WORKAMPING

Patty leaving, on her 15 minute walk to work

There are countless numbers of people who travel in their RV's, and work at various locations around the country. Often, these jobs are seasonal, and they can range from hosting at campgrounds, to driving buses at the Grand Canyon. These folks are often referred to as Workampers, and there is a publication of the same name called Workamper, that publishes an online list of jobs, and a monthly magazine. Of course their is a subscription required, and even though we're not subscribers any longer, we were for years, and that's how I first heard of the bus driving job that I now have here at the Grand Canyon.

Our last workamping gig was during the summer of 2008, when I worked as a supervisor for the Glacier National Park Transit System. The last 2 summers we decided not to work, and traveled all over the U.S. and Canada. For me, there are several attractions to workamping. One is the fact that many of the jobs are seasonal, and only require a 3-5 month commitment. About the time the job becomes either boring, or drudgery, it's time to pack up and move on down the road. One of the obvious attractions for folks like us, is the fact that you get to travel, and live temporarily at some of the most beautiful, and scenic places in the country. For us, the fact that we don't have to work unless we want to, makes choosing a job all that much easier. Some of the better jobs, or better locations, are often very competitive, and require a more complete resume.

These pictures of Patty were taken yesterday, as she departed on her short walk to work. It was my second day off, and I stayed at the motor home, taking care of several chores that had been put off during my work week. Today, I'm back to work, driving the most scenic route in the park. The entire 16 mile roundtrip out to Hermits Rest is along the rim of the canyon, so in essence, I'll be getting paid to look at the canyon for 8 hours. Yea, I know, I do have to look at the road most of the time, but there will be occasional glimpses as I drive, and talk to the folks about what they're seeing, and where we'll be stopping.

Yep, we really do have jobs here at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. These pictures of Patty show her very exotic uniform, consisting of a T-shirt. The other clothing is not furnished by her employer. On the other hand, my employer furnished me with 5 golf shirts, 5 pairs of pants, and one jacket.

Now, I could be making this all up, when it comes to my job, and all of this previous talk about training, uniforms, and scenic bus routes. Perhaps, this is all just a way to make myself look good, and to disguise the fact that I'm a "kept" man. The reality might just be that I'm nothing more than a motor home driver, who gets us to these exotic places, then sits back and lets the little women support our lavish lifestyle. Could it be? You don't see any pictures of me in my work uniform do you? Ooops, there I go daydreaming again. Back to reality, time to go to work.

A DAY OFF

The San Francisco Peaks tower above Flagstaff

My days off are set in stone for the summer, and they are Sunday & Monday. It looks like Patty will have Tuesday & Wednesday as her days off. Both being rookies at our respective work places, we don't have any seniority, and as a result, don't have much to say about things like time off. Oh well, we both agreed that it wasn't ideal, but for a little over 3 months, we can live with it. As always, there's a silver lining in most everything. With the two of us off for 4 days of the week, we only have to worry about taking care of Sami for 3 days. So, in that respect, different days off are a plus.

Humphries Peak, the highest point in Arizona

Since we both started our jobs last week, yesterday was the first opportunity for either of us to get into Flagstaff for a few necessities. We made the trip together before starting work, but in the last week, we discovered that there were a few things we needed, so off I went, early in the morning.

Even though the grocery store here at the Grand Canyon Village has a nice selection, to include meats and produce, there is no hardware, auto parts, or any other kind of store. Access to other shopping requires a drive into either Flagstaff or Williams. When we lived in Skagway, Alaska, at least there was a few other stores, like a hardware store, preventing trips up to Whitehorse every week.

In Flagstaff, the junction of Hwy 180 with Old Route 66 has a few signs to read

I made the usual stops at places like WalMart, Sam's Club, and a few other stores, and was on the road back to the Grand Canyon by about 2pm. The drive takes a little over an hour, and is about 75-80 miles. In the morning when I left, there was a steady stream of vehicles heading toward the Canyon. On my return trip from Flagstaff, it looked like most of those vehicles were leaving the park. Kind of like an ocean wave coming into the beach, then returning to the sea.
Naturally, most everyone is in a huge hurry, so watching for the idiot who is passing a line of cars, just to gain a minute or two, was paramount. And believe me, there were a bunch of idiots yesterday!

The old train depot in Flagstaff is now the visitors center, and a stop for Amtrak

We just got an email from our dear friend Nancy Kissack,stating that she is planning a trip to the Grand Canyon in July. Even though we will be working, I'm sure we'll have some time to spend with Nancy, and we're both looking forward to her visit.

Almost forgot. Our Sprint cell phone (928) 208-7058 doesn't work very well. The Trac Phone (928) 302-0726 works much better, and is a better way to call if necessary.

Today is my second day off, and as always there's a few chores that need to be addressed. Back to work tomorrow, and I will be driving on the Hermits Rest Road where I'll be forced to look at the many different views of the Grand Canyon all day long. As the saying goes, "it's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it". I think I need a real person to pinch me, so I know this isn't a dream.

