V&T RALLY PLANNING DONE

The Carson City, NV Rally that I've been planning for our FMCA Golden Spike Chapter in September, is pretty much finished. The itinerary, and registration forms for the 3 rally days are about to be published in our chapter newsletter, and members will be able to sign up through the month of August.


When we leave the Grand Canyon in mid Sep, we'll have a few days at home in Lake Havasu City before we head north for the rally. We'll be meeting our friends, Bill & Dee Hall, who will also be arriving a few days ahead of the event, to give us a hand in getting everything ready.

The itinerary goes something like this..............

Sep 29 - Arrive at RV Park & evening social hour
Sep 30 - Ride on the Mills Park 24" gauge RR
- Lunch in Carson City
- Tour of NV State RR Museum
- Ride on 1926 Edwards Streetcar
- Dinner at Reds Old 395 Grill
Oct 1 - Ride Virginia & Truckee (V&T) RR steam train from Carson City to Virginia City
- Watch world famous OUTHOUSE RACES on Main Street
- BBQ lunch at the Red Dog Saloon
- Ride V&T steam train back to Carson City
- Hors de ouvers & wine at the depot
- Ride V&T steam train into the Carson River Canyon
- Dinner at Ole Ole Mexican Restaurant

Patty and I are looking forward to getting together with our fellow Golden Spikers, and I'm always up for riding a train that's pulled by a steam engine. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, over 20 years ago, I rode my dirt bike on this old RR grade before it was resurrected as the new Virginia & Truckee Railroad. When we were one of the first to ride on the new V&T last spring, it was an interesting adventure down memory lane, on new RR tracks that didn't exist when I made the trek on my motorcycle.

Now, if the joint agencies responsible for rebuilding the V&T this far, can work out the last details of land acquisition, and find the funding, perhaps the last few miles will eventually be built, all the way into downtown Carson City. In my opinion, it would be a shame not to completely rebuild this famous short line that is so close to the finish line.

DRIVING WITH IDIOTS

One of the big challenges facing all of the shuttle bus drivers here at the Grand Canyon National Park, is dealing with the public who are often lost, confused, or who just plain ignore the normal rules of the road. Getting around the park can be confusing, and it's understandable when a person gets lost, and perhaps makes a mistake. But, the blatant ignoring of signs, speeding, driving the wrong way, and countless other traffic violations,that would land you in court anywhere else, seems to be ignored by almost everyone, except those of us who see it everyday.

With my background in traffic law enforcement, it sometimes drives me to distraction. I have to keep telling myself, there's no red or blue lights on the front of my bus, and no, I can't write traffic citations any more.

The photos that I took yesterday are at the check in area, at the public RV park. This just happens to be a place where the buses have to make a U-Turn, in order to get into the bus stop. The no parking sign is supposed to keep that lane open, so that we can service the stop. Several times a day, we have to stop behind the miscreant, sign violator, and honk the horn until they decide to move. Sometimes it's quickly, and sometimes we are totally ignored.

I recognize that this particular sign isn't billboard size, but come on, when you park right next to it, how can anybody not see it? Maybe if our federal government wasn't so broke, they could install a flashing neon no parking sign like those on the strip in Vegas, and perhaps the RV drivers would pay more attention.

In the scheme of things, this parking violation is not a big deal, but more of any inconvenience to us bus drivers. Some of the other traffic issues we deal with on a daily basis, are often much more serious. I almost got hit yesterday by a rental motor home, that blew through a stop sign at about 30 mph! Where's my red light and ticket book? I wonder how a high speed pursuit would look on TV, with a transit bus chasing an RV?

A VISIT FROM NANCY

Our friend Nancy Kissack arrived here at the Grand Canyon yesterday morning, and she and Patty spent the day checking out some of the sights. Her blog, Kissack Adventures is listed on this blog as one that we read. The pictures are from Patty's camera, and the format is different, thus the smaller versions. Not sure how to fix that.

We have been expecting Nancy's arrival, and when she moves her 5th wheel trailer from the RV park in Tusayan, to the RV park here in the village, she'll be close to where we are. Her reservation is for a week or so, and even though we're both working, we'll still have some time to visit and do stuff while she's here. She cut short her stay in Laughlin due to the heat (114 degrees), and drove here via Route 66 between Kingman and Seligman. That's the longest remaining stretch of the old "Mother Road", and I've traveled it many times, mostly on the Harley. Once she started gaining altitude, the temperatures began cooling off, and now that she's here at the South Rim where the average elevation is around 7,000 feet, daytime temps are now in the 80's, and it cools off to the high 50's, low 60's at night.

One of the big questions on the horizon for us, is what happens if our government doesn't reach some sort of agreement on the debt ceiling by August 2nd? The rumors are running wild here at the park, but it's probably safe to say that the National Parks will be one of the first things to shut down if our leaders in Washington D.C. can't compromise about the debt and deficit. Not going to get into the debate, but in a week or so, it's entirely possible that Patty and I may be forced back into retirement a little bit prematurely.

A BIKE RIDE TO HERMITS REST

When we started the summer here at the Grand Canyon, my plan was to occasionally ride the bicycle to work. Well, that has happened exactly zero times. It's not so much the distance (only 2+ miles), or the exercise involved. It's more the fact that 4 of my 5 work days end in darkness. Without a full moon, or an adequate light, it's really dark here at night, and pedaling where I can't see, hasn't been the most appealing thing to do. So "the plan" hasn't been executed as I thought it might.

