Man rescued from quicksand in Zion NP

I ran across an article about a man rescued from quicksand in Zion National Park. Although he wasn't hiking in the Narrows, he was hiking a similar hike known as the Subway. Although some readers think that experience in the book was fictional, it was actually based on my own foray into quicksand in the aftermath of the flood. Here is the link.

Recent Flash Flood in the Narrows

I just saw a news article on a recent flash flood in the Narrows. Luckily, it was mainly water or the results could have turned out much different, but a group of hikers formed a human chain to help everyone get out. Here is a link to the article with the accompanying video: https://www.ksl.com/?sid=45282380&nid=148&title=man-recalls-narrows-flash-flood-caught-on-video

The Case of Buried Treasure Chapter 9

     The mystery comes to another "happily ever after" style ending, with the thieves safely in jail, the stolen loot returned (of course the police were able to track down all the victims of the pickpockets and return their stolen goods to them), and the DTB Cousins receiving a bonus for their efforts - tickets to Scotland where they would become involved in the Loch Ness Monster Mystery. Although we had the foresight to set up the next adventure, it never got written. After writing four books, without any of them getting published, I guess we kind of got a little discouraged. We started a few other partial stories, but this was our last complete one until The Narrows Escape. I hope you've enjoyed reading the story:

Chapter IX - The End of Another Mystery

The DTB Cousins made their way over to the old mansion with Cheif Harper. On the way, Troy asked, "Where do we look for the money?"

Brad was thinking of the same thing.

"Don't worry," said Darin. "When I was tied up they said something like having money hidden somewhere in that main cavern."

"It must be all that lute that was the money they were talking about."

They opened the trapdoor and went down the steps. They came to the main cavern and everyone started searching for places where the money could be hidden.

Finally, Brad got kind of worn out and leaned against a stalagmite to rest a little. It triggered part of the rock wall to slide open and inside was a safe.

Cheif Harper took out some equiptment to open safes and in no time they had the money.

They went back to the police station and Chief Harper had his men return the money to its owners. The chief gave the DTB Cousins three free tickets to Scottland for an extra treat for solving the case and then they went home to tell their moms and dads.

A couple of days later they decided that they would use those tunnels and caves and put their private office down in there. They bought a lot of nice new equiptment to go in their office with the treasure money.

The End

The Case of Buried Treasure Chapter 8

I'm not sure why we thought that the treasure should belong to the government. In fact we never figured out a back story - where the treasure came from, how it got there, who buried it and made the map. Actually, we never planned out our stories at all. We just took turns writing whatever popped into our minds as we wrote. The interesting thing is that with three different authors taking turns writing, the story often went off in different directions. It is surprising that they had any cohesiveness at all. Enjoy!

Chapter VIII - The Explanation

The DTB Cousins were back in the police station with the treasure.

"How did you know that there was a treasure down there and how did you find out how to get down there?" asked Chief Harper in astonishment.

"Oh," said Brad. "I'll start from the beginning and tell you the whole story. We went over to the old mansion yesterday to see if we could find something because you said that if you found something in there you could keep it. When I was looking in the attic, I found a treasure map concealed in a secret panel in a chest along with a few other papers which I think are documents.

"Oh that reminds me. Here are the papers. Anyway I heard a yell for help so I ran down the stairs to see what had happened. When I got down, I found Troy there but no sign of Darin except for his pocket camera which was lying on the floor. It didn't take me very long to figure out what had happened. Troy and I began looking for clues. I found a trail of torn notebook paper leading to a closet and Troy just happened to stumble upon the trapdoor."

"That's fantastic boys. We have been looking for this treasure for years, but all our searches were fruitless. Finally we gave up. These papers say the treasure belongs to the government to spend how they want. I guess part of it rightly belongs to you fellows," said Cheif Harper.

"Thanks a lot!" chimed the DTB Cousins.

"I guess those crooks were lookings for the treasure also," said Cheif Harper.

"No," said Darin. "They didn't even know about the treasure until they saw the map. They were pickpocketers who had found a torn peice of the map that showed the secret entrance. When they investigated it, they discovered it was the perfect hidout. I found this out while I was captured."

"Heah, let's go recover their stolen loot," said Brad.

