Quicksand

One of the most difficult parts of our flashflood experience was dealing with the aftermath. As the flood passed through the canyon, it left debris in piles along the way. It also dumped loads of silt in areas where the river changed directions. As we were navigating our way downstream, I was in the lead, since I had been down the canyon before. At one point, we were on an elevated bench, and needed to get back down to the river since the bench was going to end. As I turned to head down the slope, I noted that the sand looked extremely wet. As soon as I stepped on it, my foot immediately began to sink. I took another step forward to keep my balance, and that foot sunk too. Within seconds, I was up to my waist in soupy mud, and continued to sink. I couldn't move my legs to extricate myself, so I immediately lay back onto my pack, hoping to distribute my weight more evenly. I don't know how far I would have sunk, but I didn't want to find out either. My dad rushed forward and grabbed my arm, while becoming partially submerged in the muck himself. My cousin Troy held out his walking stick, which I grabbed, and used to maneuver myself so that I was facing the group. With the help of my dad and cousins, I was able to climb out. As soon as it appeared that I was safe, Uncle Merlin snapped a picture:

Me, my dad, and Greg



After I got out, my uncle took another picture. This time you can see how deep I was in the sand.

It was a terrifying experience to say the least, and obviously became part of the novel. Yet for some reason, most readers assume it is one of the fictitious parts of the adventure. However, here's proof of its validity.

Castle Dark

I was going through a box of old papers when I ran across a fun pad I created when I was about ten. It had simple puzzles, crosswords, mazes, and a serial DTB adventure. The idea was to publish a monthly fun pad for my subscribers. I don't know if I sold any copies, though my mom may have purchased one for the 10 cent purchase price. In any case, I didn't make any future editions. I read through the first episode of the DTB adventure, and got a good laugh at my writing skills. I don't know if it was my first ever attempt to write a DTB cousin adventure, but here it is in its entirety - spelling mistakes and all:

     Once upon a time, there was witch who lived in California. She lived in a castle called Castle Dark. Lots of people said it is haunted. The castle still stands in California but nobody will go in it. Everybody says it is either haunted or falling a part. They President says he will give a hundred dollars to the person or people who go inside. The DTB cousins of Upland California take the job. They packed equipment and started off. The DTB cousins are detectives and have solved other cases so they were not afraid. As they walked up the dusty path they thought about the adventures that would soon take place. Soon they reached Castle Dark. They went inside single file. Darin first, Troy second, and last but not least Brad. As they walked Darin steped on a button like thing on the ground and a skeleton pops out of a secret opening. The DTB cousins walk on. Soon they come to a door. They opened the door and saw a misty room with cobwebs all over. The DTB cousins got on their hands and knees and crawled across the floor. In the middle of the room was an opening in the floor. The DTB cousins decided to go inside and explore. One at a time the dropped down into the dark pit. They turned on their flashlights and found themselves in a large tunnel ful of boxes and bags. They heard someone walking toward them. Quickly the DTB cousins turned off their flashlights and hid behind some boxes. The lights went on and they saw a man carring a box. He put it down, turned off the light, and left without noticing the boys. The DTB cousins came out of hiding and decided to see what was in the boxes. They turned on their flashlights and looked in a box. It was ful of bags of money marked Bank of America. They opened another box and found money bags marked 1 National Bank. Darin said, "Two banks can't be working here together." Troy said, "It might be a band of crooks." Brad said, "I agree with Troy." The DTB cousins decided to investigate further, then inform the police. They turned off their flashlights and quietly and slowly slipped through the bundles. As they went on they saw a dim outline of a figure walking down the hallway. Soon they came to a lighted part and hid behind boxes. They saw the bank thief Dangerous Dan himself. That's when the DTB cousins knew Dangerous Dan's men were working there. The DTB cousins decided to go tell the police. As they retraced their steps they soon came to the opening in the floor above. Brad got on Troy's shoulders and pulled himself up. Just when Troy was going to get out one of Dangerous Dan's men came. He had his gun raised and said Don't move!
To be continued...

Doing research in the Narrows

After I had written a completed manuscript of The Narrows Escape, I decided that I needed to go back and do some research. After all, it would be embarrassing to print the book and have readers write to tell me that my details of the canyon were inaccurate. Therefore, on 7/9/04, my brother Greg, brother-in-law Mike, cousin Troy, and I hiked the Narrows again. We had planned on doing the whole hike. Unfortunately, we had promised our wives that we wouldn't hike it if there was a flash flood warning in effect. The rating was moderate - the same as it had been on the day we had encountered the original flood. So even though there wasn't a single cloud in the sky, we modified our plans. We hiked up from the bottom, and at the first sign of clouds, we hiked back out. I wasn't able to do as much research as I'd hoped, but at least I refreshed my mind of several details that I'd forgotten. As soon as I got back, I did another revision of my book. I also took several pictures. Here are the pictures I took of that trip:

Greg & Mike jumping off a boulder into a deep pool in the Narrows.

 Greg swimming across a pool, trying to keep his phone dry.

 A view of the cliff wall near the end of the Narrows.

