The drama unfolds

River and through the formidable rapids of Cataract Canyon.

- 

The scenery is spectacular and another movie connection is made. The famous closing scene from Thelma and Louise, where the gals drive off a cliff rather than surrender to the cops, was filmed here, with Dead Horse Point standing in for the Grand Canyon.

NAVTEC's Brian Martinez offers a priceless piece of trivia. In the first take, Susan Sarandon's dummy head fell off. After the Ford Thunderbird was retrieved from the river, a head scarf was used so it didn't happen again... and one of the greatest movie looks of all time was born.

To cool off late in the afternoon, we jump the river and float along clutching cold cans of Coors Banquet (known as "Butter Sticks" due to their beige colouring and the fact they "go down like butter").

Sadly, problems with the outboard engines mean we cannot reach the rapids but we still camp out under the stars on a sandbar, tucking into a delicious meal of steaks, baked potatoes and grilled asparagus, rounded off with chocolate cake (washed down with more Butter Sticks).

In fact, beer, wine and spirits are widely available in restaurants in Utah, although state law says you can only order one drink at a time with a meal. There are plenty of bars in towns such as Moab where there are no such restrictions.