Company Bio
Emerald Empire Adventures was founded in 2008 by a couple of "well seasoned" characters with more that a half century of adventure, travel and guiding experience between them. Greg Israel has been rafting and guiding on the wild rivers of northern California for more than 25 years, and Larry Buzbee has cycled a thousand highways, byways and logging roads from Italy to Alaska to Hawaii to, well, you get the picture.
Both separately and together we have reached a few conclusions, having had much opportunity to think on windy ridge tops and floating down sunny stretches of river;
Its good to have many skills, and its good to work hard.
Its good to find a place with people of like mind, where tall trees grow and the air is clean.
Its good to feel at home, and to share your home with guests.
And best of all, its good to make a living doing and knowing all of the above.
Our mission is to act as the string that ties together a unique necklace of all the Hidden Treasures concealed throughout our Emerald Empire, to create experiences designed by and for each individual or group, tailored to their needs, fitness and imaginations. By spreading that wealth we enrich ourselves and each other. This is the real hidden treasure of this Emerald Empire.
Our "Hidden Treasures" are the people, places and businesses you will find on our web site. Perhaps most valuable among all the unique and beautiful treasures of what we call our Emerald Empire, or northwestern California, is a widespread cultural consensus around issues of sustainability, independence and mutuality. Emerald Empire Adventures values and honors that consensus and we implement it in our notion of "profit".
We believe that the company will best "profit", engaged in the tourism industry in this particular community, by acting as a means of distributing the benefits of that activity as widely as possible, and doing so respectfully, openly and with love
as expressed in the principles of "Social Business" enunciated by Dr. Mohammad Yunus, and of "Nature Based Tourism" as described in a book of that name by Ralf Buckley,et. al.
We believe that the "profit" we distribute extends, importantly, to our Adventurers as well. When we send a group of people back to their homes, we know that the most important thing they return home with is a sense of well-being and renewal, and by this means, we return "profit" to The City, benefiting not just the Adventurer, but those nearby, as your smile is contagious, and you know its so.
We have Adventure in our DNA, just as every other human being does. We understand that tapping into this inner fire is vital to living a truly human life. We also understand that we are human by virtue of our relationships and that there is a profound difference between passing through a place ("doing" Europe for instance) and allowing a place pass through you. What we offer to the world is the opportunity to be touched by the essence of this place, these people and the very unusual character of this new society in the process of being born.
We are committed to providing the highest quality experience at the best prices possible. Communication, imagination and satisfaction are the keys to our success and to the quality of your experience. What takes travel from tourism to true Adventure? Its a cooperative venture between the traveler, the guide and the community, an open attitude and a willingness to be surprised.
When you come along with us you'll be greeted as a friend of a friend. Stories will be told and songs will be sung (and written) and new stories will be made. That is what we are about.