IT'S AN INVASION

I was warned by the experienced drivers who have been working here at the Grand Canyon for years. Memorial Weekend is the kickoff to summer, but really, it's more like an explosion into the summer season. One driver described it as being similar to an ant hill, being stirred with a stick. People moving in every direction, with many having no clue how to get to where they want to go. The variety of foreign languages only compounds the problem.

Yesterday, I went from the frying pan, directly into the intense fire. The first day of Memorial Weekend here at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, was challenging, to say the least. While I drove the Village Blue Route, at almost every stop, as the term goes, we "stacked & packed" the bus full of people. Often, with not another square inch available, folks were left to wait for the next bus. Thank goodness, the way the schedule works, my days off are Sunday & Monday, and for the next two days, I can decompress.

The Grand Canyon National Park is the second most visited National Park in the United States. The Smokey Mountain National Park is at the top of the list. We're still adjusting to living and working here, but I suspect that we'll never adjust to the incredible views of the canyon, just steps away from where we have the motor home parked.

On one of the bus routes (Red), the road stays next to the canyon wall for 8 miles out to Hermits Rest. I will be driving this route two days a week, and to think, that I'll be getting paid to look at the Grand Canyon all day is mind boggling! Although we've been here a couple of times before, now that we're learning some of the history, and facts about the canyon, it has become even more of a special place. Very much like our experience in Skagway, Alaska. Except for the winter season, once we were there, we didn't want to leave.

There are several categories for the 7 natural wonders of the world, that range from ancient, to modern, and from natural, to man made. A few years ago, USA Today, and ABC's Good Morning America rated the seven wonders of the world. Their public poll revealed that the Grand Canyon was the #1 pick. A CNN list of the 7 natural wonders, picked the Grand Canyon as #1. I haven't seen the Great Barrier Reef, nor have I seen Victoria Falls, but even if I had, it's hard for me to imagine anything more impressive than that first view you get of the Grand Canyon.

PASSING TRAINING

Driving a 40 foot transit bus here at the Grand Canyon National Park is a little more involved than just the driving. If it were simply getting behind the wheel, and motoring down the road, there would be no question about most C.D.L. Drivers ability to do the job.

Yesterday evening marked the completion of my week of training, and I have been released on an unsuspecting public, beginning this morning. With very little trepidation, I'm anxious to start driving on my own, without someone looking over my shoulder. It's been an extremely educational week, not to mention a very challenging week. After the third day of training, it was beginning to look like one of my fellow trainees wasn't going to make it. When Gary, our trainer, took her aside at the end of the day, and basically said that "if you want this job, you better step it up a notch, or you're going to fail". With that sober warning, she did exactly that, and all 3 of us made it through the training process.

The company that I am working for, Paul Revere Transportation, is on their 3rd 5 year contract, with the Park Service. The Paul Revere manager, and the supervisors, have the transit system operating like a finely tuned race engine. Each individual bus route is so precise, the drivers have to stay on their toes when it comes to maintaining the schedule. In addition to the errorless driving required, we have a multitude of announcements that have to be made concerning safety, route information, and a host of other things. As I stated previously, the learning curve has been quite sharp, but once everything, or most everything was absorbed, I feel very well prepared to do the job.

This past week has been both fun, and quite challenging. I feel a sense of accomplishment, having made it through this week of bus driver boot camp, with I'm quite sure, a few more challenges on the horizon.

SLIDEOUT AWNINGS

Living room slideout awning with puddled water on top

When we arrived here at the Grand Canyon, I was relatively sure that we would be parked here for about 3 1/2 months. Several years ago, I came up with a relatively simple solution to a problem that exists for most RV's with slide outs. Not that my idea is unique. I've seen other RV's with the same fix for sagging, water puddled slide out awnings. A few RV's have more of an angle from where the awning is connected to the RV, to where the mechanism unrolls the awning. In those cases, the water runs off, and there's no issue. However, most RV slide out awnings are like mine, relatively flat. This allows water to puddle, which sags, and distorts the awning. Over time, the longevity of the awning is adversely affected.

The first picture shows small amounts of water on top of our living room slide out awning. In heavy rain, these small puddles become big puddles. Even with a small amount of water on top of the awning, the second picture shows how much the awning is distorted.

The fix isn't really very practical, unless you're going to be parked for awhile, because there is some set up, and tear down time involved. Anyone can build the supports pictured above, out of simple PVC pipe. Half inch is what I used, and it's plenty strong to keep the awning from sagging.

Another plus for this awning support system is that it lessens the amount of flapping when the wind decides to blow. During the almost 2 weeks that we have been here, we've had a few windy days, and I suspect there will be quite a few more.

Today is my last day of training, and I'm anxious to get out on my own. Dealing with large crowds will certainly have it's challenges, but I think this is going to be an enjoyable summer, and we're already talking about returning next year.

