“Someone asked me if I really take all these trips or if I just dry-lab them,” I said as my right foot dangled over the side of the gray 15-foot raft floating down the Colorado River through Horsethief Canyon.

“That’s the whole point, isn’t it?” replied Jerome Waler, a fellow passenger on Captain Geoff Tischbein’s boat.

“Well, yea,” I replied. “I write newspaper columns and blogs so I can go somewhere different every week. I think it’s a pretty good plan.”

“Doesn’t pay much, though,” Tischbein correctly noted.

“Yea, but look around,” I said. “This is a pretty good reward.”

We were only a few miles from the start of our journey at the Loma Boat Launch as I pointed to the black patina of desert varnish that stained the towering cliffs of Entrada sandstone. According to our handy-dandy “Belknap’s Revised Waterproof Canyonlands River Guide,” 200-million year old Mesozoic sediments are the oldest rocks here in Horsethief Canyon. These are about 1.5 billion years younger than the crystalline basement rocks exposed in the Black Rocks area in Ruby Canyon, a few miles further downstream.

That’s where we were headed for an overnight stay. We’d float out to the Westwater takeout in Utah the following day.

This float trip from Loma to Westwater is a gentle glide, often boated in a single day or with an overnight stay at one of several excellent campsites. The 25-mile stretch is commonly boated in open canoes, kayaks and small rafts.

No permit is required for private trips, although the BLM requests boaters register at the Loma boat ramp. If you’re spending the night, you can pick a campsite and let everyone else know where you’re staying so they don’t stop at the same spot. It also helps BLM with its management of the area.

For up-to-date requirements and information, contact the BLM, 2815 H Road in Grand Junction, or call 970-244-3000.

Numerous commercial rafting companies can help you with this trip. Give a shout out to the folks at the Grand Junction Visitor and Convention Bureau. They can get you headed in the right direction.

P.S. Don't forget your sunscreen.