There's This River... Grand Canyon Boatman Stories

by Christa Sadler

An anthology of stories and artwork produced entirely by the river guiding community of Grand Canyon. Often hilarious, sometimes bittersweet and always entertaining, these true tales tell the stories of a landscape, a lifestyle and a unique community.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Outdoors

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Christa Sadler has worked in the outdoors in one form or another for more than twenty years. She is a geologist, educator, writer and naturalist with a serious addiction to rivers, deserts, mountains and, at times, chocolate. She received her Bachelor's degree in Physical Anthropology and Archeology from the University of California at Berkeley, and her Master's degree in Earth Sciences from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Reviews

[Dave B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to read after the canyon rafting trip as you recognize the different places on the river and the boat life is like.

[Gregory Lamb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was inspired to read this collection after finishing Fedarko's "The Emerald Mile." These are more than just stories written by Colorado River guides. Every story is a personal account about an experience on the river, in a boat, and best of all, in the Grand Canyon.

This book belongs on the shelves of those who love the Grand Canyon, a must read for anyone who wishes to relive a white water experience - Arm Chair traveling at its best - raw, gritty, humorous, and fun!

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Makes me want to do another rafting trip through the Grand Canyon!

[Alana Sweeney · Rating 5 out of 5]

what an amazing insight on the life of a Grand Canyon boatman! I read a good chunk of this while I was rafting the canyon & it was so inspiring & eye-opening. It also made me realize I want to go again soon…

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There's This River..." is a collection of 36 short stories by Boatmen (river guides) who work or worked on the Colorado River taking clients through the Grand Canyon. These are stories about their lives on the river; some funny, some poignant, and some sad. These stories will only really make sense if you have made this trip. In that case, you should enjoy the hell out of them. I recommend it. You might even consider reading it in a sleeping bag under the Grand Canyon stars - hard to beat!

[Antonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nostalgic read for me...having been an apprentice boat person for AZRA, I knew many of the names in this book, and I was happy to be rafting again with them...the sights, smells, sounds are accurate here and worked to inspire me to take another trip down into the big ditch. Fond memories about the canyon and the remarkable people who work there.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read! At turns hilarious, serious, poignant, and irreverent, these stories reveal a world that not that many people get to experience, and do so in way that makes the reader feel like part of an exclusive club.

[Stacey Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you read the reviews here, you’ll see that most people like to talk about their connection to the river and its friends. I am no different. Read this book after a family trip down the canyon—a trip 20 years in the making for us—and loved reliving the fun. Faith in the dry season... just what I needed to read to remember the hope as I finish this collection of stories in the fall. Hope to go back to the canyon someday. Trip of a lifetime, made all the better by all the stories.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, fun read providing insight to the Guides love of running the Grand Canyon, devotion to creating a glorious experience for their guests and the tightness of the Guide Family. Just passed off to my son, Brent, a river raft guide but not the Grand Canyon.

[River James · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's probably the best primer for your once in a lifetime river trip down the Grand Canyon. I read Christa's Blacktail story to a group we were guiding down the river and kinda freaked everyone out. That's good stuff!

[Rob Melich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun , and some thoughtful stories.
If only one Rebecca Lawton’s “Faith in the Dry Season “

[Dory · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read - a series of wild stories told by some of the boatmen who run the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

[Kim Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enjoyable compilation of short stories by river guides who know and love the river and the canyon. A must read for those anticipating a trip down the Colorado through the Gand Canyon.

[Valarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading these stories. It really brought me back to my river trip (upper half in 2007?). Such a great experience. Everyone should go a rafting trip if they have a chance!

[Scott Barnicle]

I really enjoyed this read. Outdoor escapism in such a fine way

[Cole Toothaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious and profound tales from the river. I enjoyed it all the more because I have been to many of the places they reference

[Angelica Cronin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect for what it is.

[Renee Putman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sit back and enjoy a trip down the Colorado River white water rafting. There's this River is a collection of river guide stories down the Colorado River thru the Grand Canyon and about the life style, landscape and community.

[John Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I imagine this collection of boatman stories would be far better if you have gone on a river trip in the Grand Canyon. If you haven't, though, let that not be a deterrent from reading: I have not gone on a river trip in the Grand Canyon and never planned on doing so, but after reading these stories I am now seriously considering it.

