"So, what's this page all about?" you ask? A web site guru told us we needed a "blog". We said, "what's a blog?". He just rolled his eyes. Well, this is our version of a blog! We hope you find these topics interesting, compelling, enlightening or at least something to kill time when you should be working!
Table of Contents: Jump downpage with these links
Many Demands for a Scarce Resource
2011 Photo Contest
Our Little Historic Boat
New Rafting Trip Photo Albums
Update! Lance Newman publishes The Grand Canyon Reader
Grand Canyon, South Kaibab Trail Construction Project
Mineral Bottom Road is OPEN!
Salt Lake Tribune Columnist Robert Kirby
Photo Contest Winners Announced
Astronomy Special
New Paddle Boats!
Photo Contest Deadline Soon!
Torqeedo Electric Outboard Motor in Grand Canyon
Mineral Bottom Road Destroyed by Flash Flood;
UPDATE! Mineral Canyon Road to Reopen March 29th, 2011
Vaughn Short Has Passed Away
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Vintage Image
Of The Month
1-1-12
Photos we have excavated
from the Moki Mac archives,
as well as old photos by
our guides and customers.
(See larger version here,
and view previous weeks' pics)
Have something you think we'd love?
Email it to us!
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Many demands for a scarce resource.
More water issues in the West.
There have been many recent news articles about proposals for diverting Green and Colorado River water for new growth and development schemes.
Aaron Million, a Denver Dreamer, is proposing a 550 mile long pipeline running from Flaming Gorge Reservoir up and over the Continental Divide for transporting 250,000 acre feet of Green River water per year to the Denver area. Estimated constructions costs have topped $9 Billion.
Southern Utah inhabitants are currently promoting a water pipeline which will move 70,000-100,000 acre feet of water per year 180 miles from Lake Powell to St. George and Iron County, at an estimated cost of $1.4-2.4 Billion
Proponents of both pipelines claim the planned hydroelectric generation opportunities of their systems will help pay for the energy needed to initially pump the water uphill. However, several studies have shown that there will still be a net power loss even if the electricity generated can be sold at peak power prices.
Ex-Utah legislator Aaron Tilton is attempting to get Federal Government licensing for a nuclear power generating plant near Green River, a small town in eastern Utah. He has secured water rights and transfer approval from the State of Utah enabling the proposed plant to divert 53,600 acre feet of water per year out of the Green River, which will be evaporated and not returned to the river.
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Is taking water from the river to help generate electricity at a nuclear plant which will run the pumps to move more water to suburban areas a sustainable practice? We think not. It's documented that the total water allotments of the Colorado River Basin system add up to more than the actual quantity of measured flows. Shouldn't a serious effort be made and dollars be spent on conservation education, xeriscaping public parks and properties, and encouraging residents to follow suit?
We believe that conservation is a much better strategy than unrestrained growth for the sake of growth.
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And we think you should take your kids on a river trip now, before we have to put wheels on the boats and drive down the dried up river beds on tours of what were once magical and scenic river canyons.
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2011 Moki Mac Customers'
Photo-Artwork-Writing Contest
Contest Rules Here
We’re announcing our FIFTH Photo & Art Contest!
The past four years have been very gratifying.
We have received hundreds of stunningly beautiful entries in our competitions.
This year we are expanding the scope of the challenge. Inspired by an NPR short story contest, we are requesting that each entry be accompanied by a small bit of text.
Tell us in 45 words or less what was on your mind when you took your photo or created your artwork. The beauty of the National Parks and public wilderness lands in which we operate has amazed visitors for many years. Tell us what inspired you. Choose your own format -- a poem, haiku, rhyme, limerick, freeform verse, story, comment -- whatever you like. Just remember, the limit is 45 words, short and snappy!
Entry deadline is February 29, 2012.
email your entry to mygreatphoto@mokimac.com
We know you are imaginative and creative. We can’t wait to see your masterpieces and read about your inspired moment! Please enter our contest, and astound us with your talent.
Prizes will include 2012 trip discounts for the winners as well as a choice from several book titles for one Grand Prize winner. All images and writing will be displayed on our website, and we have plans to create a 2013 calendar using the very best entries.
