1978 Graduation & B-Day Gift, 10 Days Rafting Down Grand Canyon, Arizona

I thought it was a terrible gift, until I profusely apologised...Issue #53

ifOnlyi…hadn’t been a punk and acted like an ungrateful chump for the best ever gift up to that point in my life, that was until I met my wife. While writing this story I realized that I took the wrong person river rafting. Many of my friends could not have afforded such a trip, and John H clearly had plenty of money to pay his way. My gift meant very little to him; what it could’ve meant to another friend may have been everything. Perhaps even life-changing.

This was my High School graduation and birthday gift from both my parents after I barely graduated from High School. It was handed to me in an envelope, and inside, it gave the full itinerary, starting with a night in Las Vegas, NV.

It was all paid for, and I could take a friend. I didn’t understand what this would mean to me when it was all over, but I felt cheated. What is this, I wondered? I didn’t understand how truly special this gift would be in my life’s memories. Who gets a gift like this, I thought in an unappreciative way. Why this?

The paperwork was intense—it entailed all the dos, don’ts, and must-haves. The shopping list was long, with all the items I needed to bring for these 10 days. Mom said not to worry, she would have it all sorted for me.

See, Mom took this trip the year before with 20 friends. Her journey was something the tour company had never experienced. She booked and paid for an extra raft to accompany them for the sole purpose of transporting all the beer and liquor. It's not a joke; it's very, very true.

I went just after Graduation with my friend John H, who had all the best camera equipment and was 3 years older than me. It was my gift to him. All he had to do was take pictures and give me a set. (I never even got one picture he took out of the 40 rolls of film Mom bought for him)

We landed in Vegas, and he stayed at the old MGM Grand Hotel. I was booked at a motel or small hotel, not full of flash like John’s, but that night, John played slots, and boy, he could bring in a crowd.

John was young, he made loads of money, and being around him wasn't very comfortable as he loved to flash his cash. I hated it! It was so very embarrassing and over the top.

One time, in a grocery store, he forgot Bananas and asked the clerk to grab some. She was happy enough and rang them up for around 0.86 cents. John, being the dude he was, handed her a Hundred-Dollar Bill and told her to keep the change, as if waiting for her to change the bill for him was a bother.

That night, John won 10 grand by pulling the BIG Boy slot machine, which requires two hands to pull the handle. Did I get any? NOPE. That’s the friend I chose to take on this once-in-a-lifetime vacation, paid for by my parents.

Needless to say, the friendship ended shortly after this unbelievable experience.

We were to be outside the MGM at 7 am for a van to pick us up, drive us to the airport, and hop on a helicopter to fly us to the river. Our belongings were already on the Pontoons, awaiting everyone’s arrival. We were about to meet strangers and spend the next 10 days with them.

HATCH RIVER GUIDES entirely catered our meals for the entire trip. They were a first-class organization all the way (I highly recommend them 100%). You won’t have to do a thing, I promise.

Hatch loaded us up, gave us the rules, and went off. We were all handed a booklet showing the rapids and the difficulty level each would offer. We sat inside the pontoons wearing our life jackets and drinking cold beers. The beers were put inside nets and tied to the raft'’ sides while being pulled under ice-cold Grand Canyon water. They were ice-cold, both the water and the beers.

It was hot outside—I think it was around 98 degrees already. 8 am! We were between the walls of mountains, floating on water, and the guides were doing all the work. All I had to do was keep lubed up with sunscreen and plenty of liquids and stay inside the raft.

Every day, we would stop on the side of the river and have an excellent lunch, then do some magical, memorable event. These were all amazing walks up the cliffs, learning history, or going into caves—something awesome every single day.

When our rafting for the day was done, the guides pulled over and unpacked. They would make up our cots and put out sleeping bags and pillows in the open air.

They then began to cook. I mean, these were meals you would not have eaten very often. Their food was incredible: BBQ steaks, and they made desserts every night, including cake. Yip, cake on the Colorado River.

They cooked breakfast every morning, too, and I ate 8-12 eggs daily. I can’t explain why, but I haven’t done it since, and the only reason I can come up with is spending all day in the fresh air and sleeping under the stars. Bacon, pancakes, juice, coffee, tea, whatever you wanted. These eggs tasted unreal, so delicious, cooked over a portable stove.

One more important word of advice is to make sure you take a bath. The only way is with biodegradable soap. It had been going on the third day, and the water was ICE. No one gave a hoot about smelling fresh except ME.

I did it! I was the first to jump in, out of the 30 people in our group, and I was still looking for my manly parts hours later as I washed and got totally refreshed. From that day forward, I was in the water twice a day, and others followed, yeah, for them. We all built a forever bond, except I later lost their contact numbers and addresses.

Because of this Trip, I began cooking breakfast on my BBQ later in life, including Eggs. Yummy!!! I truly enjoyed cooking for guests, and I would blow their minds by saying I will be cooking eggs on the BBQ this morning. How many and how would you like them?

What they didn’t know is that I had a flat top to lay on top of the grill, hehehehe. They do taste different when cooked that way.

The magic of the Grand Canyon is beyond words; I hope to one day pay it forward to all 4 of the grandkids, their parents, my stepson, my wife, and me to try and do 10 days together, I would settle for 7.

I have thanked my parents for the trip a million times over. Even my Mom said she wanted to do more of those trips and next time would be down the Snake River and beyond, but with top-notch professional guides, etc. Having a cook was super fantastic as well. Unfortunately, Mom’s health did not allow for more trips like that.

Once again, Thank You forever and ever, Mom and Dad! It meant a lot to you, as it did to me forever.

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#…ifOnlyi… short stories are published chronologically and follow my life growing up in California from 4 years old. If you’ve just found me, the stories will come together when you start reading from...Issue #1