Well… That was different
So I’m in Flagstaff.
My family is on the raft on the Colorado.
I’m in Flagstaff with Sarah S., in the Northern Arizona Library.
Out of 16 possible trip positions, only 13 are on the rafts.
Steve S. is in the county pokey here. Some Federal case now, about how often he’s gone down the Colorado. I don’t want to get into it now, but the way it went down, they were hoping to sting the entire raft group as using fake ID’s or running as a commerical trip to go down the river.
I don’t buy it for a second, however, the fact is that Steve is in the pokey, and his detention hearing is set for Thursday.
If I got started early on Thursday, I could hike down to the river, and meet the rafts at Phantom Ranch. But I don’t think that’s going to happen.
I don’t have my laptop here, and when I went to the School Book Store to buy one, they would only sell to registered students. I offered to pay full price, but they wouldn’t have any of it. The nearest Apple Reseller is in Sedona, which has some big fires burning around it.
So this is how my vacations work…. I’ve been pretty busy, and then waiting for things to happen. We have an appointment with a lawyer this afternoon, then see Steve in the jail after that.
When I can, I’ll update you on my status… but until then, feel free to leave comments about how this should’ve been expected.
I’m not saying right now how piss poor the Park Service handled the take down, aside form the fact the arrest warrant was issued in early May, and they only executed it in middle of June. They created a lot of safety, planning and other issues for the raft trip, not to mention effectively depriving the trip of 3 people, Steve, his daughter, and myself. (I’m just a driver, but Sarah was not going to drive cross country to Flagstaff, pulling a trailer, in a slightly emotional state. She could’ve done it… but De Witts don’t let that sort of thing happen.)
As for why me in Flagstaff, and not someone else, of all the people who had done the river before, I was the least qualified to act as a boatman. My dad was neccessary as permit holder, and Harvey, Mel, and my borther Ed have all acted as boatmen before, and on more trips than I. I’ve done one trip, and never acted as a boatman before, in charge of a boat. So for the safety of all concerened, I volunteered to forgo the trip.
When I can tell more when I have a computer again, I’ll let you know.
June 21st, 2006 at 8:57 am
WOW… This is some crazy stuff going down here… Please keep us posted…… Let me know what else is happening…..
June 21st, 2006 at 9:54 am
Dude, your friend made the morning news on the radio. Holy crap.
According to the news, evidently they thought he was using dead people’s names to get on the river more often or something. But isn’t your dad the permit holder?
June 21st, 2006 at 10:07 am
Not just the morning radio news. Poking around Google News shows that the AP has a story on it.
June 21st, 2006 at 11:46 am
I had a whole big thing typed up here, then lost it.
It’s in the news, and some of it actually seems half way researched.
I was originally told this would be a felony case, now it is down to a misdeminor case. The lawyer’s opinion is that this is because the case isn’t that strong. I think we can prove, at a mininium, a few thigns wrong with the affidavit, showing the government didn not do proper research.
I don’t think that alone is enough to get the case dismisssed, but it is a step in the right direction.
I dont’ want to go into specifics here, as it might tip the hand. And I know some NPS guys are watching, I see your IP addresses!
The counts against Steve are related to two different trips, in 2001 and 2004. They throughly went through the process of checking our ID on this trip, but allowed the trip to proceed. They wanted (badly in my opinion) to find a false ID on this trip, and arrest the lot of us. It would look good as a notch on someone’s belt, and then they could hold an even bigger party.
I am imaging that the rangers invovled, did hold a party celebrating Steve being off the river, as he can come accross very abrasive at times, particularly if you’ve known him for a long time.
My biggest issues right now remain the fact they had the arrest warrent for 6 weeks before acting on it. They have potentially endangered the current trip. If any one is hurt or harmed, due to the fact Steve as a qualified and experienced river runner was not on the trip, there will be issues. The rangers were happy wtih Harvey and Mel acting as Trip Leaders (permit holders hold the permit, trip leaders know the river), but the fact is, they didn’t pack the boats, they don’t own the boats, and they have no where near Steve’s ability or experience.
He could’ve been arrested at any time in the past 6 weeks, and we could’ve found a different Trip Leader. Instead, we burned 3 spots out of 16 on the trip, with way too much food being purchased. It’s quite probable that I may not get another chance to go down the river again, however, it’s equally likely that I’ll find some way in the next 10 years.
At this point, I do not think I’ll be hiking down to Phantom Ranch tomorrow morning. Steve’s detention hearing is at 10am, and I would like to be there. If he’s released, then he and Sarah could’ve just driven home, and I’d be ok in the GC. If he’s not, then Sarah would have some difficulty with the trailer we have in the parking lot here. Better to play it safe.
June 21st, 2006 at 9:16 pm
GAH! What a mess…
June 22nd, 2006 at 4:37 am
Yes.
The detention hearing, where bail is set, he’s released on his own recognizance, or he’s kept in custody is at 10am. Anywhich way it happens, we’re driving back to the LA area today.
I probably won’t have any net access after we leave the hotel before the hearing, so you probably won’t hear anything else till tomorrow.
June 22nd, 2006 at 5:41 pm
No! My unlimited power gone!