Our Story
Under New "Oar"nership
Winding Waters began as a love story, it seems only fitting that it continues as one. Robin Pace has been a guide for WWRE since 2013 and many returning clients may recognize her or her infectious laughter bouncing off canyon walls. She grew up spending summers on her Gram’s farm just a mile from the boathouse. Though at that age her time with water was primarily spent swimming in the lake and building mini dams in irrigation ditches. After graduating from college, Robin believed a summer or two of raft guiding would be an interlude before entering a graduate program. One trip down the river was all it took. Many river miles, and oar strokes later, she is the new owner of Winding Waters River Expeditions. Not much else has changed otherwise.
Winding Waters is still a family and multi-generational operation. Parents working with their children, and those children working with their siblings. This family also extends to each and every person we bring down the river. Welcome if you’re new, and welcome back if you’ve been here! Either way we are always honored to be on the water with you. We are excited for all the river trips to come in this next generation of Winding Waters.
Where We Started
Throughout Paul and Penny’s ownership of WWRE, their love of it was palpable. They loved what they did and where they did it. Loved being on the river and sharing that experience, and it showed. Paul Arentsen and Penny Rieke met in the Wallowa Mountains back in 1997. They were doing what they loved: sharing the great outdoors with young people by leading backpacking trips across the Pacific NW and Alaska. The Wallowas stood out among the many locations they’d explored, and they also noticed each other. Paul and Penny were married in 2003, and moved to the Wallowa Valley the following year.
Winding Waters was born soon after. The Arentsen’s moved a few miles outside the town of Joseph, tucked between Wallowa Lake and the imposing backdrop of Chief Joseph Mountain, named for the Nez Perce leader who said of the Wallowa Valley, “I love that land of winding waters more than all the rest of the world,” which explains the name of the company, Winding Waters River Expeditions.
After 20 years at the oars of Winding Waters River Expeditions, Paul and Penny made the decision to hand them off in order to spend more time with their family.
