Have you ever been in a landscape where you just knew in your soul, that was where you were supposed to be?
That’s why we go outside, right? To feel a connection to the places where we exist, and the people we choose to surround ourselves with. These outdoor spaces are the one true place where we all belong.
This story is about a place I love, the Dolores River. It was Memorial Day weekend 2019, and some river runners might remember it. It was a great year. I mean, any year the Dolores flows is a great year, right? We had a great crew of people, and it was the first time I got to take my dad on an overnight river trip!
We all woke up in the dark and were on the road as the sun began to rise. I had borrowed a trailer from a friend for this adventure. It was fully loaded with three rigged rafts stacked atop one another. With every mile we were getting closer and closer to being on the river, until we weren’t.
About halfway between Gateway and Naturita is when it happened. My heart sank the second I felt the trailer halt. As we exited the truck and headed to look, we expected a flat. Upon closer examination, the tires were fine, but why was the trailer sitting on top of one of them? Of course, a broken weld on the leaf spring. That was going to be my second guess.
How in the world were we going to get this trailer moving, let alone welded back together, so we could finish the 60 remaning miles to the boat ramp? Highway 141 is a desolate road, with very little service and hardly any traffic, and the only town with any amenities was still 30 miles away.
A friend who knew a couple of people in Naturita decided to drive ahead to town and see if he could find help. Have you ever met one of those people who can fix anything with anything? That’s my dad. Two opposing straps and one chain later, somehow this trailer, with three fully rigged rafts, was magically floating, suspended above the tire once again. But what now? We could only go 10 mph TOPS, we had 30 miles to Naturita, and the only way to fix this was with a welder.
After a very slow 10 or so miles, the trailer still holding strong, we came to our first real obstacle, a cattle guard. I stared in the rearview mirror awaiting the collapse, but somehow, it never came. The trailer was still holding! A couple of miles later, I looked ahead and saw our friend’s white Jeep approaching. It was a typical small-town story: our friend just so happened to know a guy who was home and had a welder we could use. The universe was definitely on our side that day.
After a few miles down a bumpy dirt road, I began backing the trailer into a shop built into the side of a cliff that had been blown out by dynamite who knows how long ago. It was literally a cave shop! The guy handed my dad the welder and helmet, and he immediately got to work. Somehow, only moments later, we had a fixed trailer, no melted rafts, and it was still only 11 a.m. Dolores River, here we come!
After a long morning, with just a couple of small mishaps, we finally arrived at our destination. I don’t know about y’all, but the feeling of pushing off from the boat ramp is pretty hard to beat in life. All of the packing, prepping, logistics, and in this case, welding a trailer in a cave shop, had brought us to this moment. This is the thing I love about rivers: once you push off, there is no turning back. There is no better teacher than the river.
That night’s camp was so beautiful. I’ll never forget my dad’s smile as we sat by the fire. He was cozied up in a wool poncho and a beanie and was sitting up against some rocks. It was an incredible night: warm fire, clear skies, and Milky Way views. We were all sitting around the fire, sharing stories and laughs, when very seriously my dad spoke up. “Hey y’all, look up at the sky, what is that?”
The group went silent. What is that? A long string of lights in the sky, stretching from one wall of the canyon to the other. Not a word was said as we watched it disappear behind the western wall. Definitely the coolest UFO ever to be spotted!
Now, I know this story can’t end without an explanation of the UFO! After the trip, I shared my sighting story for almost a year before finding out what it really was. Turns out the original Starlink launched on Thursday, May 24, 2019, the day before we launched on the Dolores River. But I will say, the UFO story was sure fun in my mind while it lasted!
Every river is different, and even when we run the same river, it never is the same. When we are open to receiving, we always get more than we ever imagine. We find ourselves connecting deeper to places, others and ourselves. There is something so special about the Dolores River, it is hard to describe the feeling it brings to be there. I want to protect this and all public landscapes in hopes that others can hold memories like these dear to their hearts, and they can always find a reason to smile even in their darkest times. That they can feel true connection and love to place, self, and others that cannot be found anywhere else. We must share our love of these wild spaces like the Dolores River in order to preserve them for our future generations. We must all be stewards of our public lands.
About the Author
MacKenzie Holbrook is the ACA Community Engagement Manager in Grand Junction, Colorado, where she connects the ACA’s volunteers with the resources, members, committees, and events they need and works to make sure every volunteer feels heard and appreciated. A raft guide since 2015 and an ACA Level 4 Swiftwater Rescue Instructor, she founded Human Kinda to make swiftwater rescue training welcoming for everyone. Since her daughter, Arbor, was born in 2024, she has loved sharing the river with her, including a favorite trip through Labyrinth Canyon on the Green River in Utah.
This story is published as part of the 2026 ACA Story Project, a month-long collection of stories written by ACA members. Without opportunity, these stories wouldn’t exist. That’s what the ACA does. Through education, stewardship, competition, and club support, we create opportunities for paddlers of all abilities. Your gift helps write the next chapter. Help us raise $25,000 by December 1 for the next paddler, and the one after that.
