School is out for summer! Now, summer is usually quite boring with the only excitement being not having to go to school. This summer was a bit different though. I will be starting high school in the fall, but before I do… I have the most awesome summer vacation in July to look forward to; canoeing down the Colorado River from Davis Dam to Lake Havasu. It will be four days in a canoe, camping along the river at night and then three days at Lake Havasu. What anticipation I felt, the last time we took this trip, I camped with my mom at Crazy Horse Campground for the whole week, waiting for the Boy Scout troop who were making the canoe trek. It was soooo boring. This time, I get to go in the canoe! Woo Hoo!!

The group partaking of this adventure includes my dad, my sister, her husband, two of my brothers, and five other Boy Scout members. This is really a Boy Scout summer trip, but growing up in the world of Boy Scouts, I had the pleasure of participating in many of their functions. My brother-in-law was the Scout Master and my dad was the assistant. All the boys were Scouts and my sister and I; we just tagged along for the fun! I was a real good boy scout though; I could scout out a group of boys and point out the cute ones quite quickly!

Arrival at Davis Dam launch site:

It was a five-hour drive from our hometown in California to Davis Dam on the Arizona/Nevada border. As we arrived, getting our gear together, dividing into pairs for the canoe trip and listening to the rules of staying together, who would be the lead and who would bring up the rear of the group, one of the boys became ill. We all concluded it was the excitement of the trip, but kept an eye on him. Soon after the first sounds of, well, sickness, it was discovered he had developed chicken pox. What to do? He couldn’t go on the trip, we’re five hours from home… A decision was made. Call his parents and have them meet at a halfway point, the father who helped transport, but was not going on the trip itself, would take him. What a bummer.

With that settled, our excitement began to mount again, but this time with a bittersweet taste because we had “lost” a member. Pairing was complete. My sister, Tanya and brother-in-law, Josh, my dad and brother, Scott, myself and my brother Hank, members of the troop and friends of the family for many years, Joe and Mike, and there were two other boys, but I cannot remember their names. Dad and Scott would bring up the rear and Josh and Tanya would be the lead.

We’re Off!

As with most groups of people, there is a group within the group. This inner group consisted of Josh and Tanya, Hank and myself, Joe and Mike. We were the front paddlers of the canoe pack and stuck together the entire trip.

The feeling of gliding on the water coupled with the excitement of experiencing something new was exhilarating. We all took off in high spirits and speed. Shortly after the trip began, my dad started yelling from the rear, “Pace yourselves, you’re gonna tire out!” We all laughed, our group in the front, not us, we were young, full of energy and excitement. We had about 20 miles to go that first day and with our joys of adventure it would be a piece of cake.

About two hours into the paddling, we realized, 20 miles is a long way when paddling a canoe! My poor brother had to pick up my slack way too often. When we got to our first landing for the night, I was so excited to see dry land. The river was peaceful and the scenery at times was so beautiful, but dry land, the ability to stand up, not having oars in my hands…at that point, I considered it heaven.

We unpacked the canoes, pitched the tents, made dinner and … I was out like a baby. Best night I have ever had sleeping on sand and rock. Never even felt that one rock digging into my hip until morning. Ugh… nice bruise I had there. Oh well, another stretch of the river waits to be traveled. Eat, clean-up, pack up and we’re off again. This time, we start at a more leisurely pace. (Lesson learned) Our destination for the lunch break is called Picture Rock in Arizona. It is a cluster of rock, soaring to about 30 ft. high at places, with Indian petroglyphs. We had planned a shorter distance of travel this day and longer time for lunch so that we could explore. I had only read about petroglyphs and had never actually seen any in their natural setting. They are awesome; there was something quite magical about seeing the writings of history in nature. We all took turns trying to decipher some of these drawings and stories. High school boys have such an imagination of man and nature!!

After lunch, the real fun began. It’s rock-jumping time! Of course, you needed the attitude of “no fear” to do this as the rocks were pretty high above the river, some with jagged edges. I had fun watching the antics and crazy jumping styles of the boys from a safe distance in the river. Heights and I had a falling out when I was about 10.

The lunch break ended about two hours later and it was time to continue on our journey. A few more hours on the river and we reached our night’s rest destination. This time, we unloaded the gear from the canoes and didn’t even bother with pitching tents. The night air was warm, the stars were bright and we were exhausted. Everyone went to sleep early that night and we all woke early, refreshed and ready to travel in the morning.

By the morning of day three, the excitement of a canoe trek had worn off and the remaining two days had nothing exciting planned; just paddle, look at the scenery as we float by and enjoy nature. After a while, it got pretty boring so Hank, Joe and Mike decided to start singing to break up the quiet and monotony of paddling. Being in a canoe on a river, there is no escape from the out of key, pitchy voices of teen boys, serenading those in close proximity. The songs were from the popular radio show, Dr. Demento. These songs consisted of titles such as: King Tut, by Steve Martin, Fish Heads, by Barnes and Barnes, Pencil Neck Geek, by Fred Bassie and Sit On My Face, by Monty Python. These songs were at times obscene, but mostly humorous and when sung off key, in jovial teen male voices, it was quite the entertainment and embarrassment when other groups of canoes came within hearing distance. Also by this time, we had mastered the skill of pacing ourselves, so once we arrived at camp for the night, the evenings were filled cooling off in the river, laughter and card playing before the need for sleep arrived.

Early evening on day four we finally reached our end destination of the Crazy Horse Campground in Lake Havasu, Arizona. It is located near the London Bridge and the “tourist trap” of sightseers and vacationers of the recreated London style town of shops. To get there from our campsite, it was a short paddle around the Point of Havasu Island, under the bridge to the “town”. It became a daily trek and a favorite pastime for our remaining 3 days of vacation. Our inner group remained together and had great fun exploring the shops, reading the history of the Bridge and hanging out.

The five-hour drive home was uneventful with conversations of reliving the canoe experience. This was definitely one of my best summer, in fact, even 30 years after the trip, we are all still in contact with each other and still reminisce about “the summer of 1979.”

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