So, day before yesterday, I decided to dust the cobwebs off the bike, and head down the hill towards the Hermits Rest Road. From where we are parked, it's a little under 2 miles to the village, and down hill almost all of the way. At the beginning of Hermits Rest Road, I loaded the bike on one of our shuttle buses, and unloaded it about 3 miles from the end of the road. My ride on the paved rim trail, next to the edge of the canyon, was as you might expect - spectacular! I get paid to look at this marvelous canyon, 2-3 days a week, and believe me, the scenery only gets better with time.

Looking down on the Granite Rapids from the rim trail

By the time I got out to Hermits Rest, one of our typical afternoon thunderstorms had moved in, and so I loaded the bike back on one of the buses. I had planned on riding the bike back, at least part of the way, but that didn't happen due to the rain. I think on a future day off, I'll try this again, perhaps on a better weather day.

This is the huge fireplace inside the Hermits Rest building

PLANNING A RALLY

Not too long after we leave the Grand Canyon in mid September, we'll be heading north to Carson City, NV. for a mini RV rally that we've been planning for the Family Motor Coach Ass'n (FMCA) Golden Spike Chapter, of which, we are members.

Since joining this group over a year ago, we have attended two rally's, one on the Mount Hood Railroad in Oregon, and one at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Boulder City, NV. As you might expect, with membership in any organization, friendships are quickly established, many that last a lifetime. This group gets together 2-4 times a year, usually at a tourist railroad somewhere in the western states. The rally's are planned by members, and I kind of volunteered to put something together in Carson City, after the newly rebuilt Virginia & Truckee (V&T) Railroad started operating in late 2009.

On our way to the Pacific Northwest in the spring of last year, we had the chance to ride on the new V&T, and I thought at the time, this would be a great venue for a Golden Spike Rally. I wrote a blog post on May 31st, 2010 about the new V&T.

Most of the planning for the Sept 29, 30, Oct 1st Carson City Rally is done. I just need to finalize a couple of last issues, then send the itinerary & registration pages to our newsletter editor, Barbara Westerfield. She will then publish it in the about to be released Golden Spike Chapter Newsletter, and our members will be able to sign up. So now, it's back to the phone.

LAST CHANCE RANCH

How often have we heard the phrase "Last Chance"? Highway billboard signs often advertise last chance for gas, or for other things, like last chance for food. Obviously, these words catch my attention, and so when the Lake Havasu Newspaper ran an article a few weeks ago about the Last Chance Ranch, I couldn't help but read it with interest.

I'm not ashamed to admit that Patty and I are animal lovers. If our lifestyle was different, and we didn't travel a lot, there's no doubt in my mind that we would live somewhere on acreage, where we could keep, and care for lots of animals. But we don't, so our animal world consists of Sami, our 13 1/2 year old Beagle Dog, and Gracie, our 3 year old Snowshoe Cat.

After reading about this 54 year old women who has dedicated her life to animals that have nowhere else to go, it didn't take me but an instant to make a tax exempt donation to her cause.
In my opinion, there is no higher purpose in life, than to dedicate yourself to the support of an unfortunate fellow human being, or to the support of animals who would otherwise, probably be dead.

We have been supporters of Keepers of the Wild, a wild animal sanctuary near Kingman for many years, and have even talked about volunteering some of our time. The distance from Lake Havasu has always kept us from making that commitment.

The chance to help this lady and her noble cause, was one of those feel good moments for me. I would encourage anyone reading this to click on her website, and if helping unfortunate animals is on your list of things to do today, make a donation.

THE TRAIN DEPOT

A lot of visitors to Grand Canyon National Park are surprised when they see a railroad train depot in the historic Grand Canyon Village, and even more surprised when they see a real live train parked in front of the depot. When you drive into the park from Williams, you get a few glimpses of track just outside of town, but if your drive brings you through Flagstaff, or in from the east, there's no indication of a railroad until you arrive in the park.

When the rails reached the south rim in 1901, a smaller depot served the public, about 1/2 mile west of where the current depot is located. As I posted yesterday, in 1905, the El Tovar Hotel was completed by the Santa Fe Railroad, but the train was stopping 1/2 mile away, and passengers were much closer to the lodging competitors. In 1909-10, the current depot was constructed, and the tracks were extended to within just a few feet of their Hotel, the El Tovar.

This made it much easier for passengers to utilize the lodging that was owned by the railroad.
As you might expect, there was a lot of grumbling by the competitors when the train started unloading passengers 1/2 mile away from their facilities.

When completed, the building was one of only a few log structures in the United States serving as a train depot, and today, it is the only remaining log depot building. In 1987, it was declared a National Historic Landmark, and is one of the first buildings seen by today's railway passengers. It's purpose today is more company oriented, as the need for a depot isn't what it used to be.
The South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park has several historic buildings like the Train Depot, and the El Tovar Hotel. Most of these buildings were constructed after the railroad arrived, and with the proper maintenance, and some renovation, they exist today as they did 100 years ago.

THE EL TOVAR HOTEL

The front entrance to the El Tovar Hotel

Many of our National Parks have the iconic lodge/hotel, most of which were built during an era when railroad travel was the primary transportation method. Yosemite has the Awhanee, Glacier has several built by the Great Northern Railroad, and Yellowstone has several lodge/hotels built around the turn of the last century.

When the Santa Fe Railroad completed it's branch line to the Grand Canyon in September of 1901, tourism went from a few hundred per year by way of stagecoach, to several thousand per year, arriving on the railroad. Suddenly, there was a tremendous need for hotel rooms, to accommodate the influx of tourists. In 1905, the Santa Fe completed the El Tovar Hotel, and it became one of the many Harvey Houses, run by the Fred Harvey Company. In fact, it is one of only a few of the original Harvey Houses still in operation.