TRAINING CONTINUES

For most people, I suspect that going to work at 5-6 am, doesn't allow for much free time in the morning. Naturally, I have to be different. I need time for the two C's - Coffee and Computer.
A shower, some sort of breakfast, and time for other necessities, means that I can't just roll out of bed, and head off to work. My roll out of bed time has been between 2:30 and 3:30, allowing me time to sort of stay within a routine that I like to keep. The uncomfortable part, is crawling out of a warm bed a little more than half way through the night. There's usually a good side to most everything, and with the above, that good side is getting off work early.

Such has been the case the last 4 days, as training to be a bus driver here at the Grand Canyon continues. One more day tomorrow, then I start work on Saturday, the first day of Memorial Weekend. Talk about going from the frying pan into the fire! Our trainer pulled me aside this morning, and asked if I wanted tomorrow off. At first, I was a little confused, but he then explained that he thought I was ready for the fire, and if I wanted, I didn't have to come in tomorrow. I thanked him for his vote of confidence, but asked for all of the training I could get, before facing huge crowds on Saturday.

I've driven buses in Skagway, Alaska and in Glacier National Park, but have never gone through intense training like the last 4 days. This company has safety as the top priority, as it should be, but all of the other procedures and specific driving methods are very plainly spelled out. In other words, the gray area here is very small. Our trainer, and company safety officer, Gary Brown, has been superb, not only with his teaching skills, but also with his demeanor. A big part of this process is building confidence, and he has the personality and patience to do just that.

Tomorrow, we actually get to sleep in a little. We don't start until 7:45 am, will be done around noon, then we come back a little before sunset. The purpose is to watch how the buses clear all of the people away from the canyon walls, after the multitude of folks have viewed the very spectacular sunset that occurs here most every evening.

SENIORITY

That word is often a key, when it comes to selecting everything from vacations, to what shift a person might work at his/her job. With many small companies, or in some cases larger businesses, worker seniority isn't applicable. Here at the Grand Canyon, seniority is the name of the game, regarding the selection of driver routes and shifts. By the end of next week, there will be 54 bus drivers working for the transit company, and as I might expect, being a new hire, I'm right down near the bottom of the seniority list.

But, not at the very bottom. Today is the third day of training with 2 other drivers, and when it comes to seniority, I'm in the middle. We all have the same work start dates, but seniority has something to do with when we were first interviewed for the job. Next week, the company will be training the last 2 drivers, so, I will be ahead of those 2, and I'm ahead of one of my fellow trainees. Wahoooo, I'll be senior to 3 drivers, and junior to 50. I like the first number, but not the second very much.

The 50 drivers who are senior to me, are on the job, and have already picked their shifts, and routes for the summer. Yesterday, the 3 of us were asked to pick our shifts, and routes, based on what was left, which wasn't very much. After the person who is senior to me picked her shift/route, it was my turn. The routes/shifts still available, were obviously what you might say
are the least desirable. But, I still had to pick from the few that were left.

It looks like I'll be off on Sunday & Monday, and working a swing shift (about noon-8 or 9) for 4 of the 5 work days. On Saturday, it will be more of a day shift (8-5). I won't get into the route stuff, since I don't even have all of that figured out myself.

Seniority can be a great thing, especially when you have it! When you don't, well, it's not such a great thing. Perhaps one of the reasons seniority became an institution in the American work place, is that it tends to give workers something to strive for. Sort of like the carrot at the end of the stick. Right now for me, that carrot is at the end of a very long stick.

DESERT VIEW

OK, I missed a day, but my excuse is that I started work, and the learning curve is quite steep. There's so much more to just driving a Bus here at the Grand Canyon. The driving part is the easy part. Getting comfortable with the buses, new policies and procedures, learning the routes, and all of the announcements that have to be made, and managing the people on often very crowded buses, is all taking most of the my free time. So yea, it's around 4am, and I'm up getting ready for the 2nd day on the job, starting time 5:30am.

Day before yesterday, Patty and I drove east on Hwy 64 to Desert View. This was the last of the places on our checklist to explore before we both started work. It's about 25 miles from the Grand Canyon Village, out to Desert View, and I was a little surprised at all of the facilities located there. In addition to the famous tower, there is a small grocery store, a gas station, restaurant, and a nice RV park and housing for workers.

Before getting to Desert View, we stopped at the Tusayan Ruins and Museum. Not much left of what was a primitive dwelling, but the visible ruins gives you an idea what the structure must have looked like, at least, the size of the rooms.

The desert tower designed and built by Mary Colter, and is synonymous with the Grand Canyon. Below the tower is a gift shop and viewing deck, with an incredible panorama of the Colorado River before it cuts deeper into the canyon, west of desert view.

When I was first offered a driving job here at the Grand Canyon, parking the motor home out at Desert View was the only option. At the time, there was no available spaces where we are now parked. I had to decline, primarily due to the 50 mile round trip commute, but if it weren't for that, the RV park was quite nice.

