Interesting question.
I somehow get the impression that the other trips are quite a bit different in the short story and film, respectively.
In the short story, I get the impression that J&E talked about their everyday lives as those developed - discussed wives, kids, jobs as a matter of course. I base my impression mainly on the one scene where they are gearing up for sex while talking about Bobby's dyslexia and Ennis's daughters. Seems like these are no unusual topics between the two of them. There's an easy familiarity in that scene both when it comes to what they *say* and what they *do*. And when Ennis talks about dating the woman who works part-time at the bar in Signal, I don't get any impression that he's been keeping deliberately mum on this subject - just that it's a new development since last time they met. And of course, the "brilliant chage" of their sex life never changed - so little doubt what else they got up to on their infrequent meet-ups. Thank God.
While in the film, I get the impression they skirt about the topic of their everyday lives much more carefully. I think that they rather talk about nature and the hunting and horses that kind of thing, things directly related to their time together and to their time on Brokeback, - keeping their time together more separated from their Riverton/Childress lives, by being careful about what they say about the latter. Because it seems in the film that every time they *do* talk about their "ordinary" lives, it turns into a a big deal that puts them on edge, leads to quarrels and/or makes them very uncomfortable and dissatisfied with what they share and would like to share. For instance; "Shut up about Alma - it's not her fault", the "You and Lureen - it's normal and all? / She don't ever suspect?" talk. And it is true that the "Been putting the blocks to..." tale, coming after Ennis has dated Cassie for 3 - 4 years, seems to indicate they don't talk much about their private "at home" lives.
And on the basis of the film alone, when it comes to what they *do* on their meetings, over the years it increasingly seems they get together solely to ride horses, camp out in nature, prepare food over an open fire, and sit well apart from each other while drinking whiskey. Until Jack bemoans the scarcity of the "high-altitude fucks" at their very last meeting, there's too little passion and open affection and tenderness shown, and it doesn't seem as if their sex life is particularly active. That's the one serious quibble I do have with the film - and where I choose to let the short story be my guiding star in imagining and adding in what we don't get to see in the film concerning the many "unfilmed" meetings. (And one reason why I very much would like to seee those deleted scenes, since several of them have the boys embracing / being affectionate in their last scenes costumes......)
