Jamaica, Mon!

Ahhhh, the beach.

I've spent the past five dasy lounging on a sunbed by beautiful turquoise water, under blue skies, sipping on fruity rum concoctions, and enjoying the sun. Except when it was raining!

The vacation was courtesy of good friend Mark, who invited me to join him at Firefly Cottages when his wife wasn't able to travel. That conversation went somthing like this:

M: Hey, I'm still going to Jamaica in a couple weeks. Want to come. The room's already paid for, you just have to get the flight.

J: Hmmm. Don't know. I'm supposed to be hiking along a long roadwalk stretch in the cold wind and rain that week.

M: OK. Just thought I'd ask.

J: OK. Give me 10 minutes to get some flights booked. I'll be there.

After the cold weather last week, and the drudgery of the roadwalk, I was ready for a week of just lounging in the sunshine. Mark had all these plans for active stuff like snorkelling and long beach walks. As if a hiker on a break from hiking really wants to walk ANYWHERE? I would have done it though. The walking at least.

Unfortunately I am a klutz. Having walked about a thousand miles of the FL Trail over roots, through mud, etc., without injury, I managed to bust that trend by tripping over a wheelchair in the airport when they called my boarding group for the flight. I didn't think it ws serious at teh time, just a couple of bloody grazed knees and rug burns. I even managed to get an ultra last minute upgrade to first class when I asked the flight attendant for some ice and it was obvious that I needed to sit with my legs up. (Might have to try that on again some time!) So I arrived in Montego Bay and hobbled out to the arrivals area to meet Mark all swollen and blooded! Sure he appreciated that.

So, I'm not sure what exactly I did to my right knee. The left is OK, but the right is still swollen and tender and doesn't really like having my weight on it. I did everything I could for it to rest it, which basically involved laying flat on my back with my legs up, resting and relaxing, for the entire vacation. I had to. My hike depends on it! Mark did his snorkelling and walking, and we did managed a day trip to Hedonism II for a change of scenery for me to sit in for a day. We both had a great vacation.

Tomorrow I'll drive back to north Florida and we'll see if the knee wants to hike.

Slow Boats and Fast Cars

I took a couple of weeks off from hiking to spend some time with my friend Javier while he is in Florida on a business trip. After his meetings were over we spent a couple of days relaxing in Ocala National Forest. We visited Blue Springs to walk and watch the Manatees, then spent a day canoeing at Juniper Springs. I have run Juniper many times in a kayak, but paddling a heavy aluminum rental canoe is a whole different experience. Especially when the paddler in the rear thinks they are an outboard motor! We had a lot of laughs and great fun.

After a day of walking and visiting the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings homestead I think Javi had had enough of the "real" Florida and was ready for something more fast paced. Unbelievably, we ended up at Daytona Raceway where I watched cars going round and round in circles for several hours.

Hiking will resume in a couple of days.

Time with the Family

Back in Orlando after a great visit with my family in England. Spent a week plus between their various houses. Unfortunately I was sick with a cold, so I really didn't do much, and don't recall too much of what I did do, except a visit to Laura's school to watch football (soccer) practice.

The flight home was hard on my ears, and I didn't get much rest. Fortunately Ian was feeling magnanimous and actually picked me up at the airport. He told me he never does pickups! For whatever reason, I'm glad he changed his policy this time. I'm snuggled up in my futon mattress on the floor of his sitting room. I'll be staying here for the foresseable future until we get back out hiking. Orlando is close enough to the remainder of the Eastern Corridor of the FL Trail that we still need to hike that we can stay here at Ian's and do some day hikes to get us up thru the sububurbs to the southern Ocala National Forest. We plan to start hiking early next week, so I need to work on getting rid of this cold. I'm going to have a tough time hiking with this stuffy, runny nose.

San Zoilo

WOW! How can you put a couple of the most intensely emotional and unexpectedly fun weeks of your life into words?

This past week was spent at the competitor English language program run by VaughanTown at San Zoilo monastery in Conde de los Carrion. I was correct in my assumptio that both programs were essentially the same. Both were staffed by an Anglo Master of Ceremonies and a Spanish Program Director, who traveled with the group, and whose primary function was to encourage the group bonding experience and keep the program flowing, as well as dealing with minor issues that arose during the week (Dr visits, heating issues, etc.) The host locations, while being very different were very attractive and comfortable, both situated on the outskirts of a small historic village, and both had their own charms and attraction. The food was good, the wine flowed freely at mealtimes, but the absolute make or break enjoyment factor came from the participants, who were about as diverse as one could possibly imagine in a group of around 40 adults. One to one conversations, which I had expected would remain on a fairly superficial level, actually ranged from the simplest subjects to intriguing, socio-political, religious, and personal matters. From mature to juvenile, borderline psychotherapy, serious, humorous, and everything in between. If that were not enough, mealtime sessions were even more animated and hilarious. It is amazing how a simple explanation of any topic can go totally off on a tangent at the simple miscommunication, or explanation of a word or idiom! No topic was sacred!

This week I knew alittle better what to expect. I was pretty exhausted already from the over participation in the previous week's activities, and my voice was somewhat strained. Undaunted, I engaged Pedro in a four hour long conversation on the ride to northern Spain. The bus got a little lost, but it was a pleasant detour following the Camino de Santiago. Our accomodation for the week was at the restored Monastery of San Zoilo. The rooms were lovely (wouldn't it have been nice to get a picture?), and the weather continued sunny and warm, though still a little chilly in the mornings for me. The Monastery was very close to town, a nice easy stroll for the one to one sessions. The Camino passes through the center of town and the hiker and biker pilgrims were out in force. The Monastery itself is beautiful, with the cloisters and church also available for walking one to ones. The hotel was open to other guests as well as our group, so the after dinner drinking tended to be a little more subdued and earlier to finish.

It didn't dampen the experience though, I had great fun again, and met more wonderful new friends from all over the world and all over Spain. I think I am particularly most likely to stay in contact with Nigel and Stephanie, who live not to far from my parents in England, and Javier from Madrid. I'm sure I will be back in Madrid sometime in the next year or so, and Javi is intending to be in Orlando early next year.

I will definitely be back for more.

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La Alberca

I'm sitting in a laundromat in Madrid waiting for my clothes to dry. I'm exhausted, my voice is almost completely gone, and I just had an exhilerating week of conversation and fun with complete strangers!

The purpose of this visit to Spain was to participate in two English immersion programs for Spanish speakers who wish to increase their conversation, comprehension, and presentation skills. The philosophy of the programs is to take an equal number of Spanish and Anglo participants to a fairly remote location, where all everyday activities are conducted entirely in English. There are two companies running the programs: Pueblo Ingles and Vaughan Town. They are essentially competitors, and I couldn't decide between the two, so decided to give both programs a try. Their programs appear to be essentially the same from what I have read. I had a basic idea of what would be involved: breakfast at 9am, two Spanish and two Anglos (english speakers) per table, followed by four hours of one to one conversation sessions, 2pm it's time for lunch (2 and 2), siesta. At 5pm an evening group activity, two more hours of one to one sessions, an entertainment hour, then more two to two over dinner at 9pm, with the day officially ending at around 10:30pm, when the bar would be open and those still willing to chat could do so over a few quiet drinks.

That was the theory anyway. Despite the various explanations on the websites, I could never have anticipated the actual experience. From the initial bus meeting point, where we Anglos had been instructed to “grab yourself a Spanish, and talk his/her ears off on the bus”, I realized that this week was going to be far more complex than I could have imagined. My bus trip was shared with Estrella and Frederico, probably the first terrified Spanish people I have ever spoken to for two hours each. We started off on the basics of family and work, interspersed occasionally with the bonus (for me) of having a tour guide to explain the features of the area, the kinds of wine produced there, the agricultural processes, the history, culture, etc.. Conversation flowed naturally into so many different subjects that wouldn’t usually occur with a casual acquaintance or even possibly with a long time friend.

Our destination was the outskirts of La Alberca, a small historic village in the northwest of Spain. Accomodation was in large apartments shared by an Anglo downstairs, with the Spanish taking the more luxurious upstairs (that's OK, they paid to come here, and they're working!). The complex itself was laid out round a main building which housed the dining hall, bar, and meeting room. My apartment was right next to the main building, and had a nice sunny lawn area where we tended to hang out in the afternoons enjoying the sun. The weather was wonderful the entire week at La Alberca, though felt a little cold to me coming straight from the Florida heat.

