A search was underway Wednesday on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park for a missing river guide.

At first glance, this looks like just another book about rafting in the Grand Canyon and its rapids. It can be, after all, a life-changing experience and people just feel compelled to write about it. But Gaylord Stavely was not only one of the first people to raft the river; he was there when the entire river-running industry was born, knows all of the history behind the places, and the eccentric people who yearned for the freedom of the river.

One proposed development that conservationists feared would appear next door to Grand Canyon National Park now seems unlikely to materialize, as the new leader of the Navajo Nation has gone on record opposing the Grand Canyon Escalade project that envisioned a tram from rim to river.

At first glance, this looks like just another book about rafting in the Grand Canyon and its rapids. It can be, after all, a life-changing experience and people just want feel compelled to write about it. But Gaylord Stavely was not only one of the first people to raft the river; he was there when the entire river-running industry was born, knows all of the history behind the places, and the eccentric people who yearned for the freedom of the river.