TechZati

July 7, 1996

July – I can’t believe it.  It seems that every summer the 4^th of July seems so far away. Now, it’s past.

We had an employee Cat(aract) trip and we paddled it! That is a feat few people can claim.  It was incredible, a 12-foot boat non-self bailing.  We had to pull over into every eddy to dump the water out of it.  After scouting Big Drop 2, we hit it.  NUTS!  Running BD 2 at 30,000 cfs!

A lateral wave smashed into us, completely swamping the boat. The tubes on the boat are about 18” in diameter and, not shitting at all, only about 4 inches was above the water line.  Obviously with that much weight, a boat is not very maneuverable.

We tried to get into the eddy below BD2, but couldn’t make it.  We started going into BD 3 backwards.  I looked back and we were going into the hole.  We spun just in time to hit the hole square on.  Everyone was STOKED! YAHOO!  Talk about Thriller!

Drew is on ad 5-day Desolation/ Gray canyon trip.  I’m a little bit envious.  But of course I’m happy for him.  I suppose I’ll be on Westwater soon enough. Fri and Sat I’m helping run a J-rig up there – it should be a good time.  I hope I’ll be guiding Westwater by the end of this month.

I think I’ve decided on my itinerary for my trip.  Fly into Kathmandu, then to Bangkok and I’ll figure it out from there.  Talking to a few people I came to the conclusion that when I originally decided to go I wanted freedom.  With such a set itinerary, I don’t have the flexibility I want.  So, I’m going to fly by the seat of my ass.

A funny thing just happened.  I’m sitting in this diner, the “Star Café” just drinking coffee and writing.  The owner, a little old lady starts asking if I’ve had breakfast.  I said “no, it was my first time in here.”  She turns right around and brings me a bowl of granola.  “This one’s on the house” she says. How random is that?

A few days ago Drew and I and a few other were invited to be valets at “The lady’s of Moab – Hat Part”  Oh my God.  Talk about hilarious.  We wore grass hula skirts and leis.  Our job as “valets” was to make sure all of the lady’s were “taken care of.”  Okay, so this involved putting suntan lotion and foot massages, feeding them grapes, etc.  With all the free alcohol we could drink.  When I got there and they gave us our outfits, D and I looked at each other like “What the hell did we just get ourselves into?”

We had a great time.  It was great to see all the ladies with no husbands, kids and no worries.  Total relaxation.  I keep thinking I see some of them around town – ha.

Before that, talk about going backwards through time – we all went to Widespread Panic.  My first Panic show.  I was designated driver, which was cool.  It was in Grand Junction, CO.  It was a ball!

I just got back from Cataract Canyon!  It was nuts! It’s almost impossible to understand the size of the rapids and the power behind them. It was a 3 day trip and I swamped. The canyon beauty is breathtaking.

I realize that it takes me quite a while to adjust to new surrounding and people.  But right now, I finally feel like I’m fitting in! It was strange, I almost felt like I was back i school trying to impress people.  Vibes you get from certain people are definitely weird.  Then again, I’m proabably worrying too much again.  I feel like I’ve been in Moab for a long long time.  It doesn’t seem like 3 weeks at all.  This is going to either be a fantastic summer or OK>  I suppose it’s still really early to be making any sort of judgment.  I feel like I try so hard not be judgmental of people, but for me it seems difficult not to be. I feel like a pretty intense personality and like someone said – there’s definitely something about me that screams independence, maybe it’s true.  But I still feel like there are very few people who think like me. I don’t feel like I”m out there – well a little sometimes, but that’s like everyone.  In any case, I think I’m doin alright.

I haven’t been inspired to write in months.  I quit both my jobs and am in Moab taking a first-responder class. I didn’t realize how cathartic it is for me down here.  Wow.  I drove in and had to get out of the car to walk around.  I feel very much in synch with the world and zen right now.  I feel like what most people imaging happiness is.  I fell so liberated from everything.

Running around on the red rocks “frolicking” dare I say.  I don’t think I even felt like this when I was in Alaska.  The desert is so simple yet complex.  I know that’s why I love it.

Society asks why we crave nature and wildness.  I think (for me anyway) that we lose ourselves so much in what we do for what we think is our well-being that we forget when everything is taken away, we still have ourselves.  We are striving for such a perfect zen that we don’t realize that we’re trying too hard.  I think it’s moments of complete peace we strive for.  Going by myself, no one else to worry about or entertain helps a lot.  But, I suppose there’s a little remorse in everything.  Maybe it’s the memories of Spring Break Desert Trips in high school and that’s why it means so much.