By Luisa I was appalled that my son wanted an iTouch iPod for his 10th birthday and even more surprised when I found out that most of his friends in our middle class town already have iTouch iPods! This is yet another sign of our high-tech times. While new technology can bring us together over great distances via email, skype, …
TEEN TALK ABOUT UNIQUE CAMP LIFE
By Lindsay We all know how much fun camping is. But how about camping for a week on the banks of the Colorado River surrounded by amazing Grand Canyon scenery with some seriously awesome people? Dude, count me in! Of course, camp life usually follows a bit of a routine. Don’t worry, it’s a fun one. As you get off …
the magic of our grand canyon, inspiring our youth …
Above photo: Tom Balgden /(tblgden@bellsouth.net “maidenhair” ferns of Havasu My daughter and I did this trip with Roger and Dustin in June, 2009. Below is the poem she wrote for her freshman year Literature class. Her poem speaks to the inspiring nature of the Canyon, and especially its capacity to change us. The Canyon Called Courage Scared at first …
A MOM’S TRANSFORMATION FROM TREPIDATION TO AFFIRMATION
By Luisa I Confess… I’m a world traveler, yet very much the suburbanite. I live only 10 miles from New York City in densely populated northern New Jersey. I’m a hiker but NOT a camper. I’ve gone on tons of day hikes on the East Coast, Mid-West, Rockies, Alps and Alaska. However, I’ve only camped once in my life …
“Action, action, we want action!”
By Lindsay ANOTHER boring trip to a museum? Ugh, no thanks! You’d think that by now your parents would take the hint that you want to do something fun, exciting, active, and adrenaline-pumping on your family vacation. Well then, you’ll thank them when they book an eight-day rafting trip on the Colorado River IN the Grand Canyon with Grand Canyon …
The Doctor is in…meet Stephen “Doc” Nicholson
My name is Stephen Nicholson aka “Doc”, due to my education at Southern California School of Dentistry Surgery and occupation, a dentist….My home town is Bayfield Colorado, where I have resided for over 35 years. My first trip in Grand Canyon was 1974, I ran three trips that summer with a Grand Canyon outfitter and got certified to run river …
A CHILD’S TRANSFORMATION FROM “I WANT TO GO HOME” TO “THIS IS THE BEST TRIP EVER!”
By Luisa Frey As a family travel writer, my two children – nine-year-old Ethan and 17-year-old Alex – have been traveling far and wide since they were six months old. Alex has been on about 40 cruises with me while Ethan traveled all the way from the East Coast to Hawaii for a cruise when he was only 20 …
IRV…..GCE PRO
My name is Irving Callahan, aka Irv, originally from St. Petersburg, Florida. I now live in Flagstaff, AZ and part time in Kanab, UT, home of Grand Canyon Expeditions. My first trip through with Grand Canyon Expeditions was 1991, as a “swamper”. *The “swamper” is the boatman’s assistant. Tying knots, washing dishes, camp set-up and so on. I started working …
GCE dory river guide, Kate Thompson
Kate has been with GCE since 2002, rowing dories for the 14-16 day expeditions. She has been a boatman since 1980, having worked on a plethora of western rivers. In her other life, she is a professional photographer, graphic designer and musician. Kate lives with her husband, Andy Hutchinson, in the tiny mountain town of Dolores, Colorado. Included in their family are their personal dories,”Cottonwood” and …
Grand Canyon’s Blacktail Canyon…….bottoms up!
Photo Tom Blagden (tblgden@bellsouth.net) Above photo, Tapeats Sandstone, this layer averages about 545 million years old. Lying on your back, looking up at Blacktail Canyon (RM 120) on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon is totally surreal. Not only a grand concert hall for acoustics, it also displays a truly grand view of “The Great Unconformity”. In addition to …
The sculpting of formations….. “fluted” Vishnu Schist
1.7 to 2-billion year old rock formation…. The “Vishnu Schist” is the oldest rock formation in the Grand Canyon. Also referred to as, the basement rocks of the Grand Canyon. Photo Tom Blagden (tblgden@bellsouth.net) Fluting is a process of differential weathering and erosion by which an exposed well-jointed coarse-grained rock such as granite, gneiss or vishnu schist develops a corrugated surface of flutes; especially …
Grand Canyon’s, Uta stansburianas square off….wrestling big time in Grand Canyon?
Uta stansburiana / Grand Canyon side bloched “lizards” square off…wrestling move “the half nelson” Photo by Tom Blagden (tblgden@bellsouth.net) Uta is named after the state of Utah and stansburiana after the explorer Howard Stansbury who collected the holotype during the exploration and survey of the valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah (1852). The common name refers to the black …