On the drive back to Grand Canyon Village, we stopped at all of the viewpoints, and discovered at Grandview Point, there was once a hotel, that until the railroad reached the Grand Canyon in 1901, was the most popular location for tourists. Before the railroad, it was a 12 hours stagecoach ride from Flagstaff.

Also at this location, we discovered that there was a copper mine on a mesa below the Grand Canyon Rim. It was called the LAST CHANCE MINE, and after looking at the steep, winding trail down to where the mine was located, I decided that I wouldn't take a chance on exploring the site where the mine was situated. Has something to do with the height thing!

Today is day number 2 on the job, and after this week of training and orientation is finished, I'll be on my own to do the routes. So far, everything is going quite well.

FLAGSTAFF, AN ELK, & A SUNSET

Steam Engine at the Pioneer Museum in Flagstaff

It's been a week tomorrow, since we arrived here at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. We've been busy exploring the area, and tomorrow, some of that comes to an end, as we both start our new jobs. My schedule for the next week is orientation & training, beginning at 5am each day. Patty starts her orientation tomorrow at 10am. My normal schedule of posting on the blog in the morning will change, but I still intend to write something, just about every day.

Not knowing what our days off will be, we decided to take a trip into Flagstaff, where we could pick up a few things not available here. It's about a 75 mile drive across high desert plains, and thick pinewood forest, climbing to just a little over 8,000 feet, before dropping into Flagstaff.

After doing some shopping, we stopped at the Pioneer Museum on Hwy 180, so that I could check out the train displayed in front of the museum. We were running out of time, so we didn't go in the museum, but made a mental note for a future stop.

Whenever we're gone for awhile, the first order of business when we return, is to take Sami for a walk. We weren't more than a few hundred feet away from the motor home when we encountered this female Elk, just off the walking path. Sam was curious at first, but quickly lost interest. These large animals, along with countless deer, are spotted almost every day.

A female Elk, just a short distance from our motor home

The last thing on our list of things to do for the day, was to check out the sunset, from the rim of the canyon. After dinner, we drove to Yakatania Point, only to discover that lots of other folks had the same idea. It took awhile before we saw someone leaving, allowing us to park the jeep. The bus would have been a better option.

My little point and shoot camera doesn't do justice to the incredible views, that the sunset creates in the canyon. The shadows, the quickly changing colors, and of course the setting sun itself, were almost magical to view, and these photos only provide a snapshot of the actual scenery. We stayed until the sun had actually set behind the mesa, then headed for the parking lot, along with most everyone else.

As you can see in this picture, it's not exactly blazing hot weather, as jackets are still pretty much required. Yesterday, we saw the temperature rise to the mid 60's, both at the canyon, and while in Flagstaff. We're still adjusting to the cooler climate, but so far, it's to my liking, as long as the white stuff stays away.

The setting Sun over the rim of the Grand Canyon

A TRIP TO TUSAYAN

Looking down towards Phantom Ranch

A good portion of the last few days, have been spent on the transit buses, exploring the many venues here at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. On previous visits, we never utilized the free buses, and I can remember some difficulty when we looked for parking spaces, particularly around the El Tovar Hotel. With the 4 different bus routes, virtually all of the points of interests are covered, with very little walking involved.

The new transit bus transfer station at the Visitors Center

Yesterday, we boarded a purple route bus, that connects the National Park with the small community of Tusayan, just outside the entrance station. We wanted to visit the National Geographic IMAX Theater in Tusayan, and I wanted to familiarize myself with this route that was started last year. It departs from the Visitors Center, and makes 4 stops in Tusayan, including a stop at the airport. Watching all of the activity at the 3 large helicopter companies, reminded us that taking a chopper over the canyon is on our "To Do" list.

The IMAX presentation about the Grand Canyon on the HUGE screen was well worth the price of admission, especially since that price was zero! When I went to purchase the $12.50 tickets, the lady asked where we lived. I replied that we were living & working in the park for the summer. She asked who we worked for, and after I answered, she stated that our tickets were free. Alrighty then, a free ride to the theater, free admission to the IMAX presentation, and a free ride back into the park. Considering the above, I thought that it might just be a little too over the top, if I asked for a free bag of popcorn.

The transportation options in, and around the Grand Canyon National Park, are plentiful. Of course you can drive your vehicle to the park, or the daily train pictured above, brings in folks from Williams. We rode the train a few years ago, and not only is it a scenic journey, but it keeps thousands of vehicles out of the park. The third transportation option is the Tusayan Airport that services approx. 40 air taxi's, and commuter airlines. In August of 2009, Air Force One landed in Tusayan, allowing President Obama and his family access to the Grand Canyon. I wonder how much that cost the taxpayers. Oops, I feel my blood pressure going up, I better back away from that subject.

We ended the day back at the motor home, catching up on some reading, and planning a drive into Flagstaff this morning.

MORE SNOW

Yesterday morning, we awakened to find that a little more snow had fallen during the night, and even though not much stuck to the ground, it did stay in the trees for a short while. The first photo is the scene in front of our motor home.