The staff was Brian, the Anglo Master of Ceremonies, Mayte, the Spanish Program Director. There primary function was to encourage the group bonding experience and keep the program flowing, and dealing with minor issues that arose during the week (Dr visits, heating issues, etc.) They did an awesome job: the week went smoothly, and the group cohesion was an incredible thing to experience. I would never imagined, without seeing it, that such a diverse group of people could share such an intense experience in such a short time. The conversations were far beyond what I had expected, and more fun than I could imagine. Scattered among the one to one conversation sessions were other activities such as phone and conference calls, group activities and impromptu skits. Though these were a source of fear, they were a great source of amusement for all, even the terrified participants.
Top the whole thing off with some very intense dinner conversations, late night parties, disco dancing, ancient ceremonies, and the very occasional lapse into Spanish (only once or twice), and it made for a very enjoyable, intense week.

I have committed to a similar session with the competitor company starting early tomorrow morning. Foolishly, I did not anticipate how exhausting this would be, nor how many clothes I would wear! Hence the laundromat. When I'm done here I'm going to eat and go back to my room to siesta!

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The sun finally came out!

...on the day I flew home!

It hadn't occurred to me when I booked the flight, but today is 07/07/07. As well as the symmetry in the digits, it is also the anniversary of the London Underground bombings, the first day of the Tour de France, and there have been several car bomb and airport car attacks in the weeks I have been in England. Needless to say, once I realised all this, I expected airport security to be a little tight. It was, but knowing what to expect I made sure I was very early arriving at the airport, and carried the smallest carryon I could with as little in as possible. It was pretty smooth going through, all things considered.

Waiting outside the terminal after dropping off my rental car I felt something very strange. The sun! It'sthe first time I'd felt it during my trip I think.

But aside from the rain it was a great vacation. Spent equal time with Mum and Dad and Kathy. Really enjoyed seiing the kids again, but didn't get any photos due to the whole "busted the camera" thing. Stupid!

Whenever I spend time at home I wish I had more time to spend, but it's hard to sacrifice hiking and rafting trips to spend time in the cold and rain, even if it is with my family. I've got to figure out a way to do more of both.

Wettest June on Record

Of course it is!

I'm home in England visiting with my family. I never expect great weather for my UK trips, it's not like I come here for the weather, I come here to see my family.

But it would be nice to sometime have both!

Grand Canyon Work Your Way

You've got to love last minute trip plans. I do: Three weeks ago I received a very quick phone call with an offer of a Grand Canyon "work your way" raft trip if I could make it to Phoenix by the following Friday. Work your way is a free trip as part of the crew on the rafts. The work is mainly helping with the tying up and launching of the boats, food prep and cleanup, loading/unloading boats, etc. I'd taken a trip a couple of summers ago that had a couple of work your ways and was fairly confident I'd be OK with the camp duties, I've always helped out on my other trips anyway. The tiny bit of concern I felt was for my ability to navigate up and down the moving boat, as my previous experiences had basically just been the "sit down and hang on" variety. It didn't give me too much pause though. I wanted to go, and go I would.

Unlike the other trips which started out with a restful night in a hotel and a smooth comfortable ride to Marble Canyon to meet the rafts, this time I found myself at the crew trailer taking a freezing cold shower at 6am, being instructed to borrow a vehicle to go pick up hot coffee from a local convenience store, then help myself to grits from the pan on the stove that should be ready by the time I returned. Coffee in hand, I ate my fair share, and glad I did, as the next several hours were spent rigging the rafts. First ice: tons of ice, loaded in the bottom of giant coolers, shortly followed by food deliveries, produce, dairy, meat, and bread. Then drinks; sodas, cases of them, and giant jugs of fresh water, as well as chips, candy, cereals and other groceries. After all the consumables the sleeping kits are loaded (not forgetting to procure a sleeping mat and bag for myself), and tied down, topped off with rolled up side tubes that would later be inflated and attached to the boats, and the all important giant bags of life vests. When everything is secured into road travel mode, the two massive fully loaded rafts are gassed up and winched on to a converted car carrier trailer.

The crew piled into the sleeping bunks of the truck and tried to nap for the trip to Marble Canyon. But the day's work was not yet done. At Lee's Ferry, in the full heat of the day, the rafts are winched into the Colorado River, side tubes inflated and attached, and the rafts re-rigged into river travel mode. It was a long, hot, dusty day and I was ready for a shower, good dinner and an early night! Next day, the first task was to relocate the rafts down to the launch ramp in anticipation of arrival of the passengers. So here it is, my moment of nemesis. Am I strong enough to actually assist in moving the heavily laden rafts back off the sandbar they had stranded on overnight? And would I be able to get back onto the raft after it was pushed free? Well, the boats came free, though I'm not sure my effort made much difference. Getting myself back onto the raft? Well that was a whole different story. I leaped for it, and was almost on, but would never have made it without the assistance of Riley, the trip's swamper and an awesome young woman who practically grew up on the river, and would be showing me the ropes (literally, in the case of tying up the boats) for the next week.

The passengers arrived, and we set off down the river. I spent the first day riding with Travis, and it's a whole different river from up there in the swamper's seat. The swamper's seat is a boat seat strapped to a cooler or row of large ammo cans. It's next to the driver, (and the noisy engine), and it's the highest point on the raft. You don't get splashed as much as on the main boat, I was in for a hot and fairly dry trip, and if I thought some of those rapids looked scary from the main boat I was in for a heck of a ride!

It was during the initial short run to our lunchtime beach stop that I realized I was not going to be able to keep my camera close enough by to take my usual 700 or so canyon shots, and still be able to keep the camera protected and dry. I was also still rather concerned about being ready to jump out of my seat, run down the side tubes and jump off the boat to tie up without getting caught in a multitude of straps. Keeping my water bottle close by seemed more important than the camera. Consequently there are not as many photos of this trip.

We stayed the first night at North Canyon, and had an interesting tent raising experience for an hour or so, but everyone eventually got settled. The food has always been good on my river trips, and tonight was no exception. Dinner was great, even though I had to play a part in cooking it myself.

Next morning it was a 4:45am start, with Riley providing the jet blaster alarm clock when she started the morning coffee water. We stopped for hikes at South Canyon, and a brief wander in Redwall cavern. After lunch at Buck Farm we cruised past Nankoweap beach and saw three mule deer right on the beach where I had slept last October. A short while later we saw a coyote on the river bank, but my camera was not close by at that time.

After a night at 60 mile canyon, we set off for the short ride to the Little Colorado and hiked up to the flume to play. On the right is a picture of the passengers "diapering up" for the ride in the flume, and below is the first few brave souls to test the water. After getting the flumers started I took a little walk up the river bank, enjoying the clear blue water and red rock formations.

The day was overcast, and continued that way as we passed the Hopi salt mines and pulled in to Carbon canyon for lunch and a hike up the canyon. Late afternoon, after a short river day and some good hiking we pulled up on the big beach at Tanner Canyon for the night. It was early enough for cold baths in the river while the sun was still shining. During this process we discovered a small rattlesnake curled up in the rocks by the river.

And then the rain came! It started right after dinner, and turned quickly into a massive storm, with high winds and very close lightning. Those of us that had not yet put up a tent had a very wet start to the night while dealing with that issue as quickly as possible. By the time the tent was up I was wet and cold, but snuggling down in the sleeping bag helped warm me up. The wind got harder, threatening to flatten the tent, or blow it off the boat, and the lightning got even closer and brighter in the early hours of the morning. Judging by the proximity of lighting to thunder, it appeared the strikes were below the canyon rim. Even more surprising was that the storm and rain lasted all night, and was still raining next morning. I was expecting to see some very unhappy people the next morning, but everyone took it in good spirits, and the rain eased off as we prepared and ate breakfast.

Gorge day. What can I say? The rapids came thick and fast, and I was right about those rapids being scarier from the swamper seat! We made a quick stop at Phantom Beach for fresh water, then continued down to Ross Wheeler camp for the night. Next day we stopped at Elves Chasm, Randy's Rock for lunch, Blacktail Canyon, and Deer Creek before making camp just upriver of Olo canyon.

