Fishing on the Clackamas as a teen sparked Geoff Frank’s interest in moving water. Watching boaters in Bob’s Hole eventually led to white water kayaking and then in 1995, to a job at Alder Creek. Geoff is the owner and general manager of Tumalo Creek as well as a 2-star award BCU and ACA certified Advanced Whitewater, Swiftwater Rescue and Open Water Costal instructor.

Geoff has lived in Bend for ten years, originally moving here to open Alder Creek’s Bend store in 2000. He has 17 years of kayaking, rafting and canoeing experience - 15 of those as an instructor or guide. His experience includes many multi-day self contained tours including a 28-day trip through the Desolation Sound; a multi-week tour through Broughton Archipelago & the Gulf Islands in British Columbia; and a 2-month trip from Santa Rosalia to La Paz, Mexico. He is also an avid whitewater boater and is currently rehabilitating an injured shoulder from an icy trip down the Class IV River House Run this winter.

Although Geoff says he’ll paddle “anything”, when he is not teaching he's recently been focusing on canoeing and rafting with his two daughters Ella 8 and Ruby, 5. Their favorite spot to paddle in Central Oregon is on the Metolious River near Camp Sherman.

During the 70’s the South saw a newfound interest in whitewater paddling and John Hise, a Georgia native, hopped on that wave and never got off. He started in his 20’s paddling a 17 1/2', 85lb Old Town Tripper canoe but was hooked once he was formally introduced to solo open boating. He expanded his knowledge and experience through paddling all over south with friends from the Georgia Canoeing Association. In 1995, John moved to Bend to relieve himself of the Big City ways and immerse himself in the clear, cold, lava rock-filled waters of the Pacific Northwest. John is considered Tumalo Creek’s resident expert on canoes and has been working the retail floor at Tumalo Creek, Bend since it opened in 2000. He teaches canoeing and guided trips and owns four open canoes. John's greatest love is multi day canoe-camping trips and although he has too many favorite spots to list some but includes the Metolius, the McKenzie, the North Umpqua and the John Day rivers.

James got his intro to whitewater kayaking in 1984 as a senior in high school. He started seriously whitewater kayaking in 1993. In August of 1995 James first set foot in the Portland Alder Creek. Within one minute he saw the boat he needed to buy (without prior consideration). James has entered many whitewater events and won several, including the 1998 Nike World Masters freestyle event. He has a few first and second descents of various rivers and waterfalls. James has been working at Tumalo Creek since 2003 and is currently one of the two managers there.

In the past James has seriously engaged in or competed in cross country skiing, road and mountain bike racing, rock climbing and multi-sport events.

Before moving to Oregon, Laurel’s boating experience centered around sailing adventures off the coast of Maine, and learning to race Lasers and 420s on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. She is learning to white water kayak after a ten-year hiatus and is always up for a paddle.

Laurel is currently assisting with the marketing & public relations for Tumalo Creek which involves creating content for the website and keeping it current, sending out press releases, designing posters and ads, and managing various aspects of social media. She has a degree in English from Lewis & Clark and has completed some post-bacc work in eco and adventure tourism from OSU-Cascades. Laurel also writes and performs original music with her band, the Sweet Harlots.

Nick has been with Tumalo Creek for three seasons. He moved to Bend in 2003 and started recreational kayaking one year later. He loves seeing things from the water’s point of view, and has been especially enjoying kayak fishing as of late. One of his favorite things about kayaking is that it gets him to places that he could not reach before. Nick loves to hear about other people’s adventures out on the water, and enjoys helping customers make their kayak trips safer and more enjoyable. He is the shop’s expert on Yakima and Thule car racks and has six years of experience in custom installs.  Nick will get you, your family and your gear to your next destination safely to enjoy whatever sport you do.

Steven got into whitewater kayaking in 2003 when he bought a boat from a friend and was taught how to roll by his girlfriend (and they are still together today). He mainly paddled the Arkansas River in Colorado before meeting his wife and he moved to Bend in 2006. Steven has worked at Tumalo Creek since 2007. He loves spending his time teaching the Full Immersion and Basic Skills Kayaking classes as well as guiding trips on the Upper Deschutes River. One of his favorite things is watching participants, who may not have ever been in a boat before, progress during the Full Immersion class to running a Class II+ stretch on the McKenzie.  

During the school year, Steven is an elementary school teacher. Working at Tumalo Creek is a great way to spend the summer and meet people who like to paddle. When not working, Steven is usually skiing, mountain biking, or playing with the dog.

Hank came to Bend three years ago after working in Portland as a guide and instructor. He grew up on the coast of South Carolina where he developed a strong sea kayaking background. Hank has been paddling for 15 years and has explored the Caribbean and other parts of the world. He is also into surfing, snowboarding, hiking, and woodworking and is looking forward to more time on Oregon's rivers to progress on his whitewater skills.

Drew is our in-house whitewater expert and has been kayaking since the age of 14; he knows whitewater boats, and will find you the perfect kayak for your adventure level and size. Meadow camp is his favorite run and he thinks Central Oregon is the most beautiful place in the world and thus does not plan on leaving it any time soon. He has a cute dog named Hank. He worked for Colorado Kayak Supply for one season, but came back to Oregon, "because Colorado ran out of water." Although some days it may seem as if he has experienced too much time in the sun, this summer he was promoted to the position of pool boy, and can often been seen posing out on the back deck, pretending to clean.

Jessica comes to us from Eugene where she recently completed a Masters degree in Environmental Geography. She began paddling on a week-long sea kayaking adventure in the San Juan Islands. She later worked at Oregon River Sports in Eugene for three years and learned rafting and canoeing skills, and worked as an instructor and a guide.

Jessica is psyched about spending the summer boating, teaching, and exploring the beautiful water ways of Central Oregon.

Travis comes to Tumalo Creek as a recent transplant to Bend. He has been working as a river guide, fire fighter, and search and rescue professional for two decades. Travis has spent the last 17 years in Alaska as a river guide and GM of a major raft company, and he has also guided in Chili, Argentina, Nepal, Ecuador and throughout the Southwestern U.S.

Travis is an accomplished whitewater kayaker and rafter, but loves getting out on flatwater as well. He brings swift water rescue and technical rope rescue skills to the team and has worked as both a Wilderness Emergency Medicine Instructor, and a raft guide trainer. He recently returned from a month long training session with whitewater guides in Ecuador over the winter.

We are excited to welcome Travis to Tumalo Creek as Program Director where he will be managing classes, tours and "helping to grow the paddling tribe here in Central Oregon." He has two beautiful daughters, Zoey (age 9) and Cali (age 7), and he has been helping them prepare for the kid's mini-PPP this weekend. His dog, Oscar is a favorite at the shop.

Zach Small has lived in Bend for the last ten years and he goes to college at the University of Oregon. His whole family white-water kayaks to some extent. He also enjoys creek boating, river running, and overnight trips. He likes paddling in a play boat and also enjoys skiing, snowboarding, playing paintball, and embarking on the occasional run.