About an inch stuck to the jeep

We had a few glimpses of the sun, as we spent a couple of hours on the shuttle buses. We took the Orange Route for the first time, and traveled to the east rim areas like Yaki and Mather Points. One of the nice things about the buses is that they are free, and you never have to wait more than just a few minutes until the next one comes along. We got off several times and once again marveled at the incredible views of the canyon. Pictures really don't do justice to this natural wonder.

Thank goodness there are railings and walls where it is straight down for hundreds of feet. Even with those barriers, I found myself slowly creeping up to the edge, with an ever present tingling in my stomach. My fear of heights isn't severe, but it certainly is noticeable at places like this.
I guess I never have to worry about stumbling over the edge of some cliff, cause in order for that to happen, I'd have to be near the edge, NOT!

I took this picture of Patty at Mather Point, and if you look closely in the background, there are several people standing on a point with no barriers. That tingling in my stomach grew a bunch just looking at those folks. The vista from Mather Point was especially dynamic, partially because the location sticks out into the canyon, and it's almost a 360 degree view.

Near the end of the day, we got off the bus at the Train Depot, and walked up to the El Tovar Hotel, and the Hopi House pictured above. Most of the Hopi House is a gift shop for Native American items, and the structure itself is worth the price of admission. It sits right across the plaza from the El Tovar, and is just a few steps from the Grand Canyon Rim. If Patty had a choice of where to work, this would be the place. She came up to me and said she found a pottery item that she really liked. Not that I needed to say anything, but I said "then get it".
She replied that the price was $3,500 dollars, and that it might have to wait for awhile. Some of the items, particularly the art, is up there, in respect to price.

Patty doesn't have a definite work start date, but I'll be starting orientation on Monday at 5am.
After riding the buses for a couple of days, and watching the different drivers, I think this is a job that I will enjoy, and the hours should go by pretty fast.

OH NO - SNOW

With most of our "Settling In" tasks, and errands out of the way, and despite the weather (cold), we decided to ride the bus around the South Rim. In addition to getting better oriented to our new home, I wanted to start getting familiar with some of the bus routes.

My new office, starting on Mon. 5/23

We boarded the blue route bus a short walk from our motor home, and took one circuit around the village. The driver, Laura, was very friendly and passed on some helpful information about the job. She was glad more drivers like me were starting to arrive, so that we could start picking up some of the shifts. There are only about 15 drivers who stay here all 12 months, as the transit system operates year round.

We transferred from the blue route to the red route which took us approx. 8 miles west along the rim of the canyon. The destination of this route is Hermits Rest. At each of the many stops, it's just a short walk to the edge, with spectacular views into the canyon. I'm sure the magnificence of this place will start to become more normal after time, but right now, the new views are anything but normal. Neither Patty or I had ever been out to Hermits Rest, and like many of the other buildings and structures here at the Grand Canyon, the focus is a resemblance of the natural surroundings. The fireplace inside Hermits Rest was absolutely huge, and on this day, it was a very popular place.

Patty in front of Hermits Rest

Our morning started off with this little white stuff coming out of the sky, and it didn't take long for it to start sticking to objects like the jeep. I must admit that the novelty of snow isn't really a bad thing, as long as it doesn't pile up very much. Most of the day was snow flurries off and on, with temperatures in the low 40's. This wasn't a total surprise, as the weather forecast had predicted some snow for yesterday and today.

Last night, the temperatures dropped to around freezing, but we stayed nice and cozy inside our motor home. We did have one oops yesterday afternoon, when we inadvertently started the toaster oven on the same circuit as our little electric space heater. It overloaded the 20 amp circuit, and I had to reset the circuit breaker. Even with a 50 amp connection, we still have to be careful about how much load we place on the two outlet circuits. Such is the life of living in a little house on wheels.

Instead of a black Jeep, it's now a black and white Jeep

NEW NEIGHBORS

The South Rim is within the confines of the Grand Canyon National Park, so, you would expect to see wildlife present. While driving around yesterday, we frequently passed by small groups of deer, but when we went to the library, we spotted these huge Elk laying under the trees. The difference in size, between the deer and the Elk, is like night and day. Even laying down, these animals appear to be very large.

By mid afternoon, we had taken care of many things on our checklist. We both checked in with our employers, and I picked up my uniforms. We stopped at the library, and signed up for a library card. We payed a $140 deposit on our RV space, in case we break anything. Huh? I can see the need for a deposit if you're staying in housing, but an RV space? I checked with the Post Office to see if we could receive our mail this summer in care of General Delivery. It's a good thing I did because I was told that General Delivery is only good for 30 days, and after that, all mail is returned. Since we will be here for approx. 4 months, that wasn't going to work, so plan B was to get a P.O. Box, which I did. Our new mailing address is.............

Dan & Patty Chance
P.O. Box 342
Grand Canyon, AZ 86023-0342

Mail sent to our Lake Havasu City address will be forwarded to us every couple of weeks, by our super efficient mail service friends, Bill, Linda, and Nancy.

