Ephemeral Sand Art
with Brighton Denevan
Green River, Utah
March 28-April 4
7 days in a remote canyon setting, 45 miles of flat water paddling,
Minimum 10 participants, maximum 19 participants.
Guides: Brighton Denevan, Andy Pankakes, and Lauren Bond
Pricing:
Per person: $3295
The deposit and cost of The River’s Path Canoe Adventures are non-refundable. We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance through our partner Outward Travel to protect your investment.
Labyrinth Canyon is a place where time loosens its grip. The river moves slowly here, braiding silence, stone, and sky into long, open beaches that feel both ancient and fleeting. It is on these sands that we’ll gather to create art together, laugh, connect, and reconnect with the joy that playing in the sand gave us as children. This journey is guided by Brighton Denevan, a sand artist whose work emerges from deep listening rather than assertion. His large-scale designs are created by walking, raking, and responding to the subtle contours of place — gestures that are precise, meditative, and meant to disappear. Over the course of the trip, Brighton will guide participants in creating ephemeral earthworks together, offering simple tools and gentle direction while leaving space for intuition, rhythm, and play.
Our passage through the canyon is held by Lauren Bond, a river guide with years of lived relationship to Labyrinth Canyon. Her steady presence, attention to detail, and reverence for the river create the conditions for a journey that is both seamless and deeply grounded. Under her guidance, logistics fade into the background, allowing the group to fully inhabit the experience.
We’re also joined by musician Andy Pankakes, whose warm, unhurried “breakfast music” drifts easily into the landscape. Andy will compose an original song inspired by the voyage, and together we’ll translate sound into form — creating sand designs that echo lyrics, rhythm, and mood. These collaborations will be documented from above, offering a rare perspective on art made in communion with place.
This is an invitation into a rare kind of making — one rooted in presence rather than permanence, collaboration rather than authorship. A week of moving slowly through a remote and breathtaking canyon, sharing meals, music, stories, and creative acts that belong fully to the moment.
“Brighton’s art is not static. It is ritual. Process and impermanence in perfect balance. Through drone footage and photography, Denevan captures these fleeting installations before they dissolve. These images become visual poems—aerial echoes of a human gesture folding into the rhythms of nature.”
– from “Brighton Denevan’s Land Art”, E. Ness, ArtMag, March 2025
Meet the Guides
Brighton Denevan
Sand Artist
I create large scale designs on the landscape, typically beaches, using simple tools and documenting with the latest drone technology. A rake is the primary implement of choice, though snow shoes, shovels and smaller fine detailing implements are used from time to time. I document these creations using a drone, capturing the steps of the process, sometimes catching the wash-away as the canvas is refreshed by the incoming tide. Snow, fire, and light designs are things I’ve briefly experimented with but would like to explore more in the future. I’ve always been fascinated by the natural world, spending great amounts of time in nature and working in gardens and on farms. Exploring the intersection of technology and nature, the precise and the organic, is the focus of my work.
For most of my life, my canvas was an 8.5 x 11” piece of paper. However, I watched my dad draw in the sand for almost 30 years and in 2020, I decided to pick up a rake and try transferring my art to a much larger canvas–the land(scape)! Since then I’ve produced over 1,000 projects, not only creating the compositions but also tackling the aerial photo/ video documentation/ storytelling. I’ve been flying drones for over 7 years and I am a commercially licensed UAV Pilot.
I’ve been hired for marketing campaigns, events, music videos, real estate, farms/ vineyards, video editing, etc. and use my aerial photography to help people get their story out to the world via video. I also have created precisely mapped logos and requested designs, using grids and graphs. One of my favorite things to do is execute a specific design that’s requested by the client and incorporate it into my own original design, mixing the commercially viable, ephemeral beach billboard, and the artistic esoteric whimsy.
Andy Pankakes
Musician
Over the course of the last decade, Andy Pankakes has become a staple of the Santa Cruz music scene. From his early projects to his 100% Pure Maple record and through his current series of collaborations and projects, he has developed a personal sound and style that seamlessly blends elements of funk, soul, jazz, punk and folk. Throughout his musical ambitions Andy has maintained a poignant and purposeful voice, calling his listeners to be In The Moment, to Do Their Thing, and to feel a little Special sometimes. His shows are characterized by exuberance, audience participation, and a truly endearing and memorable personality and style.
Andy is a lover of Nature, and frequents the forests, rivers and beaches in his local Santa Cruz area. He’s been known to lead many a campfire jam and group participation is always encouraged. Popular Classics, Originals and spontaneous creations improvised on the spot can all be expected. As a team, Brighton and Andy have created one music video so far featuring Andy’s Music and they are excited to further explore this multimedia collaboration of recorded ephemeral art forms.
Recent career highlights include opening up for a sold out show at the Catalyst Club with Peter Cat Recording Co and the creation of his own Breakfast Themed event, Pankake Fest. 2024 saw the release of his debut album, “100% Pure Maple,” featuring Tammi Brown, Dan Robbins, Eddie Mendenhall and Javier Torres, who are among the creme de la creme of Bay Area session players. In 2025 he released the “Too Many Songs,” ep, a throwback to the angst of the 90’s, with a good dose of lighthearted humor thrown in.
