Autumn Extravaganza

   We’ve got quite a collection of events lined up for this Fall in and around Moab. Here are a few details:

Thursday: Green River, Utah

   We’ll meet at 1PM in the afternoon at the John Wesley Powell River History Museum, at the east end of the bridge. If you haven’t been there yet, now is the time. There are some great exhibits, including an old Galloway style boat, Don Harris’ Mexican Hat and others. Green River historian Roy Webb will be there to elaborate on what we see, tell stories and answer questions. Don’t miss it.
   About 3PM we’ll go next door to Holiday River Expeditions’ warehouse. Dee is hosting an open house and will have an informal presentation/question and answer session on the new Wilderness First Responder courses.
   Afterwards we’ll head over to Ray’s Tavern and socialize, maybe even have a burger and a beer.

Friday: Pack Creek Ranch

   Ken and Jane Sleight have graciously offered to host our meetings at their magnificent ranch. (Be sure to read the Pack Creek story on the next page.)
   We’ll be setting up our cook tent about noon-ish and have set aside all afternoon for brainstorming about the weekend, telling stories and visiting with old friends. Ken has put out an A.P.B. on old time boatmen, so we’re expecting to see quite a few faces from yesteryear’s rivers. After dinner we’ll have stories, and perhaps some movies or slides. Don’t miss it.

Saturday: Pack Creek Ranch

   About 9AM we’ll begin our fall GCRG meeting. We’ve got several presentations to make, a lot of news to bring you up to date on, and a few topics to discuss that we need your input on.
   After lunch we’ll begin formulating some sort of Upper Basin Guides Association. We can base it as closely or as loosely on what GCRG has done as you all like. What we really need here is a lot of energy and input. Hopefully by the end of the afternoon there’ll be enough of a consensus to nominate a steering committee for Sunday morning’s meeting.
   Dinner, Party, Old timers rendezvous part II, stories and some sort of show will follow. Perhaps a bring-your-own-instrument concert/dance.

Sunday Morning: Pack Creek

   About 9AM we are hypothesizing the first meeting of the new formed Upper Basin Assn. But frankly, things will be out of GCRG’s hands at that point. What happens is entirely up to YOU. We’ll help out in any way we can.
   After lunch, we’ll break down our equipment, clean up any messes we may have made, and move out.
   In the afternoon, Canyonlands Field Institute will be putting on an Endangered Fish Seminar at no charge. The location is uncertain right now- perhaps at their offices in town.

Monday and Tuesday: the River

   The plan is to have an overnight bring-your-own-boat float trip from Dewey Bridge down to Moab. The tentative camp is at the incomparably beautiful Onion Creek beach, where we can watch fall turning to winter on the LaSals, sunset on the Fisher Towers, and continue our plotting and scheming. Do come.

   Any questions? Contact Jimbo Buickerood at Outward Bound: (801) 259-6002

Gear Swap

   Canyonlands Field Institute will be holding a fund-raising outdoor gear swap at the Moab community center all weekend. You get 80%, they get 20%. Call Sharyl Kinnear-Ferris at (801) 259-7750 for details.

About Pack Creek

   Ken and Jane Sleight run this former working ranch as a guest ranch. It’s right at the foot of the LaSal Mountains, has a stream running through it and offers a fine vistas of the orange canyon cliffs in the valley below. Paradise.
   Ken, one of the elder statesmen of the river running community made the mistake of offering to host this fall’s gathering and we took him up on it.
   Here’s the deal:
   We’ll be using the grounds from mid-day Friday through mid-day Sunday, at no charge. GCRG will be supplying meals based out of our cook tent. Donation$ graciously accepted. You get to help cook and clean up! Cool, huh?

Accommodations

   For the typical boatmen on a tight budget, the best deal would be to camp just up the road beyond the Forest Service picnic area on public land. No charge.
   Or you can mooch off your friends in Moab.
   Local hotels will have economical off season rates.
   For those who’d like to stay on the premises, we have the ranch reserved for Friday and Saturday nights. Here are the rates:
   Bed in a cabin: $30/person/night
   Camping on the premises: $15.50/person/night
   (includes shower, jacuzzi, etc.)
   Day use of spa facilities: $7/person/day
   (bear in mind that it’s normally over $100 a night. Bear also in mind that the cost of maintaining sewage and fresh water facilities is extreme)
   Ken and Jane have extended the deadline for deposits, so send in a $20 check if you want to stay on the premises. Note: The cabins are nearly full!
   Since the GCRG folks will be boating ‘til then, contact Leann at Pack Creek: (801) 259-5505 or write: Box 1270, Moab, UT 84532

Alcohol

   Welcome to Utah. Pack Creek comes under the restaurant regulations. We have promised to be very careful about following them because we don’t want to get anyone into trouble. Here are the rules:
   Bring your own. One can only drink spirits purchased in Utah. Neither Pack Creek Ranch nor GCRG can sell or serve you any. Simple enough.

   The Sleights are being most generous to let us come. PLEASE, one and all, play by their rules and don’t abuse their hospitality. Anyone that gets out of line will have their heads pinched off by a committee of their peers.