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Mountain News * Ambition flowsf.orth SATURDAY, Whitewater park designer sees rapid rise in sport's - and his own — acclaim By Joanne Kelley ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS Gary Lacy can see a river's potential even when others seem clueless. Looking to buy a house. in 1986, the kayaking guru checked out a,run- •down Boulder bungalow inh#4ited by five student renters. Aside from lots of foliage, the backyard featured a long carport and a paved yard strewn with couches. "Is Boulder Creek back there ?" he asked the owner of the property. "No, there's no creek," she said. Lacy knew better. After buying the house and clearing the asphalt and carport from the grounds, Lacy began beating a path down the steep dirt banks to get into the creek as often as possible. Now the backyard is lush, but evi- dence ofhis work and hobby are every- where. Canoes and inner tubes rest against a fence. A storage space under his office holds a couple ofkayaks. Wet - suits of various sizes dry off on patio furniture. Lacy built one of his signature "drops directly behind his property, and he spends lots of free time in his red kayak just surfing in that one spot as hikers along the creek stop to gawk. "Mom, look!" a young girl called out, pointingto awetsuit -clad Lacy on a re- cent afternoon. That's about the extent ofLacy's ad- vertising for both the sport and his business. Paddling down Boulder Creek, Lacy points out some of the 42 features built into and along the heavily foliat- ed banks. Bikers and joggers pa4 the creekside trail, while pedes cross bridges overhead. A slalom course upstream is the site of competi- tions. Lacy worked for the city as coor- dinator of the ambitious project. While he's seen as the reigning ex- pert in his field, sometimes he's hadto improvise. When he took on the Punt the Creek project to bring Venetian- style gondolas to Denver's Cherry Creek, Lacy had never been in a lock, much less designed one. He went to the library to read up on how they worked. Lacy's .father introduced him and his siblings to kayaking when he was 4. "He didn't know what he was doing, and we didn't know what we were do- ing either. It was terrifying." Eventually, though, it became a pas- sion, one his wife, Leslie, and two sons, Mason, 15, and Spencer, 13, share. "Ten years ago, I used to think, `I get paid for thisT " Lacy said. "Now, it's starting to get so popular, it's begin- ning to feel more like work." PHOTOS BY EVAN SEMOWROCKY MOUNTAIN NEVUS In his offlce overlooking Boulder Creek, Gary Lacy designs whitewater parks that Boulderbas been involved in about 63 projects so far, mainly working with local governments have captured the attention of enthusiasts around the globe. The 49 -year old kayaker from I that now recognize that lively river scenes can be economic engines for their communities. Gary Lacy navigates Boulder Creek near his home and business, Recreation Engineering and Planning. The company has handled projects costing anywhere from $20,000 to multimillion of dollars to build.