The Newtys

The national weather service has been predicting snow for weeks... so where is it?

It is times like these that call for desperate measures... everyone needs to participate in a snow ritual in hopes of bringing snow to Utah.

Here are some snow rituals that I have heard of :

-The easiest one is to simply pray for snow.

-Wear your pajamas to bed inside out- this confuses the snow gods into thinking that they need to blanket us with snow.

-Put a spoon under your pillow?

-Sacrifice a pair of old skis to a great big fire.

-Flush ice cubes down the toilet apparently it helps bring in a cold front.

Do any of you have snow rituals? We need all the help we can get.

   

Like 16 days of  total bliss in the bottom of the Grand Canyon...and making it through Hance...thanx MP 

                                 

      

                                                        

Grand Canyon 2008 was a fantastic season we were sad to see it end. It really is a treat living there during the summer. It is truly amazing how connected you feel with the earth when you get the opportunity to live in it for weeks at a time. You notice changes in the flora and fauna, side streams change from flooding, and even the night sky changes and you get to witness it. It makes you feel small and insignificant, it keeps you humble...

...and then there is school. Where you sit under florescent lights and in rooms without windows all day; wondering if that degree is really worth it.  Fortunately or should I say unbelievably, we are both almost finished just a little more suffering.                                                                          Oh and that rumor about us...yep its true, neat huh.                               

This is a picture of our camp the night after a flash flood came through it.  The night before it rained about 2 inches in three hours.  A massive flash flood came down the side canyon we where camped at.  The flood flowed over the creek bed and into camp.

We just got home from our 6th trip of the season.

It is still so hot I don't want to talk about it.

After the trip we went up Grandma Nancy's and Paka Ricks for some 

fun in the water with the boys.

Noah and I tried to find some rocks for skipping.

Leigh has a new buddy that won't leave her side. 

This picture is of the two of them trying to sneak up and scare me.

3 more trips and we will be back home to hang out with everyone.

Max the Moose not having any fun at all.

What a goof ball.

Champion rock skippers!!

This trip was a hot, hot trip. I think it got up to 115 this week. The trip started out normal.  We did some fun hikes and were off to a pretty good start.  On Day three we dropped into the upper granite gorge.  There wasn't anything abnormally big.  Hermit had fun 15 foot waves.  Then we got to Crystal.  We Dropped right into the left side of the rapid (the big side).  I had one of the smoothest runs I have ever had.  I made it down past the rock bar and pulled into an eddy to watch my second boatman (Andy Dicus) come through.  I saw him have a big hit in the center hole and then disappear behind the big cliff on the left.  He had slammed the boat into the cliffs.  It corked the frame and pushed the corner of the frame through a tube of the boat.  It ripped a 12-15 inch hole in the boat.  We made it down to the Ross Wheeler beach to camp for the night.  It took until 11pm to get the boat patched.  On top of all that, it was 100 degrees in the shade (at 9:00 pm).

Right when we thought we were in the clear, a passenger fell the next morning and split his finger wide open.  We almost needed to fly him out of the canyon.  

Good looking snake!!

Leigh standing in front of one of the original Nevills boats.  Norman Nevills was the first commercial guide in Grand Canyon. This is one of his original boats that his grandson had restored.  He was getting ready to start a trip.

Nice shot of a ram.  This is the third year in a row I have seen this guy. He hangs out on the left side of the river between Stone Creek and Tapeats creek.

Elves Chasm

We had some good folks and did some nice hikes.  Our six day trip was overcast the entire time.  We had multiple days of rain, but nothing flashed (which is nice).  Right above Horn Creek Rapid the sleet started to fall.  It felt like snow.  

I took this last week.

This is from the private Grand Canyon trip we went on last fall (thanks again Marky). 

This was one of the most memorable trips in my life.

It was hard to go back to work in the canyon this year. Every corner we turned it reminded me of our private trip.

Let the games begin.

We are on break from our first Grand Canyon Trip.

We are going to run Nine trips this year.  I will try to keep you posted on interesting things from these trips.