The Case of Buried Treasure Chapter 7

     The DTB Cousins' relationship with the police was patterned after the relationship that the Hardy Boys had with the local police. We were young and naive enough not to realize that real police officers probably wouldn't give much credence to what a few ten-year old boys had to say if they called up the station asking for "backup." Of course, the DTB Cousins didn't just have a connection on the local police force, they were on a first name basis with the police chief himself. Chief Harper appears in most (if not all) of the original DTB mysteries we wrote. He was loosely based on Ron Harper, a friend of my parents who was a real police chief. Of course, he had no idea that he played such a crucial role in these literary masterpieces. Enjoy.

Chapter VII - Arrested

"We're lucky they left the equiptment," said Troy.

"Yeah, but they took the map," said Brad.

"They are probably looking for that treasure right now," said Darin.

"Don't think about that," said Brad. "We got to be thinking of how to escape."

They thought hard. Finally Troy came up with a great idea.

Brad was tied to a weaker one. He shoved against it as hard as he could. He tried again and finally the stump of it broke. Brad could walk around but their was still a stalagmite tied on his back. He waddled over to the shovel. Then he rubbed the rope that tied his hands on the sharp tip of the shovel. Finally the rope snapped.

Then he ran over and untied Troy and Darin.

"I better radio Cheif Harper," said Darin. "We'll need some help."

While Darin radioed Cheif Harper, Brad and Troy picked up the equipment. They waited until the police came. Then the DTB Cousins and the policemen raced down the tunnel.

The crooks heard the footsteps and hid behind some boulders just as the DTB Cousins and the police burst into the cavern.

"Where are they?" asked Cheif Harper.

"There they are," yelled Troy.

The robbers jumped up and tore down the back entrance tunnel with the police hot on their trail.

As the policemen chased the crooks from tunnel to tunnel, the DTB Cousins started digging up the treasure. The DTB Cousins dug and dug. Finally, Troy's shovel hit metal.

The DTB Cousins uncovered a valuable chest covered with diamonds and jewels. Brad opened the chest and they found millions of dollars worth of coins, gold and silver pieces.

Troy stayed and gaurded the chest while Brad and Darin ran off to tell the police. When they reached the main corridor, Brad and Darin stared in astonishment as the crooks raced toward them with daggers in their hands and the police right behind.

Darin yelled, "We are between them and the stairs and they will stop at nothing. Duck down."

Right as Darin and Brad ducked, the crooks crashed into their backs and went flying into the steps. The police came over and congratulated them and arrested the crooks.

As the crooks were being handcuffed and taken off to jail, Darin and Brad took Chief Harper over and showed him the valuable treasure that they found.

The Case of Buried Treasure Chapter 6

     As you can see, I left the spelling and grammar mistakes in the text. Whoever wrote this chapter moved from past tense, to present tense, and back to past. Also, this "chapter" could have easily been fleshed out quite a bit more, adding more suspense. Still, we were only ten, and were probably hurrying so that we could finish the book sooner. What was the rush? I guess we figured that the sooner we finished, the sooner we could publish it and make a lot of money without digging it up in some abandoned mansion frequented by crooks.

Chapter VI - The Search for Treasure

They woke up early in the morning. They had decided to go over to the mansion and in the tunnels again to look for the treasure. They ate a quick breakfast and took some more equiptment with them this time - like shovels and ropes.

When they arrived at the mansion, they cautiously made their way to the closet. They slipped through the trapdoor and down the stairs. Troy said, "That passage is the one."

Just than they hear voices down the corridor. The DTB Cousins quickly dodge into the passageway and start sneaking down it.

Brad, who was in the lead, dislodged a rock by accident. The rock made a thud and the crooks, who were nearby, came to see what made the noise.

The DTB Cousins scrambled on, but were caught. The DTB Cousins were tied up to stalagmights in the main corridor.

The robbers started to take their equipment when one of them spotted the map. The crooks took the map but forgot all about the equipment. They left the corridor.

The Case of Buried Treasure Chapter 5

     I don't remember who's idea it was to have all the DTB Cousins live in the same house, but for some reason we felt that it would be easier to have them all living under the same house. I don't know if it is true of my cousins, but I know that in my mind, I always pictured it to be my house. We never really described it in any of our adventures. In any case, we usually only mentioned our moms and dads. In only one book did we have any siblings. Well, here is chapter five. 

Chapter V - The Discovery

The DTB Cousins walked into the house and closed the door. Their moms were sitting on the couch.

"You have been gone almost the whole day. Where have you been?" they asked.