The location of the El Tovar is within just a few feet of the canyon edge, so the views from most of the rooms are truly spectacular. As you might expect, the room rates are also quite spectacular! When the railroad arrived at the canyon, there were a few small hotels, some with cabins, but there were not nearly enough accommodations for the increased number of tourists. When the El Tovar was completed, just up the hill and a short walk from the train depot, the occupancy was 100% from day one.

Today, reservations typically need to be made well in advance, and the very upscale dining room offers great food at what you might expect, great prices! Having never set foot inside this beautifully restored and maintained building, I dropped by yesterday for a look see. When I told the restaurant hostess that I was one of the shuttle bus drivers, and was often asked questions about the El Tovar, she gave me a quick tour of the restaurant. At least now, I have a little more information, that will make it easier to answer some of the many questions.

The back porch of the El Tovar Hotel, facing the Grand Canyon

When the train arrives at the canyon at about 11:45am each day, many of the passengers are transported up to the El Tovar, where they stay for one or more days. Their departure back to Williams is on the railroad, much like the early tourists of over 100 years ago. When the railroad started bringing folks to the south rim, the cost of a round trip train ticket was $3.50. The cost of a room at the El Tovar was only a little bit more than that, depending on what type of room you reserved. Today, the standard room rate is around $200, and goes up from there.

There is no doubt, this is one of the jewels in the National Park system, and is representative of an era that has long since passed. The Santa Fe Railroad was responsible for the building of the El Tovar Hotel, and many other structures here at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Even though the railroad is now owned by Xanterra, it's neat to see that tourists are still coming to the Grand Canyon on the railroad, and staying at the magnificent El Tovar Hotel.

10 YEARS AGO

In reading one of my favorite blogs this morning, Nick Russell, Gypsy Journal Publisher, talks about he and Terry's decision to give up the workaholic lifestyle, and become full time RV'ers. While reading, I was thinking that it has been a little over 10 years since we walked away from co-ownership of our Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Dealership in CA.

It was in late 1995, a few years after retiring from the C.H.P., that we finished construction of our commercial building in Jamestown, CA., and officially opened the doors of Jamestown Harley Davidson for business. For the next 6+ years, it was a magical ride, during some of the best economic times in recent memory. Patty was still working in the hospital emergency room, and during her days off, and on many nights she worked at the store. When she retired from her R.N. position at the hospital in 2000, most of her waking hours were then spent keeping up with the clothing, jewelry, and collectible lines at the business. From the day we opened, my work week was anywhere from 60-70 hours, continuing to the time we retired. We were both committed 110% to the success of the business and to the employee's. We were married not only to each other, but to a business that we thoroughly enjoyed. To say that we were workaholics would be an understatement!

In late 2000, we made the decision to close this chapter, and pursue our dream of travel in our motor home, and to move all of our worldly possessions to Lake Havasu City, AZ. I remember our financial planner wondering if we were doing the right thing, and expressing his doubts during a few of our meetings. His school of thought was that while we were in a position to keep filling the retirement bucket, why would we want to stop doing so. My mindset at the time was that we had filled the bucket a bunch, and how full did it need to be. I was comfortable with our financial future, and when we publicly announced that we were leaving, the reaction from our friends and customers were much the same. How could we walk away from such a fun business, where we were making a ton of money, and even consider the possibility of retirement? My answer was actually quite simple, and often repeated. "Life is not a dress rehearsal, and nobody can predict the future". While we were both in good health, and had financial security, it was time to live some of our dreams. It wasn't but a few days after we turned over the keys to the business, that we were on the road to Alaska. That summer of 2001 in Alaska was truly magical, in the sense that we were fulfilling one of our dreams, and truly free to wander where ever the road led us.

We will always be grateful to our partners, Art & Linda Mitchell, for providing us with the opportunity to create and manage a business that was not only fun, but something that became a cornerstone of our financial future. We are so glad to see that the business, despite tough economic times, has continued to succeed, under the management of Art & Linda's daughter Karen, and their son-in-law Allen.

10 years ago our RV adventures began, and the road has taken us to some amazing places. Two summers ago, our 12,000 mile journey around the U.S. and Canada was a highlight of our RV travel. The combination of working and traveling has been a good balance for us. Knowing that we don't have to work, makes the choice for a seasonal job, so much easier. Living and working here at the Grand Canyon this summer has been a fun experience, something that has been on our radar screen for several years. The last 10 years have flown by, and when asked if I would change anything, the answer would be "nothing".

CHP MEMORIES

It wasn't too long after transferring from the L.A. area to Santa Cruz, that I settled an old score from my high school days. Returning to work in Santa Cruz County, brought me back to the area where I grew up, and went through school.

Even though I only worked out of the Santa Cruz Office for approx. 2 years, it provided me an opportunity to reacquaint myself with many old friends who I hadn't seen in several years. Some of those re-introductions were by choice, and some were not.

There was one day that I was working the swing shift in the south county, around my old hometown of Watsonville, when I ran across someone who caused a lot of problems during my early high school years. This guy (I'll call him Jack) was 2 years ahead of me, so during my first year at Watsonville High, he was a junior. For lack of a better description, lets just say he was the classic bully, who liked to pick on the younger kids. I wasn't so much the brunt of his attention, but several of my friends were, and in those days, you didn't run to the adults every time something happened. One of my friends decided that enough was enough, and in the school parking lot, he took a stand against Jack, and unfortunately, took a pretty good beating. This sort of thing was fairly common, and because Jack was a pretty big kid, he not only had the reputation of being a bully, but he had the physical skills to back up his bravado. When he graduated, many of us, and I suspect the school administration as well, was very glad to see him move on down the road.

