Join us for a Grand Canyon river trip - June 11 through 22 of 2010

We are planning a trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon for June 11th through June 22 of 2010. We would like to invite you to join us if you are able. We are organizing the trip through Tour West, a licensed Grand Canyon outfitter. We plan to run for twelve days from Lee's Ferry to Whitmore Wash, a journey of 187 miles. We will travel in 18' oar-powered inflatable rafts. The cost of the trip is about $3500.00 which includes all services on the river and transportation back to Marble Canyon or Las Vegas from the take out at Whitmore Wash.

Journey through the longest stretch of wilderness river in the lower 48 States. Among our guides and crew you may find artists, photographers, poets, a potter, story tellers, wilderness experts and great cooks. We want to share this amazing place with other creative people and see what develops. There will be readings, discussions, stories, journaling, drawing, music, hiking, swimming, solitude laughter and much more. Not an artist? Come along and find out otherwise. We will visit ancient sacred sites, fern glens, waterfalls, quiet side canyons and share nutritious home cooked meals.

An oar-powered rafting trip through the Grand Canyon is the ultimate and most sought-after white water adventure in North America. Other rivers may offer comparable excitement, solitude and wonder, but in much smaller doses. No other river allows you to run its length for two weeks, shedding the inessential trappings of civilization, like so much dry skin, as you float past some of the oldest exposed rocks on the planet. The Grand Canyon is one of the most recognizable tourist destinations in the world, but relatively few people see its glory from the bottom up, or experience its meandering as intimately as in an oar-powered boat, which puts you closer to the water than larger, motor-driven craft. If you watched Ken Burns PBS documentary "The National Parks: America’s Best Idea" then you will want to come see this premier park as few get to see it.

If you decide to join us on this trip, expect your life to be changed. You may forget what the walls of your office look like, or what it's like to wake to the sound of an alarm. You'll wake instead to the sound of a cheerful guide calling “Coffee” and serving breakfast at dawn. Getting on the water early allows us to make miles in the cool and calm of the morning. We stop frequently to visit side canyons with deep narrow walls, waterfalls and swimming holes, hanging fern gardens, natural chapels and concert halls. There is ample time for hiking, swimming and lizarding on flat rocks in the sun. Lunch is served on beaches or in side canyons, wherever we can find shade. We like to get into camp early to allow time for each participant to find some solitude, and so the crew can prepare wholesome and tasty dinners. If you choose to join us on this trip, expect a degree of renewal far more profound than what you typically experience while on vacation. Expect your life to be changed.

We began taking private family trips down this river in 1992, and have returned many times since then. A few years ago, we began working occasional commercial trips, and this will be Joe's eigth season working regularly with Tour West. This will be our fourth charter trip with them, and our intention is to put together a dream crew and facilitate a truly memorable experience for our friends. The June 2008 trip was completed to great success, truly the trip of a lifetime. We will design the menu ourselves, as food is for us an essential component of a good trip. You'll find no rehydrated rice and beans or TVP here, but gourmet meals from fresh ingredients; the cargo space on a fleet of 18' rafts makes this the luxury cruise of back country trips. Guests are allowed but not required to help with meal preparation. We want to serve you and help you have as relaxing an experience as possible, but we have found that, as with any group of hungry people who enjoy each other's company, come evening the kitchen is often where the action is to be found.

If you are interested in joining us on this journey, please contact Joe or Lee as soon as possible. We will be happy to answer your questions. Space is limited. We are asking a $300 nonrefundable deposit to hold your place on the trip at this point. Make checks payable to Tour West. The balance will be due four months before departure. After the final payment is made there is a 50% cancellation fee deducted from your refund up to 60 days before we launch. After 60 days before launch there is no refund for cancellations. This is keeping with Tour West's cancellation policy. For this reason we recommend that you invest in a trip insurance policy to protect your payments, as some cancellations are unforeseen and unavoidable. We can provide you with trip insurance information at the time that we receive your deposit.

We look forward to sharing this trip of a life time with you.

Sincerely,

Joe and Lee Bennion
PO box 186
Spring City, UT 84662
435-462-2708
joe@joethepotter.com

PS: If you would like to see some great Grand Canyon trip photos here are some of our favorite internet sites:
http://rosebud.moenkopi.net/pics/gc2003oct/gcoct2003.html
http://www.panoramas.dk/fullscreen3/f8.htm
http://www.pbase.com/bmcelya/grand_canyon

In addition to these sites you can go to Joe's Potter's Journal icon and select the river running category. He has posted many images from river trips in the Grand Canyon and other streams.