Day 7 of our trip consisted of a helicopter ride and a short plane ride. Our trip down the Grand Canyon was more than we ever expected. A top 5 trip for sure!!

Our last morning on the river, was full of helping load the rafts with the “pumpkins”, cots, tents, and chairs. Then it was last minute pictures, hugs, and good-byes. We had one last group pictures from our raft and then a combined group picture with both rafts.

Above the camp was a helipad, where we took our gear and waited for the helicopter to come up the canyon. It was very cool to see and hear…

We were in the first group to board the helicopter. A temporary scale was brought out, our bags were weighed and then we were assigned a seat.

Takeoff and last look at Whitmore Helipad…

We had an amazing view of the river.

It was a short 7 minute flight to a dude ranch on the north rim of the canyon.

Over the next hour, the helicopter then took off and landed with the remaining Hatch guests.

The Bar 10 Ranch is approximately 2 1/2 hours from St. George, Utah.

Near the Ranch office, we checked in at the Grand Canyon Airlines desk for our flight to the Marble Canyon airport. There was also a flight to Boulder City for those who would be flying home from Las Vegas.

One of the advantages of flying to the Bar 10, is they had a free hot shower. We could get rid of a week’s worth of river mud!! We sure did smell good…lol

We also bought some well-deserved t-shirts in the gift shop.

The Bar 10 Ranch has a very unique “hotel”. They do have heaters, as well as air conditioning.

We watched as our airplanes landed.

We hopped on a UTV and headed to the air strip

The Whitmore International Airport…we loved the sign!!

Our plane was a single prop with a wheel on the back…lol

Jaron was our pilot, baggage handler, and flight attendant…

The flight to Marble Canyon airport was 40 minutes. We were seated by weight and flew at 9000 feet.

We were not allowed to fly within the National park boundary, but it was still interesting scenery, as we could see the canyon in the distance.

We flew near the red cliffs of Vermillion National Monument

Last view of Marble Canyon which is the upper end of Grand Canyon National Park, and where we started our float the Saturday before.

We landed at Marble Canyon Airport and then took a shuttle van back to the Hatch River Expeditions warehouse. When you are the major employer in Marble Canyon, you have a road named after you.

We had a 10 hour drive back to Idaho so we stopped in Kanab, Utah to celebrate our successful trip…chicken fried steak and amazing rolls.

The trip was an EPIC way for us to celebrate turning 60 years old. We would do it again because it was just so amazing!!!