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!)!J{lJ755 ~ cotty Johnson will never know how big his trout was. Or even if it was a trout. Though he thought it was. Scotty, who was. born with Down's syndrome, was fishing with his dad on the Green River just about 10 miles below Flaming Gorge Dam, an area they had heard was world- renowned for its trophy fish. They were camping at one of the 13 campsites in the nine-mil.e stretch beginning at Little Hole. His father, Jim, was walk- ing back from the spot where lIe had spread a blanket and left their lunch when Scotty called out, "Dad! Come back Dad!" His father dropped the peanut butter sandwiches and bag of potato chips' and .sprinted for the river- bank. Scotty, holding his small, .arcing fishing rod high above his head, had . waded into the crystal clear river. '~It's a monsterl", he., cried. . As suddenly as it had begun, the line went limp. The fish was gone. All the way back to the campsite, oblivious to his wet clothes clinging to him, Scotty recounted his tale. First it was a big catfish, then a small mouth bass, then a trout, then a "monster" trout. When they reached the campsite, the story started all over again for the benefit of his mom, Becky, and his teenage sister, Heather. Scotty had lost his catch, but he isn't likely to lose the memories. Scotty and his family live in Sacramento, California. They were on a well- earned, month-long vaca- I tion. They had determined to "do the Colorado River" and had spent the first few days in the Flaming Gorge Recreation Area. FLAMING GORGE RECREATION AREA Flaming Gorge, which had been named by John Wesley Powell during his 1869 journey down the Green River, is one of the many recreational opportu- nities made possible by development of the Colorado River and its tributaries for water and power uses. The Green was without doubt its major tributary, though there are those who claim it is the other way around. Flaming Gorge's 91-mile- long lake, had 375 miles of shoreline, what with all its bays and coves and seem- ingly endless "hidden places." It seemed. a vaca- tioner's paradise, offering just about anything anyone could want: more than 600 camping and picnic spaces, several visitors 'centers, two lodges, a variety of food services, nine boat ramps, three marinas with boat. rentals, water skiing, fish- ing, swimming, bicycle paths and more than 120 miles of hiking trails. The scenery was not just terrific, but varied and complete with big game animals, including moose, Rocky Mountain elk, pronghorn antelope and bighorn sheep. The views from Red Canyon Visitors Center and Dowd Mountain Overlook had been incredi- ble. From Mustang Ridge to Antelope Flat to Firehole Canyon with its exposed strata, they'd seen it all. They'd even seen Wyoming's legendary wild horses right out of their car window. And then they'd headed back down the west side of the lake, and finally on past the dam to fish the Green. . Now the Johnsons were moving on. Though they had heard that rafting the' Green was the only way to go, that it was some of the . best white water rafting in the country, Jim decided to pass. Besides someone had to drive the family south. Next stop: Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, home to one of the system's major reservoirs, Lake Powell. . When Becky had read all the travel brochures getting . readyfor the trip, she had found that six national parks went hand in hand with the Colorado River system -five of them in Utah, interestingly enough. Even though they'd have . a month, she knew they couldn't spendtime in all of them. The highway passed right by the southern tip of Arches National Park and went within 25 miles of Canyonlands so they would take a day or two to take a closer look at those on the way to Lake Powell. But she'd just have to settle for reading about Capitol Reef. The remaining twoin Utah the family had visited on a vacation about two years earlier: Zion and Bryce Canyon. And what beauties they had been. Her mind wandered back. ZION NATIONAL PARK They had visited Zion first-majestic, awesome, breathtaking, overwhelm- ing Zion where cliffs of muted to bright reds boggle one's mind ... her mind had. difficulry just conjuring up enough adjectives to do it justice. Zion Canyon is a . spectacular gorge carved out by the Virgin River on its way to meet the . Colorado, emptying into' . 'Lake Mead in Nevada. She had once heard Zion described as a "rich tapes- try of life woven onto the landscape -cactus and 'cottonwoods, primrose and peregrines, deserts and canyons and forests and . everything in between." The 5,OOO-foot-range in elevation within the park had fascinated her. Certainly, State Road 9 climbing the cliff, necessi- tating six switchbacks just before entering a 5,607- foot tunnel through which it continues to ascend on a five-percent grade, had . been nothing short of incredible. canipgroupds jusr outside thes6uth . : entrance, backpacking, bicycling, clinibing, picnick- ing, swimming or simply . wading in the river, pho- tographing wildlife or per- haps lying on your back silently painting pictures in the clouds... you could do it all. And they had done most of it. BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK The rock colors that hadn't been used up in Zion, they had found in Bryce Canyon, some 60 or so road miles to the north- east. With nature having sculpted them into many forms, these rocks were a less bright combination of red, yellow and brown tints, often appearing somewhat lilac orlavender. Upon