We will notify the winners by email on March 25th, 2012.
We are looking forward to seeing your masterpieces!
Contest Rules Here
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Our Little Historic Boat
The story of our dory.
The most recent issue of the BQR, (Boatman's Quarterly Review, a publication by and for the Grand Canyon River Guides' Association) featured an article about Fred and Margaret Eiseman, their 20 year Grand Canyon rafting history, and their wooden dory boats. We were reminded that a little wooden dory we now own is one of Fred's original boats. In 1972 Fred, acting on a recommendation from Martin Litton, commissioned an Oregon boat craftsman named Keith Steele to build a couple of wooden dories that could be relied on for six-week long fully outfitted Grand Canyon expeditions. Fred took delivery, and named his new craft the "Maggie" and simply "Boat". "Boat" was later renamed the "Estsan". They were such wonderful whitewater boats that Fred subsequently asked Keith to build two more.
Fred sold his dories when his river rafting career was over, one to an Arizona professor named Stan Brickler, who bought the Estsan. After Stan’s death, one of his students acquired the Estsan and renamed it the Stanley B. In 1991, Richard bought the Stanley B. He and Clair embarked on a restoration project of this little wooden boat, taking several years to get it river worthy again. They ultimately repainted and renamed it the “Al Quist” in honor of their father, who introduced them to river running in the first place. The Al Quist's latest expedition was down the Green River through Desolation Canyon in June 2011, at 34,000 CFS, with Richard. |
Thanks to Robert Kirby for this photo of Richard
and our historic boat, June 2011!
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Photo by Margaret Eiseman, of the Eiseman dories parked on a beach at the confluence of the Colorado River and the Little Colorado, in Grand Canyon, 1974.
Photo courtesy NAU Special Collections.
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Photo by Margaret Eiseman, of the Estsan in Crystal Rapid, on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, 1974. Photo courtesy NAU Special Collections.
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New Photos on the Moki Mac website!
Photo albums from our customers, guides and friends. We get so many links to great digital photo albums that we just have to share them with you. Visit our new page and enjoy all the amazing photos that have been taken during rafting vacations with Moki Mac.
And get your camera ready for your trip. We would love to see your photos too! Send us an email with a link and we will post it on our page. We also have an annual photo contest at the end of the rafting season. Look for an email announcing that sometime before the end of 2011. We love to see your wonderful pics!
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Lance Newman, River Guide and College Professor publishes
The Grand Canyon Reader
"The book is open, and I can read as I run." John Wesley Powell's quote opens Lance Newman's new compilation of western writings, The Grand Canyon Reader.
Update! The Grand Canyon Reader is available to order! Just call our office!
Lance has compiled a wonderful volume, choosing excerpts from some of the very best writing about the Grand Canyon. Modern writers' musings, essays, and fiction, early explorers' narratives, native american stories and more await you in this perfect companion to your canyon visit. Just a sample of the writers represented, John McPhee, Ann Zwinger, Edward Abbey, Terry Tempest Williams, Barry Lopez, Linda Hogan, and Craig Childs. Lance intends this book to be attractive to all visitors to the Grand Canyon, whether you simply view the spectacle from the rim, explore one of the many trails, or embark on a rafting trip through the very heart of the canyon on the Colorado River. These stories have been read, and will continue to be read around the evening campfire by river guides for many years, and we think the collection is superb. The publisher will have copies printed by September 2011, and we will have them available for purchase.
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South Kaibab Trail Reconstruction Project
Grand Canyon South Rim The $3.5 million reconstruction of the South Kaibab Trail from the South Rim to Phantom Ranch is nearly complete. Begun over a year ago, the maintenance project has significantly improved the quality of the trail. Mule use had been halted during the construction period, but will be reinstated beginning May 15, 2011. There are just two sections of the trail still under repairs, but that work is scheduled to be completed by the end of September, and is not currently hindering or blocking hikers or mule-trains. Read the Grand Canyon NPS's news release describing this massive trail reconstruction project here.
