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GCA hosting lectures at Shrine on legendary boatman and hiker

The Canyon Country Lecture Series, sponsored by Grand Canyon Association, continues at Grand Canyon, Prescott and Flagstaff.

Monday, March 12, 7:30 p.m., at the Shrine of the Ages.: "Bert Loper: Grand Old Man of the Colorado." Author and river runner Brad Dimock takes a rollicking ride through the life of Bert Loper, one of the great old-time Colorado River boatmen. Orphaned and abused, Loper spent most of his life at the very bottom ­ the nameless grunt in the hard rock mines, the shoveler on a placer bar and a subsistence rancher on a lonely gravel delta in Glen Canyon. Whatever Loper got, he got the hard way. But on the muddy whitewater of the southwest, he found joy, freedom and peace. By the time he died at age 80 at the oars in a rapid in the Canyon, he had covered more river, run more boats and known more river men than anyone. Dimock's latest book, "The Very Hard Way," is the definitive work on Loper and the world of river running in which he lived and died. This lecture will also be presented this evening at Northern Arizona University's Cline Library at 7:30 p.m. and in Prescott on Sunday, March 18 at 1 p.m.

On Monday, March 19, Shrine of the Ages, 7:30 p.m.: "Grand Obsession: Harvey Butchart and Exploration of the Grand Canyon's Backcountry." Elias Butler and Tom Myers will discuss the life and ambition of John Harvey Butchart, a math professor who found his life's great purpose in deciphering canyon mysteries and uncovering ancient trails and recording his findings for those who would follow in his footsteps. Butler and Myers are authors of the new book on Butchart's life, "One who Dared."

Butler is an Arizona native and writer and photographer who spends as much time as he can trekking in the southwest's backcountry. Myers worked as a physician at the Canyon for more than a decade and has hiked the Canyon extensively. He is also co-author of "Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon."

Cline Library is at the intersection of Knoles Drive and McCreary Road on the NAU campus. Parking is available to he west of the library (Lot P13 on Riordan Ranch Road).

Sharlot Hall Museum is at 415 W. Gurley. Space at the Prescott lecture series is limited; call 928-445-3122.

GCA provides free transportation for residents to all events. For information, call GCA aat 638-2481 or visit www.grandcanyon.org.


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