"Oh, we've just been at the old mansion looking around," replied the DTB Cousins.

The DTB Cousins couldn't tell their moms everything that happened because their moms might not want them to go back again. They would be worried about them getting hurt.

"Why don't you sit down and eat. We have some dinner for you," said Brad's mom.

After a dinner of steak, potatoes and jello, the DTB Cousins went to their room. They studied the map and discovered there was a part of it ripped off. Then Darin said, "It's ripped off because the crooks have the other part! That's why they knew where the trapdoor was, and that's how they got down in the tunnels."

"But that part of the map doesn't do them any good," said Brad, "because we have the part that has a buried treasure marked on it."

It was getting late so they got on their pajamas and went to sleep.

The Case of Buried Treasure Chapter 4

This appears to be one of the chapters I wrote. I'm not exactly sure how I envisioned the execution of my heroic action, but I vaguely recall something similar happening in a Scooby-Doo cartoon. I wouldn't be surprised if we got lots of our inspiration from the TV shows we used to watch as kids - Scooby Doo, the Dukes of Hazzard, the Six Million Dollar Man, etc. Enjoy.

Chapter IV - The Rescue

Troy and Brad quietly crawled over to Darin. Troy started untiing Darin quickly while Brad told him to run and follow them. When the last rope was untied, they made a break for it.

The two crooks turned around and saw them. They started after the DTB Cousins to get them.

Darin was running behind Troy and Brad. One of the crooks got a hold of Darin's arm and wouldn't let go. Darin struggled to get free from his grasp. Finally, in his last attempt, he elbowed the crook in the stumach and stomped on his foot. He got free and ran around a curve in the tunnel.

The second crook was on their tail now. Troy had hid around the curve and as the crook ran around it, he stuck out his foot. The crook bit the dust and Troy took off fast again. He caught up with Brad and Darin.

In a little while, they got to the stairway. They zoomed up the stairs skipping every other one. They were going so fast that in no time they were at the top in the closet of the old mansion. They looked down the stairway and saw the crooks going up them faster than they had ever seen. The DTB Cousins could tell they were mad.

Brad quickly picked up a rope and tied it to a rock jutting out of the tunnel. As the crooks neared the top, Brad jumped through the trap door and swung down, each foot smacking the crooks in the face. He jerked to a stop and they watched the crooks tumbling down the stairs head first. Then they ran out of the mansion and headed for home.

The Case of Buried Treasure Chapter 3

     Here is chapter three from one of our old DTB books. You will notice that we used our real names rather than the fictional ones I used for The Narrows Escape. Also, since we wrote the original draft on a small 3" by 5" notepad, in large handwriting, it seemed as if each chapter was several pages long, rather than what turned out to be 1/2 page chapters (single-spaced). Enjoy!

Chapter III - The Underground Tunnels

Troy and Brad went down deeper and deeper. Then Troy moaned, "How much farther is the end? If there is an end."

"There has to be an end," said Brad. Then Brad saw the floor.

"We're at the end now, Troy," said Brad.

They both looked around. There were tunnels leading every which way. Then Brad thought that it looked familiar, but he couldn't think where he had seen something like it. He thought hard. Then he said to Troy. "I remember now; the map I found had the same tunnels marked on it."

"What map?" said Troy.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I found a map when I was searching the attic."

"Let me look at it Brad," said Troy.

"Oh, there were some other papers with it too. They are in DTB folder."

They both studied the map with their flashlights.

"Here is a likely chamber where they might have hid Darin," said Brad, pointing to a place on the map.

Troy and Brad followed the passage till they came to the chamber.

"Nothing," said Troy as they peeked inside. "How about that one?" he said, pointing to the map.

When they came to the end, Brad said, "Another dead end."

Then Brad said, "Hey, look. There are footprints on this dirt floor leading into that passage."

Troy and Brad sneeked down the passageway. Pretty soon they heard voices. They got to the end of the passage and looked into the chamber.

On one side of the room were two crooks talking with their backs toward Troy and Brad. On the other side of the room was Darin tied up.

To be continued...

The Case of Buried Treasure Chapter 2

     Here is the second chapter of one of the DTB Cousin books my cousins and I wrote as kids. We wrote at least four of these type of books, taking turns writing about a chapter each before passing it on to the next cousin. You can sometimes tell who is writing based on who has the biggest part in the story in that section:

Chapter II - Looking for Darin

Brad was searching for clues on the floor when he spotted a piece of torn notebook paper. There was some more following it. He called Troy over and they followed the the torn pieces of paper. The paper led to a closet.

