Well, I just got back from four days rafting on the Lower Salmon
river in Idaho*. It's been a family tradition to do a rafting
trip almost every year since I was just a youngin'. For all
who're wondering, a rafting trip entails a few things:  1.)
Driving 7 hours to the middle of nowhere 2.) Blowing up a 14'
raft, assembling its metal frame, placing all the storage boxes
and bags, and strapping them down tight 3.) Floating down the
river until you find a decent campsite (no water pump, no
outhouse, basically a sandy beach big enough for a kitchen and
tents) 4.) Cocktails 5.) More cocktails 6.) The next morning,
packing everything back into the boat and floating down to find
another camp site.  Rinse, lather, repeat.  It's nomadic, rough,
and involves a lot of heavy lifting. But it's worth it, somehow.
After the first night you give up trying to sweep sand from your
sleeping bag and any bugs that get into your coffee are just
added protein.  Despite all of this, I did manage to get some
good sketches done!  On