I remember the day that I unexpectedly ran across Jack while working in the Watsonville area. I was following a car on Beach Rd. when suddenly, a large brown paper bag was thrown out the passenger window onto the side of the roadway. Littering isn't exactly the crime of the century, but here it happened right in front of me. The driver and this passenger either didn't see me, or they were about the stupidest folks in the entire world. I decided that I was going to make this litterbug go back and pick it up, or he/she was getting a citation.

When I pulled the car over, and walked up to the passenger side of the car, guess who was staring back at me as I explained why they got the red light. You guessed it - Jack the high school bully. In true form, he denied throwing anything out, and started his threatening tactics that I remembered from years ago. The moment I recognized Jack, there wasn't any question that he was getting a ticket. The idea of asking his driver to take him back to pick up the bag was not even a consideration. As I wrote out the ticket, Jack continued his verbal assault, but as in the past, he wasn't in the drivers seat, I was. When he refused to sign the ticket, I silently said to myself "thank you god", and explained to Jack, that I had no choice but to handcuff him and take him to jail. I guess those words caused a sudden change of behavior, because he did sign the ticket, denying me the best opportunity for revenge. As he drove away, I thought to myself, there is justice in this world, and sometimes paybacks come in the oddest of ways.

Normally, I wouldn't have gone back for the litter, but in this case I did. Something in the back of my mind told me that this might not yet be over. I collected the bag, and it's contents, thinking that Jack might want to dispute this ticket in court. Sure enough, about a month later, I got a subpoena with Jacks name on it. When the court date came, I presented the facts to the judge, and to Jack's dismay, presented the actual evidence of littering. When Jack testified, he denied any wrongdoing, and told the judge it was his word against mine. It only took the judge about 2 seconds to find Jack guilty of littering. About 2 months after the satisfaction of giving Jack some of his own medicine, the court delivered a second dose, and my revenge was even sweeter.

SUNSET AT HERMITS REST

These are not the first sunset pictures that I've posted from the Grand Canyon, but they are the first taken from Hermits Rest. We are entering the Arizona Monsoon Season, and the last few days have been typical for this time of year. Clouds roll in, usually in the afternoon, and with the overcast skies, there usually is some rain, with possible thunder and lightning.

Yesterday, we had all of the above. In fact, the lightning strikes were so close to the Hermits Road, the supervisor shut down the Red Route. Instead of taking people from the village out to Hermits Rest, we concentrated on getting people off the South Rim, and back to shelter in the village. From about 6pm, for the next hour and a half, the 8 red route buses, including myself, moved hundreds of people away from the potentially hazardous weather.

After the mass movement of people was finished, I was asked to drive out to the end of the road, and standby at Hermits Rest until after sunset. I shot these pictures just after the thunderstorms had moved past, but were still partially over the canyon. I tried several times to get a shot of some lightning, but it just wasn't to be. With the clouds filling part of the canyon as the sun was setting, it was a much different scene than the normal evening sunset.

After the first wave of thunderstorms moved from south to north, we noticed smoke from a fire on the north rim. My guess is it was caused by the lightning, but that was not confirmed. The good news with this coming wet season is that in one respect, the fire danger diminishes considerably. Conversely, there is usually lightning with the rain, and that causes a few fires.

The other good news, is that this weather keeps the temperatures at a very comfortable level. We're now in the 80's, with more humidity, but it's a whole lot better than the 115 degree temps back in Lake Havasu City.

BASHAS PART II

After hammering the Sedona Bashas Supermarket yesterday, I received a phone call from Randy, the store's beverage manager. When I was at the store last Sunday, I think it's safe to say that I was a bit angry, when I found out my special order of Sharps was not there as promised. My anger was directed at the customer service manager, even though he had nothing to do with the issue.

If there's one thing that I've learned over the years, it's that there is always two sides to any story. According to Randy, when the local distributor was in the store (a week ago today), it was his day off. So, he left a large note for the distributor representative regarding my special order. Evidently, that's where the ball got dropped, and as a result, when I arrived in Sedona, my special order was conspicuously absent.

The only problem with the blame game story is that at some point, most likely last Wednesday when the order was supposed to show up at the store, Randy knew that the distributor had screwed up, and the Sharps wouldn't be waiting for me when I drove down from the Grand Canyon. Patty suggested that I call the store before leaving, and my gut instinct said the same thing. So, I share a bunch of the blame myself, for not taking the time to look up the number and make the phone call. I told Randy that a phone call from him would have eliminated the problem. Randy apologized, and said that there was a store in Ash Fork that carried Sharps, and that it would be a shorter drive for me in the future.

I thanked him for the phone call, and in retrospect, it wasn't a completely wasted trip, as I was able to retrieve half of the Sharps that I originally ordered. The drive from Flagstaff to Sedona through Oak Creek Canyon is about as scenic as it gets, so again, it wasn't a totally wasted day.
The end result is that after a few days of cooling off, and a phone call from Randy, Bashas has creeped back up the ladder a notch, in respect to my customer loyalty.

BASHING BASHA'S

First, let me start out with a positive, and say Happy Birthday America! There is no other country in the world with the varied opportunities that this great land provides. I'm sure we all take things for granted, but we should be thankful that we live in a country where anything is possible, and with hard work and dedication, anyone can achieve their American Dream.

Now, here comes the negative. Yesterday morning, I drove 2 1/2 hours down to Sedona, to pick up the Sharps non-alcoholic beer that I had ordered a week ago. In my June 28 post, I mentioned that I ordered the Sharps from Basha's Supermarket, and that they routinely carried it as a normal stock item. When I spoke on the telephone with Randy, the beverage manager, I told him that I was driving down from the Grand Canyon, that the distributor in Flagstaff did not carry Sharps any longer, and that it was getting harder and harder to find. I ordered eight 12 packs, ($99.92 retail) and gave Randy my name and phone number. He assured me that it would be there waiting when I came down on one of my days off, either yesterday or today.

