Drifter Smith, 73, died May 3, 2017 in Flagstaff. He was born in Illinois and spent most of his youth in Brownsville, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Brown University with a degree in geology, and worked various jobs until his life changed after a river trip on the Green River in Utah, when he decided to move West. He bought a boat and moved to California, where he got started as a river guide. He worked on rivers in California and Utah for several years before moving to Arizona, where he got a job with Arizona Raft Adventures guiding oar trips through the Grand Canyon. He worked as a river guide for AZRA for 30 years and did 190 trips through Grand Canyon. He fell in love with the Grand Canyon when he was 14, when he hiked to the bottom on a family trip. He was always learning more about the Grand Canyon, exploring its side canyons, and involved with its protection, and he was a past president of Grand Canyon River Guides. Drifter was a truly unique individual, very smart, widely read, interested in everything, and a great storyteller. In addition to his main career as a river guide, he worked at various times in his life as a taxi driver, a health inspector, on archaeology crews, as a trading post manager, and as a guide for Elder Hostel (now Road Scholar). He was warm, funny, always willing to help, a loving husband, and a good friend to many. He will be greatly missed. He is survived by his wife, Sue Ordway, sister Shirley Smith (David Gottlieb), brother Jeff Smith (Mary Jane), and several nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Grand Canyon Trust.