THE LAST DAY OF WORK

Today, is my Friday of all Friday's. It's the last day of driving a 40' New Flyer shuttle bus, here at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. In some respects, the summer has flown by, and conversely, there have been times when I thought it would never end. But, this evening, the working part of the summer will be over, and the time to move on to new adventures will have finally arrived.

When I look back at the two summers of working at the Grand Canyon, I have mixed emotions about the job, particularly when it comes to dealing with so many people, from all over the world. When we first arrived here last year, neither of us had any idea what a magnet this place is for the nearly 5 million people a year, who are drawn to this natural wonder. A very large number of the visitors are from other countries, and therein lies many of the challenges of the job. From language issues, to cultural barriers, dealing with foreigners on a daily basis is one of the things that will be good to get away from. Then, there's the person we all know, who thinks that rules don't apply to them, and who don't hesitate to get in your face when told they either can, or can not do something. An example was a guy the other day who thought he didn't have to wait in line like everyone else. When I caught him cutting right to the front of the line, I refused to let him get on board the bus. That brought on a tirade of expletives, that I won't print here, and ended with him calling me an idiot. Not being one to turn the other cheek, my only response was that " you're right, I must be an idiot, because I have to deal with people like you on a daily basis". Fortunately, this type of personality didn't come along everyday, but it is the one that leaves the lasting impression.

Since retiring from Jamestown Harley-Davidson in 2001, the only summer job we have returned to for more than 2 years, was in Skagway, Alaska. And, even then, I worked the first two summers for the Corrington Family, and the last two summers were spent driving a tour bus. So, after two summers here at the Grand Canyon, even though I try never to say never, a third summer here is pretty much out of the question. The plan next year is to head north in the spring, and hopefully spend a good part of the summer in Alaska, where we have so many great memories.

We'll be here until the 12th, when we move only 65 miles down the road to Williams. We're meeting 7 of our friends at the Grand Canyon Railroad RV park, and on the 15th, we'll all ride the train, pulled by a steam engine, back here to the Grand Canyon. On the 16th, along with our buddy Nancy, we're moving a little farther south to the Thousand Trails park in the Verde Valley. Nancy has never been to the area, and I'm sure she and Patty will have a ball in places like Sedona & Jerome. After a week or so at the TT in Cottonwood, we'll head back to Lake Havasu, where Patty will unpack, and repack for her trip to Hawaii with Nancy. The two of them will return to Nancy's in her motor home, while I pack up a few things, and head off to our new home in Tucson. When Patty gets back from Hawaii, she will be flying to Tucson, and we can start the process of getting the new place ready for the big move sometime this winter.
I have a feeling that the next several months are going to be quite busy!