Learning To Speak River

The author began boating in 1966 on the Ohio River where he grew up. His serious river running career started shortly after 1980, however, when he moved to southern Utah to accept a university professorship. He first floated the San Juan River in southeast Utah in 1983. It changed his life. He bought a raft and then later added an Ouzel Dory and an inflatable kayak. Every May when school ended, he headed off to run various western rivers--the San Juan, Desolation Canyon, Lodore Canyon, the Yampa River, the Grand Canyon, Cataract Canyon, and many others. With family, friends, and professional colleagues, he has made over 100 private whitewater runs. Running rivers also led him to research and write numerous award-winning books on river history, including River Flowing from the Sunrise: An Environmental History of the Lower San Juan (2000, with Robert S. McPherson) and The Crimson Cowboys: The Remarkable Odyssey of the 1931 Claflin Emerson Expedition (2018, with Jerry D. Spangler). Now 77, the author looks back on his river adventures and recounts the beauty, the terror, the wonder, and the humor of his most memorable trips. Written primarily for his daughter who first ran the river in 1991, he ends his narrative eagerly anticipating more trips with her and his two grandsons.