Before leaving, I did entertain the thought of looking up the Sedona Basha's telephone number, and calling to verify that the special order was there. Then I thought, they carry the item anyway, and besides, being Sunday on the 4th of July weekend, Randy probably wouldn't be there. So, off I went to pick up my Sharps, thinking in the back of my mind that this might turn out to be a Murphy's Law event.

By now, you don't need to be a psychic to figure out where this is headed. When I arrived in Sedona a little after 10am, I asked the Basha's customer service manager (whose name I did not get), to check on my special order. After looking in the cooler and backroom twice, he said that he could not find it. After that statement, the steam was probably visible, as it was starting to exit both of my ears. Knowing that it probably would be a waste of time, I suggested that Randy be given a phone call for a possible explanation. After calling Randy's number, the manager came back and said that he had left him a voice mail.

Swell! No Sharps, no explanation, and a wasted 5 hours of driving. At that point, I'm sure the steam was noticeably visible as I told this manager in no uncertain terms, exactly how I felt. I told him I knew it wasn't his fault, but he was the only person that I could direct my anger towards, and it might be a good thing that this was Randy's day off. I said that either Randy completely dropped the ball and didn't order the Sharps, or that he had a problem with the order, and failed to call me. In either case, the outcome was unacceptable. The last thing I told this guy was that perhaps if I wrote a letter to Bashas Corporate, maybe Randy would have more incentive next time, to follow through with his promise, and place customer service as a little higher priority.

As it turned out, I didn't leave empty handed because there was a total of four 12 packs of Sharps in the cooler that I snatched up. To his credit, the customer service manager approached the checker, and told him to give me a 10% discount.

With lots of choices regarding the purchase of almost anything in this country, these kinds of negative events tend to stand out. With the grocery business being a highly competitive environment, a simple drop of the ball like this can have a snowball effect. It's kind of like going to your favorite restaurant, and the one time your meal is bad, that's the experience that sticks in you mind.

The Bashas in Lake Havasu is arguably the nicest grocery store in town, and has been my supplier of Sharps for several years. When we get home for the winter, I have a feeling that I will probably explore another option.

SAFETY

Yesterday was a long day! A mandatory safety meeting for all drivers was the first order of business at 8am. By the time that was over at a little past 11am, it was time to go to work. When I got off work at 9pm, it didn't take long for me to fall asleep, and as a result, no blog post yesterday. Besides, there wasn't a whole lot to write about.

When you run a public transportation company, or work for the same, the highest priority should be safety. Paul Revere Transportation places the appropriate emphasis on safety, and yesterday's meeting was a good example. The more I work for this company, the more impressed I am with their entire operation. The rules are strict, but the results are predictable.

The National Park Service must be impressed also, as they have awarded Paul Revere their 3rd 5 year contract. I've been driving one of the shuttle buses for a little over a month now, and despite the challenges of dealing with the public, (in vehicles, & in person), it's been a mostly positive experience.

As Patty and I have become accustomed to our daily routines, there isn't a whole lot of excitement, or new adventures to comment about on a daily basis. Even though I have tried to keep this online journal up to date with posts each day, it's getting a little harder to find interesting things to write about. The last thing I want to do, is blather about nothing. So, I've decided to go back to the routine that I loosely follow when we are at home in Lake Havasu. When there's something to write about, I will. When not, I won't. What that means is instead of daily posts, it will most likely be a few times a week. We'll see how it goes..........

BEGGING FOR PIZZA

Sami's automatic posture when there's food around

There's probably a lot of things that we all take for granted. Like ordering a pizza from the local pizza joint, that prepares the Italian pie just the way you like it. Well, there's only one game in town here at the Grand Canyon, and a few days ago, I had to give it a try. Maswick Lodge has a pizza pub, so I drove over and waited for them to prepare their whoop to do, supreme, top of the line pizza. The picture below looks pretty good, and it was OK, but not something that I'll be picking up on a regular basis.

Whenever there's food around, Sami's Beagle Nose goes into overdrive. She learned from a puppy that whenever there's anything edible around, if she sits up, the chances are much better that she might score a bite. We try and limit the amount of people food that she gets, but being old softies, whenever she sits up and begs, it's sometimes hard not to give her a treat.

Being almost 14 years old, our faithful Beagle is getting a little long in the tooth, and we're starting to see more and more signs of her advancing age. The average lifespan for Beagles is 12-16, so we know that our time with her is approaching the end. Except for her independent nose, she has been a wonderful member of our family, and it's going to be incredibly hard when it's time to say goodbye. Hopefully, that will still be a few more years down the road.

A CROWN & A SEARCH FOR SHARPS

A quick trip to the Dentist in Flagstaff was on the schedule yesterday. A few days ago, a gold crown on one of my back teeth came loose, and while chewing on a piece of gum, it was suddenly floating in my mouth. I was going to try and glue it back on myself, but decided that a dentist would be able to do a much better, and more permanent job.

Since I arrived for my appointment a little early, I borrowed the Dentist's phone book in an attempt to track down some Sharps non-alcoholic beer, which is getting harder and harder to find. My first call was to the Miller Distributor who would know which retail store carried the product. Not surprisingly, the distributor stated that no one had Sharps, because they were the only Miller Dealer in the county, and they didn't carry it any more. Oh No! With my supply from Bashas Supermarket in Lake Havasu dwindling, what was I to do?

