|
Day 0 - Gathering in Flagstaff |
|---|
I would, on occasion, spend my Saturdays watching the morning line-up of westerns on TNT and a couple of times a year I get the opportunity to live out my fantasies and, in my own way, become part of these westerns. That was the case again today as Robin and I boarded the plane at Logan Airport in Boston and began our voyage west to join our river trip, our own private expedition in a quest for knowledge and personal discovery. I was slightly dismayed by having to fly to Phoenix and Flagstaff by way of Atlanta, but since Atlanta is also the home of TNT it seemed somehow appropriate. After an uneventful flight to Atlanta and a brief stay at the airport we began the next leg of the trip and the first step westward when we boarded the plane for Phoenix. I love flying west. I love watching the trees go away and the prairies and farmlands open up. I love to watch the farmland thin out into isolated patches as the southwestern desert enforces its dominance over the land. When the opportunity presents itself I love flying over the national parks like Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce to get the birds-eye-view of these magnificent works of nature but that would not be the case today as our route would take us too far to the south. I remember crossing the Mississippi, flying over Texas, crossing the Rio Grande and then seeing Phoenix looming ahead of us. I have always loved Phoenix but a city of its size existing where it does makes it only slightly less ridiculous than Las Vegas. The place is a desert and there is simply not enough water there to support the number of people that continue to crowd it. If living there alone isn't bad enough, the majority of the people living there actually have swimming pools. The water table continues to drop and someday the aquifer that sustains it will dry up completely. If the western water wars aren't bad enough already just wait until a city like Phoenix has no more ground water. But that's another story... After a short stay in Phoenix we boarded our puddle-jumper flight for Flagstaff. This was the first time we had flown between Phoenix and Flagstaff and it will probably be the last. The plane that we were to take up to Flagstaff was a twin-engine, propeller-driven aircraft that could hold 19 passengers (uncomfortably) and had no air-conditioning. To be sitting on the tarmac, in a place like Phoenix, in a tin can with no air-conditioning and the temperature in excess of 100 degrees is not my idea of fun. But then again, westerns are not always fun. Once the plane began to move the air circulation system came on the situation began to improve somewhat. Once we took off and started to gain altitude and the outside air temperature began to drop, things got much better. We had to fly around some massive thunderheads on the way up to Flagstaff and in about 40 minutes we were back on the ground in a place that was considerably more hospitable to human life. After a brief ride by a very friendly taxi driver, the name of the taxi company was after all Friendly Taxi (I kid you not), we were at the hotel. Now the anticipation really began to build. The talk by the person from OARS was not supposed to be until 7 pm and we had a few hours to kill. Tom Carmony, from the Grand Canyon Pioneers Society, was in town because of a scheduled outing with the Pioneers and he dropped by later that afternoon to have dinner with us. Like all the GC Pioneers, Tom is a true westerner and a really cool dude, and I always look forward to meeting and talking with him. After dinner we hung around in the lobby of the hotel and the rest of the people who would be taking the river trip with us began drifting in. Many people would stop and watch the video, Rafting the Grand Canyon (Rand McNally), that was being shown continuously on a television in the lobby. This was a great idea on the part of the hotel staff as it was an excellent ice breaker and made it very easy for people to start up conversations. Maybe OARS had something to do with it. It looked like it was going to be an interesting group of people and many of us seemed to hit it off right from the start. I was happy to see this to be the case as I had heard horror stories about people on these trips not getting along and about the battles that ensued as a result of this. If you're going to spend 13 days with someone in a small rubber raft or camped on some tiny beach in the middle of nowhere, you had better be able to be civil about it. If you meet with someone that you don't like you had better be able to be extremely tolerant. Luckily our party would not have to worry about this situation and even the guides themselves commented on a number of occasions, on how well we all seemed to be getting along. At 7:00 our trip leader from OARS, and Robby, arrived and handed out the waterproof river bags and sleep kits that we were to use on the trip. He took roll call and then gave us a brief talk about what to bring, what not to bring, how to pack the bags what to expect for the next two weeks. He also gave us some information on how to pick up any items that we were still missing that night before the trip began the following morning. I was afraid that Robin would be cold on the water and so we went off in search of some long underwear for her to wear underneath her rain gear. I was afraid that we would not have enough beer on the trip and wanted to pick up a case to bring along. Robin would end up using the underwear only once and probably could have done without it. The beer was a good idea as Coors Light is the only beer that Robin really likes to drink, but there was no beer shortage as far as the trip was concerned. The beer that they brought along was not my personal favorite but after being out in the sun all day even Miller Genuine Draft tastes good. I was much happier when I discovered they had Budweiser as well as I have never been a fan of Miller products. After the talk and the quick shopping trip we headed up to our room to pack the bags. This was no problem and there was even some room to spare. I wish I had brought more T-shirts and recommend that anyone who does this trip bring more than the three that the river company recommends. The shirts get grungy pretty quick and two days is about the limit for one. I also recommend that people bring real hiking boots instead of the recommended comfortably shoes. OARS only recommends hiking boots if you are leaving the party at Phantom Ranch and hiking out or hiking in and joining a party there. I managed to get by on most of the day hikes with river sandals or running shoes but in a couple of situations I would have felt better with my trusty hiking boots. After packing the stuff up we had a short get together with Bill and Sybil Suran who were also members of the Grand Canyon Pioneers Society and who live in Flagstaff and also with Lara Schmit from the Grand Canyon Trust. It's great to come out this way and occasionally meet people who I typically deal with only through e-mail. Our visit did not last very long and we headed off to bed to dream of the upcoming adventure.
|
|
|
|
|---|
|
|---|
