I love being in Desolation Canyon. I love being on the river. I think that here is real healing that happens uh, down these canyon walls. I think there’s real connections to nature and to people that I just really don’t think you get anywhere else. I’ve never seen the transformation that can happen from day one to day five, like you have here.

I’ve really found a lot of hope and a lot of healing through coming through these canyons. The river really is about family. when I see, like, little kids come through here, I want them to feel that. I want them to feel how special it is to be down here.

Adults come on the trip, and they really seem to understand the grandeur of the land that we’re in. They understand, you know, how old, you know, these rocks are and how beautiful it is, and how incredible that we get to be in such a remote location. And then you have these little kids that understand that it is so much fun to play in sand and dirt and just, you know, play in the water and stuff like that. you can’t really point out to a kid and say like, “look at how incredible this is.”, because they don’t really get that, but kids understand the way that they’re being treated. And they - that’s how kids feel special. So I know that when I’m giving extra attention to, you know, some smaller children, and I’m, you know, getting their food for them, I’m playing games with them and talking to them, I know that those are the feelings, those are the things they’re going to remember.

I think it’s so incredible, and I’m so lucky that I get to experience that every single day, every single week, with a new group of people. And it’s, it’s not something that I take for granted at all. so for anyone that wants to…have an experience that their family can look back on in twenty years and remember how incredible it was, and to remember the closeness that they felt, this is the place to do it. Desolation Canyon is a perfect family trip! I might cry!