On a long shot hunch that perhaps a grocery store in Sedona (different county) might carry Sharps, I made a call to the Bashas store, and connected with the beverage manager. Totally in shock, when he said "yes, we carry it", I immediately asked if he could order an extra supply for me to pick up next week. He said it would be here waiting for me when I arrived.

With that task completed, and my tooth back to normal, I picked up a few things at the store not available here at the Grand Canyon, and hit the trail back to the motor home. This morning, it's back to work for 5 days, then another road trip next week down to Sedona. I almost feel like a drug addict, having to search high and low for a supplier of my fake beer. I think the handwriting is on the wall. At some future point, I think Sharps will cease to exist, and I'll be forced to consider some alternative like O'Douls............YUCK!

PHANTOM RANCH

The first picture is the Phantom Ranch area at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It sits on the north side of the Colorado River, at the junction of Bright Angel Creek. The only way to get there is either by foot, mule, or helicopter. If you're rafting down the Colorado River, that would be the only other way to reach Phantom Ranch.

In the 1920's, right after Grand Canyon became a National Park, the Fred Harvey Company hired Mary Colter to design the ranch and it's buildings, to better accommodate the increasing number of tourists who were hiking, or riding mules down to the river. With the exception of much of the native rock, all of the building supplies were hauled down by mule. The popularity of the ranch has grown over the years, requiring reservations to be made in advance, sometimes over a year ahead of time.

The second picture was taken without a zoom, and the Phantom Ranch is almost impossible to see. It sits at the junction of the two inner canyons, about in the middle of the picture. I took these pictures yesterday from Mather Point Amphitheater, which was an area I had not previously visited. As much as we have both seen the canyon in the last several weeks, it still takes my breath away with it's stunning beauty.

Looking at Mather Point from Mather Amphitheater

These last two photos were taken at Mather Amphitheater which was created at the rim of the canyon out of native rock. It's an incredible vista where the speaker (in this case a ranger), had her back to the canyon, and the audience is looking across the canyon at the north rim.

I caught the tail end of the ranger presentation about the natural history of the canyon, then wandered over toward Mather Point where I took the pictures of Phantom Ranch. It's doubtful that Patty and I will ever make it down to the Ranch, but the idea of a raft trip down the canyon, with a stop at Phantom Ranch, is now more visible on the future radar. I understand these sometimes week long trips are very expensive, and must be booked well in advance, but what an adventure that would be. It doesn't hurt to dream.

This morning I'm off to Flagstaff for the second time in two weeks. Lost a crown on one of my back teeth, so I have an appointment this morning to get it cemented back on.

LAST THOUGHTS

One last thought or two regarding the political discussion of the last two days. There's always a known quantity when you attempt to bring religion or politics into any dialogue. The polarization is predictable, and based on the few comments that I've published, that's exactly what has happened. In fact, I opened the blog of two days ago with the statement "at the risk of polarizing the conversation".

I will always welcome opposing views, and will never censure any comments as long as they are respectful. We as a nation have different opinions on a variety of issues, and the fact that we have the freedom to express those opinions is what sets us apart from many other countries.

The one thing that this blog will NOT become is a political forum. Having said that, there are times when I personally find it necessary to speak out about issues where I either disagree with something, or think that change is necessary.

The change that I feel is absolutely necessary is what started this conversation two days ago. The fact that our government is borrowing obscene amounts of money, and increasing the national debt to almost unrecoverable levels, is what compels me to speak out. The argument about fixing this problem kind of boils down to either raising taxes, or cutting spending. When you start talking about raising taxes, then the argument changes directions, and the popular opinion seems to be that the wealthy should pay more.

My argument is simple, taxes shouldn't be raised on the poor, the middle class, or the wealthy. The American people pay enough income taxes, property taxes, & sales taxes. Raising taxes on anyone, in an attempt to balance the governments out of control spending, is what's really immoral. Washington D.C. has to cut up it's credit card, and balance it's budget just like every city, county, and state must do. Granted, all of those entities are having a hard time due to economic conditions, but they are legally obligated to balance spending with revenues.

If any of us had a personal spending problem, and we kept asking our credit card company to raise it's credit limit, at some point that company is going to say "that's it, no higher limit".
At that point, the spending has to stop, or slow down. You're most likely not going to go to your boss, and say, I need a raise in order to make payments on my credit card. The solution is to cut up the card, quit charging, and systematically pay the debt down to a manageable level.

That analogy may seem overly simplified, but I'm here to say that millions of Americans are saying basically the same thing. The answer to the problem is for Washington D.C. to deal with their spending addiction. The idea of fixing this problem with higher taxes is absurd, but unfortunately, it's symptomatic of the thinking of many of our elected representatives.

I predicted that the last national election was as important as any in this nations history. I have a feeling that the next national election may be even more important!

PAYING MORE TAXES?

One anonymous comment to yesterdays blog stated that perhaps it was time for the wealthy to pay more taxes, as a possible solution to the nations overwhelming debt problem.

My short answer was that we're all going to pay the price, if the government doesn't reign in it's out of control spending addiction, and that higher taxes is not the answer. If you happen to be in the "wealthy" category with a high taxable income between $175,000 and $380,000, your tax rate is 33%. If you factor in all of the other taxes like state income, and property taxes, the so called wealthy are already paying about one half of their earnings to the government.

One of the fundamental principles associated with the founding of this great country, was that if you work hard and are successful, your rewards are tangible. Many of the so called wealthy spend their entire lives building something that they can pass on to their kids. That's the American Dream.

