Ruby Horsethief Canyons

A few summers ago we went on a float trip down the Colorado River where the river crosses from Colorado into Utah. With two little girls and a dog, we floated for two days through the Ruby and Horsethief Canyons, stopping to camp twice.

One of our campsites was at a place called Black Rocks. The soft red sandstone had eroded away to form a fairly deep canyon, and at the bottom was a huge formation of black basaltic rock that had been beautifully sculpted by the river.

The second morning, after packing up our camp and pushing off into the river, I snapped a photo from the raft which later inspired this painting.