Casa Grande, AZ: How About A Long Grand Canyon Raft Trip Next Year Dear?

Timing, they say, is everything in life:

• Add an extra layer of clothes under the clothes you are wearing to get warm while shopping at the mall: poor timing; you could end up in criminal court.
• Pay your mortgage late: poor timing; you could end up in bankruptcy court.
• Kiss the neighbor at any time other than the annual New Year's Eve party: poor timing; you could end up in divorce court.

• Ask Mary Lynn if she wants to raft the Colorado again while the bruises are still on her legs: poor timing; you could end up in the emergency room (well, can you think of a court associated with the emergency room? Huh, can you? -- neither could I). 
  

Actually her bruises have reached the optimum shade of black & blue. You know the shade I'm referring too. A shade that lingers for several days before dissolving into just a memory. Her lips, no longer blue from the cold, are a nice rosy red. I'm guessing they are no longer blue; it could just be her lipstick is covering her still blue lips. I'm afraid to ask.

And her hands no longer ache from holding on tightly to the raft. The penalty for failing to hold onto the steel rail with a vice grip-like hold was to be launched out of the raft or to be thrown into the bottom of the raft. Either way you ended up floating in ice cold water until the raft had exited the rapids, although the 'rescue' from the bottom of the raft was easier to accomplish.   

So, as curious as I am about whether or not she would consent to a slightly longer raft trip down the Colorado, I know better than to ask the question right now.

I figure the timing will work out as follows: all physical evidence (other than photo's) of this weeks raft trip will be gone in three weeks. Her ability to remember vividly the exact temperature of the river when she slipped under the raft will be gone in about six months. Within eight months she'll no longer be able to describe with clarity the punishment she feels is appropriate for the person who invited her to rafting through the Grand Canyon. 

So ten months from now, in January 2010, it will be safe for me to ask my lovely bride if she would do me the honor of accompanying me on another raft trip. 

Of course I'll have to guarantee warmer weather on the next trip and I'll have to agree to several future jewelry purchases, the specifics to be worked out at a later date and payable on demand. 

All that said, I'd do it in a heartbeat. It's hard to describe the majesty of the Grand Canyon or the power of the mighty Colorado River as it roars between massive rocky cliffs whose color consists of a 1000 shades of brown & red. Some of these canyon walls pierce the sky for over a mile.

It's impossible to realize just how large some of these structures really are. Only when some man made object, like a helicopter, flies towards one of these 'close' walls until it appears to be a mere speck do you realize just how massive these rocky behemoths really are. Many times an object that appears to be an easy hike away can actually be many miles away, and a mile in height. 

Next time it would be nice to do a couple of days floating in a raft where the guides use oars to steer through the rapids and then everyone, guides included, enjoy the peace of just floating to the next set of rapids. Sleeping under the stars on soft sandy beaches caps off days filled with timeless stretches of calm floating interspersed with several minutes of sheer exhilaration/terror as you shoot through the rapids while getting inundated with shockingly cold water. Then back to lots of sun and warm (sometimes hot) temperatures. 

Yep, as great as that sounds I'm keeping a low profile on that desire. Please don't mention anything to MLA; I'll spring that on her in a weak moment when she is deliriously happy about arriving back in Palm Creek!

How can my plan possibly fail?

See Ya!