Explore Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument

Fly into Flagstaff Pulliam Airport (FLG) this afternoon, where your Iconic Adventures Trip Leader will meet you at baggage claim and transport you by private shuttle to your local accommodations.

This evening, you will enjoy a group dinner and introductions before receiving an overview from the attending Earthjustice attorney about the organization’s work in the region, which you’ll be learning about in more depth over the coming days.

Enjoy breakfast this morning before departing for the Hualapai Lodge in Peach Springs, AZ, our base for the next two nights.

Relax and unpack before departing with the group to the Peach Springs Cultural Center for a cultural exchange with our Hualapai partners. There, you’ll receive an introduction to Earthjustice’s partnership with the Tribe while enjoying activities like making clay art and learning from an ethno-botanist on how to make prickly pear juice.

Bogomil Mihaylov / Unsplash

In the early evening, the Hualapai Tribe is honored to host our guests for their annual agave roast. A very unique experience that many Tribes no longer do, the evening celebrates the harvesting of the agave plant with bird songs and bird dances, storytelling, and discussing the plant’s importance to the Tribe before cooking the heart of the plant over a roasting pit.

Erol Ahmed / Unsplash

Open to members of the Hualapai community, enjoy this fun-filled evening building connections with one another and participating in an evening unlike any other before departing back to the lodge at your leisure.

Today, we embark on an all-day rafting excursion down the Colorado River led by the Hualapai River Runners.

Enjoy breakfast at the lodge before meeting your guides to depart for put-in at Diamond Creek.

Alan Stark / CC BY-SA 2.0

Known to the Hualapai as Ha’yiđađa, the Colorado River is revered as a life-giving source whose riparian ecosystems and clay riverbeds form the Tribe’s creation story.

Throughout the 55-mile tour through the deepest part of the Grand Canyon, your guides will share stories about the Tribe’s connection to the river — including pointing out shelters and homes that were built along the Canyon’s walls — while navigating the river.

Bas Vermolen / Getty Images

The guides use a motorized raft, allowing passengers to enjoy the experience without needing to actively paddle like other rafting excursions would require.

The first half of the trip will center on navigating and enjoying the Class III rapids before sitting back for a leisurely, rapid-free second half of the trip with storytelling, lunch along the riverbed, and a short hike to Travertine Cavern Falls. Keep your eyes peeled for wildlife along the way as well!

You will then return to the Hualapai Lodge this evening for dinner before turning in for the night.

Pack your bags this morning and enjoy breakfast at the lodge before checking out.

We’ll take a 1.5-hour drive to the naturally occurring hot spring in the Big Sandy River Basin where the Mojave and Sonoran deserts meet.

Ash Ponders for Earthjustice

Alongside Earthjustice attorneys and local partners, the group will receive a deep dive into the background of the case while discussing the importance of water sources to the Hualapai and neighboring tribes.

While Earthjustice and our partners were successful in securing a temporary restraining order to block Big Sandy Inc.’s lithium drilling after a five-year fight, other nearby mining operations may be active, illuminating the threats remaining to the region.

You’ll enjoy a picnic lunch near the spring under nearby shade structures before continuing our transfer to Williams, AZ (1.75-hours), our base for the final two nights.

Check-in to the Trailborn Grand Canyon Hotel before enjoying a group dinner in town.

Grab breakfast at the hotel before we head into Kaibab National Forest, where Earthjustice has worked on behalf of the Havasupai Tribe to stop the development of the Pinyon Plain Mine.

Wirestock / Getty Images

Located in a meadow within 10 miles of the Grand Canyon’s south rim, the uranium mine threatens an aquifer that serves as the sole source of water for the Havasupai Tribe and people across northern Arizona, as well as feeding into the Havasu Springs and Havasu Creek, sites that are sacred to and intrinsically intertwined with the Havasupai people.

© Ecoflight

While in the national forest, we’ll discuss the uranium mine and the nearly 600 active mining claims staked near the Grand Canyon that could be developed if the temporary mining ban is lifted or allowed to expire.

Additionally, Earthjustice attorneys will share how proposed development near the Canyon’s South Rim will impact the local ecosystem and further risk groundwater pollution.

Dyan Bone / U.S. Forest Service / Southwestern Region

Enjoy a picnic lunch at Keyhole Sink Trailhead before enjoying a short 1.5-mile roundtrip hike to petroglyphs and seasonal waterfalls.

Lance Cheung / USDA

Traversing through a ponderosa pine forest, you’ll witness petroglyphs engraved into the dark volcanic basalt walls depicting deer herds, hunting grounds, and more that date back over 1,000 years.

Lance Cheung / USDA

Returning to the hotel this evening, you’ll take part in a final group dinner while reflecting on your adventures and sharing key takeaways and highlights.

Breakfast will be available at the hotel this morning. After breakfast, airport transfers will be coordinated based on flight times.