At some point, the taxing of our citizens becomes a disincentive for hard work, and is totally counter productive. I'm not sure where that number is, but when the government starts taking more than you do from you efforts, I think you've reached that point. That brings up another topic of discussion, who creates jobs? It's not the government, it's the so called wealthy small business owner, and corporate America. If their taxes continue to increase, what effect does that have on the creation of jobs? I think I know the answer to that one.

More taxes on any class is not going to make a dent in the enormous debt of our country. There is only one answer, and that's making the hard decisions necessary to control spending. If our irresponsible politicians had not spent us into oblivion, we wouldn't be facing these troubled times.

GOVERNING BY GRIDLOCK

I've kept my frustration with our politicians under wraps far too long. At the risk of polarizing the conversation, it's time to allow some of those frustrations an outlet. So, here we go...........

The elephants and the asses are engaged in an ongoing debate about whether to raise the debt limit over the existing 14 + TRILLION. That's trillion with a "T"! The Dems argue that we have to raise the limit or the country will default for the first time in our history. The Repubs argue that without an equal amount of spending cuts, they won't vote for increasing our credit card limit. There's obviously a lot more involved with this debate, however, the basics are no different than how we as individuals handle our personal debt. You don't need a degree in economics to understand that when you spend more than you make, eventually the can that has been kicked down the road, will at some point fall off the cliff.

I think that the can is precariously close to the edge, and if it falls off, the consequences could be devastating to all Americans. This isn't about political ideology, it's about doing the right thing. The right thing is not to continue spending trillions more than we take in. Yes, spending cuts will have detrimental impacts on perhaps many of us, but we're at the point where it has to be done, or the alternatives are very bleak indeed. It's not rocket science, it's just common sense. Unfortunately, there seems to be very little of the later in Washington D.C.

With such a huge divide between the two parties, gridlock is usually the word of the day, week, or month. I think that individual Americans are taxed enough, and with the 2nd highest corporate tax rate in the world, increasing revenue through higher taxes is NOT an option. The only answer is to cut spending, and balance the budget. What's wrong with a balanced budget amendment to the constitution? We have to balance our checkbooks, why doesn't the government have to do the same. We don't have the option of going to our copy machine and printing money, and the government shouldn't have that option either.

Patty and I are the leading edge of the Baby Boomer generation, and my concerns are not so much for our future, but for the future of our kids and grand daughter. This reckless spending, and idea that government should provide for all of our needs has to stop! I think that countries like Greece are the canary in the coal mine. With no more money to provide all of the social programs, the result is rioting in the streets. It's kind of like feeding wildlife here at the Grand Canyon. When the squirrels start depending on people food, they often die when it's taken away. That analogy is simple, but ever so true.

Arguments can be made on both sides of the aisle, but when it comes right down to it, all of our elected representatives are supposed to be looking out for our best interests, and the best interests of America. Somehow, I think that political ideology has become more important to our politicians than the use of common sense, and that's unfortunate. There, now I feel better.

IT'S A PARADE

OK, I know this blog is fast becoming an Internet "wild kingdom", with all of the pictures of the Deer and Elk. I'm trying, but it's hard not to take pictures of these critters, when they present themselves in such unabashed fearlessness.

So, I'm sitting here a few minutes ago, reading my favorite blogs, and thinking what the heck do I write about this morning? Not coming up with much, since both Patty and I are into the work routine, with little time for other stuff, I look out the window, and spot two young Mule Deer Bucks strolling by. A few minutes later, these two female Elk are headed in the same direction. In between, I missed a shot at a cottontail rabbit, who went hopping past my window. Fortunately, Sami was asleep on the sofa, or the howls would have been heard for miles. I'm thinking, it's a wildlife parade without the marching bands and colorful floats.

As I've mentioned, this is almost a daily occurrence here at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. If not at our motor home, these plentiful creatures are spotted all over the village. Now, if I was a Mountain Lion, I think I would find a way to overcome my dislike for human contact, and sneak into the village for one of these big kitty dinners.

This young buck is watching a white van as it approaches

The white van is moving, with little effect on the deer

I guess enough is enough. I'll make a promise to only post more pictures of Deer and Elk if they are attacking me, attempting to break into our motor home, or otherwise disrupting our daily routine. Since that isn't likely, maybe I will be able to come up with other things to write about.

On a different subject, Patty was up bright and early this morning on her day off, to join some of her coworkers on a highway cleanup detail. Reminds me of the many times we organized volunteers to help us clean up two stretches of highway back in CA, when we had our Harley-Davidson Dealership. One of the differences from then to now, is that we rewarded our helpers with pizza after the cleanup, Patty is getting paid overtime for her efforts. Wahoooooooo!

BABY ELK

I've been seeing the newborn Elk around the park while at work, but never had the opportunity to take any pictures. Just a few minutes ago, while looking at new emails, I spotted this mom and baby passing by the motor home. By the time I got the front door open, they were walking away, so the images aren't the greatest, but at least you can see the size difference. These babies are pretty big when they're born, and just like deer fawns, they have white spots all over their torsos.

According to the Mountain Lion experts, the young Elk are at the top of the cat's menu choices. Maybe that's why there are so many Elk here in the village. With the aid of GPS collars, the Park Service knows that the big cats stay away from people, and are rarely tracked anywhere near the village. I guess mother nature has a way of helping & hindering at the same time.

The Elk and Deer are all over the place, and present a considerable driving hazard. I've had a couple of close calls in the bus, but fortunately no contact. A couple of nights ago, one of our buses hit an Elk Cow, taking out the windshield, and doing quite a bit of damage to the front end. Unfortunately, the Elk's outcome was much worse.

