Bad Run at Badger Rapid, 1983

 

Photo courtesy Bill Schoening, Grand Canyon National Park Museum Collection

Last May, Gary Ldd and I talked about his 1983 high water Grand Canyon river trip in Part 9 of the oral history series that Gary and I are doing. Gary recounted that on the very first day after their launch at Lees Ferry, Larry Testerman impaled his dory GREAT THUMB on the right-side rocks in Badger Rapid. Before he abandoned ship, Larry wedged his oars upright in the boat so they would be seen by river trips arriving at the rapid. As if that wasn’t enough, Larry broke his leg when he abandoned the Thumb and tried to swim to shore.

 

While we were visiting, Gary showed me 7 bankers’ boxes of color slides and medium format images belonging to Gary's long time friend Bill Schoening. Bill had been on that 1983 river trip and given these 7 boxes of his river running photos to Gary. I asked Gary if I could find homes for Bill’s photos and he said Yes!

 

This last Thursday I had another wonderful oral history visit with Gary in Page, AZ. We talked for almost two hours. Gary recounted the amazing story of how he met David and Rebecca Kiel in 1983 as they passed by Page on their hike from the Continental Divide to the Sea of Cortez along the Colorado River.

While in Page, I delivered Bill’s Glen Canyon pictures to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area’s Museum Collection. Weeks earlier I'd delivered his Grand Canyon photos to the Museum Collection at Grand Canyon National Park.

 

Thank you Gary! This is SO Fun!!

 

You can hear Gary’s oral histories here: https://grandcanyonazus.com/index.html

Click on the Oral Histories tab and then scroll down and click on the L page.