The outline of a plan for my annual get-together with my older son living in Bozeman, Montana, started out with a phone call from Michael late last winter, and a proposition: "How would you like to do a camping trip on the Smith River?" The Smith is a wilderness river in central Montana known for its scenic beauty and good trout fishing. My answer was a very enthusiastic, "Sure!" It sounded like a great adventure, a do-it-yourself trip with some friends of his, organizing and hauling the rafts, tents, and gear, fishing and camping in the wilds, cooking over a campfire. Ahh! Life would be good.

Several months—and a few prodding inquiries—later, little progress had been made on the plan, and I was resigning myself to it not happening. Just when I'd given up hope, some information came across my desk touting a similar rafting/fishing/camping excursion, not in Montana but next door, so to speak, on the famous Middle Fork of Idaho's Salmon River. This, however, was no DIY trip. The outfitter, Far & Away Adventures, promised we'd enjoy all the fun, thrills, scenery, fishing, and camaraderie, and do it in luxurious style, dining on gourmet meals, while they took care of every detail and did all the work. Ahh! Life would be even better!