Chapter 21

September 5-8, 1999

Grand Canyon Trip 7

They briefly pulled up on the shore below Lava to sort things out and change a few clothes -- and for both Scooter and Randy to get some more backslapping and congratulations. It turned out that he'd had no more warning that he was going to solo Lava than anyone else -- "I about shit when I saw Crystal turn around and walk away!" -- but he freely admitted he wouldn't have had the guts to do it any other way. He also admitted, rather sadly at that, while he'd rather be a boatman he was going to have to go back to his construction company.

After being half a day or more ahead of schedule in Upper Granite Gorge, by the time they were through with Lava, for one reason and another they were half a day or more behind. There wasn't much river left, so they had to push it. For the next several hours, they kept going fairly hard, with only a couple brief potty breaks, and for a briefer than normal lunch. They were getting down river now, and were in the open area below Lower Granite Gorge, so the horizon seemed a lot farther away. Lava had been about all the rapids they needed for one day, and until camp in the afternoon there were only minor riffles and a couple small rapids. While no one could say they were bored with the Canyon, it seemed as if there had been more excitement upstream -- there the rapids bore historic, often colorful names, here only numbers -- 185 Mile, 187 Mile, and so on, which would continue clear down to Diamond Creek.

Finally, along in the afternoon they pulled into Parashant Wash, at mile 198. Usually they liked to be a little farther downstream for the next to last day, but this was a perfectly reasonable spot. They'd have about the same amount to run to Granite Springs tomorrow as they'd done today, but without a big, tough rapids as part of the story.

Like many of the campsites, Parashant had a good hike out of it. However, it was a warm afternoon for early September, and most people were tired from the excitement of Lava followed by the long run. When Crystal suggested a hike up to some interesting rock formations she got few takers -- even Karin gave it a pass, to find a shady spot down by the river to sit with Al.

Even with the thrill of the Bubble Line, Scooter still had her doubts, but realized she could doubt her way through the rest of the trip and the chances were running out. She found Dallas sitting under a tamarisk, just taking in the shade. "Hey, Dal," she grinned. "Would you like to take a short hike with me? It's something that I think you'll enjoy."

"Sure, Scooter," he smiled.

"Great," she grinned. "Go get a couple beers out of a drag bag while I get my daypack."

A couple minutes later, she put the beers in the daypack, threw it over her shoulders and started to lead Dallas upstream through the bottom of the wash, and to a narrow beach beyond, dotted here and there with clumps of tamarisk. She took it easy for a half mile or more, just talking about nothing in particular. Finally, he asked, "Scooter, where are we going, anyway?"

"Not far," she smiled. "I'd say that little patch of tamarisks up ahead would do just fine."

They were there in a minute or so, and stepped into a sandy little alcove in the trees where they could see the river, but they'd be obscured to anyone who came along. "This will do," she smiled as she slid out of the daypack.

"Do for what?" he grinned, apparently suspecting the answer.

"For what I want," she said, swinging around and taking him in her arms, and pulling his face close to hers. His lips met hers, and they burned each other like fire.

After a long, long kiss, they pulled apart just a little. "Scooter..." he started to whisper.

"No promises," she said softly. "Just now, no longer."

"I'll take what I can get," he whispered back, as she felt the strings of her top being untied while she reached for his T-shirt.

Without remembering clearly how they got there, they both found themselves nude. "Just a second," she whispered, as if there were anyone here but him. She bent down, opened the daypack and pulled out a small tarp to spread on the sand, and from the pocket of the pack pulled one of the condoms she'd started to bring along on the river trips in case such an emergency should arise. It wasn't very much longer before it was in use, as she was lying on the tarp and feeling the exciting sensation of him penetrating her.

It went on ... a long time, and not long enough. It had been a long time for her, and without knowing for sure, she suspected it had been longer for him, but they were hungry for each other and made love like they were starving -- actively, maybe even approaching violently. How wonderful it was! When the magnificent release they'd been looking for overcame them, she bucked and moaned, and he did too.

Presently they found themselves in each other's arms, just nuzzling and kissing a little, coming back down from the high they'd sent each other to. "Scooter," he whispered finally, "That was wonderful. Thank you."

"Thank you," she whispered back. "Dallas, you have no idea of how bad I needed that."

"Probably not as bad as I did," he said. "I've been dreaming of it for a week, now."

"Me too," she smiled, "Since that little pool back below Crystal Rapids, but I wanted to be sure I was doing the right thing."

"You did," he smiled, "And I'll be eternally grateful. Scooter, I'll be honest, there's a part of me that wants to take you home with me."

"No," she smiled back, "I've made it a rule for years, only one session to a customer."

"I knew you'd say that," he grinned. "The other part of me says that taking you home with me would ruin what I like best about you. You belong here, Scooter, or at least some place wild like this. You don't belong in a regular life in a city."

"You said it about as well as I could," she snickered. "That's what I meant, just for now, no promises."

"I understand," he said. "You're just going to have to be the most wonderful memory of this wonderful trip."

"I'll settle for that," she replied, then grinned, "But Dallas, I said one session to a customer, not one time to a customer."

"You mean..."

"Whenever you're ready."

Still with a larger than average distance to push in the morning, they got on the river early, with the idea of getting to Granite Springs with plenty of time for some extra end-of-trip activities. There were more of the anonymous numbered rapids -- 205 Mile, 209 Mile, where they stopped for lunch, then 212 Mile, 217 Mile, none of them particularly difficult but getting on down toward the last. Along in the afternoon, they pulled into one of the familiar campgrounds on the shady side of the Canyon at Granite Springs.

As Scooter helped with some organization that would have to be done in preparation for getting off the river the next day, and helped with dinner, she reflected that it was just as well that she'd had her dalliance with Dallas yesterday. If she'd let it go until today she might not have had the time to do everything they'd done. As it was, they'd barely made it back to camp in time for dinner; probably they didn't cover it up very well, even though Scooter said shyly, "I guess we went farther than I thought."

It had been the end of a several-years-long dry spell. Though Scooter knew she could never be as promiscuous or unselective as Andrea and Debby must be, or as Jennlynn must be, this had worked out well and she figured that she'd do it again sometime if the time felt right. But there was one special thing about Dallas -- he knew right from the beginning that it would never work outside the Canyon. Still, it was going to be as pleasant a memory for her as it apparently was for him.

The last dinner of the trip was always special -- frozen steaks that had been chilled even further by long exposure to dry ice, and then sealed in a thick cooler with more dry ice. Even in the hottest days of summer, it took gloves and tongs to get those steaks out of the cooler, although they thawed rapidly in the Canyon sun and then thawed even more rapidly on the warped griddle that had had so many meals cooked on it over the summer. Crystal and Scooter had long agreed to not replace it; there was something about it that made food cooked on it taste even more special. Dinner was expansive, laid back, relaxing, and sad with the fact that the trip had come to an end. Scooter found herself reflecting that this one had started out pretty rocky, but the second half had made up for it, in one of the better and more memorable trips of the summer.

It was still a ways until dark, when they'd have a final campfire. Crystal, Scooter, and the rest of the boatmen made a point of going around to each of the people on the trip for a brief word of goodbye, of pleasant memories. Sometimes it was more than just brief -- Crystal and Randy disappeared for a while, and were soon spotted on a ledge down river a ways, just sitting and talking. They were longtime friends, of course, and everyone knew they had special things to share.