The clean, clear water sparkles like gemstones in the midday sun. The cliffs reflect in the water. Sometimes the silence is broken only by the buzz of cicadias or hatching midges. Or the caw of the raven or the song of the canyon wren. Eagles and hawks float overhead.
Geese are common.
You may come across a heron or egret preening itself at water's edge. Or spot a beaver working on the river bank. At sunset the tops of the cliffs light up in flaming red. Large, shallow gravel bars dominate the river especially in the first eight miles below the dam. They are heavily populated by trout particularly during spawning season.