The evening above Olo was wonderful. There was a little time to chill before dinner, and Elkanah brought out his guitar and played and sang for us all for the remainder of the night. It was very relaxing and we all seemed to stay up quite late.

Next day we hiked up Havasu Canyon for a couple of hours, then continued downriver, stopping at Stairway for lunch. I had been very nervous about landing here, as I remember how bumpy the landing can be inside the rapid, and this is the only place I have seen several flips and stranded boats on various trips. When we pulled up in the second raft Riley was already scaling the rocks looking for a suitable chock to tie to, and I was pretty certain I wouldn't be comfortable or safe following her. Elkanah came to my assistance though, and jumped off his raft to tie up ours as soon as his own was secured, and I got to sit safe on the raft until we were tied up. In my anxiety I seem to have neglected to take the camera out of it's bag all day today. Typically, because a hummingbird buzzed the boats and landed several times on bright objects posing for those with their cameras ready, then late in the afternoon, after great runs in Lava rapid, we pulled around the corner to a beach for what we thought was to be a short break, and came across a bobcat sitting on the beach lunching on a snake. Unfortunately our "oooh a bobcat" exclamations scared him into the brush before cameras could be retrieved. Our river day ended a mile or so later at Fat camp around mile 200.

I obviously wasn't paying attention that morning, because we stopped early to take a small hike up a canyon to some petroglyphs but I have no idea where we were! Lunch was eaten at Pumpkin Springs, where several people played jumping off the rocks into the river, but I just helped prepare lunch. Today was my first very frustrating experience tying up the boats, as I couldn't find a suitable rock to tie up to, and I was rather nervous when everyone started jumping from raft to rocks without being tied up. Everyone survived though, and I got over it.

Later in the day, approaching Diamond Creek i got very hot and drowsy up in the swamper's seat. In fact I think I dropped off to sleep up there. Guessing that would not be a good place to "drop off" I made my way down to the front of the boat for a few minutes of cold splashes to wake me up. Shortly after, we stopped at Travertine Canyon for the short hike up to splash in the Grotto. After a thorough soaking and the rope ladder assisted climb back down to the rafts, we cruised through our final rapids of the trip and into our final beach at Gneiss Canyon. This was a great campsite, but judging by the heat still retained in the rocks on this spring day, it might be a little hot and uncomfortable in summer. Riley and I handled dinner while the guys reshuffled everything in the rafts in preparation for derigging the boats in the morning. We cooked meat and veggie spaghetti with lots of great assistance from our volunteer kitchen crew. It was thoroughly appreciated. You know who you are!

During and after breakfast the side tubes were removed and re-rolled, and the boats strapped together for the final part of the journey. Everyone gathered for group photos and we all piled onto the rafts for the last time together. The two drivers took turns driving and reading to the passengers as we continued downstream to meet up with the jet boat. When it arrived we all said our good-byes and they were off on their high speed conclusion to the trip.

We, however still had a long hot day ahead of us to cover the same distance at a much slower pace. Early in the afternoon we rounded a bend to find another unloaded raft stranded on a sand bar. We all jumped off to help push it off but it was stuck pretty fast. Eventually our raft and another were used to pull the grounded raft back out into deeper water. Unfortunately for me, I was on the shallow side of the raft pushing when it finally broke free. Leaving me now stranded on the sandbar! I thought someone would come back for me but was just told "swim", so jumped in and swam to the nearest raft where two big strong young men grabbed my upstretched arms and manhandled me upward onto the raft. My first swim in the Colorado!

At the end of a long day we finally approached Lake Mead and the end of the river. Half an hour later we were tied up on the dock at South Cove, and very shortly after that, sound asleep.

The final day was a blur of activity. Very early we moved the boats around to the unloading ramp, and back onto the awaiting truck. It was here that I finally managed to fall off the raft and into the water just as we were loading the second raft. Fortunately the water was only 3 or 4 feet deep and I landed on my feet. No harm done.

When the truck was loaded we once again all piled in, and in a repeat of the first day attempted to nap in the sleeping cab of the truck. About halfway back to Flagstaff we stopped at IHOP for breakfast. I confess I have never eaten steak and ice-cream for breakfast before, but it was good! Back at the warehouse in Flagstaff we spent several hours in the reverse of the rigging process: emptying coolers and water jugs, removing and sorting food, sleep kits and tents, and washing down everything. It was very efficient and accomplished fairly quickly. As we were de-rigging, who should stop by to say hi? TJ and Trey, the two drivers from my very first canyon trip. It seems like I just came full circle!

This was an awesome trip. I loved experiencing the entire process from start to finish. Even though it was quite hard and tiring at times, I would go back in a heartbeat. I can't thank my crew enough for the patience they showed dealing with my questions and inexperience, nor the passengers who willingly held out hands, shoulders and heads for me to grab on to for stability when runnning up and down those side tubes, and for all their help getting me and my ropes back on the boat after stops. Thanks also to Arizona River Runners for allowing work your ways along on trips, but the biggest thanks of all go to Elkanah for being willing to put up with me for a week and extending the invite for the trip.
Until next time......


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Family in Florida

Mm Mum, Sister Kathy, her husband Ben, and their children Laura and Luke are here for a visit. We've spent a week just hanging around here in Tampa: the nature trailthe beach, the zoo, etc with the kids, and of course, the customary mammoth shopping trips with Mum and Kathy!

I have to go out of town for a couple of days next week, so I've deposited everyone in Orlando to do the tourist thing for a couple of days. While we were there we did the Mickey Mouse thing at Magic Kingdom. The kids seemed to enjoy it, but it's very tiring and I think they're overwhelmed by it all. We all had fun though. Laura is like Kathy, she loves the fast rollercoasters,and she's tallenough to ride them now too. Obviously wealso did the slower small kiddie rides like it's a small world. I've always thought it was cute, but the kids always seem entralled by it.Ijust have so much trouble getting that song out ofmy head afterwards though!

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Italy Vacation

Monday
A fairly uneventful day travelling to Italy. We had a short delay at Gatwick (surprise!) while the plane crew and the ground crew tried to agree on how many bags should be in the hold. We flew over Paris and the Alps, and arrived in a sunny warm Rome, took the Leonardo Express train and found the bed and breakfast at 69 Manin Street without too much trouble. After struggling up 3 flights of stairs, just to realise there WAS an elevator, we were soon settled in our room.

Tuesday
An early start had us waiting in Plaza Santa Maria Maggiore for the Rome City Sightseeing tourbus.
We took to complete round trip tour seeing the highlights of Rome from the bus, including a glimpse of the Colosseum, Vatican city, and Julius Ceasar's "Ide's of March" death place before departing the bus back at our origin point and visiting Santa Maria Maggiore itself.

After the church we jumped back on the tour bus for the ride back to the Colosseum. It was while we were here, trying to explain the history to Casey, that I realised we should have rented the movie Gladiator before we travelled. After the Colosseum, we walked down through the Roman Forum to look at the old temples.

Wednesday
An early start and quick taxi ride got us to the Vatican by 8am. Note for future reference. If the guide book says the attraction opens at 7:30am except for some Wednesdays when there is a Papal Audience, and the doors don't look open, don't just join the nearest line and wait! Today was a Wednesday audience day, and the crushing, jostling line of not so patient Pilgrims eventually spewed us into St. Peter's Square. However,not into a line to enter the Basilica, but into a sit down area for Mass. Needless to say, even having waited an hour, we didn't want to sit and wait for the service. We made a quick exit and continued on to the Vatican Museum.

The artifacts and art in the museaums is incredible, but nothing can compare to the beauty of the Sistine Chapel. Photography is not permitted, but could not do justice to Michaelangelo's masterpiece anyway. The paintings are beautifully lifelike, and the 3-D effect is stunning. We all left with stiff necks.

St Peter's was still not open when we completed the Sistine Chapel, so it looks like we will not be seeing St Peter’s Basilica and Michelangelo’s Pietà. Instead, after a quick slice of Pizza, a beer and a couple of sodas in the museum cafeteria, we continued on to the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain. The Triton and Four Corners Fountains were on the remainder of the walk back to the hotel, where we all collapsed exhausted and napped before dinner.

