Why would anyone want a slightly-less-than-perfectly-printed hooded sweatshirt from Colorado River & Trail Expeditions? We recently announced the give-away of a limited number of  imperfect Crate “hoodies” on our Facebook page, and invited our Facebook friends to tell us in 25 words, or less, why they would like to have one. Today, we are happy to announce the winners and share their sentiments.

Karen Jones said she wanted the hoodie to “wear when the weather turns cool, as a reminder of my past (lived at the Canyon for 20 years, and what is yet to come!”  As a post-script she noted, “we all have imperfections and are born with flaws, that is what makes each one of us so special!”  Thanks, Karen. These hoodies are, indeed, special. No one, other than our river guides, has owned one until now. They aren’t even for sale!

“I would like one for my son,” wrote Dreama Secrest “He has never been much of an outdoors type of guy and needs to become more active.” Colorado River & Trail Expeditions is an advocate of “No Child Left Inside,” regardless of age or size, and so we are really happy to give Dreama’s son a Crate hoodie and encourage him to enjoy some fun outdoor activities in the months to come.

Anyone that tells us we are “awesome,” is bound to gain some favor. So Jimmy Cook will have a hoodie coming his way. Jimmy also noted that he is 6’7″ tall, “and it’s hard for me to find cool hoodies in XXL.” Nice to know he thinks our hoodies are “cool.”

Paul Mullins figured that “advertising for CRATE is the least I could do after falling out of the boat in the middle of Lava Falls and nearly giving Walker a heart attack.”  Giving Paul a hoodie is the least we can do when he followed the guide’s instructions to “swim towards me as fast as you can!” “You don’t ask questions. You swim.” We like obedient passengers.

Judy Morrow kidnapped one of our Crate mascots after her Grand Canyon rafting trip this summer. Why did she deserve a hoodie after that? “Can I say the reason is that I might be tempted to hold Swampy hostage until I get one? LOL!jk…okay, how about I’ve been talking up CRATE to all of my rafting friends?”  We appreciate word of mouth advertising. It’s the best! We still hope for Swampy’s safe return.

Keith Wiseman said the reason he wants a Crate hoodie is “because the most recent Crate item I have is a yellow mug that I got in 1994 and I need something more up to date.”  We think that a person who can hold onto a  souvenir mug for 17 years has a compelling reason for getting a Crate hoodie. We hope he wears it in good health for at least another 17 years!

We are happy to send a Crate hoodie to Victoria Airey, who has “four framed pictures of the Colorado River in my living room that I look at every day from my trip in the mid-80s, also did the Tatshenshini!”  Victoria has had her pictures on the wall longer than Keith has kept his mug. She definitely deserves a hoodie.

If, like Mary Bridget Kane, you promise to take a repeat river trip with Colorado River & Trail Expeditions, you’ll win a hoodie. Mary Bridget wrote, “I need something to keep me warm when I walk to the groover in the middle of the night on my next trip.”  That’s a good reason.

Nikki Cooley has worked as a river guide for another company, but she “respects CRATE guides as they’ve always been very nice to me on the river. Also, like your sweatshirts, I am slightly less than perfect and I try to make the best of every day, AND a CRATE sweatshirt would be good advertising for you guys.” What can we say? Flattery, humility, and publicity are a winning combination.

We love it when people take one of our trips and have a “life changing” experience. Cade Satterfield will be wearing a Crate hoodie, because we liked what he had to say:  “Trip of my life was a break from all that doesn’t matter and awakening to all that does; family, love, laughter, nature, and adventure.”

From Lina Berman in Israel: “I fly over 9000 miles one way to enjoy your rafting trips and I guess I take the longest flights, that’s why I “deserve” one…”  Lina has traveled with us on multiple river trips, and we have to agree that an 18,000-mile-round-trip flight to take a week-long river trip definitely merits a Crate hoodie. She can cuddle up in it on those long overnight red-eye flights.

Last, but not least, we are sending a Crate hoodie to Okan Gurdil in Ankara, Turkey.  Okan realized that he would probably be ineligible for writing a two page letter and living so far away, but his letter was so nice and compelling that we could not turn him down. “Even if I don’t get a hoodie in return, I wanted to thank all of you for letting me experience nature at its best [on my 2005 Grand Canyon trip]. Much love to everyone who works at CRATE and who have experienced CRATE.”

We feel very fortunate to be in a business that is fun, exciting, adventurous, and attracts such a wonderful clientele. We are flattered that so many people wanted one of our “less than perfect” sweatshirts, and we appreciate all of the entries we received.