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Mineral Canyon Road Repairs Completed, Road Reopened
Green River Rafting, Utah Canoe Trips Grand County has just let us know that the Mineral Bottom road is open to vehicle traffic. Read the article in the Moab newspaper, here. After only 3 months of construction and well under budget, repairs are complete and the road is open. Hurrah! We can now resume our canoe rental pick-up services at Mineral Bottom boat ramp as well as driving our boats and gear to the river for our Cataract Canyon rafting trips. Call us soon to plan your canoe trip on the Green River through Labyrinth Canyon, or a whitewater rafting trip through Utah's spectacular Cataract Canyon.
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Green River Rafting Trip - Desolation Canyon
Salt Lake Tribune Columnist to raft the Green River with Moki Mac. Yup! Thats right! Robert Kirby, humorist for the Salt Lake Tribune will join us on a 5 day Green River rafting adventure this coming May 31st. Read the article about his plan for adventure here, and your opportunity to join his trip. Want to learn more about our Green River rafting trips? See our Desolation Canyon rafting page.
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2010 Photo & Art Contest.
Winners Announced, Images Posted We have completed our 2010 Customers' Photo & Art Contest judging, and have posted the winners and all the entries we received on our website. Thank you to everyone who participated, you have created many truly beautiful images. We are so impressed with your talent! See all the images on our Photo Contest page.
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Special Astronomy Trip July 29 - August 4, 2011.
Tavaputs Ranch and Green River in Desolation Canyon. There are few better places to see the night sky in all it's glory than from the Tavaputs Plateau. Stay up late with astronomy educator John Hinton watching the summer constellations and planets appear in the sky far from urban light pollution. This 7 day trip will begin with two days and nights at the Tavaputs Ranch, followed by 5 days (4 nights) rafting the Green River. Read more about it on our Specialty Trips page.
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Paddle Rafts Available on Utah River Rafting and Grand Canyon Rafting Trips
Paddle Boats! We have recently purchased several brand new DIB paddleboats. We have noticed an increase in requests from customers hoping for a more active role on many of our whitewater rafting trips, and we are happy to be able to grant their wish. We will be offering a paddle option on most of our Grand Canyon rafting and Utah rafting trips, with the exception of very high water spring trips in Cataract Canyon and Westwater Canyon. If you have a group who wishes to be more actively involved during their river trip just let us know. We will provide a guide on each paddle raft to train and coordinate a paddle team of 4 to 6 people. This is a great way to increase your activity level on a rafting trip, build team unity and learn rafting skills.
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Enter Our Photo & Art Contest And Show Off Your Talent!
Photo Contest. Our annual Photo Contest deadline is approaching. February 15, 2011 is the last date we will accept entries in our 2010 Rafting Season Photo and Art Contest. This will be the 4th year of our contest, and we have received some absolutely wonderful images in the past. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to show off your favorite photos from your rafting vacation. We will post all the photos on our website for the whole world to see, and may use yours in a future promotional brochure or calendar! Here is a link to the contest rules page. Use the email link on that page to submit your photo. We can’t wait to see and share with you all the wonderful creative artwork our customers produce!
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2007 Cathy Rezabeck |
2008 Jim Jarrett |
2009 Rick Davis |
Torqeedo Electric Outboard Motor in Grand Canyon.
Grand Canyon. Moki Mac is the first outfitter in Grand Canyon to take a commercially manufactured electric outboard motor on a down-canyon whitewater rafting trip on the Colorado River. After much research we found “Torqeedo”, a manufacturer of battery powered electric outboard motors. They agreed to loan us one of their motors to test on our inflatable whitewater rafts. We were a little surprised when we opened the box in which the motor arrived to see how "petite" it was compared to the 4-stroke gasoline motors we use on our motorized trips. Honestly, we were dubious it would actually have the oomph to push a raft, even though we had seen video of the same motor propelling a 16 ft. Hobie catamaran on the Pacific Ocean between Long Beach and Catalina Island.
