It was a scorching summer day in Las Vegas and my dad and I were meandering around the city in awe of the size of everything. We were acutely aware that we had overdressed for the weather, having just left a chilly Illinois. It was the hottest place to which I had ever been. The both of us, father and son, were going to meet up with my grandpa to go to the Grand Canyon for one of the greatest trips ever. We were going white water rafting on the Colorado River for eight days.
Returning to the hotel, we immediately headed into the conference room to begin the week’s plans. Surrounding me were men and women at least sixty years old and I fleetingly realized that I was, by far, the youngest one there. It was not long until the meeting commenced. The tour guide quickly went through the schedule, then, he was pounded by a rapid succession of unwise questions. “Will our bags be dragged behind us in the river? ” a retired woman asked. The guide was professional and dealt with questions such as this rather seriously.
My granddad, however did not act professionally and Theard a loud and obnoxious groan from his direction and observed him face-palming himself. Despite being the oldest one here at seventy-one, he’s still got more wits about him than these other folks, I thought to myself. Finally, we had our bags packed and were on our way. The highlight of the very long bus ride included meeting Sharon and her father, Dave. The short, blond woman and her father, an older man with a full white beard and white hair, instantly connected with my grandfather due to their shared wit and ense of humor.
I fell asleep listening with amusement to the laughter of Sharon, Dave and my grandpa. The next thing I knew, I was suddenly awakened by the sound of my father’s voice informing me that we had arrived. I shuffled off the bus and onto the dry, cracked ground. It was then that I met our river guide, Glade, a man with golden hair and a beard that reached down to his chest. He spoke with a Californian surfer lingo and had a humorous expression. Behind that expression was something else. Wisdom. The most one could have at his age, too.
He not only knew the name of every rapid if it had one, but he also knew where the rocks were in those rapids so that he’d know where to steer the raft. He also knew just about every joke about the Grand Canyon that one could imagine. Glade told the group to put our jackets on and to load up and just like that, we were on our way. Sitting on the edge of our raft, I let the cool water gently splash me to cool down from the blazing heat of the desert. The view of the canyon springing up all around me was unbelievable.
Hearing the rushing water, determinedly reaching towards the sea, and the roaring motor of our raft, I sat in eager anticipation of the trip of a lifetime. The sun dashed to the horizon, turning the sky yellow, then orange, then red, then purple. It was time to set camp. Sheen, Glade’s friend and assistant, hopped off of the raft and onto the shore where he jammed a metal peg into the ground. Then, with the group on the shore and Sheen and Glade on the raft, our things were quickly unloaded.
We made a line and efficiently got our gear onto the beach where we all gathered what was ours and scattered to claim a spot. After finding a comfy and secluded alcove in the bushes, the three of us hastily helped each other assemble our cots where we would lay our sleeping the bags and rest for the night. As all of these preparations were being made, the clinking and clanking of pots and pans filled our ears, as the guides hurried to put food on the table. That night, we had a satisfying dinner of spaghetti and meatballs and tromped off to bed with the warm sand under our feet.
When I awoke to the sound of wildlife all around me, it was clear that it was still night, but what was even clearer was the night sky. There wasn’t a cloud in sight and being far away from civilization and the pollution that comes from it, it was as if I was floating around in the middle of space, far from Earth. After a few minutes of gazing, I saw a red streak flash across the sky. It was then that I thought to myself, “I can’t wait to do this again tomorrow. “
