room to sit in the canoe.

Dean searches for abandon gear to place in his canoe.

Dean & Dave discover that their canoe is stuck in 6 inches of mud.

"Wait Dave, I believe I see a tug boat coming down river."

Brian, Rob, Dean & Dave take a break during the first day's paddle. Note how clean and natty they are today.

The buttes start showing up as we paddled south east.

Views from our first campsite. Mile 101.5 at Anvil Bottom.

In 1871 Major John Wesley Powell named this Dellenbaugh's Butte. Fred S. Dellenbaugh was a 17 year old artist in Powell's party.

Mile 101.5 --Our campsite was down and to the left in the trees. Brian climbed the butte behind camp and shot this panorama late in the afternoon. What is not evident was the muddy shore line. Getting in and out of the canoes was a challenge in keeping your sandals attached to your feet.

Camping under the shade of a Cottonwood Tree complete with all variety of bugs and petrified Angus Road Apples. It was a nice camp after a warm afternoon of stretching old tired muscles.

Brian climbs the butte to set up his solar panel to charge the batteries.

Dave checks his canteen to make sure he has water to get back to camp.

Salad anyone?

Dean's tent with Dellenbaugh's Butte in the background.

Relaxing in camp after a hard day's work of paddling 14 miles in the afternoon sun. We paddled 14 miles this first day followed by a dinner of steak and salad. We cooked the steak over charcoal.

Bird's eye view of camp under the large Cottonwood Tree. The elevation of the river at this point was approximately 4,000 ft.

Another bird's eye view higher up the butte.

You should not have to ask what this is. Is this a piece of space junk we found along the river? Is it a water distillation or filter unit for the muddy river? Is it a new style stove? A water proof music system for river use? Or is it a portable potty? The mashed roll of TP lying along side should have clued you. Yes, we could not leave any animal droppings along the trail. We had to use this and bring it all out with us. It had a tight seal top for use when transporting but it leaked. Yes, it stunk to all Sam Hill.