We took possession of the houseboat without
incident. It was hectic hauling our stuff down to the boat. Poor
Lulu had to haul all her stuff with the assistance of her
periodically weenie-like
husband, Jack. Photos document poor
slump-backed Lulu slaving like a peasant woman while the
lollygagging Jack ordered her to move forward as he sashayed
behind her like he was the King of the Coolies.
Durango started up the engines and when the boat
began to move it was realized that driving it was not like driving
a car as it seemed to move in all directions at once and none of
them the intended one. So, Big Ed, who 
along with his fellow Simp Twin
Twin, had taken possession of the houseboat earlier after
receiving navigation instructions, and was ready to use his
newfound boatsman skills, the quality of which quickly inspired
the confidence of his fellow floater and proved virtually flawless
throughout the miles traveled on water, unlike Big Ed's performance
behind a car wheel which generally inspires fear in his
passengers.
The houseboat quickly became very relaxing once
we gave up trying to understand the buoy system. Jack and Lulu
went topdeck and stripped to their bare essentials, enjoying the
amazing ride. Early in the afternoon we sighted what was to become
known as Bobcat Cove. Durango heroically launched the rubber raft
and paddled in to see if it was a beachable
location. Durango
waved the Mother Ship in. Homer erupted into one of his frequent,
albeit this time, slightly less vehement panics, causing Big Ed
to beach the boat before he got as far in
as what might have been
ideal. But we were beached. And we got anchored without much
trouble.
The Simp Twins got out their fish gear for
the first of their constantly talked about (mostly by Homer)
fishing attempts. The adults went for a swim. The water was very
warm. Jack cooked burgers. They were good.
Wanda, Jack and Durango
explored the surroundings. Wanda found alien markings on the
redrock.
The light grew dim. We lit the lantern. It was
beautiful. As night fell Durango wanted to enjoy the amazing place
in time he was occupying that particular night. Durango was not
tired. But everyone else crawled into the sleeping bags on the
houseboat roof. At a little past 7. Mountain Time. 6 Pacific Time.
5 or 6 hours before our usual bedtime.
Durango was shocked. So he climbed to the upper
deck and launched into a poignant soliloquy about the pathetic
absurdity of those unable to entertain themselves once the sun
went down without the lame narcotic of television (Homer is the
worst TV addict, without it he suffers withdrawal pains). After
Durango finished his eloquent missive he went back downstairs to
gaze into the night solo, when what to his wondering eyes should
appear but the Gigabees. Jack with Gin and Tonic in hand. Lulu
with her ever charming advanced conversational skills. We sat at
talked and let the night seduce us. We watched the sky glow ever
brighter with more stars than we had ever seen. We watched a
blobby glow pop over the horizon and slowly focus into a
constellation. We listened to the plop plop plop of the water,
finally discovering it was an ever circling school of fish
splashing at the shore. We followed the fish as they swam their
pattern, following our flashlight beam in the water. We talked of
how rare this moment in time was. We watched the moon slowly
disappear behind the canyon wall, illuminating a moonset glow
across the entire rim, like a desert aurora borealis casting an
indigo shine lighting the night with colors of the dark we had
never seen before. And then the moon was gone and the only light
came from the distant stars. And yet all about us glowed as if lit
from within.
Like cowboys from 2 centuries back Jack and
Durango felt compelled to smoke a cigarette, some filterless stick
we found sitting on the table. We were real Marlboro men in the
night. In the desert. Living a moment few ever get to live. We
were alive and we knew it. We were living our own show and being
more entertained than any TV show could ever entertain us. While Homer, Wanda and
Big Ed slept above us.
Past midnight a tiredness finally set in and the
three who had formed an Alliance of the Living decided it was time
to join the Alliance of the Dull. Durango was very tired. He tried
to sleep. There was no pillow. There were no pillows on board. An
important piece of info not included in the list of items we had
been told to bring.. Durango had never been so uncomfortable, nor
enjoyed his discomfort more. Durango laid awake, looking up at the
sky. That rare rare sky unmarred by city lights. Durango did not
care if he slept. He was alive. Finally after hours of bobbing up
and down Durango drifted off. And then the gale force winds began
to blow. The tiny ship was tossed, rocking, banging loudly against
the rocky shore. The wind howled ever fiercer and grew cold.
Durango finally gave up and moved inside the
houseboat to a bunk bed in the forward cabin. At last sleep once
more came. And then a noise. Was it one of those topdeck decided
to come in out of the hurricane? Who goes there? Durango asked. No
answer. Is that one of you? No answer. And then an unexpected
answer. A snarl and a growl and a huge hulking fuzzy form moved
towards Durango and Durango let out a bloodcurdling scream. The
fuzzy form moved closer and then backed up towards the sliding
door. It stopped and turned back and glared back at Durango, its
eyes glowing red. Durango yelled at it, get out, get out. And the
beast slowly retreated. And then behind Durango another beast.
Another huge hulking fuzzy form that caused Durango to unleash
another scream of terror before he realized it was Homer coming to
his rescue. All aboard were now awake. Finally some real life
activity moved them from their TV stupored doldrums long enough to
belittle heroic Durango for being an hysteric with an overactive
imagination. Light of day would put an end to their mocking.
The next day the huge paw prints of the stalking
beast were found at the entry to the houseboat, vindicating
Durango and forcing the cruel insensitive clods to recognize the
fact that Durango's heroic stand against the killer beast had
likely saved them all from being Bobcat meat. This was a very good
start to Day Five, and it was only going to get better.
