Once-in-a-Generation

Sometimes, taking a river trip can change your life.

Sometimes canceling one can too.

We got a phone call from George Zollner the other day.

He was asking about a 6-day Westwater Canyon trip that he had reserved, paid for, and then had to cancel. He couldn’t find any record of a refund from ARTA and was wondering if we had any information.

We never did it!

Had we, it would have been a lifetime memory. I have contacted everyone that might have a recollection, and no one could recall any details. One of the documents (copy) I am sending appears to have a half-page missing that might have been our request for a refund? I don’t have a copy of that half-page in my papers here.

So if there is any archive at your organization, which back then was at 1016 Jackson Street, Oakland, California, that could be accessed… perhaps the missing detail about our cancelled adventure could be found. I know this is an “off-the-wall” request, but if possible, I’d like to know what happened so many years ago that made us cancel such an exciting adventure.

Please do what you can and let me know what you find.

George Zollner
Battle Creek, MI

After some more digging, I think I’ve discovered why the ARTA trip didn’t happen in 1972. I’d like to share what I know about the canceling and why that even happened, especially since I piqued your interest with my stories and questions.

It seems from a letter dated June 28, 1972 (the same date of a letter from ARTA to me confirming we launch on August 1), Carlene wrote me from California where she had traveled with her sister to try to get a better understanding of her life going forward and if “I” was the right choice for her going forward.

Since I wasn’t sure she was returning, I made the decision to cancel the rafting trip and recover our deposit.

Carlene seemed to think the San Francisco area had the answers she sought, because she went back again in the summer of 1973 to “clear her head”.

She came back, and we did get married in November.

I’m glad she finally chose me because we did amazing things and had a wonderful journey together for 47-plus years.

I’m including a photo of Carlene and me from 1972 to show you what we looked like then. Maybe it has merit enough to be on your office wall somewhere? It’s always nice to be remembered.

Also, we did take a raft trip in 1976 that may have been the same stretch of the Colorado River we had booked with ARTA? We did it with Carlene’s family and had a blast.

The trip was 3 ½ days on the river. We stayed at a place called “The Electric Dude Ranch” for dinner, drinks, and lodging. The company name on the big raft was “Western Adventure Safaris” and we had two guides. It was a lot of fun.

I’m including several photos and some slides showing topography you might recognize along the Colorado. Also of interest are pictures of smaller, silver-colored rafts (4-man? 6-man?) that were navigating what our guides called “Skull Rapids” on the last day of our adventure. Maybe they were ARTA rafts and wouldn’t that be special if you had that part of your history to archive. During the whitewater portion, one of the silver rafts got hung up in an eddy and our big motorized raft went up current and pulled them out. I’m including what I can from the trip file to add detail. Hopefully it is a valuable addition to your history collection.

I’d love to hear back from you, especially if you can add detail or embellish what I shared. It’s been fun sharing this adventure and the associated stories from 1972 and 1976.

Best regards,
George Zollner