In 2014 Ed and I did a 4-day rafting trip down the Grand Canyon with Canyon Ministries. We were flown from North Las Vegas Airport to the Bar 10 Ranch where they offered a great meal and horseback riding or ATV riding. We stayed in the covered wagons that had no electricity. The bathroom had electricity until sunset. The place is run by solar so they turn everything off except a swamp cooler that is in the main building which doesn't have enough power to run all night. (It cools off a lot at night to about 80 degrees depending on when you go.) Some people slept in the main building, some on the patio on the main building on mats, and some in the covered wagons. The staff also provided entertainment in the form of dancing, singing, and story telling.
From there we took a helicopter down into the canyon and boarded large rafts. We spent three nights on the sand in the canyon. Cots and tents were provided, but we found it was too hot for the tents so we just slept on the cots positioned precariously on the sand dunes. Our backpacks and clothes were filled with sand when we got back.
The food was great, but everyone was expected to help with the dishes, and packing up the raft in the morning. The raft made many stops at interesting locations: petroglyphs, canyons, waterfalls, arches, etc. I was amazed at the amount of green vegetation along the main canyon and smaller canyons.
There was some white water, but nothing scary, just fun stuff.
If you don't like roughing it or are shy, this trip is not for you. The restroom facility was a can that you were only allowed to deposit solid waste. The can was set out a ways from the camp with an open riverside view. You had to either pee in the river or over the edge of the boat. I picked the boat because the water was very cold. Of course, everyone knew you were peeing because the top half of your body was visible when sitting in the peeing area.
Word of Advice: Canyon Ministries suggests taking a hat with a wide brim, which is a necessity, but it should really say take two hats because it is inevitable that someone's hat will blow away even with the strings that go around you neck. At least take an extra hat in case someone else loses their hat. We had several people lose their hat on our trip.
I highly recommend this trip. It was well worth the money. You will forever have fond memories of the canyon.
Another Word of Advice - Take the earliest trip possible. It gets really, really hot.
Once we got close to the dam, we were taken by speed boat to a location (I can't remember where) where we boarded a bus that took us back to Las Vegas.
Note: You should be somewhat physically fit for this trip. You have to climb up onto large rafts, and carry your backpack up hills and sand dunes, and help pack and unpack the raft each morning and night. There are some short hikes and rock scrambling but nothing too difficult. If you can go up and down a flight of stairs several times without getting winded or hurting and can lift 30 lbs without difficulty, you can do this trip.
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