| Show san juan bo boat t trip thrilling experience 0 A trip down the san juan river from bluff to mexican hat as agthe ol 01 the guest of the junior class of the monticello high school is an experience peri ence we will long remember As stated in previous issue the I 1 trip was scheduled for tuesday may 5 as a special treat for the juniors now entered into the senior class although lasi minute changes were beci necessary because of the illness of several stu students nine juniors and one senior graduate left monticello at a m for the 45 mile auto trip to bluff where they were joined by mr and mrs dick nielson and met by norman D preston walker and del reed ree d melvin frost drove the party to bluff and mr nielson took he pickup on to mexican hat for the return trip in the late afternoon when the three boats were made ready mr assigned th the e passengers to their places the first boat with mr as pilots pilot carried claudia young marie M ogden melvin frost Fr and palmer foy the second boat 9 piloted by preston walker carried mrs nielson hugh barton and grant bronson and the third with del reed as picot carried betty jensen erma enna frost boyd bronson and ted bronson the day was perfect a cloudless sky and balmy air with littlewind little wind such as we have been accustomed to in the higher altitudes recently made a lovely setting for the takeoff if any of us had any fear of the water trip down a river that is considered one of the roughest of the long rivers of the world it was overcome as we moved down the river and completely gone when we finished the trip altho some of the experiences will never be forgotten for example this river is one of surprises during the 33 miles through which we traveled the boats as pictured below are flat bottomed and well made to withstand the buffeting of waves that rise from five to eight or ten feet in places as the fast moving currents disturb the waters and cause whirlpools and eddies that would overturn the ordinary crar craft in a moment incidentally we rode in continued on page six U T x W X nw RE V a M ZE M ua n tn k 1 f el SAN JUAN BOAT TRIP continued from page 1 a new and somewhat larger size boat than the two smaller ones of the same model although this did noi not prevent us from being tossed around like a peanut shell or from getting the full force of the water which swept over us at times but that was part of the tan fun and made the trip more exciting under the superb handling of mr and his two experienced river pilots the three boats covered the first 13 miles or so before stopping for lunch at a point near the old trading post of amasa barton after visiting the spot where the ruins of this house as grim reminder of the untimely death of mr barton when shot down by hostile indians many years ago we walked another half mile or more to visit some ancient ruins of the cliff dwellers a tribe of pueblo indians who lived there some years ago mr recounted recount an interesting story of this ancient people and told us about their habis of living and what the buildings of crumbling stone were used for we gathered bits of pottery and other relics found buried in the sand and listened with interest to the story we heard incidentally we followed the trail of the early mormon settlers and marvelled marvellee marvel led at their courage to their way over the hazardous route along the san juan river fiver bank I 1 after lunch we began the after I 1 1 noon trip down the more dangerous waters and through the narrower part of the canyon which made us thrill with admiration of gois gods handiwork as we gazed on si onery hat stretched mile after mile along the banks of the river sheer rock walls extending upward to 1000 feet and ever changing rock formation that can not be found anywhere but here in southern utah combined to add tj the beauty also stretches of green an occasional island or some unusual inlet where navajo indians once made their homes words are inadequate to describe the grandeur of this section of the river and our humble effort to do so but gives you a brief sketch of the marvelous scenery and the experiences of a day of great enjoyment nor can we give space to mention the points of interest along the way as mr described or named them because we also wish to include a few photos that will interest you and be reminders to us who made i the trip on may 10 mr will take a party of californians on a four i day trip through another portion ion of the river from mexican hat to lees ferry and we hope to hear report of this adventure later we reached mexican hat short ly before and started back over the 77 mile auto trip reaching monticello abou abdu p I 1 m tired but happy and failed filled with I 1 the memory of a day that will live forever NORMAN D PREPARING FOR A RIVER TRIP Q 5 f avi am av 11 W 7 w 4 erg at R PEPE I 1 4 f K ITS I 1 41 R mt zim P 0 0 ta 0 w R ky it wal Z IX zo I 1 al alu pl M ci R qa V W V S n ai vol K P ra ERN RVIN WIN I 1 X al Z 1 A yc R tn ALONG THE SAN JUAN 4 ap CIR 1 1 7 A 4 VM 1 ar V |