Troy pressed his ear against the door and motioned that he didn't hear anything. Brad took a mini billy club out of his pocket and Troy swung open the door.

Brad looked inside but saw nothing. Then Troy went in the closet and looked if there were any more clues or anything. He didn't find anything, but as he was getting out of the closet, his foot snagged part of the rug and pulled it aside.

"Hey, look!" said Brad. "You've uncovered a trapdoor."

Troy was very pleased with himself.

Brad went over and opened it. There was a big long staircase that went down and down. He couldn't see the bottom.

Troy went over and looked. Then Brad said, "Come on, we're going down there and rescue Darin."

They both pulled out their pocket size mini flashlights and started down.

To be continued...

The Case of Buried Treasure Chapter 1

As I was going through some of my things, I came across one of the four mysteries my cousins and I wrote as youth. We were about ten at the time, so the story is pretty simplistic and not very realistic. Still, it was fun for me to type it up. It is only nine chapters long, so I decided to post it here chapter by chapter. I put it into paragraph form and fixed some punctuation for clarity purposes, but I left the misspellings intact. Here is chapter one:

The DTB Cousins

The Case of Buried Treasure

Chapter I - The Search in the Old Mansion

The DTB Cousins decided to go to the old mansion on Euclid Ave. When they arrived Troy said, "Let's make a thorough search of this mansion. Remember Chief Harper made an announcement that whoever found anything in this house may keep it."

"Let's split up to search this place," said Darin.

"Okay," said Brad.

Troy said, "I get this floor, Darin can have the second floor, and Brad can have the attic up at the top."

The DTB Cousins split up and began to search. Brad, who was searching the attic saw a chest. He opened the chest and looked inside. He felt the sides and felt four lines in the shape of a rectangle. Brad pulled out his pocket knife and pried open the compartment. He pulled a slip of paper out of the compartment and discovered it was a treasure map. Brad pulled out the other papers in the compartment. Brad put the papers in his DTB folder. Then he began to search the closet.

Meanwhile, Darin, who was searching the second floor, went to a bedroom first. He was inside and headed straight for the bed. Darin got on his hands and knees and looked under the bed.

A man came up from behind. The man grabbed Darin and dragged him across the floor. Darin tried to get free, but couldn't. Darin then yelled for help.

Troy had gone to the living room and was searching the fireplace mantle when he heard Darin's yell for help. Troy quickly ran up the stairs.

Troy saw Darin's pocket camera on the floor by the bed. "This must be where the fight was," thought Troy.

By the time Brad had joined him, Troy picked up the camera and they both began to search for clues in the bedroom.

To be continued...

Keyhole Canyon Flash Flood

     With the recent tragedy that occurred to the hikers in Keyhole Canyon this last week, I'd like to take this opportunity to express that my hopes and prayers are with the family members of the deceased: Linda & Steve Arthur, Robin Brum, Gary Favela, Mark MacKenzie, Muku Reynolds, and Don Teichner. I'd also like to remind everyone that the dangers associated with flash floods are real. These were experienced hikers. They had trained for this. Unfortunately, sometimes no amount of training can prepare you for what Mother Nature throws at you. Water is one of the strongest forces on the planet. It carved the Grand Canyon and millions of other geological wonders around the world. If you are trapped inside a tiny canyon when a flash flood comes through, you are toast. The only thing you can do is make sure you aren't inside such a canyon if there is any chance of a rain storm. I've attempted to hike the Narrows again on a few occasions following our adventure; but each time the weather forecast has prompted me to alter my plans. Life is fragile. It can be snuffed out quicker than a candle. Live life, but don't take dangerous risks. It just isn't worth it.

2015 Family Reunion

I just got back from the 2015 Allred Family Reunion in Pine Valley, Utah. We had a great time getting reacquainted and meeting the new members of the family. Some of the activities included: horseshoes, Frisbee golf, candy guessing game, an obstacle course, campfire programs, potluck dinners, arts and crafts, a family hike, a short excursion to the sand dunes (it was triple digits so we didn't stick around long), swimming in the river, a devotional, and family trivia games. It was fun watching the new generation having fun with their cousins just like we did when we were young. I'm already looking forward to the next one.

