Nick, our diabetic 11 yr. old grandson, did not have a good night. His numbers went very high from the spaghetti (lots of carbs) and he had some spill-over. If you are familiar with Type I Juvenile Diabetes, you’ll understand. A terrible disease affecting too many people.

After a few short hours of sleep (for me), it was time to organize six kids, help them pack up, distribute meds, brush teeth and break camp. (My face has already aged 10 years in two days.) It was quite cold during the night and some of the sleeping bags have definitely lost their “fluff.” Heard a lot of, “Grandma, I was very cold last night.” (So was I!) Lobster thighs from the intense sun yesterday…beet red. Breakfast: two kinds of pancakes (blueberry and plain), sausage, Coffee, Hot Chocolate and always lemonade and water. As soon as the crew called, “breakfast” or “dinner,” our kids were always first in line to eat. Starving and ate like champs!

Nick, Sarah, Josh at breakfast along the Green River, Utah
It’s cool in the morning until the sun comes into the canyons, usually after breakfast. Tear down camp, and make last minute stops to the “groover.”

“Groover” explanation: You walk away from the campsite where there was a flotation cushion that acted as a “ticket” to let people know that the “groover” was in use. Next to the cushion was soap and water for washing hands. You picked up the “ticket” and walked an additional distance to where this box (the “groover”) was set up. Literally, a metal box with a toilet seat on it. Next to it was mosquito repellent and Lysol spray…on the other side of the box was toilet paper. A fast spray with Lysol, pick up the toilet seat, don’t look into the “groover,” plant your rear end, do your business, get up, close the toilet seat and head back to the middle spot to wash your hands. Return, or hand-off, the “ticket” to the next person and you are done! Mission accomplished. Does it need saying that this was another accomplishment (after they got over being grossed-out) for kids who have grown up in Suburbia?

Every morning, the guides would tell a story (always a tall tale) and then relate some history about the area. Throughout the four days, we learned about Major John Wesley Powell, geology, Ute and Fremont Indians, and the outlaws who frequented these canyons.

On May 24, 1869, Major John Wesley Powell and nine men headed down the Green River from Wyoming. They took provisions for 10 months and were the first to travel through Desolation Canyon, continuing down through the Grand Canyon for 1,000 miles. Only five of the original company plus Powell (their one-armed Civil War hero) survived. They portaged around and through rapids, not knowing what to expect and when Major Powell passed through “a region of wildest desolation,” he named this area, Desolation Canyon.

We floated by one rock formation that Powell had named, “Clem and Columbus.”

Good rapids right off the bat today and our first hike, to Ben Morris’ old moonshine cabin from 1935, tucked into the mountain. Ben made his moonshine out of apricots and mulberries, boating downriver to Rock Creek Ranch to buy his apricots. The guide’s story (they swore this was true) – Ben Morris was the 5th husband of Crazy Kate Bassett. Kate and her sister would round up (steal) cattle from others and put their own brand on them. Kate had six husbands and Ben was 5th of 6. She killed her second husband, they’re not sure what happened to the third (he died under mysterious circumstances), the fourth was poisoned and Kate was put on trial. Acquitted because the jury decided she wouldn’t have bothered poisoning him…just would have killed him outright! Kate ended up staying married to her sixth and ended her days in Price, Utah.

The kid’s highlights on the trail were discovering a lizard…

…and rating all the animal “poop” on the way up, on a scale of 1 to 10. Every few seconds I’d hear…”Wow, Grandma…look at this one…it’s massive!” Whatever made them happy…

The Ute Indian Reservation ran all the way down to Coal Creek on the left-hand side of the river. Butch Cassidy was one of the many outlaws who frequented Desolation Canyon and was friends with the McPhersons and other ranchers. Amber and Ashley told many interesting stories and the kids loved listening.

There was still so much more today…