We located the laundry room, only a one minute walk behind the motor home, and lo and behold, the key we were given actually worked to open the door. The washers and dryers are free to all
of the workers who are either staying at Xanterra housing, or like us, parked in an RV space.

With all of our must do things taken care of, we stopped at the Visitors Center, and browsed through the book store. The Visitors Center is also the transfer point for 3 of the 4 shuttle bus routes. After dinner, Patty wanted to check the distance from the motor home to her workplace, so she set off on foot, and found that it took her 14 minutes to make the trek to Market Place Plaza. On the other hand, I re-checked the distance to my work location, and found it's a little further than I had previously estimated. I will have a 2.1 mile walk, bicycle, or drive to work.

WE'RE AT THE GRAND CANYON

Entering Tusayan, just outside the Park Entrance Station

We secured the house, and hit the road around 9:30 am yesterday morning, destination - The Grand Canyon. Our normal routine is that I drive the motor home, and Patty drives the Jeep down to the High School parking lot where I hook the two up. It was there that I remembered that I didn't remember to put the dog food into the motor home. So, back to the house for that most important commodity, nourishment for our 13 1/2 year, totally spoiled Beagle.

The drive east on I40 was pretty routine, and the drive north on Hwy 64 from Williams was also nothing to write home about. The wind picked up a little as we approached the Grand Canyon, but again, nothing to get excited about. Having already secured our RV spot when we were here a week ago, I pulled in and began the process of getting everything set up.

Having checked out the RV site last week, I knew I would be facing a challenge when it was time to get the motor home level. The landscape slopes downhill, and off to the right. To better equalize this problem, I brought some 2x12 lumber with us, and with those strategically placed under the tires, our air leveling system did the rest. I really like the automatic air leveling, but it doesn't quite have the ability to raise the motor home as high as a hydraulic jack system does. This is one of those few times that old fashioned technology worked in combination with the new fangled stuff.

After a delicious ham and potato casserole for dinner, we drove to Yavapai Point and marveled at the view of the Grand Canyon. I must admit, my acrophobia kicked in a little bit, as I looked over the edge to what seemed like a bottomless pit. This is one huge hole in the ground, and I can see why it's one of the natural wonders of the world.

At approx. 7,000 feet above sea level, we're starting to adjust to the cooler weather, with a forecast of possible snow flurries, day after tomorrow. I'm ready for the cooler temperatures, but I don't think I'm quite ready for the white stuff.

It was a good day, topped off with the discovery that our Sprint wireless card seems to be working quite well. It took about 3 minutes to download a photo, compared to just a few seconds at home. We can live with that, as long as the connection stays consistent and isn't interrupted.

Today, we both will be checking in at our respective work locations, and will be doing a few other things, as we prepare for what looks like a fun summer.

ADIOS LAKE HAVASU

The last few days have been a whirlwind, as we prepare to leave tomorrow morning for our summer home, the Grand Canyon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that after transferring almost everything in the big house, into the little house, that the little house on wheels will actually have enough power to make it up the hill to the Grand Canyon! The motor home is stuffed to the gills! This will be the first time we will park the motor home for an entire summer season since 2008. The summer of 2009 we did a loop around the U.S. and Canada. Last summer we spent most of the time traveling in Oregon and Washington.

When folks talk about winterizing their RV's or homes, we do just the opposite. We have to summerize our house in preparation for the hot months of June-September. Today, the motor home came out from under the shade cover, with the boat and trailers going into the shade. Tomorrow morning we're having the pest control company spray the house inside and out, and then it will be time to secure everything, and hit the road.

I would be willing to bet that anyone in the security business would say to be discrete about leaving your home for several months. In other words, don't put a recording on your telephone answering machine, that you'll be gone for the summer, and don't tell the world on your blog that you'll be vacating your house. In this high tech world we live in, who would be surprised if the locale cat burglar picked his next victim based on a blog announcement like mine.

Well, those experts would be right, you shouldn't do what I just did. There's just a few little differences with our situation. First of all, we have a security system that will detect an intruder, and alert everyone from the local police to Seal Team Six. We all know the capabilities of the Navy Seals don't we? Second, if the alarm isn't properly disabled, there are infra red detection devices, integrated to activate no less than 6 strategically aimed weapons within the confines of the house. Do you feel lucky punk? Thirdly, any unauthorized encroachment will automatically set off the loudest internal and external audible alarms known to man. The internal alarm is actually a modified L.R.A.D. (Long Range Audible Device), designed specifically to burst the eardrums of local cat burglars. And last, but not least, right before we shut the door, we leave just enough food for our 2 matched pair of King Cobra Snakes, and release them to roam freely inside the house.

Seriously, only part of the above is accurate, and yes, we do have an alarm system, and wonderful neighbors who keep an eye on things for us. Another difference this year, is that we will only be a few hours away, and for the first summer since we moved here, will be able to return home a few times.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that our Sprint wireless card will have a strong enough signal at the Grand Canyon, and I won't have to go to plan B. If there are no posts in the next few days, you'll know why.

