On June 18, 2010, I posted a photo here of Caroline standing in the icy waters of the Colorado River at Lee’s Ferry; back then, we had 124 days left until the start of our boating adventure through the Grand Canyon. Today, we are a shade over 30 days before a load of gear is packed into the car, and we take off for an overnight in Flagstaff before an early morning drive to Lee’s Ferry to board the waiting dories.

A day does not go by that I am not thinking of the Colorado. There is a large box sitting in our living room into which we have placed a long list of equipment and essentials that will be needed for the 18 days we’ll be in the Canyon and on the river. I have empty notebooks, pens, 128GB of memory for my camera, seven battery packs, plus three lenses and my tripod to make sure I am well equipped to capture my impressions of this monumental journey.

There has been little time from week to week to find blogging material for my site. My thoughts are forever floating through the dreams of what this trip holds in store for us. From maps of where the river cuts through the canyon to an in-depth historic geographical look at how the canyon was formed, I have been reading the best materials I can find about the route we will travel on. A book about day hikes from the river has given me insight into 100 of the potential dozen or more trails we will have the opportunity to hike while we are not on the river. Each day, we are supposed to be on the river for 3 to 5 hours with the boatmen who will be our guides. From the ranks of these famous guides, I have read “There’s this River…” an excellent thrill-a-minute ride along with some of the more amazing episodes that have happened on the river over the years. “Downcanyon” by naturalist Ann Zwinger gave me a perspective of the biodiversity that lives riverside in the canyon. The newest book in my collection is “The Grand,” a photo journey starting at Mile Zero, also known as Lee’s Ferry, to just 10 miles past our take-out point at Diamond Creek, Mile 226.

By early this coming week, we will begin the 30-day countdown. Butterflies, anxiety, nervousness, excitement, anticipation, and a palpitating heart grab my attention all too frequently as the river comes into view. Today, our embarkation point is 261 miles from where I sit at this very moment. Forty weeks ago, we wrote the deposit check that secured our positions on this river trip, and now, in 31 days, 19 hours, and 22 minutes, we’ll be gone. I will be counting down each and every one of the 45,800 minutes remaining.