Grand Canyon by Haiku

The Grandest Canyon
How to relay our journey?
Haikus will tell all

Beginning

Electronic toys

Left behind as we turn to

Focus on what's real

 

 

 

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

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

Seeing same bridge from a different angle, we're off!

Enter the Canyon

Boat ripples carry worries

Away from our souls

Boat bumps into sand
The clatter when spoon meets bowl
First lunch upon us

Siesta!

Back on the river

Soak in sights, sounds, and spirits

Listen together

 
 


Pick a sandy beach

Tents and sleeping bags unpacked

Wine, crochet, haikus!

In the evening light

Incredible scenes grace camp

Beauty honors us



Powell Plateau as one camp backdrop, named for famous Canyon explorer John Wesley Powell

 



Leave no trace behind

Carry everything with us

Poop in a bucket

 

 

Groover hid in trees

River scene is paramount

Privacy, bonus!



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)

Canyon wren, sunlight

Ushers away the nighttime

Brings forth a new day

Morning light on canyon walls is beyond haikus



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



Owen--like I said: chef extraordinaire

Breakfast on the beach

Sunrise on vermilion bluffs

Water flows by camp



Morning routines are not "routine" unless you make them so:
Morning yoga-thing, fishing through bags getting ready to go...

Need something from bag

Why always at the bottom?

Unpack and repack


 

 

 

 



Ancient scorpion

Under my sister's gear bag

Welcomed to our world

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

Chapped dry lips, soggy wet feet

Hands like sandpaper

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

Petroglyphs: messages from history



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

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



Visiting a site with pictographs

Quiet ancient art

Still speaks to us across time

Lives on forever



Exploration II: Little Colorado River

From start to finish

Clear water to blue water

Little Colorado

(six syllables, yes, I know...too bad)



Little Colorado River where it meets "big" Colorado River;
very different from its headwaters in our home, the White Mountains!

Calcium carbonate springs feed into LCR

Husband goin' on a ride!

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!



Hiking up Tapeats Creek canyon

Knees creak, legs on fire

And still we keep walking up

Turn a corner to...

 





Tapeats Creek

...see the wonder of

green grotto among red rock;

life among stillness

 



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



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



Deer Creek



Waterfall delight

'twas a three-waterfall day

Magic places, all



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

See Earth's beginnings

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

Camping in the Inner Gorge




Difference in time between my index and middle fingers:
300 million years.
The Great Unconformity = no sediment laid down permanently in that time

Time warp in old rock--

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

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!!!

 

Native bluehead suckers spawning.



Blue Havasu meets green Colorado

Lava Falls

Facing the unknown
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

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

This tent was zipped shut all night!!!

Elements: Flora, Fauna, and Fun

Earlier find from head boatman John, left where he found it
and used as learning tool

Bruce, 'splaining all about bighorn sheep

Elves Chasm

Me and my sibs

Happily awed husband

Unusual sighting of brown pelican

How do things grow in this rock???

Life on the river

is fleeting; we adapted

Stronger than before

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.