Thursday
Today was a later start day and a very unscheduled morning walk. We started with the churches of Santa Maria della Vittoria, then Santa Susanna, which serves as the USA Catholic Church in Rome, and finally San Bernardo alle Terme. On the way back to the hotel we stopped by Fontana delle Naiadi in Piazza della Republica. We passed a badly pregnant beggar having a miraculous pregnancy. Yesterday she was begging less than a mile up the same street dresssed as a young girl, not pregnant but with a sick dog! A few minutes after seeing her, during dinner, we nearly lost Casey's camera to a group of thieving pickpocket beggars. They crowded the table begging for pennies and showing a child's drawing on a postcard. Then at one stage dropped the drawing on the table right over the camera and attempted to pick up the camera with it as they were shoed away. Luckily we realised what was going on and we still have the camera.

For the afternoon we joined a guided tour to Tivoli. The fountain gardens of the Villa del Este in Tivoli are beautiful. The fountains are on the hillside below the Villa and must be a soothing, cool place on a hot summer day. We were fortunate to have cooler and light overcast weather today, but still enjoyed the variety of the fountains. It's a steep climb back out of the gardens to the town and the Tower of Tivoli, the first summer house of the Popes, but it is not used now.

Friday
Today we leave Rome and travel 1 1/2 hours by train to Florence. A short, but pedestrian encumbered walk takes us to Il Bargello B&B. . This is the B&B that I remembered as not having an elevator. It does have 3 floors of steeps steps though!. The "small" luggage we are toting sure seems to get bigger on stairs!
The owner of the B&B however is a native english speaker (from Canada), very pleasant and even helps carry some luggage. Our room is not quite ready yet, so we abandon our luggage, grab cameras and sweaters, and prepare to sightsee.

First and last stops for the day are at the Cathedral (Florence Duomo ) and in between we jump on the Florence Sightseeing bus. We stop at Santa Cruce Church to see the tombs of Michelangelo and Dante, and the original "Statue of Liberty". Next we switch buses for a ride out into the Tuscan countryside and up into the hills above Florence at Fiesole where we eat dinner, before the return trip to Florence.

Saturday - Museum day.
We decided on an early start and skipped breakfast, though we didn't make it more than a block before doughnuts and caffeine tempted us into a cafe bar, Cafe Mingo. This was to be our "staple cafe" as we returned several times during the the remainder of the day as we required sustenance. First culture stop was the Uffizi Gallery where we saw many great works including Botticelli's Venus, Da Vinci's Annunciation, Lippi's Madonna, and Michaelangelo's Holy Family, as well as many other Raphael's, Ruebens, Van Dyck's etc. Of course, we couldn't take pictures of any, so the memories and postcards will have to suffice. Next stop was the Bargello Museum , with lots of beautiful statues but we still could not take photos.

After refreshment at Cafe Mingo we moved on to the Duomo Museum where we could finally exercise the cameras! Most of the art and statiary from the Cathedral has been moved here. We experienced our first Reliqueries - ornately carved, gilded and jewelled containers with what can only be described as "Saint pieces" inside! The first really recognzable piece was an almost complete finger, but others contained jaws with teeth, and other recognizable bones.

Next, we considered a visit to the Galleria dell'Accademia & Michelangelo’s David, but our experiences of the day made us realise that we probably would not be able to take pictures of it anyway, so we settled for the copy of the David, and other statues in the Piazzo Vecchio. Thoroughly museum'd out we returned to our favorite Cafe of the day for refreshment and ice-cream before returning to the room for a nap.

Refreshed, we set out for an evening stroll to Ponte Vecchio 14th-century bridge. We parked ourselves at a riverside bar for a drink and a trip to the bar snack buffet, and watched the sun go down. Returning to the hotel we tested Casey's map reading skills by letting her find the route home. She succeeded admirably, including a stop at Cafe Mingo (again) en route for gelato, and for bag of ice, inkdly supplied by the cafe owner, and the first Mark has seen all week for his evening whisky!

Sunday
Daytrip by Train to Pisa to see the Campo dei Miracoli & the Leaning Tower. Casey's map reading once again got us to the right place. The day started out rather grey and gloomy with a tiny sprinkle of rain, but brightened up as the day progressed. We had prebooked tickets for all of us to go up the Tower. Something I have never been able to do on previous trips to Pisa. Mark didn't think he could face the exposure though, so only Casey and I went up.

Monday
This morning we check out of Il Bargello B&B. We have a little time for sightseeing before we return via Rome to Naples so we walk across town to the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine and the Cappella de Braccacio which contains some of the most beautiful frescos we have seen, completed by Lippi (of Madonna and child and 2 angels fame). Then we set off back across town again (just imagine walking this far anywhere else just to look at pictures!) to Capella de Medici, the Chapel and tombs of the Medici Family. A very dark and imposing octagonal chapel with beautiful tombs and Michaelangelo statues.


On the return trip to retrieve our bags from the B&B we stopped one last time at our Cafe Mingo, then on to the train from Florence to Naples where we check in to the Holiday Inn Naples

Tuesday
Today is Pompeii day. It starts off very hot and sunny, and we are soon wishing for ice water. Luckily for us, as we finally find somewhere to buy water, the sky clouds up and we get a few raindrops, but only a very small sprinkle. The remainder of the day is cloudy. Not great for the pictures, but it sure saved us about 10 - 15 degrees! The walking is not as bad as we anticipated but a littel uneven. The ruins are extensive and humbling to imagine how a whole small city can suddenly be stopped in time. Again, I should have had the forethought to rent some movies before visiting so Casey would understand some of the historical significance.

Wednesday
More ruins. Today is Herculaneum's turn. The ruins here are smaller, but were buried deeper and more intact, with 2 storey buildings, and wooden remains. The bed frame below left is a good example of an artifact.

We're Almost ready to come home now. Tomorrow we'll take the train from Naples back to Rome, and hopefully get a little time to shop before the return flight to London Gatwick where we spend a final night at HI Gatwick Naples before the direct BA flight back to Tampa

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Visit with the family

Stopped off in England for a visit on the way to Italy on vacation. After a VERY restless night's flight (we all got much more sleep during the flight 2 years ago when we flew business class!) we set off for Hartlepool. It was a drizzly wet day, and we hit a couple of nasty traffic jams which stretched the drive out to about 6 hours. But we did finally arrive at Mum's house.

I don't know why no-one wanted to go for any long car rides while we were in Hartlepool! So we just took a short drives to Seaton Carew Beach, and Old Hartlepool.

To get some sightseeing in, on the way back down to Marlow we made a brief stop at Rievaulx Abbey for a walk before the clouds and rain took over.

We spent some time with my sister and her family and got drooled on a lot by Luke, took some local walks, and played out in the yard with Laura.

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Jamaica Thanksgiving

We won a free trip to Firefly in their monthly drawing. It's not a gimmick, we can actually take a free stay up to the value of our previous stay last Christmas. The only limitation is that we have to take it outside the peak season, so that means not at Christmas. However, Thanksgiving is out of peak season, so that worked well enough for us. At such late notice it wasn't going to be easy to get flights arranged for the traditional Holiday weekend, so we travelled Tuesday before Thanksgiving to Monday after, and had no difficulties getting flights.

I can't tell you how many people reminded me to take my Green Card with me this time, so there was absolutely no doubt it travelled with me!

We had a great relaxing time. The only trips out we took were a couple of days out at Hedonism II, including on Thanksgiving day. I guess it was just another day in Paradise for the Hedo management. The meals weren't special holiday fare or anything, but were still the great food and service we have come to expect. Actually I'm glad it wasn't a "special" event there, we would probably have had to pay extra if it was. The only thing that was out of the ordinary routine was the "annual spanksgiving parade" from the nude beach out to the surrounding non nudist resorts. I guess the neighbors tolerate this once a year outpouring of exuberance in the form of scantily but seasonally dressed up merry makers.

