Wrap Up

I've been involved with the Verde River for 30 years. For more than 20 years, the Verde River was the focal point of my entire life. The river pretty much defined me to those who knew me. Just about everything I did revolved in some way around the Verde River and the issues facing it. I have no idea how many Verde trips I did during those years. There would really be no way to count them.

Before I retired in January 2001, the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors gave me a special award recognizing my efforts on behalf of the Verde River. The newspaper ran me on the front page and called me Old Man River. I'll always be proud of that name.

Things change and time passes. People move on. Water flows downhill. It's been along time since I was on a Verde River trip. I can't even remember when it might have been. Many years ago, that's for sure. All those efforts on behalf of the Verde were once the major focus of my whole life have now become distant memories, quaint footnotes in the relentless cavalcade of Arizona history.

Traveling on this Verde River trip was a piece of sweet nostalgia. It really brought everything full circle for me. It was a wonderful and delightful adventure.

It was almost 22 years to the day when I took Dex and Jodi on their very first river trip in March of 1988. To see and appreciate what those two wonderful people have done since then was truly a heart-warming experience. I am so very proud of them. They are awesome! Dexter is now truly Old Man River in every way and together, Jodi and Dexter have a most incredible relationship with each other and their beloved Verde River.

This trip was sweet vindication of all the decades of effort to "restore" the riparian of the Verde River. It was so tremendous to see the awesome willow forests lining the river banks. It was my first trip ever when I didn't see any cattle in the riparian zone. Riparian rocks! I was dazzled and delighted to see the riparian in such great condition.

The Verde River is a beautiful gem of the Arizona desert. It is a glorious resource. Today, more than ever, it shines forth with a delicious glow of spring green amid a prickly, stickly, snake-studded desert of rugged cliffs, canyons and volcanic crevices. Creatures abound, people are few, risks await the unprepared, magical whitewater continues to flourish and, above all, The Verde Lives, free flowing and Wild & Scenic forever.

Thank You, Dex & Jodi, for all that you have done, all that you do, and all that you will do. You both are making a historic contribution to the current and future conditions of The Verde River. We are so proud of you. God Bless & God Speed!