How to relay our journey?
Haikus will tell all
Beginning
Electronic toys
Left behind as we turn to
Focus on what's real
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| First view of Colorado River en route to the boat, at Marble Canyon Bridge |
Met our brave boatmen
Our lives gladly in their hands
Jon, Owen, and Max
Jon, Owen, and Max
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| L to R: Max, Jon, Owen from Arizona Raft Adventures |
Jon, our head boatman
Passion for Canyon is clear
Knowledge unsurpassed
Owen, Maine madman
Guitar-playing boatman and
Chef extraordinaire
Max, the apprentice
Memorable desserts nightly
No job too messy
Creating A New Rhythm
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| Seeing same bridge from a different angle, we're off! |
Enter the Canyon
Boat ripples carry worries
Away from our souls
Boat bumps into sandThe clatter when spoon meets bowl
First lunch upon us
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| Siesta! |
Back on the river
Soak in sights, sounds, and spirits
Listen together
Tents and sleeping bags unpacked
Wine, crochet, haikus!
In the evening light
Incredible scenes grace camp
Beauty honors us
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| Powell Plateau as one camp backdrop, named for famous Canyon explorer John Wesley Powell |
Carry everything with us
Poop in a bucket
Groover hid in trees
River scene is paramount
Privacy, bonus!
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| The old way--but no more! |
Known as "the groover"
Named for old way of "s_itting"
Ammo cans left grooves!
The night awakens
Canyon walls glow with moonlight
Stars dance while we sleep
Full moon arising
Illuminating canyon
Bucket list check-off!
Wake up at midnight
Realize sleep will not visit
Must find friend groover
(sigh)
(sigh)
Canyon wren, sunlight
Ushers away the nighttime
Brings forth a new day
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| Morning light on canyon walls is beyond haikus |
Best breakfast ever
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| Add to eggs: smoked salmon with capers, fresh fruit, and coffee (can you believe this??) |
Best breakfast ever
Is one cooked by someone else
Eggs made to order
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| Owen--like I said: chef extraordinaire |
Breakfast on the beach
Sunrise on vermilion bluffs
Water flows by camp
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| Morning routines are not "routine" unless you make them so: Morning yoga-thing, fishing through bags getting ready to go... |
Why always at the bottom?
Unpack and repack
Ancient scorpion
Under my sister's gear bag
Welcomed to our world
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| Daily schlepping of bags to load (or unload) |
Blue bag and white bag
And blue bag and white bag and
Blue bag and white bag
Immersion
We are grasshoppers
Mornings come with new lessons
Understanding grows
From my sister Mary:
Tank tops to thermals
Tank tops to thermals
Chapped dry lips, soggy wet feet
Hands like sandpaper
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| Avoiding the sun is almost like avoiding the rain. Cover up! |
Osprey flies ahead
Leading to a river curve
A new vista greets
From my brother Jeff:
Sue goes on and on
She's obsessing on Haikus
Makes me and others groan (that's 6 syllables, Jeff, not 5!)
Exploration: Short Hikes
Hiking in the sun
Paying homage to those who
Walked here before us
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| Petroglyphs: messages from history |
Turquoise chips abound
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| Still sacred today to Native Americans, tokens of respect are often left |
Turquoise chips abound
Hopi spirits welcome us
Such a sacred site
Continue onwards;
Float river or hike canyon
New sights every day
Pool of water shines
Beckoning to venture on
Green grotto is prize
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| Decades-old exploratory cave created for potential dam site (that never transpired) |
Monolithic walls
Compete to touch the heavens
Each one sees success
First longer day hike
Carbon Canyon, Saddle Creek,
Lava Chuar back
Quiet ancient art
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| Visiting a site with pictographs |
Still speaks to us across time
Lives on forever
From start to finish
Clear water to blue water
Little Colorado
(six syllables, yes, I know...too bad)
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| Little Colorado River where it meets "big" Colorado River; very different from its headwaters in our home, the White Mountains! |
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| Calcium carbonate springs feed into LCR |
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| The train! |
Exploration III: Tapeats Creek, Surprise Valley, "the Patio," Dutton's Spring, Deer Creek
Long day hike explained
Lots of up and lots of down
Worthwhile adventure!