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Return to the Grand Canyon

So call me crazy, but flying out at Whitmore Wash on the first canyon trip just left me feeling “unfinished”. Solution: Do the last 100 miles, just to say you did it? I didn’t want to just fly all the way back to Vegas just to do the 3 day trip and see the last one hundred miles alone. What I really wanted was to do the whole thing over again, and go all the way to the end this time. I would love to do the Canyon for longer, but was still a little cautious about those oar boats, and just didn’t have the vacation time left for a 2 week trip this year, but I really, really want to finish the Canyon.
So having returned home I immediately started thinking about a return trip. By the 3rd week of June I had identified a late summer trip that would fit in my schedule. Lucky for me, when I called Arizona River Runners a family of four had just changed their trip plans and there were now 4 available spaces on the September 4th eight day, full length, motor trip. Unfortunately I was still unable to persuade Mark to join me, and no-one else was willing or able to get away for a week of hot days, freezing water, and sleeping on a mat out in the middle of nowhere. Undaunted, I reserved a single one of those last four spaces, and airline tickets to get me to Vegas and back. ARR once again would provide the transport from Vegas to river and back again.

September finally arrived. Ignoring Hurricane Frances’ impending schedule right over the top of Tampa, I again took an early flight to Las Vegas. Again catching a glimpse of Canyon as we flew over Arizona, this time no road map to establish our exact position (how did I forget that?) and light cloud cover meant that though I saw the Canyon, I didn’t actually see the river. The eternal “will it be green, and not muddy?” question would have to wait for riverside tomorrow to be answered. I did see what I again assumed to be the Little Colorado River valley, which looked brown from 36,000’, but who can be sure from that height? I was ambivalent as to the color of the river, as even really muddy silty brown would interest me this time and provide an interesting contrast to the perfect clear green of my last trip. I wasn’t really looking forward to bathing in muddy water though. We were probably flying on a slightly different flight line than the previous trip as I couldn’t see most of what I remember from the last trip, and passengers on the left of the plane commented on seeing Hoover Dam through the clouds. No pictures of Lake Mead from the plane this trip. My camera was in the overhead compartment, and my window rather dirty anyway. I decided to wait for the pictures from the ground at the end of the trip.

Arriving in Vegas, I was quickly deposited by taxi once again at the Hawthorne Suites, where we were to be met early the next day. Again, as on the last trip there was a very early room available. Being so early, and having partaken of a Cinnabon roll for breakfast I didn’t feel the need to do the Strip to eat this time. I took a nice long nap and shower, then called friend TJ, who recently moved to Vegas, to pick me up and tote me around for the afternoon, culminating in an early Prime Rib dinner. Thanks TJ! After dinner I was re-deposited at the Hawthorne to repack my bags in river mode and get my early night. Early next morning, a final hot shower, and I was down in the lobby sampling the complimentary doughnuts, fruit, juice, and coffee. The other 26 travelers were also congregating and we were met by an ARR representative. Shortly afterwards the bus arrived, and we set out for Lees Ferry.

Our route took us through Virgin Gorge, and on to Hurricane, UT where we stopped for a bathroom break and one last call home. I found it rather ironic calling from Hurricane to see what the hurricane was up to! I was told that Frances had weakened slightly, but still headed for Florida, and not to worry. I also mentioned at this time my slightly scratchy, sore throat, which at the time I assumed to be a wet Florida air versus dry Vegas air transition (more on that later!). Continuing on through the streets of Hurricane we appeared to become an impromptu part of the Labor Day weekend parade. People were lined up in folding chairs along the parade route. Fortunately we were not a little later and stuck in the middle of the parade!

The drive was interesting. The stop at Hurricane had seemed rather cool to me, and the sky clear and blue (unlike the cloudy, windy and bumpy day I had had for the plane ride last trip). The scenery of the Kaibab plateau is basically very flat (right), but eventually route 89A rises over a ridge and drops over the edge of the canyon to parallel the Vermillion cliffs with it’s spectacular layered rock walls appear.

Next stop, Marble Canyon for fishing licenses, restock of beer, etc. Then the bus continued down to Lees Ferry where we disembarked and were met by our crew. Josh, an experienced Colorado boatman, but leading his first trip, Joe driving the second boat and usually a trip leader, Elkanah, another experienced driver, but serving as swamper on this trip, and Chris, Josh’s friend taking his first trip in the swamper’s seat.

The boat ramp was very busy, with several commercial trips and a private trip readying their rafts. The numbered aqua blue dry bags were laid out awaiting us, and soon the crew was busy instructing everyone on transferal of our gear into river bags. I chose bag number A27 this trip and began unpacking and repacking. Maybe it was the larger group, or because I already knew what needed to be done, or maybe it was due to so much other activity going on at the same time but this process seemed a little more chaotic this trip than it had been at the Marble Canyon Lodge house on the last trip. Eventually everyone got the hang of it though and our dry bags were packed and stowed aboard the rafts.

Josh gave the initial correct fitting of life jackets and boat safety orientation and we all loaded onto the boats. I jumped on Josh’s boat to start the trip, though I intended to switch between the boats as I had on the previous trip. The clear blue sky was turning cloudy black while we loaded and we had hardly even pushed off from the shore when the first drops of rain began to fall. Just for the record that is the second “rare” canyon rain (left) that I have experienced within a mile of Lees Ferry!

I was fairly surprised to see the river green, though was later told that it had been fairly red and muddy up until the past several days. The flows from Glen Canyon dam had been fluctuating between 10 to 20 thousand cubic feet per second for most of the summer, but had dropped to around half that amount since September 1st. We would have only 5 to 10 cfs for the duration of the trip.

Very soon after passing through Paria riffle we stopped on a sandbar beach for lunch and more river orientation. As Josh oriented us the rest of the crew prepared the “make-it-yourself” sandwich table. The weather was deteriorating as we were oriented. Lighting flashed behind Josh and the wind whipped sand around. It was interesting to me to see some of the passengers cautious about sitting on the sand. I can’t even imagine that anyone might think they would get through this trip without getting sandy! After lunch we loaded back onto the rafts to continue. Soon passing under the twin Navajo bridges(left) and 10 Mile Rock (below) which I had only seen in a hailstorm before!


We quickly sank into the rising Kaibab, Tapeats, and Coconino sandstone layers and started into our first rapids (below – Joe’s boat running rapid).

We started through the Roaring Twenties rapids, and stopped for our first camp at river left just below Indian Dick rapid at mile 23. I had already decided to spend as many nights as possible sleeping out without a tent. Though as an ARR Canyon veteran Josh had me help with the tent setup demonstration. So I erected the first tent, which was then given away to the first taker. That only seemed fair as MaryBeth and I had actually been the beneficiaries of the demo tent on the first night of the last trip. Concerned that the wind may pick up as it had on the first night last trip I quickly found myself a sheltered spot behind a large rock and rolled out my sleeping mat, leaving the remaining bedding packed until ready for use, to eliminate the chance of it becoming a resting place for some other creature than me!

Dinner was delicious, if predictable. It seems that the menu provided for the trips is very standardized and does not change much between the 7 and 8 day trips. Tonight was grilled salmon, rice and salad, with cheesecake to follow. Surprise! I was able to guess both dinner and dessert correctly for the first couple of days before the crew surprised me with meal we had not had on the first trip. While the crew cooked dinner us passengers started to get to know each other more.

I had a fairly restful night, except for a very irritating dry and slightly sore throat which woke me a couple of times. The moon came up late into the night and was very bright, even though not full. In the morning the coffee was delicious, strong, gritty, and very quick to disappear. The biggest difference on this trip so far seems to be the prevalence of strong coffee drinkers. I remember throwing away coffee most mornings on the last trip, but the coffee on this trip needed to be refreshed with additional hot water most mornings. After breakfast of eggs and hash brown potatoes, we reversed the unpacking process and loaded back onto the boats. I switched to Joe’s boat this morning. Starting out in calm water Josh read to us (below left) from the logs of Powell’s trip about the journey into the unknown. He also told us about Georgie White-Clark and her river running trips. The first rapid we run this morning is Mile 24, now known as Georgie’s Rapid.

Mid morning we stopped at South Canyon for our first hike. The lower part of the hike was up about 75 feet to a ledge with a large rock decorated with petroglyphs. It was fairly easily accessible and everyone joined in. There was a nice view of the river upstream from the ledge. The second part went much higher up into the rock for a canyon overlook. It was already hot, and my throat was getting sorer by the minute, so I skipped the top half of the hike. Along with several others of the group I worked my way down to the boats and took a short walk up South Canyon and when it turned too muddy to continue turned back to the river and found a nice cool rock to sit on. It was originally in the shade, but the sun soon found me.

