Big Trip - 2001 - Page 7
Dinosaur National Monument

Well, below Limestone Campground you sweep by the base of Steamboat rock (on the left in the picture to the right), past the confluence of the Green with one of the last free running rivers in the west, the Yampa (the confluence starts at the tip of the low brush at the base of Steamboat Rock - the Yampa enters from the right)!  The Yampa is undammed at this point but the High Savory Dam might well effect that which would be sad.  The Yampa was swollen with spring run off and was clearly at this time the large of the two rivers, but that might just because the Bureau of Reclamation has a choke hold on the Green at Flaming Gorge.  

Just below the confluence is Echo Park which was formerly known as Pat's Hole named after the Hermit Pat who lived there.  Of course, Powell renamed it.  The men were pretty enamored with the ability of the cliffs to repeat a shot or spoken word up to 10 times. 

The river swings back on itself and flows just on the other side of Steamboat Rock where it enters Whirlpool Canyon, which was a proposed site for a dam.  Whirlpool Canyon is marked by the way the water heaves and swirls this way and that turning you at its whim.  The swollen river made this a very exciting and even scary section as I ran it in the inflatable kayak until I flipped the kayak.  Tired, cold and a little nervous, I reboarded the raft.  

Floating out of Whirlpool Canyon you enter Island Park.  Our campsite was on Big Island which I've recently learned the Outward Bound people call Bug Island  It was true to that appellation.  We were met at the landing by mosquitoes - though they weren't too God awfully fierce.  Still mosquitoes can be relentlessly annoying.  On Big Island the campsite is kind of centrally located under a large cottonwood.  The problem is that there is a low hanging branch just at head level.  If you are paying attention and not fighting off mosquitoes as Angie was, it's no problem.  I was walking back to the boat, and Angie in exasperation started to run to get away from the mosquitoes.  I hear clump! clump! clump! whump! and "Jamie!".  I knew before turning she had run into the tree branch.  I run back and she's on her knees.  Fortunately, she just gets a nasty knot on her head and that's all.

Below Island and Rainbow Parks you enter Split Mountain Canyon.  Split Mountain at high water is just a blast.  None of the rapids are technical and only one or two do you really need to do some maneuvering to get away from the wall toward where the river is driving you.  In Split Mountain Canyon, there are a few warm springs (as opposed to hot springs).  They were lukewarm at best but it was worth stopping for.  

As we were trying to land Angie bumped a rock with the raft and unsuspecting, I teetered over the edge and then plunged backward into the water.  I came right up and had hit nothing - so the whole thing made me break out laughing as you can see to the right.