One of the best experiences of a raft adventure down the Colorado River is joining our unique and talented crew of Grand Canyon river guides. Our Grand Canyon river guides come from all walks of life. They bring endless knowledge about the Canyon, humor, cooking skills, music talent and a zest for life to each adventure. Being a river guide in the Grand Canyon is a unique profession. It requires finesse to embrace each guest with a kind heart and willingness to share in the experience. We sincerely believe Our Guiding Principles set us apart from other Grand Canyon rafting companies. (Feature photo by Ralph Hopkins)
It is common for guests and guides to bond over the course of the journey. They make connections through exhibiting teamwork, building camaraderie, facing and overcoming challenges, and enjoying moments of peace and clarity. Guests admire guides for their dedication, physical and mental strength, and passion for the Grand Canyon. Guides admire guests for taking an adventure, trusting in a new experience and stepping outside of their comfort zones. The group comes together, melding into what many guests describe “like a tribe”.
Grand Canyon River Guides Poetic Reflection
Raft adventures often spark artistic expression. Sometimes art, other times music, many times poetry. Poems are about nature and the Canyon, and sometimes about the tribe. We want to share a poetic expression written by one of our guests, bringing attention and thanks to their Grand Canyon river guides. It is a true testament!
“A Tribute to Our Crew” by Gene Murphy
On behalf of our motley crew
I’d like to express our sincere gratitude
to a remarkable group of people
who we were fortunate enough
to have as guides
in the truest sense of the term;
you invited us into a broken seam in the crust of the planet,
guided us a mile down into the earth
and introduced us to worlds,
wonders,
that cannot be seen from the rim,
wonders that most of us never knew existed;
and you introduced us to the river you love,
a river whose pulse you have taken now, collectively, for one hundred years,
an ancient river,
always new,
always the same,
never the same,
tectonic,
simultaneous.
And you did this all with such big broad hearts,
with great patience,
and unflagging good humour;
offering up your deep knowledge
in a broad range of domains,
given as gifts from moment to moment, continuously throughout;
and with stunning skill and strength and stamina that kept us safe,
with minds that were by turns remarkably incisive,
and at other times seriously deranged,
let’s be honest here,
seriously deranged,
and always with a generosity of spirit that ennobled all of us, and is so rare to find these days.
So, we will all leave this place
with a host of memories that will, inevitably,
fade with time,
but we know that they will remain, swimming in the deep,
like humpbacked chub,
to surface occasionally
and flash suddenly like sunlight on a rock face,
and there it will be,
a petroglyph,
an image of a moment,
from an extraordinary two weeks,
when each of us came to understand
important things about ourselves,
and our world,
and our place within that world,
and our responsibility to it.
So, to you, Owen,
and Dan and Brad,
and Colin wherever the hell he is,
and Steve and Claire and Will,
we’d like to say…
Big Cookie!
3 Comments. Leave new
‘A Tribute to Our Crew’ , well said Gene. To the deranged list I would like to nominate – Andrew, Alan, Dirk, Michele, Jody, Aaron, Lauren, Jed, Kevin, Brad, John, Julia, Liz, Trevor, Derik, Stinny, Lora, Kelli and Laura. A heartfelt thank you for helping me make some incredible memories. All forward, Steve T
Ha! Look there! I took some pretty good photos!
Great to see Gene’s tribute, it was heartfelt.
Roy Cloud
A pretty incredible poem, I’d say, that captures, for me, what I’ve previously experienced in the Canyon with other crews. Roy certainly didn’t have his head in a cloud when writing such a tribute! Onward. . .with the flow!