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"On the Colorado River through Arizona's Grand Canyon, then and now"
Enjoy the grandeur of the Grand Canyon from the bottom looking up - at the big water and at the magnificent geology of the canyon walls. The presentation will feature digital images from a 1974 trip by Natalie Wiest, and a 2018 trip by John and Ann Olden. Natalie paddled a homemade kayak on a private raft-supported trip; while John and Ann enjoyed riding a professional dory.
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 Natalie has 50 years of paddling experience, beginning as an undergraduate student at Penn State and under the tutelage of whitewater slalom-racing legend, John Sweet. She built her first kayak in Mr. Sweet's garage and that was the model she subsequently paddled through the Grand Canyon. She spent five years paddling the whitewater in and around Knoxville TN as she worked as a librarian for the University of Tennessee. Once she moved to Houston in 1981 she started paddling with the Houston Canoe Club and the Diehl brothers, John and James. Now retired from Texas A&M University at Galveston, she happily paddles through the flatwater of our well-watered coastal plain.
In 2012 she released a much anticipated guide book, "Canoeing and Kayaking Houston Waterways" (River Books, published by Texas A&M University Press). The book covers the paddling area about seventy-five miles within downtown Houston. That is some 1,500 miles of rivers, creeks, lakes, bayous, and bays which await discovery. "Canoeing and Kayaking Houston Waterways", by longtime paddler Natalie Wiest, is the perfect companion for anyone who wants to experience Houston’s well-watered landscape from the seat of a kayak or canoe.
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