Happy Mothers' Day

     Last year I paid tribute to the DTB Cousins' fathers. This year I'd like to honor their moms: Aunt Doris, Aunt Sandy, and Aunt Jen. Because they didn't go on the hike, their roles in the story are somewhat minor. However, the three women who the characters are based on are three of the most stalwart women I know: Dottie, Sally, and Janie. I have seen each one of them (as well as my other aunts) camping out in the middle of nowhere, taking care of their families under rustic conditions (such as pit toilets), and enjoying it - not just once, but every other year for my entire life. It didn't matter if they were expecting a baby, or taking care of multiple toddlers in diapers; they were there building memories with their families. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. They continue to do hard things, are are awesome examples of motherhood to their children and grandchildren.

     I especially want to take this opportunity to thank the two most important women in my life - my mother and wife. It has been three years now since I published The Narrows Escape. They have been, and continue to be, my biggest fans. They have read several versions of my books through the years and always offer words of encouragement as well as valuable insights. I appreciate their support and enthusiasm for my writing projects, and want them to know how much I love them. Thank you!

The Path Less Trodden

I love to travel. I also enjoy quiet solitude - exploring the unknown. I often choose to vacation in areas that are less crowded. It is one of the reasons I've always been drawn to Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken." It is also why I've enjoyed hikes such as the Virgin Narrows.
Recently, I've decided to start a new blog dedicated to travel tips and ideas. It is a way I can share some of my other adventures without writing a full length book about them. The blog is called The Path Less Trodden and can be found at travelthepathlesstrodden.blogspot.com for those interested in viewing it. The first spotlight is a short hike that leads to a shipwreck on the California coast. My family just discovered it last week. It is definitely found on the Path Less Trodden. The DTB Cousins would have loved exploring it.

Pi Day

3/14/15 - 3.1415 - Pi - pie
Yesterday was Pi Day. It's not an official holiday, but it should be. I can't remember for sure when I first heard about Pi Day, but it must have been from a student who had a really cool math teacher. I only wish my math teachers had thought of it back when I was taking math classes. Pie is without a doubt my favorite dessert - and I love most pies. Among the few that aren't worth the calories are pumpkin pies and lemon meringue. If the DTB Cousins had been lucky enough to celebrate Pi Day at school, I imagine that their favorites would be as follows: Devin - banana cream, Trey - pumpkin, and Brady - strawberry. Of course, any one of them would go for apple pie a la mode any time, any day. I think I'll go check the fridge for leftovers...

DTB Blog

I started this blog about a month after The Narrows Escape was published as a way to promote the book. I figured that the additional exposure would help book sales. I don't know how many hours I've spent writing this blog, but I honestly don't know if anyone has purchased the book as a result of reading it. Sometimes I wonder if it is worth it to keep it going since sales have trickled down to about one or two books a year. At first I posted weekly. Later it was bi-weekly. Lately, I've struggled to come up with one blog a month. This month almost passed by without me posting anything. I'm afraid if I let that happen, it would be hard to keep it going. Is it worth it? I'm not sure. There is always some traffic on here, but not much. It would be nice to get some feedback on what type of posts people like, or even what they think of the book.
Here are some facts regarding the blog:
4,594 all-time page views
Most popular posts:
1. "First anniversary" - 1,010 (artificially boosted by spammers); 2. "The Narrows Escape" - 141; 3. "Brad Allred" - 116; 4. "My journal entry from the actual Narrows flash flood" - 105; 5. "DTB Codes" - 53
Most popular month:
1. June 2013 - 918 hits (spammers); T2. November 2013 - 191; T2. August 2014 - 191; 4. November 2012 - 185; 5. July 2012 - 181.
Least popular month:
January 2015 - 18
Traffic sources:
1. google.com - 143; 2. facebook.com - 116; 3. ampirestat.com - 77; 4. blog-zug.com - 75; 5. yandex.ru - 52
Audience:
1. USA - 2,231; 2. Russia - 337; 3. France - 198; 4. Germany - 177; 5. Turkey - 169
Browsers:
1. Internet Explorer - 44%; 2. Firefox - 22%; 3. Chrome - 19%

The Barrel - Take 2

If you've read the book, The Narrows Escape, you'll remember the barrel, and the role it played. It was based on a real 50-gallon drum that we saw during the flood (see pictures on post labeled The Barrel). In these deleted scenes, you can see how the barrel was originally introduced, and the role it played in helping Brady convince the others that he was on to something:

"Hey, look at the size of that trunk!" shouted Brady.

