Day 6

Dad got up early to fish, after three successful casts with a trout at the end of the line on each of them, he came and got me. I caught my breakfast- not on the first cast, but after a couple of bites I caught a rainbow trout . BJ cleaned it and cooked it for me. BJ also showed me how to eat the cheek meat- a delicacy I had previously ignored. Needless to say catching my own breakfast made this the best meal of the trip.

We rode with Laura and Chris. Our morning stop was at Matkatamiba Rapid for a hike. We did the dry hike because Crocs suck on slippery rocks and I slipped twice on the hike out. We made a butt dam with another rafting group. Apparently we can be very easily entertained when out of touch with everything else.












For the rapids I rode up front by myself without my friends for Kanab and Upset while they cheered me on from the other boat.



We packed sack lunches for Havasu Creek were I met my little king as we were arriving and he was leaving. We watched lizards and dad fed a raven. I swam and then laid on the dirt and took a nap using a rock for a pillow. This was the moment I made my peace with the dirt laying right down in it. I can only imagine what I would be like on a longer trip or how ironic it will be at the park when I tell my kids to stop laying in the sand.

There was an unplanned pit stop that got us stuck and ruined the prop. Laura asked for help and I got there first, but then an older gentlemen didn't think 2 women could handle it so he sent me out of the motor well. Dad made it back on the boat while several guests didn't, so he got to toss the rope to the rescue boat.

I read on the boat and Chris recommended a couple of stories from "There's This River". The first story he suggested was sad and the second was funny. Fortunately for me he didn't suggest any of the short stories in which major catastrophe befell the writer or subjects. Apparently this was intentional and I was thankful to be reading about the wrecks in the safety of my own home.

We camped at mile 164. I took a bath because the guides told us the sewer system at the Havasu community was questionable. After that I was invited to drink with the guides and some other guests who they thought they could get help from in the form of prep cooks. The poison of choice was Jameson and the bottle was passed from person to person with no knowledge and little concern for the swine flu, which was declared a worldwide pandemic while we were away. I got to chop turkey with the giggles. The last time I cooked while intoxicated was the Mardi Gras party we had when I was handling pots of boiling noodles. Not sure which is worse big knives or boiling water.

Dad caught four trout while I was "cooking".

Breakfast: the best trout ever, French toast and fruit
Sack lunch: roast beef sandwich, apple, pretzels and m& m's
Dinner: Thai Turkey and rice

Day 7

We did a morning hike from camp to Tuck Up Canyon. On the hike I contemplated life a little and decided I should not join the PTO so I can have more time for me and less time doing stuff for other people- call me selfish.

We rode with Laura and BJ and painted our faces for Lava Falls and its 37 foot drop. Some of the group drank before the rapid. I had Bailey's and whiskey. Anticipation was more scary than the actual rapid thanks to our guide's skill and experience.

It was windy in the afternoon and too windy with unseasonably mild weather made it too cold for this Arizona girl to swim in the rapid. However, we did see a beaver swimming and get out of the water. It was huge. We also saw a blue heron, big horn sheep and humming birds.

Not surprisingly, it was windy at camp. We stopped at mile 210. I helped make dinner and was rewarded with more Jameson. I saw a falling star as I went to sleep and longed for my husband.

Breakfast:egg over medium, English muffin with cheese and bacon
Lunch: spicy chicken salad wraps and regular Oreo's
Dinner: NY strip, mash potatoes and salad with brownie for dessert

Day 8

We took one last group photo at camp before getting on the boats. We rode with Jed and Chris and the Ewok tribe.

Chris gave me a book list, some of the books I had read parts from on the boat, others were ones that he liked:
There's This River
Raging River Lonely Trail
Georgie Woman of the River
The Doing of the Thing

Laura read the poem "If I Had My Life to Live Over" by Nadine Stair

"I'd dare to make more mistakes next time. I'd relax, I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones.

You see, I'm one of those people who live sensibly and sanely hour after hour day after day. Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had it to do over again, I'd have more of them. In fact, I'd try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day. I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat and a parachute. If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter that I have.

If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies."

We had our final bag line and said good-bye to the guides and watched the boats get pulled out of the river and sides deflated. It was a bumpy ride from Diamond Creek and part of the road was creek. We stopped for lunch in Seligman at a quirky joint where we had a picnic lunch and bought a butterscotch malt.

In Flagstaff we said good-bye to the new friends we had made and headed back to the cabin to see our family. It was great to see my husband, children and mom. I was grateful for the time away and happy everything went well.

Breakfast: cream cheese bagel, left over brownie, granola with yogurt and cowboy coffee