Later this week I'm headed off to Airyzona to visit Johnny Montezuma and SusannaBanana. I bought my round trip Prescott Transit Authority shuttle bus ride to the Chevron Station about a half hour from their place and they'll pick me up there. Saves them a trip to Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix. And I'd rather they spent the gas money on good beer and wine, actually. I found it odd how Prescott Transit laid out their outgoing and return itinerary. It was counter intuitive for me, but I got it worked out and charged it and we’re good to go. I used Johnny's recommendations. The only possible glitch would be if the plane is late and I missed the 3:30 shuttle to Cordes Jct Chevron and had to take the 4:30 one, but if that is the case, they'll be getting the emergency "help" phone call.

So here’s story for you. As luck would have it, a guy I just recently met, and I do mean recently, like last Wednesday March 16th, invited me on a Grand Canyon trip that leaves late this week. He left March 18th from Boise to start driving to Airyzona. But of course, I had to tell him I couldn’t go because a) I’d be at Montezuma Well with Mr Montezuma and wife, and b) it was such short notice and being the stupidly responsible person that I am, that I probably couldn’t unload my kid on her dad on such short notice. Well, the real catch was I couldn’t actually go with him until Phantom Ranch and would need to hike in there when two other people came out. That really sounded enticing, because that would have been like April 2. Figuring how to get to Phantom Ranch and the Rim to hike in was just too much a brain taxing challenge for me, and it still would have meant cancelling my trip to visit Johnny and Susun. And then there was this saga of getting into the Verde River Canoe Challenge race on March 26.

So when it was all said and done, I said no, but my new friend and I started planning a Lower Salmon trip. Now here’s the other kicker. He grew up in Phoenix and went to U of A and got his hydrology and fisheries degrees there. He knew exactly where Montezuma was and asked me if my friends lived near Cornville. I mean, how many people would know that? He knew about the winery, too. And the Verde River race, which I told him I had planned to do, but due to unforeseen circumstances (whereby I told him the story of limited entries and how they shut down the registration early) I was not competing and would instead eat, drink and maybe go boating on Sunday after the race instead. This guy works for the Forest Service and was in Boise for a meeting I was putting on. Well, it was river love/kindred souls at first sight. Though supposedly he has a girlfriend, but I don’t think she’s very worthy since she's not going on the trip and is taking care of his dogs—tells me there is a flaw in that relationship from the get go. And he never mentioned her. Geez, anyways, we definitely connected big time, and I suspect we will get to be great friends. One thing about river people. It changes lives for a lifetime.

So, in the meantime, my good friend Mark came over for the weekend from Ketchum/Hailey to visit. He just returned from the Antarctic via Christchurch, where he was in town the day of the earthquake; and then Hawaii. He’s trying to find work for the spring and summer up in Moscow--Idaho, that is; and it’s not looking too good. The job he's had for some 20 years was made a full time job instead of seasonal and given to some non descript youngster who probably doesn't know weed sprayer from a weed whacker.

That’s all the news that’s fit to print before I head to land of cactus, red rocks and desert springtime. And as luck would have it, I get to kayak in the river race afterall. Between my email and phone calls to the USFS in Prescott, and whining to the Verde River Ranger and also to the race sponsor, they are letting me into the race. Ya hoo! Oh, and lastly, another one of my friends, named Mike Glasgow, put on the Grand March 17 and had the audacity to send me a photo to my facebook page from his cell phone from the put-in. Dirt Bag.