Lauren Bond
Lead Guide
Lauren Bond has always belonged to the river. From a childhood of following streams to the deep kinship she has found in Labyrinth Canyon and the St. Vrain as an adult, her life has been guided and shaped by the water.
In 2004, she floated through Labyrinth Canyon for the first time. She didn’t yet know what she wanted to with her life, but she knew this was the place. Today, she can confidently say that this is, indeed, the place. She has been on over 60 journeys through Labyrinth Canyon, and she has no doubt that this canyon brings a magic of its own, far beyond what she can offer herself. This collaboration with the river emerged when she followed the wisdom shared by waterfalls, trees, birds, and a very sweet porcupine. There is no place else she would rather be.
Lauren holds an MA in Environmental Leadership from Naropa University, and is a certified Transformational Wilderness Guide through the Earth Based Institute. Lauren worked as a naturalist, river guide, wilderness guide, and environmental educator before she started leading her own river journeys with The River’s Path in 2010.
What to Expect – Overnight Canoe Trip on the Green River
While the exact itinerary will change based on the theme of the trip, some things are common for all trips down through Labyrinth Canyon:
We’ll canoe a total of 45 miles down the Green River through the steep canyon walls of Labyrinth Canyon in Utah. The trip begins at Ruby Ranch (located just south of I-70) to Mineral Bottom (located near Canyonlands National Park). Four to five days of paddling will be interspersed with layovers at wilderness campsites along the canyon. Paddle days are usually 7-15 miles each or about 3-5 hours of gentle paddling. The river has no rapids and hardly any current. It is muddy and shallow (except for high water in May and June)
While in camp, in addition to our theme program activity, we may swim, take short hikes or explore side canyons. After we all pitch in during camp setup, we’ll have plenty of free time to relax, enjoy our surroundings and have the opportunity to get to know each other as we experience the beauty around us. Then we’ll come together each evening around the campfire.
The River’s Path guided overnight canoe trips involve staying deep in the wilderness with no electricity or cellular reception, and in case of an emergency, evacuation will be done via rescue boat or helicopter. If you need to have medically necessary equipment that uses electricity or need to stay in contact with someone at home, the guides will have a texting device available. Please contact Lauren Bond at 303-859-7174 or lauren@theriverspath.org to discuss.
Temperature changes quickly and can be unexpected, so it is important to bring items from the packing list in case of any drastic changes. Rain and thunderstorms can pop up at any point. Temperatures for each month can range from the high 60s and low 30s for March to the high 100s and lows in the 70s for August. Please see the NOAA graph for Labyrinth Canyon monthly weather averages.
The section of the Green River we will be on is considered a Class I river with no rapids. This is essentially a flat water trip.
Each canoe accommodates two people and they include two Crazy Creek camp chairs with backrests. Canoes will carry all of the personal gear and camp supplies.
The River’s Path will supply 2 dry bags, one large and one small, for your personal gear.
Group gear provided includes: canoes, paddles, life jackets, canoe seat backs, camp chairs, full kitchen setup. Supplies provided include: all food, shade canopy and river toilet with a privacy shelter.
Your personal camp gear that you are responsible for includes: tent, tarps, sleeping bag, and anything else you need that is not provided. That being said, we highly recommend you approach this with a minimalist mentality. Everything you bring, along with your canoe partner, must fit on your canoe. We will supply you with a complete packing list.
While many adventurists kayak the Green River, the amount of gear, supplies, and coolers of fresh food on our journey requires canoes.
The River’s Path will provide food and drinks for all meals and snacks. We can accommodate most diets including vegetarian, vegan, paleo, gluten-free, and dairy-free. The water is too muddy for most portable water filtration devices, so we will pack all drinking water.
If you have other needs or concerns, contact the trip guide, Lauren Bond at 303-859-7174 or lauren@theriverspath.org
It’s important to note that this is a collaborative experience. To form a strong community and have an even more powerful, life changing, memorable experience, each individual in the group will participate and share in camp responsibilities. Everyone helps with setting up and taking down camp, unloading and loading canoes, cooking meals and cleaning up. Each individual must bring their own tent, sleeping bag and pad, as well as other items on the packing list. Those using a hammock must provide an appropriate setup for that.
During your trip through the Labyrinth Canyon you’ll find a slow meandering river with steep colorful canyon walls, amazing side canyons (and maybe evidence of ancient civilizations), incredible stars, unforgettable sunsets, and a hushed serenity you’ll find no place else. No matter where you look you’ll see the unforgettable and awe inspiring colors and sounds of nature.
You might consider long sleeved shirts and pants, bug lotion and head netting if you are extremely sensitive to bug bites. Birds like golden eagles, peregrine falcons, canyon wrens, screech owls, and more can be seen along with small animals like beavers and larger ones like desert bighorn sheep and deer.