Clair and Richard rigged one of our smaller 18 foot “mini-snout’s” and launched at Lees Ferry for an up-river test in an unloaded raft. We were pleased and surprised at the little motor’s ability to run upriver against the current. This high efficiency 24 volt electric motor was powered by two 12 volt 105 amp AGM batteries. Lithium-manganese battery technology predicts run times of up to 16 hrs. before the batteries need charging. We were also pleased to note that the noise level was almost nothing, just a low decibel whine. What a great contrast to the relatively noisy gasoline outboards we use now, (even though the 4-stroke technology has dropped the decibel level considerably from the days of the old 2-stroke motors).
Impressed with the first test, Clair took the same motor on an 8 day down-canyon trip a few weeks later. He ran a 22 foot snout boat with full equipment load and passengers, and was able to charge the batteries using a portable solar panel. While he used his back-up gas powered motor to run many of the largest rapids, he was able to utilize the electric motor during a significant portion of the trip. We think this technology has great potential for Grand Canyon whitewater rafting applications, and are planning further trials. We forsee the Torqeedo's intial use as an alternative to the gas motors when navigating the flat water sections of the canyon. We continue to evaluate advanced portable solar panel technology to keep the batteries charged while on the river.
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Clair and Pam try out the Torqeedo on an 18-foot mini snout
on the Colorado River at Lees Ferry. Note the size of the gasoline powered outboard engine on the raft just upstream.
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The Torqeedo shown on the motor stand in our warehouse, for size comparison with our 4-stroke gasoline powered outboard motors. |
Want to see it in action?
Link to video of our Torqeedo outboard motor trial on the Colorado River at Lees Ferry here.
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Mineral Canyon Road Destroyed by Flash Flood, Repairs Begun
UPDATE! Grand County recently announced that the Mineral Canyon Road repair work should be finished by the end of March, and the road will reopen to the public on March 29, 2011.
Utah. Intense August thunderstorms last year set off a series of flash floods that completely destroyed the Mineral Canyon road from Dead Horse Point State Park down to the Mineral Bottom boat ramp/river access on the Green River. This road was originally built during the 1940s uranium boom to access mining activity in the area, and has been a valuable recreation asset for many years since. This closure affects countless different activities in the area, including our canoe rentals, as the Mineral Bottom boat ramp has always been the take-out site for the Labyrinth Canyon flat water float trips. The White Rim Trail biking loop is in jeopardy, as the final ascent of the trail wound its way up this road.
Grand County and the BLM applied for a grant from the US Dept. of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. Funding assistance from USDOT’s program of Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads was acquired for the repairs after an assessment of the economic impact of the road closure, and the extraordinary measures that the repairs will require. The project was put up for bid and the job was awarded to a Moab construction company. Work commenced in early December. Given the extreme damage the storm caused, the estimate of a completion date is “sometime in the spring of 2011”. As we receive additional information, we will update this article. (See photos of the road damage on the Utah State Parks and Rec. site here.)
As an alternative takeout location for canoe trips leaving Green River State Park, we are suggesting Spring Canyon. This site is about 15 miles upstream from Mineral Bottom, on river right, and will require a 4 mile hike from the river up the road to the closest location we can drive a passenger van. We are able to bring a truck nearly to the river, to load gear and canoes. Call us for updated information about this takeout option if you are planning a Green River Canoe Adventure.
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Author Vaughn Short Passes Away
We were deeply saddened by the news that our very good friend Vaughn Short passed away on November 16, 2010 at the age of 87.
Author, poet, artist and self described as “the oldest swamper in the world”, Vaughn also wore many other hats during his lifetime, and embarked on many adventures. Author of several tomes of poetry, most notably Raging River Lonely Trail and Two Worlds, Vaughn had a deep appreciation for the desert southwest, its canyons and the rivers running through it, as well as a superb sense of humor and ironic wit.
There is a copy of Vaughn’s poetry in the library box on every single rafting trip we run and we don’t know a river guide who doesn’t have a personal copy. On countless occasions, a poem by Vaughn has delighted a group of rafters during an evening reading on a beach alongside the River. We have had the great fortune of knowing Vaughn for over 40 years, and will miss him profoundly.
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Vaughn's daughters have posted a memorial website.
We have included a link to it here.
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