Soon after the sun hit my rock the group began trickling down from the hike. We loaded back on the boats. Just before Vasey’s Paradise we first heard, then saw two rams practicing their territory claiming skills complete with posturing and skull butting. We hovered for several minutes during which time they worked though their sniffing, posing and butting routine 3 times. Unfortunately I never quite managed to click the camera just right, and while I got many pictures, I never quite got them butting!
Continuing on to Redwall Cavern we passed Kissing Rock. At Mile 33 we stopped for lunch in Redwall Cavern. There was already an oar trip group in Redwall the group was from a symphony orchestra, but I can’t remember where. Some of them played while we ate. Unfortunately I was not much in the mood to enjoy the “make-it- yourself” sandwich lunch or the music much. My throat was now burning and sore, head pounding, ears filling up with fluid, and temperature rising. I began to feel like I was getting sick. Before we left Redwall Cavern we were told that some of the Orchestra group had continued downstream to a smaller beach to play and we would likely hear them as we passed. The boatmen turned off the engines and we floated with the current downriver while the quartet played. It was a uniquely relaxing experience to drift by listening to the music. The piece finished just as we drifted out of earshot and we all applauded before the boats were restarted and we continued on, passing several small fresh water springs with their clusters of ferns, then the Bridge of Sighs at mile 35.

As we passed mile 40 Joe explained the test drills and the effect that the proposed Marble Canyon Dam would have had on the Canyon. Next we passed the Triple Alcoves with stalactites, stalagmites, and fern crowned springs. By this time the canyon had turned mainly shaded, and the repeated dousings of frigid water were having an extreme chilling effect. My temperature was high, and as I started to count off miles until we would stop for the night my fever continued to rise. As we entered Nankoweap Canyon a female mule deer and 2 fawns were spotted on river right. Again we drifted and hovered for several minutes to get pictures, though in my delirious state I could hardly even see through the viewfinder, let alone get all 3 animals in the same photo!

Mile 52: As we cleared the first rapid and rounded the corner we not only saw the Anasazi Granaries high in the sheer rock wall, but it was also clear that both the upper and middle Nankoweap campgrounds were empty. Fortunately for me, we had our beach for the night! I was never so glad to get off the river. I skipped out on the duffle line duty tonight in favor of a very quick change into my dry fleece sweater and a hot rock to sit on. As soon as I recovered my bag I quickly set up my bed with the luxury of an extra bed mat and collapsed exhausted onto it. Our wonderful boat guides, seeing the extent of my sickness at this point provided hot water for herb teas and vitamins C and E from their own personal supplies in an attempt to hasten my recovery. They are wonderful guys! Dinner was barbeque chicken, stovetop and beans and carrots with hot dutch oven brownies and fresh milk. It was great, (especially the brownies) though I couldn’t taste much, and the actual swallowing was a challenge. The warm dry clothes, hot tea, food, and fever reducing aspirin had the net result of completing my exhaustion and I literally dropped into bed and immediately to sleep only to awake every couple of hours in a returned pained, sore, and unable to swallow state, repeat the drink and aspirin cycle and fall immediately back to sleep. Sometime shortly before dawn the fever broke in a thoroughly drenching sweat. I switched to a dry sleeping bag and drifted in and out of sleep for a short while until the breakfast coffee burners got me up and out of bed.

Maybe it was some kind of post fever delirium, or maybe it was that the guides had been so willing and sweet and helpful with the hot teas, vitamins, etc., but I should also have remembered the true nature of those sweet caring guides. The recommendation for soothing my sore throat this morning was to use Tabasco sauce on my Blueberry pancake and sausage breakfast. Unbelievably, I was foolish enough to forget the rule never to trust a river guide if his lips are moving! The Tabasco did indeed stop me feeling the pain from my sore throat, but only at the cost of me losing ALL feeling in my mouth, lips and tongue for several hours after consuming the not so delicious concoction. After breakfast, with any deep breathing still extremely uncomfortable I set out with the group to hike up to the Anasazi Granaries. I was not sure I would make it, but was determined to give it my very best try. Missing out on the Nankoweap hike due to lack of a campground had been a big disappointment to me on the first trip. I was still hopeful to make it this time. The lack of direct sunlight on the steep uphill climb was my best chance right now. I was determined to try to keep a pace to ascend to the Granaries before the sun turned the steep hike into a hot steep hike. I started off near the front of the group, but with very short breath, and frequent need to stop I was soon falling behind. As we climbed higher some of the group decided not to continue to the top. About halfway up I found it necessary to pace myself 50 steps, then rest, then another 50 steps and rest. The view downriver at each rest just begged to be photographed, which allowed me my "breather breaks".

About 50’ below the Granaries the sun finally caught me, but by that stage I was too close to give up. I think I stopped at each 20 paces not 50, but I was determined to make it to the top. I finally made it to the top!

After a short rest I was ready to start back down. It was much easier on the breathing going down, but harder on the knees. The crew gave me a good start, but soon caught and passed me as they flip-flopped their way down! They are like mountain goats. I was the last to return, in the company of Joe. Back at the beach many were dousing themselves in the cold water to cool off. Memories of fever and chills from last night kept me from thoroughly partaking, but I did cool off my hot tired feet. Soon we were back in the boats and headed downstream once again. As we neared the confluence with the Little Colorado River the colorful Bright Angel Shale layers became even more impressive with their layers of greens, brown and purples. However, at Mile 61, the Little Colorado was a thick muddy brown flow. Definitely the antithesis of the sparkling clear blue river I remembered. I was disappointed for my fellow travelers that they would not get to experience and enjoy this little piece of Paradise. A couple of passengers who disembarked sank up to their knees in the mud. I stayed firmly on the boat! Just past the confluence we passed the sacred Hopi salt deposits along the left cliff. Hopi Indians made long pilgrimages from their villages to collect this salt. On river right we saw the gleaming of metal high on Chaur Butte where wreckage still remains of 2 jet aircraft that crashed in midair over Grand Canyon in 1955.

The next stop was for lunch on river right at Carbon Creek (Mile 64). The Mexican Train Wreck salad on pitas was especially good as I was actually beginning to taste food again! The vista from the beach was the Grand Canyon opening up, with the Desert View Watch Tower in the distance on the South Rim. While lunch was being prepared I took a quick walk up the beach to the mouth of the wash and found some interesting river fluted rocks. The Canyon is much more open here with impressive long distance views that you do not get in the gorges. There is much more variation in the rocks at this point in the Canyon. They rock types are referred to as the "Grand Canyon Supergroup" that includes more rocks than I care to name that are a mixture of sandstones, lava, and basalts. Various faults and earth movements have tilted these formations and caused offsets between one side of the Canyon and the other.

At Tanner Canyon (mile 68) we stopped at river right for an early camp and the chance to do an archeology hike with Joe. Much as I would have loved to do this hike I was already “rock scrambled” out for the day after Nankoweap, and didn’t relish the thought of straining my still tender sore throat with a hot dry hike. I decided to sit this one out and find myself a cozy spot on the beach to relax for a while and take a bath while the sun was still strong and warm. The split was about half and half between those that hiked and those that opted for hanging out. While the hiking group was away Elk entertained us with his guitar. It was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon and allowed me some much needed warm dry recovery time. Dinner tonight was a surprise for me. Spaghetti, salad, garlic bread and strawberry shortcake, which we did not have on the first trip. It was delicious. Anyone who knows me will not be surprised at how much of it traveled the remainder of the trip embedded in my pj’s t-shirt! After dinner Joe treated us all to a tour of the stars. I was particularly enjoyed seeing the yellow/red blinking Antares in the Scorpion system. Given that this area is known as Furnace Flats is was quite a strange to experience such a cool damp night here. When I awoke there appeared to have been a water seeping through the sand below my bed and my pillow and sleeping bag were both cold and damp.

Breakfast this morning was french toast and bacon, and we were soon on the river. Today was to be a long river day after such a short day yesterday. The wide open Canyon continued for around 8 miles down to Hance Rapid.