            Everybody inspected the smashed remains of a tree that lay partially submerged in the shallow water near the left bank. Devin stared in awe at the battered trunk with just broken shards remaining of what had once been large branches. He gulped nervously as he realized what similar forces would do to a human body.

            Down the bank a few yards was a large pile of debris that had been dumped by the river where the canyon widened a bit. On top of the debris sat the 50-gallon drum they had seen. The two rangers headed straight for it – Ranger Smith jogging and Ranger Sorensen hobbling along behind.

“What on earth are you doing?” asked Uncle Darrell as the ranger inspected the outside of the barrel.

“Oh, uh, I’m just checking to see what kind of barrel it is,” answered Ranger Smith, looking a little flustered.

“Why?” asked Uncle Randy.

“Oh, uh, well…we can’t leave hazardous materials in the canyon,” he answered. “They can ruin the environment.”

“Yeah, we better carry it out,” agreed Ranger Sorensen. He turned to Brady and said, “I’m afraid we’re going to have to confiscate it.”

“That’s fine,” answered Brady. “I was just joking about it being mine anyway.”

Then, a couple of chapters later, after the rangers and Arthur had gone ahead:

Brady breathed a sigh of relief as the panic and adrenaline seeped from his body. He had made it across the pool and could once again feel the ground beneath his feet.

Then he remembered the obstacle he’d encountered. “Hey, Dad, I kicked something in the water.”

“It was probably a rock.”

“No, it was smooth,” insisted Brady. “Like plastic.”

“So?”

“I think it was the barrel the rangers were carrying.”

“There’s no way they’d leave it there after all the trouble they went through bringing it this far,” argued Uncle Randy.

“Unless they no longer needed it,” Brady reminded him.

“If this is about them being robbers again…” began his dad.

“You wanted proof,” Brady reminded him. “If this is the barrel, then it proves they were lying about wanting to take it out of the canyon.”

His dad considered it for a second. “Well, go back and check. We could use a rest anyway.” He and Uncle Randy laid the stretcher on a large boulder and his dad checked the man’s vital signs again.

“I was hoping someone else would check it out,” muttered Brady as he peered anxiously at the pool they’d crossed.

“I’ll check it out,” volunteered Amber. She took off her pack and waded out against the current until she was forced to swim. She had to swim full bore to make any progress, but about halfway across she stopped. Only her head was above water, but she was anchored in place. “I found something!” she gasped.

Brady’s dad and Uncle Randy looked over with interest.

“Is it the barrel?” asked Brady excitedly.

“It feels like it, but there’s no lid. It’s full of water inside.”

“It could be a different one,” suggested Uncle Randy.

“It’s just as I suspected!” declared Brady. “As soon as they ditched us, they opened up the barrel, transferred the money to their pack, and then sunk the evidence!”

The others looked at him in surprise. Then his dad slowly shook his head and declared, “Either you’re the next Sherlock Holmes or the next Franklin W. Dixon. I’m not sure which.”

The Allred Christmas party

     The Allred cousins are all grown up. Most of us are in our 30's or 40's. Yet we are still close. Every other year, we have a big family reunion, like the one described in The Narrows Escape. That may be the only time we get to see almost everyone at once, but luckily we have other opportunities. Last night we had our annual Christmas party for all the Allreds living in Utah. Although there were a couple of the cousins missing, I counted 13 of my cousins there with their families, as well as two sets of aunts and uncles. Tonight, my parents are hosting another Allred Christmas party for all the Allreds living in California. We also get together for the 4th of July, weddings, etc. When I hear others complaining about how much they can't stand their cousins, I just can't relate. I know each one of my cousins and their spouses by name. I know most of their kids by name (although it gets a little harder each year to remember them all). And best of all, I love spending time with all of them. Our family reunions and other family parties have kept us close over the years. They have allowed our kids to get to know each other and become friends.
     If you don't feel close to your extended family, I encourage you to find ways to get together and renew those acquaintances. Find a large place to get together, enjoy a potluck dinner together, play some games, or just talk. Make sure that there are plenty of activities to keep the kids occupied so that they are enjoying themselves too - otherwise it might turn out to be a bomb rather than a blast. And don't give up if the first time doesn't turn out as great as you are hoping. Sometimes it takes a few years for those family ties to gel - especially if you haven't seen each other in a while. If you stick with it, the benefits can be fabulous! Over the years, I've seen friends come and go as circumstances have changed; but family - families are forever!

