We suspect that everyone who does a Grand Canyon rafting trip feels a stirring in their soul. Some, like Dr. Blake have been able to place words and artistry to the feelings. He has granted us permission to post and share the following poem and link to a video of playing the Native American flute in the heart of the canyon:
May 24, 2012
Dear Evan, Ben, Sam and Wren, Thank you for being the best guides in the Grand Canyon and for making my 65th birthday so special. Here is a poem I wrote a few days after my trip with you guys. I want you to share it with all you know. You are the best of the best.. Keep being yourselves and loving your lives. Always walk on the edge and never just take up space. :O)).
OAO, Dr. Steve www.thepetwhisperer.com
Her Majesty, The Grand Canyon By Dr. Stephen R. Blake
Sixty-five years had come and gone, But the voice of the great canyon was ever so strong. She had been calling me all these years, Now was the time for me to appear. It has been said for eternity, The teacher will appear when the student was ready. I heard her stillness calling me from far away, In my heart I knew it was the day. When we met for the very first day, The Grand Canyon blew me away. Her beauty was beyond compare, I felt her gentleness in the warm air. All my fellow rafters felt the adventure, They all knew it was going to be a heart wrenches. I heard voices of the ancient ones, Welcoming us all back with the rising sun. Her liquid love was oh so cold, Less than fifty degrees, made my joints really feel old. One hundred degrees and sometimes more, Made me mindful that dehydration is not folk lore. What a rush it was to see, Straddling a rubber pontoon and a wave crashing over me. The rapids were oh so cold and so strong, It felt like the great river was playing ping pong . Teeth chattering, eyes so wide, I was smiling on life’s greatest ride. No matter how hot or cold I became, I knew I wasn’t taking up space, I was in the great game. As darkness squeezed away the last rays of the sun, I knew in depths of my heart, this was only the beginning of some really great fun. Upon a cliff I put my cot, No tent to block my view. The vision of the Big Dipper and Milky Way, They kept me company before each day. When our camp was dark and still, Out came my Indian flute and her voice soared on the winds of the night. Silence, Laughter, smiles and tears of joy filled each day, In our hearts we were all being loved in a very special way. The time would come soon enough when we had to say goodbye. Goodbye to her majesty, The Grand Canyon who had set all our hearts free. Free to be the kind spirits shining so bright, Wise, wild and free, soaring in the great canyon of life. The great teacher touched our hearts. To the four winds we have gone but we will never be apart.
Grand Canyon Rafting Trips – Western River Expeditions
