Forgotten Film Reveals Lost 'Paradise' of Glen Canyon
NewWest.Net All Headlines
September 07, 2010 8:52 AM
The float trip begins with laughter and exuberance. They bounce on their inflatable raft, wear outrageous hats and skinny dip in the muddy river.
By the end, the awesomeness of the desert canyon swallows up everything. The pace slows. The landscape dominates. A sense of wonder takes over. When the images stop and the words The End appear on the film, they say so much more than just the end of the movie.
How can anything, any reality be this perfect? asks Katie Lee.
At 90, Lee is the godmother of desert rat environmentalists, a former actress and folksinger who became a lifelong crusader to drain Lake Powell and restore Glen Canyon.
On Thursday, she appeared in Aspen, Colo., and unveiled a home video she shot of her last float trip through Glen Canyon, maybe the last trip anyone took through the expanse of red rock country. Projected onto the big screen at Aspen's Wheeler Opera House, part of a fund-raiser for KDNK Community Radio, it was the first time the film had ever been shown publicly since 1962.
