Two 30-foot J-rig rafts would be carrying our group down the Colorado River. Along with the two of us Tribune-folk were twenty-six paying customers from Southern California, five river guides, a cameraman and reporter from a TV station, and a writer from the Park City newspaper who had quit his job six days ago but was still taking advantage of the free trip offered to select media outlets. To avoid any conflict of interest, we had paid the rafting company to cover our expenses. Others took it free.

I was worried that I had brought too much gear (one bag with four cameras), until the TV guys showed up with about five cases of equipment. The cameraman, Booboo, was bringing 24 cans of Diet Caffeine-free Coke, along with a new digital-videotape camera, tons of battery packs, tapes, a tripod, microphones, and who knows what else. The reporter, Wilford, had only a camouflage fanny-pack, a fishing pole, and a liter bottle of “skip-and-go-naked” whiskey.

The plane bringing in the Californians was delayed. While we waited I talked with Kip Winger, the veteran guide who would be the captain of our ship. “Are you going to pull a pistol and shoot a hippo like on the boat ride at Disneyland?” I asked. He looked at me for a moment and said no.

The Californians finally arrived. They packed their belongings into waterproof river bags and loaded onto the boats. As the Californians rubbed suntan lotion into their skin, we launched onto the smooth river.

For the first few miles, the left side of the river bordered the Navajo Nation. We passed some Navajo kids who were fishing on the rocks at shoreline. Some of the Californians on the boat waved. All except the youngest Navajo ignored us. He waved heartily. He was probably three years old, too young to realize how different we were from him. We were middle and upper-class whites who paid big money to float through his backyard on “Cadillac” rafts, while his sister may have been our waitress last night, serving rich tourists for minimum wage and tips at the Lodge.

NOTE: For photo geeks, here is the equipment I took:
A Nikonos underwater camera with a 35mm lens (loaned to me by Nikon’s Steve Heiner), which I kept strapped to my life jacket at all times.
These cameras I kept stored in a waterproof case when the water was rough: A Mamyia 7 film camera with a wide angle 43mm lens, loaded with 120 Velvia. And a Nikon F4 and Nikon FM2.