5/29/21
A few days after my final river trip.
It was great overall, we had some nasty wind a couple of days, but otherwise it was an epic trip. We saw tons of bighorn sheep, they are stressed and hanging out by the river banks, the desert is super dry.
All the artists painted daily and I think they enjoyed the challenge. I did some of my best plein air river paintings I think, and even sold a couple, sweet. However in my delirium after the trip and packing the camper to travel the next day, I forgot to photograph those paintings, oops :)
Mostly though I was grateful to have one last river trip with Clair. At 78 he is amazing but said this was his last commercial trip, which he did at my request. Thank you Clair. He'll do a private rowing trip now and then but this was his last big boat trip and I was happy to share that with him. He's been running the river for over 60 years.
I think that makes 12 trips total for me. It's been great, and now I'm ready for some new experiences and new discoveries.
On this last river trip I ate too much, and some alcohol may have been consumed along the way. I felt a bit tired after the trip. I did do a lot of loading and unloading, I even went to the warehouse before and after the trip to help rig and de-rig the boat. I took 4 of us much of the day each time. It's amazing how they fit all the food, ice, water, tents, chairs, sleeping bags, extra motor, gas, kitchen, safety equipment etc. Enough for 18 people for 8 days!
Unpacking and cleaning the boat may have been even more work than loading it, or maybe we were just a little recked from the trip. Our helpers Jim and Ben worked their butts off taking care of us all week, they were great.
After the river trip I returned to Flagstaff to recoup and get in one last mountain bike ride with my buddy Clint. I likely won't see him again until mid September, after I return to do the Grand Canyon plein air event one more time.
In the middle of my first night back in the woods, a pack of coyotes must've made a kill about a hundred yards from my camper. They started yipping and doing their best hyena impersonations for about an hour. It was impressive, I would guess there were about 15 or more by the racket they made. Finally they settled down and let me get some sleep. In the morning I walked over to the area where they had been, I saw a few drops of blood, but nothing else, no fur or feathers or bones...nothing.
The next day I went for a long ride off trail randomly through the woods on my bike. Deep in the foothills of the San Francisco Peaks, I flushed a single pronghorn. He seemed very out of place there, strange.
"Turn and face the strange, ch ch changes..."
Sorry couldn't resist the chance to slip in a David Bowie reference ;-)
Next up I'm headed to Salida CO to see some of my artist friends, then on to Ouray to see some new friends. After that who knows...northern Utah, Wyoming, Idaho...I have no set plans for the next three months, which is kind of exciting.
All my life I've been hyper focused on very specific goals, even on painting trips it was pretty structured and scheduled. The new me is experimenting with being a yes to more spontaneity, being in more of a random discovery mode if you will. Less focused on the future and more present in the moment. So far I'm liking it, though it is lonely at times. Often I don't even have cell service, yep that means no internet either, gasp!
I'm making peace with that too.
Between the river trip and spending all of April in remote Utah, I have boatloads of new painting ideas, so stay tuned,
(I'll try to remember to get photos of the paintings this time ;-)
Thanks for following along
Cody
