Type Two Fun

Self-timer selfie, Marble Canyon AZ

For the second night in a row, I’m out of bed at midnight.  The wind is slamming the side of the camper and keeping me awake.  So, I get up, reconfigure the dinette into a bed and pull down the pop-top, scrambling to connect the six exterior clips before the wind pulls the top back up again.  It’s a little tight sleeping with the roof down, but there’s much less motion and noise and I do eventually get back to sleep.

Last light on Echo Cliffs.  Marble Canyon AZ

I’ve been a little freaked about wind as long as I can remember.  Then, in August 1996 a microburst smashed windows and pulled off part of the roof of my Glendale, Arizona home.  Winds were clocked at 130 mph. Any hope that I would embrace windy weather was gone with the terracotta roof tiles.

Besides all that, high wind is usually not ideal for photography.  Tripods can blow over, and plants whip around complicating close-up shots.  As if that were not enough, dust gets into the camera leaving unpleasant spots in my images.

My new friend and his rum

Camping trips tend to defy my expectations.  I envisaged peace and solitude; walks and reading in a camp chair in the shade.  After the first rough night not sleeping I passed the better part of the day hiding from the gusts inside the camper reading and napping.  When the three guys on the motorbikes showed up, I was pleased to see them.  Perhaps absolute solitude is not required, I thought.  Perhaps the distraction of human contact is a good thing.  One in particular was fun to chat with and even shared his handmade rum which he calls “Pirate Piss."

I was, as Craig Childs says, “Turning the pages of the world, seeing what comes next.”

Upstream View of the Colorado River, Marble Canyon AZ

I’m not sorry to have taken this trip, despite its challenges. I love this spot in the Kaibab National Forest, 27 miles from pavement and hadn’t been there in three years.  It seemed the perfect place to get away, with a view and places to walk.  I’ve never boon-docked in one place for three nights before.  I suppose it’s true that #homeiswhereyouparkit

Last Fall I had the pleasure of a National Geographic Live talk with fearless explorer Bryan Smith, when he illuminated the three types of fun.  Type One Fun is the usual kind; a just plain good time.  Type Two sounds great in stories, if a little sketchy.  There would be no lasting harm, lots of adventure, and some good times interspersed with the challenges.  Type Three runs the gamut from minor injuries to death and even the best storyteller can’t make it sound like fun, though they might be able to make a case for calling it adventure.

Backlighted agave, Marble Canyon AZ

This trip was solidly in the “Type Two” category, with some photography along the way.

More images from this type two fun trip are on the website, in the Grand Canyon Gallery.