Here we go again!

Sooo.... When I left off we had just arrived at Bode Canyon. Bode is a two mile long canyon that has several different features. It goes from a wide open hike to very thin slot canyons. Several drops into water, and several ascents, and several scrambles. Once you work your way to the end of the canyon there is a beautiful little waterfall. As we returned back to the boats, the guides had lunch ready. Post lunch back into the boats for a 30 mile trip to Hitte. Hitte is where we got off the boats, into a truck across the bridge to nowhere, to the air park. The air park has been described as a side walk on top of a mesa, that ends in the lake. Mike was joking with Aimee and Lisa, about "Oh... The fun's not over yet! This trip has it all, fun by Land, Sea, and Air!" Little did he know that neither one of them had been on a small plane before. We taxied down the run way and off we go! The pilot was great and took us back over the top of the trip down Cataract. He pointed out all of the features and I took a bunch of pictures. Once we landed Navtec was waiting on us, and we drove back to town. We (The DH Gang) made a plan to meet up at Buck's Steakhouse for dinner at eight. It was great to get to our hotel and get cleaned up. It was really nice to see everyone a couple of hours later, all dolled up and ready for a glass of wine. The food was great, but the stories were better!!!! We had a great time at dinner, and the thing that stuck me the most about this group was how well we worked together. All of us, were there because we shared a common interest, Adventure. I have to say, this trip down Cataract Canyon has to be one of the greatest times of my life. There were so many different skills, and techniques used and learned, from tying rope to setting camps, to climbing, scrambling, slotting.... I could go on forever, and probably will. I would be remiss if I didn't mention these people individually. Mark... What an amazing guy, so intelligent, warm hearted, and some serious wit and charm. Mickey... Her humor kept us going during some really tough situations, Mickey is a little spark plug, and her physical conditioning was remarkable. Aimee... Such a sweet unassuming lady. This is one tough girl, she also has a huge heart, and Trey loves the Geode she found for him. Lisa.... Also a sweet, sweet young lady. Lisa also is a very physical, strong woman, who is very motivated. You can tell Lisa is a lot like me and, finds a way to get what she wants. These four people made such an impact on my life in such a short time. The funny thing is, due to the stress we were under, I think helps you determine very quickly, how you will mesh with a group. I really do believe, this group will become even closer, and I am excited to see what adventures we will head off to in the near future. I would be remiss if I were to leave off a small caveat about Mike.... Mike has done this Cataract trip for several years, due to my physical inabilities, I would have never made it through the canyon. I have always wanted to do it, just incapable. Mike is one of the most generous, big hearted, and greatest friends, anyone could have. I will never be able to repay Mike for the life experiences he has given me over the last 10 years. I will end this part of the blog by saying..... UNBELIEVABLE! Crazy thing is we are only on Tuesday... I have Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to tell you about. I probably will not be as detailed, so I can catch up, but if you want to know, just ask.... I will be talking about this for the next six months! The last several blogs are dedicated to Mark, Mickey, Lisa, Aimee, and last but not least Micheal B. Champlin!

Love you all!

Mat