Grand Canyon Expeditions Capt. Roger Patterson….that’s our Roger.

Grand Canyon ExpeditionsGCEX Main 5 Comments

Roger Patterson, Lubbock, TX. the flattest city in America.  I swamped for a guy in 1991 but consider my first trip to be in 1995. It was monumental as it was Art, Dave, Benjie, Matt, and me. Tenure with GCE:  Been running a boat with GCE for 11 seasons and served as the Las Vegas Liaison for four years prior to that. The Colorado River and the Grand Canyon is an awe inspiring place. “Prayer”, is a poem written by Denise Chavez and Benjie Howard and a few words have echoed in Roger’s mind….”slowly I become more attuned to the river…”

Roger’s favorite place is impossible to say. Just being there is my favorite place. I escaped financial stability, a big city life style, and serious domestication, as a former corporate exec for a Fortune 500 company. Somehow, by grace and another guide, Dave Spillman, I ended up with GCE on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.

The boatman's view from the back of the raft!

I see my job as making people feel safe and well cared for then stepping out of the way so that they can have their trip and an individual relationship with the place. I have yet to see a person go through it and not be moved, even the hardest cases.

Roger came on board with GCE in 1995 and was our Las Vegas liaison and did our orientations for 4 years. He has seen the operation inside and out. Rogers laid back outlook on everything in life is very refreshing, he has a calm about him that makes everyone around him smile, just knowing he is in total control.

Comments 5

  1. I am so honored to be Roger’s Mom. When he speaks of the Grand Canyon, it is with such excitement and love. It is his place of worship. I have not been on a trip with Rog yet, but his father was privileged to go. It was an awesome, inspiring and emotional time spent with his Son at a place like none other in this world.
    You make us proud Son,
    Mom

  2. June 4,2011 was the beginning of an amazing journey with Roger and company thru Mother Nature’s most awesome display! The trip was one of companionship, laughter, observation and freedom! Waking up in the morning looking at the Big Dipper up the canyon walls and going to bed seeing the Big Dipper watching over us all. I have never had such a feeling of oneness with nature as on the river. Roger, Mike, Sal and Cowboy with the Grand Canyon created an adventure never to be forgotten. When Roger read “Prayer” toward the end of the trip, the meaning of the trip was complete. Thank you so much for introducing me to the river and Grand Canyon!

  3. 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
    Of the rapids and the snakes

    Daring and eager
    But afraid to make mistakes

    Rafting the giant crack in the earth
    That we call the Grand Canyon

    I quickly learned
    That courage was not something to abandon

    You had to be brave
    And not afraid of getting wet

    Yes, the water was freezing cold
    But there was no need to fret

    There were so many things
    That were so much more

    Like the breath taking view
    Or looking above from the shore

    That place will never be forgotten
    Just like the way it made me feel

    Like I was on top of the world
    As if everything was too beautiful to be real

    Taylor Biron, age 14

  4. Trying to find, and reconnect with, my dear friend Roger Patterson; Grand Canyon boat guide, massage therapist, and spiritual advisor! From Libby Emack Bohanon, still in Atlanta, GA

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