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Caption: THE IMPORTANT PLACES RAFTING THE GRAND CANYON OF THE COLORADO WITH DAD
1970//2013
Caption: When I was born in the summer of 86’ my dad wrote me these words:
// The Important Places //
Child of mine, come as you grow in youth you will learn,
The secret places... ...the cave behind the waterfall,
The arms of the oak that hold you high,
The stars so near on a desert ledge...the important places.
And, as with age you choose your own way
Among the many faces of a busy world
May you always remember the path that leads back ...to the important places.
- Dad, for Forest 1986
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Caption: Like the river, time passes, flowing somewhere I cannot follow. Like the canyon we too are shaped by the passing of this river.
Yet unlike the canyon we have the ability, no matter our age, to choose where we lie in relation to the river, to stand on the shore, to circle in the eddies, or to cast ourselves into the currents that shape us.
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Caption: Old Man River || Heading West '70 || Dad and his gang of explorer scouts heading west from Maryland to the Grand Canyon in July of 1970 with homemade kayaks and big water dreams.
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Caption: Dad in 1970
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Caption: Heading West
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Caption: Donnie and Demory
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Caption: 1970 || The Colorado River || Footage from Dad's homemade gopro
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Caption: 43 YEARS LATER... 43 Years after Dad's first trip down the Colorado we went back together for a 28 day trip; November into December we floated, 15 of us on 6 rafts and 4 kayaks.
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Caption: Old Man River|| Dad back on the oars. At 77 he was the oldest of our party - and at 27 I was the youngest. Our combined maturity level and conversational skills were in the range of your average twelve year olds.
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Caption: Then & Now || Dad doesn't like the photo on the left because he thinks he looks old. I like it cause of how happy he is. And because he showed me you can be both.
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Caption: Then & Now || The Launch
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Caption: 1970 || Crystal Rapid
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Caption: Then & Now || Quiet Times
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Caption: Then & Now || Boat Metamorphis
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Caption: Then & Now || Camp Games
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Caption: 1970 || Feeding time
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Caption: Then & Now || The Cavern
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Caption: Then & Now || Flotillas
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Caption: Then & Now || Loungin'
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Caption: Old Man River || Sending postcards home from our one point of contact with the outside world - Phantom Ranch. The postcards will make the first leg of their journey out of the canyon on a burro pack train.
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Caption: Old Man River || Drying out after three steady days of rain - and snow up high on the canyon rim
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Caption: Old Man River || While we change and grow older, the joyful spirit that the river ignites is ever present, waiting for our return....
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Caption: 1970 || The Falls
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Caption: I think that when you are young, it seems as if there is an endless supply of time for a million adventurers - no hurry, tomorrow is always there.
But as the years pass you realize that there are not that many that you will experience even in a full lifetime.
To arrive in one of the later decades of my life, still physically fit, with a continuing desire for adventure...well, that is a gift indeed, and not one to be taken lightly.
Onwards.
- Dad
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Caption: WATCH THE FULL FILM:
https://vimeo.com/126544483