IT'S TIME TO GO

When we're home, I usually write posts for the blog about 4-5 times a week. When we travel, I normally update the blog every day. Yesterday, was not one of those days of having nothing to write about. Google was having some sort of problem, and all of the bloggers out there who tried to log on to their respective blogs yesterday morning, were denied access. In fact, my last blog entry entitled The Gypsy Journal, disappeared for awhile. I see that it's back this morning. I gave up around 7am, and went on to other things.

I recorded the ambient temperature yesterday afternoon, and when it reached triple digits, it was a reminder that it's time to get the heck out of Dodge! That magic number of 100 degrees is usually reached about this time of year here in Lake Havasu, with numbers much higher to come. This is the beginning of about 4-5 months of almost constant +100 degree days. Yea, I know, it's a dry heat, but when it gets over 100, it's still darn hot!

I'll be moving the motor home out of it's house tomorrow, and putting the boat, trailers and some other stuff in the shade for the summer. On Monday morning, we'll make the 230 mile drive to the Grand Canyon, and we'll have about a week to get settled before reporting to work. I go through a week of orientation and training starting on the 23rd, and then will settle into a 40 hour week of driving one of the free shuttle buses at the South Rim. I think Patty starts her job at the village gift shop/grocery store at about the same time.

Back to the frequency of blog posts. I doubt if there will be an opportunity to write about something new every day, once we start working. The bigger question is how will our Sprint wireless computer card work? When we were there on the 2nd, our cell phone was on roaming, and the signal wasn't that strong. The roaming part isn't necessarily a computer access problem, it just usually means that the connection is much slower. We'll have to wait for the answer to this question. I do know that my dependence on Internet access is almost in the addictive category, and if our Sprint card does not work, I'll most certainly come up with another way to log on.

THE GYPSY JOURNAL

May/June issue of the Gypsy Journal

A few days ago, Nick Russell, the editor of the Gypsy Journal, listed 15 must read blogs on his daily blog. When I read that my blog was among those 15, I must say I was not only surprised, but also a bit humbled.

When I started this blog a little over 2 years ago, we were preparing to leave our winter home here in Lake Havasu, and travel towards the east coast in our motor home. At the time, I thought that an online journal would be a good way to let our family and friends keep up with our travels. What I didn't know, is that a lot more people follow daily blogs than I realized. Prior to Nick listing my blog, I was getting about 25 hits a day. The day after his May 9th listing of the top 15 blogs, my blog received 295 views! I know a lot of folks read Nick's blog, but I had no idea that a simple listing of my blog would increase the readers that dramatically. I guess the power of the press comes in a variety of formats.

When Nick and Terry Russell left the 9-5 world about 10 years ago, they started the only RV related newspaper, published exclusively by full time RV'ers. It wasn't long after the first issue came out, that we discovered The Gypsy Journal somewhere in our travels. I can't even remember where we picked up our first issue, but as soon as we read it, we both knew that we wanted to be subscribers. Like more and more folks these days, I get an increasingly amount of news and information from the Internet. However, I'm an old newspaper junkie, that in years past, had to start my day with not only a cup of coffee, but also with the local newspaper. The Internet & TV will never take away the feel of newsprint. The Gypsy Journal is published 6 times a year, and a subscription is $20 per year, or $35 for 2 years. A subscription can be mailed to:

Gypsy Journal
1400 Colorado Street #C-16
Boulder City, NV 89005-2448

In our travels over the years, we have run into (not literally) Nick & Terry several times, and have been participants at many of their western RV rallies. When I read that they were going to be traveling this summer in the Pacific Northwest, I thought that perhaps we would bump into them, as our original plans were to do the same. When our jobs at the Grand Canyon were confirmed a few weeks ago, our summer itinerary changed for about the 3rd time.

We're busy taking care of many last minute things, before we depart this Monday for the Grand Canyon. We're both excited not only to the idea of living at the south rim, but to the new challenges of learning our jobs, and all that goes along with transitioning from being retired, to re-entering the work force for a few months.

CHP MEMORIES

Since starting this "memories" of my CHP career, I've tried, and will try, to keep the postings as chronological as I can. Having said that, I'm sure that something will jog my memory, and I'll go back to a point in time that my stories have already passed.

All of the things I have written about thus far, occurred where I was first assigned out of the Academy, the Baldwin Park Office in Southern California. I touched on the fact that most all assignments are based strictly on seniority, even within an Academy Class. One of the questions I used to frequently get asked was how are CHP Officers able to transfer around the state?
The quick answer is again - based on seniority, but here's the nuts and bolts.

After working the L.A. area for almost 4 years, I had gained a little bit of seniority, and it was time to think about moving the family out of smogville. Back in the early 1970's, there were many days where the air was so thick with pollutants, that the eyes would burn, and the pollution control district would issue warnings to stay inside. I had moved the family from Anaheim, to El Monte after about a year on the job, but that was like going from the smoke into the fire regarding air quality. The San Gabriel Valley was famous for having the worst smog in Southern California.

