Air Canada’s Legendary Grand Canyon Misadventure
—or—
“From Loading Food Carts to Dodging River Rocks!”
Back in 1978, when disco was king and polyester was a lifestyle choice, Air Canada decided it was time to give its ramp rats and food truck jockeys a break. And not just a break like “Here’s a new pair of gloves.”
No — a full-blown, canyon-sized, boots-off, river-soaked, sanity-questioning expedition.
And leading the charge?
Bob Kent, a man who looked at the majestic Grand Canyon and thought, “Yeah… let’s throw a bunch of food truck drivers in there and see what happens!”
The Cast of Characters (a.k.a. Canada’s answer to the Dirty Dozen):
- Graham “The Gear Guy” Gibson
- Bruce “Bring the Beer” Bodium
- Gary “No Relation to Indiana” Jones
- Ray “Houston, We Have a Problem”
- John “Pludoms, Not Plodoms”
- Dave “Sunscreen is for the Weak” Houston
- George “The Bunker” Warriner
- Terry “The Troublemaker” Houston
- Duane “We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Raft” McPhail
- Glen “Peace and Confusion”
- And Bob “Send the Liability Waivers Later” Kent himself.
They called it a “bonding trip.” The insurance company called it “a developing situation.”
Destination: THE GRAND CANYON
What followed was a whirlwind of paddle smacks, misplaced lunches, and enough sunscreen to fry a lizard. The canyon’s ancient walls echoed with laughter, sarcasm, and at least one guy screaming,
“I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BUS TOUR!”
Highlights included:
- Dave using the emergency flare gun… to light a cigar.
- George “The Bunker” Warriner inventing the “Warriner Weasel Hold”, a paddling technique so confusing it required a flow chart and a chiropractor.
- Glen Peace getting lost and trying to pay a squirrel for directions.
- A campfire karaoke session that ended with Terry, Duane, and George rewriting the Beverly Hillbillies theme song to narrate George’s trip-ending fall into a patch of prickly cactus.
But wait — it didn’t stop there!
This band of thrill-seeking tray loaders came back for more, hitting the Salmon Snake River, Fraser River, and more rugged waters, dragging their dry socks and wounded egos behind them.
These were not just trips… they were epics.
Forget The Odyssey. This was The Foodie-ssy.
The uniforms may have changed. The trucks got upgrades. But the spirit?
Still alive — somewhere between a waterlogged boot and a duct-taped dry bag labeled “Terry’s Snacks (DO NOT TOUCH, BOB!).”
So here’s to the legends of the late ‘70s – the rampies who paddled, pranked, and paddled some more.
And to the Warriner Weasel Hold, the only river move banned by the Canadian Coast Guard and chiropractors nationwide.