DTB Fort

Some of my favorite memories from the DTB club were building our forts. It seems that we built one at every reunion between the ages of 7 and 15. Not only that, we built forts at other places - including several different spots around my neighborhood. In the first drafts of the Narrows Escape, I had the family reunion take place in the White Mountains of Arizona, totally separated from the hike. When I changed location, I changed the fort too to match the new setting. Of course I pasted the old scene among my deleted scenes files in case I ever wanted to use it again. Here is the original:

             After completely examining their fort, they began exploring the surrounding area. They hadn’t gotten very far when the rain started falling again.

“Not again!” exclaimed Devin. “Why does the rain always have to ruin our fun?”

“Should we go back?” asked Brady. “Maybe we can work on our book some more!”

“But we did that all afternoon!” complained Devin. “I didn’t come all the way to Arizona to read and write. We can do that at home.”

“We can always wait it out inside the fort,” suggested Trey, ducking back inside their retreat.

Devin and Brady followed him in. They had to stoop over slightly so as not to bang their heads on the “roof,” but there were plenty of branches to sit on. Devin was pleasantly surprised at how well the roof was doing at keeping the light rain out. There were only a few spots where the water was seeping through.

“Hey, we’re pretty good builders,” he said proudly.

“You mean architects,” corrected Trey.

“What’s the difference?”

“Architects sounds more professional,” said Trey.

“Well I’m just glad we don’t have to go back,” said Devin. “In fact, we can hang out here instead of in the camper every time it rains.”

To pass the time, they played Tic-tac-toe by using a stick to scratch in the damp earth. They were running out of dirt when Devin heard a voice calling out from the other side of the river.

“Shh! Quiet! Someone’s coming!” hissed Devin.

The three boys sat silently, without moving, listening to the drumming of raindrops against the tree, and the gurgle of water from the nearby creek. Devin could feel his heartbeat pounding as they waited for the threat to pass.

“Brady! Devin! Trey?” the voice repeated.

“It’s my dad,” announced Brady. “I better go find out what he wants.”

Brady carefully climbed up the wet branches to the lookout post. As he disappeared from view, Devin heard him call out, “Hey Dad, over here!”

Brady lowered himself back into the clubhouse. Several seconds later, Uncle Darrell followed – though a bit more cautiously. He was wearing his familiar red jacket and his favorite cowboy hat. The three boys’ coats were slung over his left arm, dripping wet from the rain.

Once inside, Uncle Darrell had to stoop over almost double to keep from hitting his head. A low branch still knocked the hat off his head anyway. He carefully placed it on again and gladly accepted Brady’s invitation to share his branch. Then he passed out the coats.

“This is a nice set-up you have here,” Uncle Darrell said admiringly, as he inspected the makeshift roof. There were still only four or five drips.

Not bad at all, Devin decided. I’ll bet Steve and Shane couldn’t do any better themselves.

They quickly gave Uncle Darrell the “tour” – which they were able to do without even getting up. They then humbly accepted the praise he heaped on them for their craftsmanship.

"This is great!" Uncle Darrell repeated with a wide grin. “Your fathers and I used to build forts like this all the time in the orange groves and fields behind our house. We would spend hours and hours pretending we were Roy Rogers, fending off bandits and Indians.”

“Roy Rogers? Who’s that?” asked Devin, wondering if he was related to Buck Rogers from the twenty-fifth century – one of his favorite TV shows.

“My dad still has all his old Roy Rogers stuff in a box in our garage,” Trey explained. “He was some old cowboy.”

“Not that old!” laughed Darrell. “But I almost forgot. I was supposed to find you to make sure you guys weren’t getting all wet. Aunt Doris was afraid you were going to catch pneumonia or something, but you’re all much drier than the rest of us.”

“So we can stay?” asked Brady hopefully.

“I don’t see why not,” Darrell replied. “I’ll just go back and tell them what a masterful job you guys did.”

“All right!” exclaimed Devin, extending his hand so Brady could slap it.

Uncle Darrell left the way he came, and the three boys remained in their fort, playing games until the rain stopped.