Almost always, the transfer of Officers around the state was in conjunction with the graduation of an Academy Class. A month or so before the Cadets were to graduate, a cutoff for transfer requests was established, and after the cutoff date, no transfers for that list would be honored. However, it was possible to put in a transfer request, and just sit on it, (sometimes for years), until it came through. Before the cadets graduated, a transfer list would come out, and whatever openings were left, that's where the brand new Officers were assigned. That's why most Cadets, myself included, went to the L.A. area, because it was the least desirable place. Near the cutoff date, an Officer could call Sacramento, and check to see where they would be in terms of seniority for any given office, and if that office had any openings, it was possible to get a better idea of your chances. For example, it didn't do any good to find out that you were #1 for the Fresno Office, if that office didn't have any openings.

In late 1972, I put my transfer in for the Santa Cruz Office, and it came through in early 1973. I was returning to the area where I went to High School, and to say that I was happy to be leaving L.A. was an understatement. While working in Southern California., I had gained an enormous amount of experience, in a relatively short period of time, but the idea of seeing blue sky everyday, suddenly became more of a priority.

I spent the least amount of time (approx. 2 years) in the Santa Cruz Office, of any of the 4 offices I worked. By the time I was able to transfer to the Sonora Office where I retired, the time on the job (seniority) required to get into that office was about 20 years. One of my original attractions to the CHP as a career, was the ability over time, to transfer to a more desirable place to live. The next few installments will be from the mid 70's, when I worked in Santa Cruz County.

BACK TO LAKE HAVASU

The scene above was at the Lake Mead RV Park, where our rig, and 11 others from our Family Motor Coach Ass'n (FMCA) Golden Spike Chapter were parked for the last 4 days. It was an ideal location for all of the activities associated with our mini rally, and the views of Lake Mead were spectacular.

After coffee, and a light breakfast with our friends, we said our goodbyes, pulling out of the park at mid morning. We left under overcast skies, and it rained just enough to get the road wet, and make a mess of my recent wax job on the motor home. My nickname should be the "rainmaker", because all I have to do is wash the jeep or motor home, and sure as heck, it's going to rain! By the time we crossed over the new bridge, on our way south toward Kingman, the drizzle had stopped, and we had a dry road the rest of the way.

The only stop was to top off the motor home with diesel at the Pilot Truck Stop, exit 9 off I40. ($3.85 with the Pilot/Flying J discount) We're home for a week, before we leave for the Grand Canyon and our summer jobs.

One closing thought about the last 5 days with our friends at Boulder City and Lake Mead. We joined this FMCA Chapter about a year ago, primarily due to its' focus on railroads, and my passion for trains. This was our third get together with this group, and from the moment we arrived for our first rally last summer in Oregon, we have been made to instantly feel like part of the family. I'm quite sure that many of our new friendships will last a lifetime.

Organizing all of the activities for this rally is no small feat. A big thanks to our President - Tom Westerfield, and his wife Barbara for doing all of the leg work necessary for a successful adventure. We had a great time, and look forward to the next rally with our railroad enthusiast friends.

RAFTING THE COLORADO

The idea of rafting down the Colorado River 100 years ago, would have been quite a daunting challenge. Particularly, about this time of year, when the snow is melting in the Rockies, the lower Colorado was prone to very high water and flooding.

Hoover Dam changed all of that, and with the addition of several other large dams, the mighty Colorado is no longer the beast it once was. That's a good thing, as our group of Golden Spikers boarded large motorized rafts at the base of the Hoover Dam yesterday morning.

The view of the dam and new bridge from river level was quite different than it was when we toured the dam day before yesterday. The bus ride from the Hacienda Casino, down a very steep and narrow service road was probably more exciting than the calm ride on the river.

Once on board the rafts, we started downriver for the 12 mile run to Willow Beach. The good news regarding the weather was that we had some cloud cover, and it was cooler. The bad news was the wind was blowing pretty good, and just happened to be coming from the direction we were headed. The combination of wind and waves created a little bit of water spray back into the raft, which prompted some folks to use the free ponchos provided by the raft company.

Barbara Westerfield and her husband Tom, our Golden Spike President

Our Captain, and guide - Jerry

About an hour into the trip, we stopped for lunch, and as you can see, Patty had decided that the flimsy poncho was better than nothing.

The highlight of the trip for me, was the several sightings of Desert Big Horn Sheep. There were about 3 different locations where we saw groups of females with youngsters, very near the water. In fact, one of the females walked right down to the waters edge, and took a drink, not more than 100 feet from our raft. All together, we probably saw about two dozen sheep.

This Desert Big Horn wasn't intimidated by our raft

The raft company bus picked us up at Willow Beach, and we were back at the motor home by 4pm. It was an enjoyable experience, and one that neither Patty or I had ever done before.

Today, it's back to Lake Havasu for about a week, where we'll be busy packing everything into the motor home for our summer of living and working at the Grand Canyon.