Top 10 Inspiring Images from our Guests
December 13, 2021
We’ve compiled a list of our Top 10 Inspiring Images from guests over the past few years, and are excited to share it with you. One of the joys of social media is the ability to be able to receive images from our guests as well as share our own. Our guest’s perspective is oftentimes unique in that they are experiencing these places for the first time, and the images and captions they write to go along with are oftentimes filled with amazement and wonder for their experience in these wild places. We hope you enjoy our Top 10 images and captions below!
Courtney Gaylord
“The best memories are made on the river.”
Glen Canyon Institute
“This past weekend, GCI embarked on its annual trip with Holiday River Expeditions down the San Juan River through Southern Utah’s red rock country. The group pictured here was a diverse crew from all over the country whose stories made the voyage interesting and lively. We had an amazing time exploring the river and its side canyons. Look for a full report coming soon.”
Discover Utah Kids
“Ready to be on the river. Anyone planning a river trip this summer?”
Jack Stauss
“I had the amazing privilege again this year to go on the annual GCI San Juan trip. I learned many things from a diverse group of people. Pictured here is Martha. Martha is from Navajo Mountain and helped me to better understand the Navajo culture. Here’s what she taught me right after this photo was taken: I hiked out with Martha. She took slow, calculated steps through the desert, using her walking stick to pace herself. We stopped at the remains of a Navajo Hogan. She told me the story of the Hogan, which in turn told the story of the universe through the lens of the Navajo. The only part of the Hogan which was still standing was the door frame. She said, “notice how the door faces east; all Hogan’s doors face east.” At the base of the door, if we were to dig a hole there, we would find a white shell. The white shell, and the east signify morning, the first light of the new day.
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She continued to tell me about the sacred colors, compass, and life cycle of the Navajo people. The white shell of the morning light signifies infancy and means “thinking” or conceiving ideas. South is blue for the color of the sky when the sun is up. It stands for youth and means “planning” so you can act on your ideas. West is yellow. Which depicts the afternoon/ evening sky. It is adult and family life. It shows people coming together. It’s the carrying out of your ideas. North is black. Black is nighttime, it is old age. It also means assurance. When you are old, you know you have lived life, done well, and your family will carry on your legacy. At the Hogan, stones or shells that correspond with the color would be buried at the foot of the wall that faced the direction that aligned with the color.
This whole system is the universe. These colors, symbols, and the Hogan itself are arranged in a circle so you know that life will continue. Just as each day starts anew, so does this pattern of living. The circle has a complex name, “Si’ah Naaghai Bik’eh Hozhoon.” Martha realizes many people cannot pronounce this so the Navajo give it an acronym: SNBH. The meaning of SNBH is this: A long, beautiful, harmonious life.”
Preston Constantine
“I had the opportunity to raft this river for four days with my close friends and family. It was the most meaningful and beautiful trip I have taken in a very long time. I watched our families connect in a deep and profound way, witnessed and was educated in the unspoiled wilderness around us, and drank so much beer. I’ve never felt so much love and happiness. Thank you @bikeraft for providing such an experience, and many thanks to our hard-working guides.”
Rhonda Mills
“Longing for canyon time today, and reflecting back to our beautiful September run of Westwater Canyon with our great friends at Holiday River Expeditions. If you have yet to raft out West, this is a perfect first-timer’s river trip. The scenery is classic Colorado River canyon country and I promise it will leave you wanting for more.”
Lexie Dowdle
“LAYERS OF LODORE
If I could have one superpower it would be the ability to watch the earth unfold in geologic time. Just push play and see how the Tetons formed, watch glaciers serve up Little Cottonwood, or see how deposition, uplift, erosion, and downcutting eventually exposed the 23 different rock layers within @dinosaurnps.
I just completed a 4-day float down the Green River on a women’s yoga retreat with @rewikstrom to check out Holiday’s Gates of Lodore trip. We had some times! The wish for my superpower is stronger than ever…”
Brad Wiggins
“Let’s get muddy! Adult Burn Camp 2013!”
Tori Duhaime
“If there is one thing I want you to know I believe from the bottom of my heart: It is that you are so beautiful when you wake up outdoors and you deserve to see it for yourself to believe it.
Take more tent, hammock nap, sandbar under the stars, back of a truck bed, just woke up, windburned from the day before, static hair, baggy eyes, dog slobbered face, sore muscles, maybe hungover, too cold to get up to pee, my sleeping pad is flat, get me coffee now – selfies.
Trust me. Your heart is showing in those and they are my favorite.
Photo taken on Ute, Eastern Shoshone, Southern Paiute, and Pueblo territories”
Hannah Martin
“Feed your souls with isolation.”
Thank you to everyone who shares these special places with us; on the river and off the river. We look forward to every river trip photo you share. Remember to tag us @bikeraft and #myholidayway when you post your Holiday memories!
Sincerely your social media girl,
Natalie Osborn