 A view of the river along the Riverside Walk.

 A scenic view of the cliff walls inside the Narrows.

Mike, Troy, and I under an overhang inside the Narrows.

The Los Angeles Dodgers

     In honor of the Dodgers advancing to the NLCS, I decided to share some DTB related baseball trivia. Which character in the Narrows Escape is a Dodger fan? Although the word "Dodgers" appears only once in the final version of the Narrows Escape, if is part of the character profile for one of the DTB Cousins. If you guessed Brady, you are correct. Also, one of my blog entries ("Odd Man Out," dated 11/11/12) includes a deleted scene in which Devin and Brady debate which southern California baseball team is better - the Angels or the Dodgers.
     The truth is, I am a big fan of both teams. Both of my parents were huge Dodger fans - particularly after they moved to L.A. As a young boy, my family occasionally received free Dodger tickets from a family friend. The seats were awesome, about 8 rows up from the field near first base. When my parents purchased the tickets themselves, the seats were located in the nosebleed section; but the games were just as fun. I grew up following the iconic infield of Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, and Ron Cey. I remember watching the classic October rivalries between the Dodgers and the New York Yankees in the World Series; particularly 1981, when Fernandomania peaked and the "Good Reggie" (Reggie Smith) finally defeated the "Bad Reggie" (Reggie Jackson) with the help of Dusty Baker, Rick Monday, Mike Scioscia, Bob Welch, Jerry Reuss, and Burt Hooton. Garvey was my favorite, and my interest waned a bit after he left for the Padres.
     In 1986, my family got caught up in Wally World - a new mania surrounding the Angels' star rookie Wally Joyner. The Angels were closer, and the seats were cheaper ($3.00 for the outfield bleachers), so we attended about a dozen games that year as the California Angels won the AL West. My baseball card collection swelled during the late 80's as I earnestly followed both teams. The Dodgers quickly regained my attention during their Cinderella season of 1988 - with Orel Hershiser and Kirk Gibson leading them to another World Series title. Gibson's home run, and the Angels' 2002 World Series title, are two of my all-time favorite sports memories.
     Sometimes people ask me how I can be a fan of both the Angels and the Dodgers. Easy. The Dodgers are my National League team, the Angels are my American League team. Every season I root for both of them to meet in the World Series. Even with the onset of inter-league play in the late 90's, I've continued to root for both teams. Naturally, I've passed on that interest to the characters in my book. However, I decided to make it a kind of rivalry, with Brady following the Dodgers, and Devin following the Angels, with Trey not really paying attention to either team. It was never a major theme, and was thus cut prior to the final draft, but it remains an integral part of the character bios for each of the three DTB cousins.

The Climax

     When I first wrote The Narrows Escape, the climax was the flash flood - because that was where it happened in real life. Unfortunately, in a work of fiction, that doesn't work. Although there was plenty of action in the second half of the book, there needed to be a climax near the end. This picture from my uncle's slide show helped inspire the climactic ending:

     The picture was staged by three of my cousins (Troy, Barry, and Trevor) while at the grotto following the flood, and is one of my favorite pictures from the hike.
     Another picture that I drew on for that scene was the picture of the goose egg my dad received:

     It was miraculously the only injury we suffered during the ordeal, and I transferred the injury to Brady as he made his mad dash to the finish line over the slippery moss-covered boulders in an attempt to escape the wave.
     The next picture is one I took this last summer, visiting the Narrows with my daughter, brother-in-law, and nephew. I staged the triumphant leap to the tree at the end of the trail, the one that Uncle Randy clung to in his effort to escape the tidal wave. Here it is:

  Until next time.

Virgin Narrows

Now I know that all of you have been waiting to see pictures of the Narrows themselves. Here are some of the pictures Uncle Merlin took 21 years ago following the flash flood that inspired my novel:

 

 

The "Narrows" typically refers to the 3.6 mile section of the canyon between the end of the Riverside Walk Trail and Big Springs. In this section, the Virgin River runs wall to wall (often only 20-30 feet apart), with vertical sandstone cliffs (up to 2,000 feet tall) on either side. Although the First Narrows are more narrow in sections, the height to width ratio of the "Narrows" makes them absolutely spectacular. The hike was ranked #5 in National Geographic's rankings of America's 100 Best Adventures.

 

 Unfortunately some of the most spectacular photos from that trip turned out too dark. However, I have been back, and will show more pictures of the Narrows in future posts. Until next time.

Big Springs

Just before the entrance to the Narrows is Big Springs. It is more than halfway through the hike, and the best place to refill empty water canteens. Here is a picture of the springs:

 

In the book, The Narrows Escape, the Allreds fill up their bottles before hitting the Narrows. In the scene, Devin steps in a patch of stinging nettle while climbing on the rocks around the springs. That was inspired by a patch of stinging nettle we encountered while climbing around the springs:

 

Big Springs is also the spot where a momentous decision is made - Devin and Arthur head back upstream to search for Shane, while the rest continue on down the Narrows. In any case, Big Springs is one of the many beautiful spots along the Virgin Narrows.

 

More pictures to come.