Utah - Introduction

The entries below, through June 5, 2005, report my family vacation to Utah this summer. (Please note that I am still making and correcting entries.) You won't see or read about much canoeing, but you will see some incredible photographs of us rafting down the Green River, a Utah river known world wide for its beauty and trout fishing. The picture above, starting from the right, is the Director (my wife Marlenia), the First Paddler (our 8 year old son) and the Second Paddler (myself) on the banks of the Green River. You can see a larger version of the picture by clicking on it.

We are especially thankful for our wonderful and gracious hosts Hal E. and Yvonne P.-E. for their keeping us during the week and allowing us to crash their home in Salt Lake City. They have two great kids, Martin and Nick, who are also central to our enjoyment of this trip.

Special thanks go out to Uncle Hal for safely guiding us down Section A of the Green River. Thanks also go out to the First Paddler and Martin for being such good companions and skilled rafters and fishermen. And, we can't ignore the Chief Water Splasher (our daughter Grace) and Nick, two of the best 3 year olds around. (They are waiting patiently for their turn down the Green River when they get old enough.) Thank you also goes out Aunt Yvonne for looking after them while the rest of us floated down the river.

The National Canoe Journal is a site the First Paddler and I are doing for fun. We've been doing this for about a year and a half now. It's a .com, but there's no money to be made here. Our principal goal, other than to get out in the wilds in a canoe or kayak, is to have fun together and explore the planet. Go places we have never gone before. Do things we have never done before. (I am pleased to say that the Chief Water Splasher is coming along as she matures into paddling in Lake Austin, near our home in Austin, Texas.) It's more than about the canoe, kayak or the raft as the case may during this trip. It's about the adventure of living together and celebrating life. Paddling together is our way of staying together.

Thank you Marlenia for the fly fishing rod and reel. I've always wanted to fly fish with you. And now we have...on the Green River.

If you would like to learn more about this trip, make a comment, or share with me your story about the Green River, you can contact me via email or use the comment link below each entry.


Photo by GN. Copyrighted