Yet the reason that I say this collection of stories might be better if you have gone on a trip is that some of the stories are either not all that interesting or are more like sketches that don't seem to even try to be interesting. To those who have gone on a river trip, these sketches, the brief remembrances of moments in time, would be far more interesting because they'd then speak to a memory or memories of the reader. But if you have no memory of a river trip down the canyon, reading someone else say, "The rock was red as a really red fish," you'd think, "So the heck what? I can see that from the top of the Canyon if I want to."

In general, though, these stories are both interesting and usually comedic. Some of the writers are clearly good and natural story-tellers that could make any bland story jar a reader's laugh cavities. And some of the stories transcend the Grand Canyon, hitting themes that are as timeless and worthwhile as the Canyon itself.

I personally picked up this book at a Grand Canyon store, and read it because it is nearly my one-year anniversary of my first, and perhaps only, trip to the Canyon. I recommend it to anyone who has been to the Canyon and to anyone who is thinking about taking on an adventure.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a friend when I was looking for something "happy/uplifting, not demanding a lot of thought but not a waste of time," and while it did fit that criteria, it turned out to be so much more than that. The book is a collection of stories by some of the boatmen of the Grand Canyon; I expected to read tales of adventures similar to Charles R. "Butch" Farabee, Jr's book "Death, Daring, & Disaster: Search and Rescue in the National Parks," which is filled with tales of visitors to national parks who need to be rescued because of their own choices and mistakes. "There's This River" isn't mostly about the visitors. It contains snapshots into a way of life that is rich, rewarding, dangerous, serious, funny and wise. I have never been on a river trip and I know that I wouldn't enjoy it (knowing my own limits!), but that didn't affect my appreciation of this book; while there were details of navigating the river that I couldn't identify with or completely comprehend, it didn't matter. I still was able to acknowledge the meaning of the experiences. "There's This River . . ." is a wonderful, respectful and thought provoking book.

[Cassandra Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this compilation of stories about the power of nature told from the boatsmen perspective - especially poignant after experiencing the canyon on a rafting trip this summer

[Suzanne Earley · Rating 5 out of 5]

On our Grand Canyon river trip, one of the guides read us several stories. We enjoyed them enough to want to pick up a copy of the book for ourselves.

Most of the stories are quite funny, and I had trouble reading them out loud in the car, I was laughing so hard.

Most are older stories, and I wish there was another volume of stories from more recent river guides and trips. Maybe someone will start another collection.

Having just been through the Grand Canyon, this was a wonderful way for us to relive a bit of our trip.

[Bobbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book after a backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon. Our route took us along the river for a couple of days where we encountered a couple of raft trips. I had never before wanted to raft the Colorado river, but seeing what it could be like "at eye level" triggered something.

This book is a collection of stories from river guides. It is wonderful. The stories are harrowing, heartwarming and sometimes very gentle and insightful.

[Lynette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of river stories & art work. My boatman in 2012 recommended this book as one of his favorite pieces of river literature - and I can see why - the river boatman sense of humor shines through in a great many of these stories!! Also reaffirms my theories about creative people and the great outdoors... many of these authors write or paint or photograph for a living, and the book provides bios and web references for further investigation. Yay!

[Gus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book shortly after I took my trip down the grand canyon with my dad as a boatman's apprentice. I liked it a lot because a lot of the authors and characters are people I have met and been on river trips with. It is a wonder that I am not a better story-teller by now because I've been surrounded by boatmen most of my life.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well travelled friend who had just booked a vacation for a raft trip through the Grand Canyon loaned me this book. I was never crazy about the idea of a raft trip, but this book might have covinced me to change my mind.

When the friend returned from his trip, he declared it was the best use of vacation dollars in his life.

[Andrew Walls · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christa has compiled an excellent colleciton of tales from the Colorado river inthe Grand Canyon. Told mainly fromt he perspective of river guides, the stories provide whimsy, humor and alos a sense of the grandeur and wonder that is the Grand Canyon.

[Benjamin Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I genuinely savored each tale in this anthology. For those who have experienced Grand Canyon, no explanation is necessary, For those who haven't no mere words could possibly be enough, but this book comes close. I can't wait to go back over and over again.

[Darryl Knudsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun romp as I gear up for my first Canyon descent this fall. It took me back to the moods, mindset, and mayhem of my days as a professional guide (on other rivers), even as it introduced me to a whole new ecosystem of geology, rapids, guides, and lore. Recommended!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read these great stories of river running while on my second Green River kayak trip and what a great supplement to what I was experiencing!