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Outside Traveler 2004
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Family Vacations
A Riffle in Time (cont)

On day two, Janet led a hike to an Anasazi cliff dwelling, explaining that the 900-year-old, ten-room "River House" site "probably belonged to one extended family." After 20 years of observing the BLM's restoration of these ancient sites, Janet is well acquainted with every rock. She asked us, "What do you think it was like out here, in the middle of the desert with only your aunts and uncles to hang around with?"

"It sucked," said Ben.

Hopping back into our three rafts, we made our way into a canyon, where the river narrows, and encountered our first decent-size rapids. For a couple of hours we navigated frequent ripply areas, getting good and splashed—enough action for a family trip, and not too much—before sliding down Class II–III Eight-Foot rapid, the most righteous plunge of all, and onto a beach where we spent our second night.

At around 1 a.m., a pleasant rain started pinging the tent. I sat up and absorbed my surroundings, feeling like I'd washed up on a riverbank on another, more enchanting planet. Grace woke up, and we both said it would be fun if Mom and two-year-old Henry were with us. All the same, spending a few days with our new extended family on the river hadn't sucked one bit.

But in the end, the simple fun of dropping over the side of a raft and drifting, at one with the cool water, was what had made the trip perfect. The next day at Mexican Hat, we de-rafted, washed the mud out of our hair, and headed for a convenience store to pick up some ice cream. As I scanned the aisles, I realized how fine-tuned my senses had become, my eyes taking in everything like a hunter on the prowl, and there I was...stalking a Fudgsicle. Capturing it was all too easy, so we paid for our goodies and went outside to eat. We weren't ready to fall into that trap again.




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