At Hance Rapid the Canyon changes once again and we entered the Upper Granite Gorge. The wide vistas are replaced by the vertical limestone cliffs. The river was running very low so the guides pulled over on river right to scout the rapid. The remainder of the group took this as an opportunity to do a little “relieving” and those that did not want to get wet in the rapid donned rain gear. The ride through Hance was relatively smooth considering how many rocks were showing through the shallow churning water, but Josh did ding his propeller on the way down and had to change it out at the bottom.

We stopped at the Phantom Ranch Beach a little before lunchtime. The chief purpose of the stop was to restock with fresh drinking water, but as it was lunchtime we walked up to Phantom Ranch to sit in air conditioned air for a few minutes, and mail postcards which would be carried by mule to the South Rim. I didn’t think it was worth mailing a card to Mark, doubting that it would get home before I did, so I mailed one to myself instead. Of course, the postcard proved me wrong and did make it home before me. Returning from Phantom Ranch I made it off the trail just in time to not get run over by the mules. We found the sandwich table set up on the beach, ate lunch, and continued downstream. Shortly after Phantom Ranch is the second of the two footbridges, Bright Angel Bridge, then a brief view of the South Rim observation point where I had got my first view of the Colorado River that had started this obsession with the Grand Canyon.

We had a wonderful afternoon of hot sunshine, cold rapids, and sheep. The best dousing of the afternoon had to be at Horn Creek rapid where the wave totally engulfed the raft so that from the front boat all that could be seen was the two boatmen, Joe and Elk, in the back surrounded by frothy water. Joe’s engine stalled in Horn Creek and we had a tense but quiet few moments while it recovered and he managed to restart it. Fortunately we didn’t hit anything or get stuck on top of anything while drifting. Then we tackled jewels rapids, and they were all fun, though Joe was obviously experiencing some engine issues, and finally pulled over just below Tuna rapid to change out the engine with the spare. It was very quickly done, and we all believe that Joe happened to provide Tootsie Roll suckers to us at that particular moment just to shut us all up so we would not ask questions and he could just get on with it. No watch to time him on, but it seemed like only 5 – 10 minutes to change out. Though obviously the downstream boat had been concerned about us missing for even such a short time when we caught up to them. The last highlight of the day for me was Serpentine Rapid, where I persuaded Joe to let me ride the duffle pile face forward into the rapid. It’s an awesome ride to see the waves coming up at you from that position. It also persuaded me that I was feeling much better that I was even interested in doing it! My sore throat was receding to a scratchy throat and body temperature was acting normally.

Camp tonight is at mile 107 on river right in an area of basalt rocks that retained heat. It was very easy to dry out. I even found a nice rocky area with a rock ledge that I could easily sit on to bathe and do laundry. I had a hard time debating over my choice of sleeping place tonight. Close to the river’s edge, but about 15’ above river level was an unusual circular rock depression. Almost like an 8’ circular cave without a roof. I was very tempted to use this as my private bedroom, except for the hard and rather un-level floor, and the complexity of dragging all my gear in and out again. Then there was the issue of having to rock scramble to get in and out as needed for bathroom trips in the night. Ultimately I decided that my first choice of level but packed sand close to the kitchen was a better choice. Dinner tonight was Pork Chops, apple sauce, beans and squash, with cobbler for dessert (for those who got to it quick enough!) It was a pleasant night, and warmer than the previous one, but the ants and mosquitoes took their fair share of human flesh at this location. One passenger was stung by a scorpion when he accidentally transferred it into his tent on a damp piece of clothing that had been left out on a rock. Wednesday breakfast was fill your own omelets. Delicious. My throat was a lot better today. Not sore at all, but I didn’t really have a proper voice going. It drifted in and out all day. I guess I sounded much worse that I felt. The worst part for me not was I was not able to scream my delight at the rapids!



Back on the river, the first stop for the day was at Elves Chasm (mile 116). I had hiked up to enjoy Elves Chasm on the last trip, but had not really enjoyed the trip back due to a particularly nasty sloped rock with a huge chasm and drop in the middle of it. I knew I would not be jumping from any waterfalls anyway, so decided not to torture everyone with having to coax me back over that nasty rock. I stayed down at the lower pools and falls in Elves Chasm. When the group returned from the hike we traveled a short distance downstream to pull up at a small beach on river right at mile 117 for lunch. Again, while the lunch tables were set up for ‘make-it-yourself’ sandwiches I took another little walk around the extent of the beach and found some interesting wind and water eroded rocks.

This afternoon we continued to have engine issues with stalls in both Bedrock and Duebendorf rapids. Either they happened in very fortuitous places or Joe is the best boatman ever, because somehow we managed not to get stuck on anything while drifting in this low water! Our afternoon stop is at Deer Creek Falls. I decided not to do the steep hike to the top just on past advice that it is extremely narrow in places and not good for anyone with height issues. Rather than just go into the waterfall side canyon I attempted to climb the big chunk of rock outside the canyon entrance to see if I could get a different view of the falls. I made it almost all the way up, but was stopped by a sloping slab of sandstone, which obscured an elevated view of the falls. I could probably have ascended it, but was not sure I could safely descend again. Not wanting to have to test my squeaky voice by screaming for help if I got stuck, I turned around to return to terra firma! This little side trip caused me my worst injury of the trip when I scraped the side of my right knee against a rock. Not particularly painful, but it did result in a nice purple and green bruise with an abrasion in the middle! Of course, I eventually had to go into the canyon below the falls for the obligatory “standing in the gale force outflow from the waterfall” picture.

Our camp for tonight is river left at mile 138 just a short way down from Deer Creek. There are 2 campgrounds in close proximity and the lower camp was taken by a private group. A unique feature of this particular side canyon was the way that sound traveled around the rear wall. Small sounds made at one end of the beach were surprisingly easy to hear at the other parts of the beach. I noticed this particularly strongly when doing my nightly exploration around and camp. Even though once again slightly feverish I managed to climb above the camp onto a rock outcrop to take some pictures. While on this outcrop I could hear the water running past the beach and boats as if I were sitting right next to it. Dinner was Burritos, beans and rice with fruit salad. A large part of the evening was spent making massive amounts of noise trying to out shout the downstream camp. Their group had bongo drums, we had Elk’s guitar and a few loud voices (not my intermittent squeak). I think we may have won, but that is subjective! They definitely lasted later into the night than we did!

Thursday Morning breakfast was breakfast cereal, fruit and muffins. This morning we also made our sandwiches in advance to give us more options for a lunch hike. My voice was still wavering in and out, but the fever that had tried to recur last night was thankfully not active again this morning. We were very fortunate this morning to be able to stop at Matkatamiba Canyon (mile 148). This was another hike I would have loved to have done on the last trip, but again, limited parking had prevented us stopping. I consider myself very lucky to have been able to stop at both Nankoweap and Matkat on the same trip. The hike up Matkat is short, and wet for some of the way then with an option for low, wet and slippery, or high and dry. I opted for high and dry going upstream. It had one place where I was rather short leg challenged in being able to get up onto the next ledge, but eventually managed some sidestepping to get me up on the ledge. A short way up the slot canyon widens out. The small but permanent stream pools then flows down to the next pool. The ‘in’ thing to do here is to create “butt dams” to block the water temporarily in a pool, then release the dam quickly to allow the water to rush downstream. It’s even more fun if you build a stack of rocks downstream of the dam to be wash away by the released flood. After the butt dam experience I continued upstream to enjoy the large pools and falls of the canyon. All too soon it was time to leave. The decision was taken to hike back on the same high and dry route we had used to hike in. For some reason it seemed a little harder making our way downstream than up, and I became especially aware of the more prickly canyon inhabitants! As we all struggled along, hanging onto rocks, and carefully watching for the next foothold, we found ourselves face to face with a Bighorn sheep on the other side of the narrow slot. We named him the “Showoff Sheep” for his total nonchalance leaping steadyfooted from rock to precarious rock without even seeming to look. He reminded us a lot of our guides except he didn’t have flip-flops! Soon we were all splashing back down into the bottom of the slot for the final wet rock scramble back to the boats.


We continued downstream, and Josh made the decision to eat lunch on the rafts to give us a little extra time. As we ran the next 30 miles we passed through some light rain just downstream of Havasu canyon and a grey sky with lightning which looked like it was prepared to give us a nasty storm, but then didn’t. We reached Lava Falls about mid afternoon and Joe prepared us, and then himself to run Lava!

