We own nothing except a Pat O'Brians glass filled with Mardi Gras beads and the dirt on our feet! These lovely characters, Sara Sidle and Gil Grissom, belong to CSI and CBS. All the rest, we make up as fiction.
A Few Days in a Canyon
Sara asked for a week of vacation. She had never taken off more than four days at one time. Grissom wanted her to fly to Las Vegas because he had planned a trip—a surprise trip, telling her what to pack, saying she would love the place she was going.
His last words had been "Wear a hat."
She wasn't scared but apprehensive. She had studied a map trying to figure out where he could be taking her. He said they would drive and hike. She wore her hiking boots. She wore a hat and had packed a swim suit.
On her first vacation day, she drove to the farm to check on her mother, finding the world left this isolated bubble much the same from day to day. The women welcomed her return as if she had gone for bread and milk a few hours earlier. Sara ate lunch, talked to Sister Deborah, and followed her mother around the garden.
Laura did not talk much; years of institutional life had reduced conversations to a few words, and she continued to find it difficult to talk with others, even her daughter. Sara, who usually had no problem talking quickly found her words running out. So instead of talking, they walked. Sara asked questions about growing vegetables, about flowers, about the animals on the farm. Her mother provided short answers, attempting to ask Sara about her work, about her Las Vegas friend. Her mother had never approved of her daughter's chosen work, but had learned to accept it as she had learned to accept other changes in life—saying few words to reject or to support such things.
She got on a cheap midnight flight to Las Vegas filled with gamblers who would stay for twenty four hours before returning to San Francisco with less money and full bellies from cheap buffets. She was sure she was the only one leaving for a three day hike to some unknown designation in the desert where she would need a swim suit. She tilted the seat back and was asleep before beverages were passed.
Grissom met her at luggage pick-up even though she had no luggage except for the bag she carried on. Three days hiking did not translate too many changes of clothes. He was smiling and practically dancing when she arrived, dressed for an adventure and wearing a hat.
"I've got a rental car." He grabbed her bag. "I didn't want to leave mine where we are going!" As before he had curb parked, leaving some type of official business card in the window.
Before leaving town, he pulled through a local restaurant for early morning food, buying more than the two could eat. "It is four hours to our first destination, depending on traffic, might be longer. There's a cooler in the back seat with more food—I know how you like to eat." He had yet to tell her where they were heading.
"I want to be almost there before I tell you," he explained. "It really is one of the best kept secrets in the country. You will not believe what you see."
They drove east. She ate her meal, passing food to Grissom as he drove.
"Can I guess where we're going?" She asked.
"Sure. Doesn't mean I'll tell you!" He drove the small car with one hand, reaching for a map. "Here's a map. Lots of places to see—and it is not Lake Mead."
She guessed the obvious—Grand Canyon. "But why the swimsuit?" She knew the Colorado River, but had never heard of anyone actually swimming in it. Her finger found no other obvious water. They crossed Hoover Dam, driving slowly with early morning traffic so she could see the deep canyon and the dam. He pointed out public restrooms built on the bridge in an art deco design.
He left the main highway an hour later saying they were making good time. Her finger found the road. "I've never heard of this—Havasu Canyon? Supai?" She squinted as she held the map closer. "Is this an Indian Reservation?" She giggled. "Unless you tell me, I'll sleep in another room!" It was blackmail and his quiet laughter made her lean to kiss him. "See what you will be missing."
"Did I say we were sleeping in a room?" Before her open mouth could answer, he continued. "Kidding, we have a room. It is a long hike in. Mostly downhill, and once there—you have to see it to believe it's there."
They stopped one more time to eat; Grissom was determined to keep her well fed and showed her the small backpack filled with high calorie snacks. A short while later, they left the car in a large parking lot and shouldered back packs for an eight mile hike through red rock canyons and massive limestone cliffs to the well hidden village of Supai, home to the Havasupai Indians.