Canyon Memories, Mama Memories.

 

Way back in 1992 my Mama Bear and I went on a road trip that took us to Flagstaff, Arizona. From there we set out on a 13 day whitewater rafting trip down the Colorado River that cut through the magnificent Grand Canyon and three states. To this day I remember so much of that adventure down to minute detail, but this adventure was so much more about my Mom and her love affair with this incredible place.

And now, 30 years later my Mama has passed on into the ether and though her body has expired, her essence lives on and I always felt her joy whenever we'd reminisce about that 2 weeks in one of earths oldest and most gorgeous of glories. I am certain that her massive spirit has been bombing around the peaks and valleys, the twisty river turns, and the ancient secret fresh water lakes hidden deep within the Canyons folds. 

She wrote a love song to Mama Grand soon after we ended our river trip and it was actually published in the Arizona Rafting Adventures newsletter a month or so later. I know my mom was a smart cookie, but I hadn't realized until rereading this just how beautiful a writer she was. I guess she passed down a tiny shred of that to me.

Thank you, Dianne Yvonne Pike. I miss you so fucking much. Here is MY birthday present to YOU. May you live on for millions of years in the memory of rock, sand, water, stars, air, humans, and beasts.

"Canyon Memories"

One after another we pushed off, and so began our journey. Some came to find peace, some came for the adventure, some came for the love of it, some came for the challenge of it and some came to fulfill a life long dream. And though our reasons for being there were diverse, we were startlingly harmonious in our respect and awe of this place carved and created by the elements. 

I know that from the moment we slipped into the Canyons mouth that this was a special place. By day, gliding down the river, with coloured forms in three dimensions draped before our eyes. Protected by stalwart guardians and cyclopian forms dressed in swirling colours and stacked by layers of time; an age far too vast for simple man to comprehend.

We step into a side canyon and are treated to amphitheaters as tall as buildings, grottos so still you can hear your own heartbeat, your breath sounding like a hiss.

By night, staring up into a heaven cut by the cleavage of the canyon, the stars as numerous as the grains of sand we lie upon, feeling incredibly privileged to be witnessing a night sky uncluttered by man made things.

We came together as strangers and departed 13 days later as friends who'd shared an experience they'd never forget. Strangers, who in a very short time left their image etched in my memory.  The comedians who always provided a laugh despite their own discomfort and who would always draw first blood when we'd have our daily "water wars". The teachers whose patience, encouragement, and knowledge shared with all of us, helping me to discover the treasures of this grand place. The gentle strangers who personified peace. The athletes whose energy was seemingly endless. I admired them so much despite my inability to keep up with them.....

And in the end it must be said that I have never been to a place so beautiful that it aches in my soul. For me the Canyon held out her hand and I grasped it, and now I am unable to let go. 

I've tried in vain to sing the praises of this place but find that words are woefully inadequate, and so I find, as much as I would like to, I cannot share this Grand Canyon love affair except with you, my fellow "river rats"

~ Thank you, I love you. N (and D)