Below Lava is a clear spring (above right) on river left. We pulled over on river right below Lower Lava for a bathroom and stretch break. Many of us scrambled up the beach expecting to see a Western River Expeditions raft follow us through. We waited several minutes, but the never materialized, so all we got were some scenic photos of Lava Falls with no boats in it. Shortly after Lava we passed Chock stone Camp on river left where we had spent the last night of my previous trip, then the Whitmore helicopter pad where I departed the river. Everything below this point is new Canyon to me now. We stopped for the night at mile 188, river right, at Whitmore Wash. Just as the boats parked a storm started building in the side Canyon. Everybody except me started scrambling to erect tents. I was still hoping that I would be able to sleep without a tent, and had picked a small bed site that didn’t seem big enough to erect a tent. I wandered around looking for another suitable site big enough for a tent, but didn’t find anything I liked. By the time I returned to my original spot, with tent in hand and ready to erect it, the rain started in earnest, complete with lightening and thunder. Lucky for me, Becky in the site behind me had completed her tent setup and invited me to join her. The rain didn’t last too long, and was not heavy by Florida standards, but there was enough wet to persuade me that I was going to have to set the tent up for tonight! The crew set up a canopy to cook under and prepared a delicious Lasagna, garlic bread and salad, with carrot cake dessert which we ate in the dark. Right at the end of dinner it started to rain again. Everyone scrambled for their tents. The rain was light and lasted only a few minutes, but by then the party had broken up and everyone stayed in bed. Even the crew set up their tents on the boat for the night, so I decided I was just going to have to suffer the night in my tent! As it turned out, there was no more rain that night. This was probably my most uncomfortable night as I was not used to the rustling of the tent. I didn’t close the tent door to relieve the stuffiness, but unfortunately the restroom wash and key line had been placed right next to my tent, so I awoke in the morning to the “early groover line” outside my door! Maybe it was the rain, but we were all very slow getting started this morning. Breakfast was fluffy pancakes, sausage, and strawberries. I ate mine without Tabasco this time around. It definitely tasted much better with syrup! I was feeling much better this morning, despite not having slept well. My voice was much more consistent, though still wavering in and out occasionally.

Friday Morning - Not surprisingly, this new (to me) lower portion of the Canyon looks very much like, and just as beautiful as the upper portions. The biggest difference is more volcanic features. This morning we passed a hematite mine shaped like a lion. Around mile 212 we stopped for a short hike over some eroded rock that looked like swiss cheese. Josh and Joe drove the boats downstream a short distance to a beach on rivr left, while Elk led us on a short hike over and into (for some) the holey rocks and past Pumpkin Springs, a travertine bowl filled with green mineral laden water (below), then down to meet up with the boats and the tuna salad lunch awaiting us on the beach below.

Back on the boats and continuing downstream, Joe and Elk got out the kite. The plan was to try to fly it out all the way to the end of the string spool. With a little help initially Elk succeeded in getting it airborne,then slowly fed out the entire spool, an unmeasured distance, but probably a couple hundred feet. The kite not only went all the way up, but stayed flying down past Diamond Peak. Elk finally had to reel in the kite to get it under the water gauge station cable crossing the river.

At mile 229 we stopped for a short hike/climb up Travertine Canyon to the waterfall above where we played briefly in the waterfall. The climb up and back down to the falls is assisted by a series of ropes and rope ladders which makes the climb possible even for those of us with short legs and not much climbing ability. The ladders were slippery enough to appreciate being back on solid ground though! Our stop for tonight, the final night was on river left at Bridge Canyon (mile 235). The camping was probably the closest together of the whole trip as we were all basically spread out along a fairly narrow ledge. I was determined to sleep out in the open again tonight after the restless night last night, and that made it easier to squeeze my bed in between a couple of tents. For all my convincing myself that I didn’t care whether the Colorado would be clear green or muddy brown, my only worry had been the thought of bathing in muddy water. I had managed so far, but the water had not been really muddy up until now. Tonight I just could not bring myself to bath in the “too thick to drink, too thin to plow” water. I settled for a wet wipe bath instead! We had a comfortable pre dinner crowd, augmented by a bright orange sunset lit cloud Dinner tonight was steak, perfect mashed potatoes, salad, and dutch oven chocolate/vanilla swirl cake. It was eaten in the dark, and the crew all said a few words about the trip, and or read an inspirational verse. We all retired to bed not really wanting to face the reality that the trip was almost over. We were so closely packed that I kept my flashlight burning by my bedside all night to prevent being stepped on!

Our final morning. We woke to the sound of a hornets nest! That’s what it sounded like at least, but it turned out to be bees, not interested in humans, but seeking the pollen laden plants along our beach. It was a beautiful morning. Such a shame to have to leave the canyon.
After breakfast of French toast and bacon, and loading the boats with our own freshly repacked bags the whole group posed for the group photo.

Next was the guides turn, with Joe providing the moon shot before obliging for a formal photo with his butt in his pants! We loaded onto the rafts for the final time. The inner two pontoons had been removed and the rafts tied together for the final few miles downstream. We had a little excitement when a small mouse stowaway was discovered aboard, but after eliciting a few screams it soon slipped into the gap between the two boats and finally fell into the water. Joe read aloud to us for the last time, though I confess I was rather zoned out at the time, and, sitting in the back, could not hear what he was saying anyway over the motor noise of the 2 rafts.

After several miles we were met by the jet boat which would take us the final 30 some miles down to Lake Mead and South Cove. The bags were transferred, along with lunch, sodas, and unfortunately us. Final hugs were exchanged and we were whisked away by our new Captain Joe. The rafts were pulling into the first available beach to continue disassembling the pontoons as we left. The scenery goes by much faster at 50 mph, and we were not able to stand at all. The Canyon is still impressive though as it reaches the Grand Wash Cliffs and dissolves into Lake Mead. At Iceberg Canyon the water level is so low that we had to brace ourselves against the possibility of clipping a sand bar. Captain Joe knew his stuff though and we passed through without incident. After iceberg canyon we pass into the deeper water of Lake Mead. The cold Colorado water sinks rapidly below the warmer and clear blue lake water.

It was a short trip on the Lake to South Cove. The jet boat tied up but unfortunately there was no bus there to meet us. There had been some miscommunication and the bus driver believed he was supposed to meet us at 1:30. It was a little after noon when we landed, so we all sat on the lakeside and ate our sandwiches we had packed earlier. Lucky for us there was a good cloud cover which blocked any direct sunlight. It would have been much hotter in the sun. As it was several of us spent some time dunking and floating off the boat ramps. It was strange though, the water was too warm! Eventually the bus arrived and after a short restroom break at the boat ramp parking lot we were on our way back to Vegas. We stopped briefly a couple of times on the way. At Peach Springs, AZ for cold sodas, beer and ice cream, and again at Hoover Dam for photos. The final picture below was our last look at Lake Mead, and the now blue Colorado waters.

The hour plus wait for the bus affected me more than anyone else as I had the first flight out from Vegas at 5pm. We arrived at the airport at 4:20pm and I raced in. The SouthWest check in lines were about a quarter mile long! I love kiosk check in. One swipe of my frequent flyer card and I had my boarding pass in less than a minute! On a roll I ran to the escalator, and at the top to security. Being 9/11, of course security was a little tighter than usual and those five carefully packed and waterproofed little packs of 4 AA rechargeable batteries were obviously going to cause a delay! Having to have someone poke through my REALLY smelly damp muddy laundry was even worse! But smiling through it and allowing the security agent full access to anything and everything in the bag made the ordeal pass fairly quickly. I made the flight with 3 ½ minutes to spare! Lucky for me it was not totally full. I even managed to get an exit row seat (so only one person had to suffer my unwashed, diesel dipped, run for the plane in fleece and 90 degrees, sweaty odor!)

So am I done with the Canyon now that I have done the whole thing? Not even close! Now I KNOW I want to do a longer trip, probably an oar trip. Shame I can’t get on a month long oar trip! Not this year though. Maybe next year. Maybe I will even have to wait to 2006.
But I’ll be back!

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