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| Hiking up Tapeats Creek canyon |
Knees creak, legs on fire
And still we keep walking up
Turn a corner to...
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| Tapeats Creek |
...see the wonder of
green grotto among red rock;
life among stillness
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| First view of Thunder River |
Waterfalls abound
Rare jewels valued more than gold
Life thrives despite odds
Desert sheep leave sign
I am among cliff dwellers
River, far away
Head down from the falls
Down we go and down some more
Look up--see your world
From Bruce:
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| Dutton's Spring |
From Bruce:
Bubbling cascade
Spewing from red sandstone wall
Joyous cactus wren
Bruce, at Dutton's spring
Did a Sudoku puzzle
In honor of Dad
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| Deer Creek |
Waterfall delight
'twas a three-waterfall day
Magic places, all
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| Last leg--getting back to the boat |
Before we leave this hike,
I thought I should let you know
Our guides wore flip-flops!
Exploration IV: The Inner Gorge
Billion year old rocks
We've left the millions behind
Welcome, Inner Gorge
What stories Canyon tells us
We love to listen
Day of whitewater
Tingling anticipation
Merge with river's soul
Granite recipe
Take mica, feldspar, and quartz
Burn, press hard, and wait
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| Camping in the Inner Gorge |
Time warp in old rock--
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| Difference in time between my index and middle fingers: 300 million years. The Great Unconformity = no sediment laid down permanently in that time |
The Great Unconformity;
Layers blown away
Volcanoes, lava
Molded through cooling patterns
Basalt organ pipes!
Exploration V: Havasu Creek
Azure-blue water
Sings light songs while tumbling o'er
Redwall limestone cliffs
Sings light songs while tumbling o'er
Redwall limestone cliffs
From brother Jeff (yes, same one who groaned about my Haiku-ing earlier):
We went for a hike
Me & Sue & Havasu!
Blue water--wa-hoo!!!
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| Native bluehead suckers spawning. |
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| Blue Havasu meets green Colorado |
Lava Falls
Facing the unknown
We learned Canyon is master
We learned Canyon is master
Lava: Rapid King
note, video was taken of a smaller oar boat going down Lava Falls after us.
Will upload GoPro video of our boat when received
Elements: Wind, Water, Sand
Mouths shut, squinting eyes
Wind will try to force despair
Laugh with sand in teeth
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| Sand on every square millimeter of surface area; this is of a clip from one of our bags |
No shelter from wind
Blowing sand erodes all things
Except our spirits
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| This tent was zipped shut all night!!! |
Elements: Flora, Fauna, and Fun
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| Earlier find from head boatman John, left where he found it and used as learning tool |
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| Bruce, 'splaining all about bighorn sheep |
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| Elves Chasm |
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| Me and my sibs |
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| Happily awed husband |
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| Unusual sighting of brown pelican |
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| How do things grow in this rock??? |
is fleeting; we adapted
Stronger than before
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| Last morning--survivors!!! Kneeling: Bill, Pat, Nikki, Greg Standing: Owen, Stan, Max, Jon, Bob, Mary, Sue, Bruce, Sue, Jeff, Jo |
Rocks are not solid
Shaped and changed by the river
And so too were we
Endnote:
If you got through this entire entry, holy smokes, thank you. I want to end this story with another story. Over the campfire, we asked our boatmen about their other memorable trips. One trip stood out for both Jon and Owen. In 2015, they were honored to host a group of wounded veterans through an arrangement with their Arizona Raft Adventures (our tour service), the Grand Canyon River Runners Association, and the Wounded Warrior Project. The trip became much more than a typical visitor-go-rafting trip; it was a form of healing to the vets that touched all involved. Here are two short articles describing the trip and its effect on both guides and veterans, one from Grand Canyon River Runners Association and another from the American Legion. Powerful thing, this Grand Canyon.
According to the Grand Canyon River Runners Association, they are planning on sponsoring another trip in August of 2016, and their article includes the ability for anyone to make an online donation to help support this upcoming trip.
