Armada of volunteers attacks trash along Colorado River

Trash along the Colorado River was attacked Saturday by an armada of boats filled with folks armed with garbage bags and love for a clean environment.

Twenty-five boats participated in the 19th annual Reverse River Run, a cleanup event that takes volunteers all the way up the river from Yuma to Blythe, Calif.

Eighty-seven people signed up the popular annual event, which was kicked off early Saturday morning from Martinez Lake. The event is sponsored by Amigos Del Rio and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Most boaters hung in there for the entire trip and camped out at Blythe, according to Ron Knowlton with Yuma River Tours.

Saturday night meant a barbecue and a giveaway of prizes for all sorts of interesting and unusual categories.

"One of the categories is the most useful trash," Knowlton said, chuckling. "Someone just got a table with all four legs on it. So far, all we have useful is a squirt gun!"