The herd here in the village seems to consist of a group of females, and two large males that are always together. The mating season, or rut, is in the fall, but we'll probably be gone by then. I remember quite a few years ago, we were in Jasper, Alberta at an RV park during the Elk mating season. What I took away from watching the one Bull Elk near our motor home, was that you definitely want to keep your distance. When the big males are trying to keep their harems together, they're not very friendly, and are dangerous to people who get too close.

Patty starts her two days off today, and this is my Tuesday. The temperatures are creeping up into the 80's, and we're starting to run the air conditioner during the afternoon. I shouldn't complain, the predicted forecast temperature in Lake Havasu today is.........111-116 degrees!!

BREAKFAST & STARGAZING

One of the things I enjoy doing on a day off, is fixing what I call my "mega breakfast", and that's exactly what I did yesterday morning. With little plans for the day, I was in no hurry to be anywhere, so the first order of business was frying up some potatoes with lots of onions, bell peppers, spices and cheese. Then came the bacon, topped off with scrambled eggs, ham, mushrooms and cheese. One of the best ways to describe my mega breakfasts is that they are a coronary delight. There's absolutely no thought given to counting calories, or using fat free ingredients. I think Patty has learned over the years that it doesn't do any good to suggest more healthy ingredients, and probably just shakes her head as I use bacon grease while frying my potatoes. You know the old saying - "you can't change the stripes on a tiger". Since giving up tobacco and alcohol decades ago, I find it very easy to rationalize my sometimes (make that often), unhealthy eating habits. For those that know me, I could survive quite nicely from meals at N and Out, the best hamburgers on the planet.

After breakfast, I ran some errands, then spent part of the afternoon catching up on some reading. I picked Patty up from work a little after 8, and we drove up to the Visitors Center, where the "Stargazer Week" was kicking off. During the next several days, amateur astronomers from all over the western U.S. have their telescopes set up in one of the parking lots. I guess this is a good place to look at the stars due to the high altitude, and lack of light pollution. We looked through a couple of huge telescopes that were aimed at Saturn. It was pretty cool being able to see the rings around the planet and several of it's moons. Not a hobby I could wrap my arms around, but nevertheless, it's always interesting to participate, or watch someone else involved with their passion.

A TRIP TO FLAGSTAFF

Not a whole lot to write about, other than a quick trip to Flagstaff yesterday. It's a 75 mile drive from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to the largest town in Northern Arizona. With a city population of approx. 60,000, and an area population of twice that, there are most all of the necessary services and stores.

Yesterday, was mostly about getting some groceries, and a few other items that are not available here at the Grand Canyon. While I was in Flagstaff, Marc & Dave gave me a happy Fathers Day phone call, and later in the afternoon when I got home, I got a call from Mike. It's always good to hear from our boys, and catch up on what's happening in their lives.

Today is my second day off, and other than a few planned errands, it's going to be a day of not doing much of anything. I've got some reading to catch up on, and that's about it.

PATTY'S STORE

The Plaza as we call it, is where the only grocery store is located, and it's where Patty works. Other than a couple of other souvenir gift shops, the general store is the only game in town, unless of course you leave town, and drive the 65 miles to Williams, or the 75 miles to Flagstaff.

Patty says that the company she works for, Delaware North Corp. has been a good fit so far, and that she's enjoying working with her mostly younger co-workers. Being a checker on the grocery side of the store has been a bit challenging, but after moving heavy items like ice and cases of beer across the scanner for a summer, she thinks the positive will be monster muscle biceps!

Another positive is that she can walk from the motor home to work, as it's only about 1/2 mile. Bringing the bicycles isn't working out to be my best idea, as so far, neither of us has used them at all. Several of my shifts end after dark, and riding a bicycle a couple of miles back to the motor home isn't what I consider a very good idea. When Patty works late, I drop the car at the plaza, so she won't have to walk home in the dark. When I say dark, I mean it's really dark here, unless like the past few days, there's been a full moon. If we return next summer, I will bring one of the motorcycles as a second means of transportation, but so far, just having the jeep is working OK.

Speaking of leaving town, this morning, I'm headed down to Flagstaff to pick up some stuff that's not available here. It's been almost a month since I last made the trip, and there's several things that we need. With different days off, it's not likely that we'll be able to do much together, but that's one of the adjustments we committed to, when this summer of work began.

RUDENESS ABOUNDS

I'm not sure if it's a feeling of entitlement because they're on vacation, or if it's something more inherent to their nationality, that makes people act without regard to simple courtesy, and politeness. Whatever the reason, the lack of civility and respect for others is in abundance among the crowds here at the Grand Canyon.

When Patty and I worked the 4 summers (04-07) in Skagway, Alaska, we saw folks from all over the world coming off the cruise ships. After awhile, it was difficult not to form opinions about the different countries with respect to the people and their attitudes. That same analysis is starting to take place, as I again deal with people from the far reaches of the globe.

As we really ramp up for the busiest part of the summer season, we're starting to see larger and larger crowds on the buses. When you throw a lot of people together, sometimes having to wait in line, or having to stand when seats aren't available, it's a recipe for potential conflict.

I think most everyone will agree, there's nothing more irritating than when waiting your turn in line, someone comes along and tries to cut to the front. That's exactly what happened yesterday, as I was pulling up to the Hermits Rest Transfer stop in the Village. When I opened the front door, a couple of individuals literally forced their way past the front of the line, squeezing into the bus in front of about 100 people. I almost couldn't believe it, and my reaction was quicker than instant. I was out of my seat faster than you can say lickity split, and stopped these two male individuals before they got 3 feet into the bus. When I started to read them the riot act, I quickly saw the blank look on their faces, and realized that they didn't understand a word I was saying. It came down to me pointing to the door, and giving them both a gentle nudge toward it. When they stepped off the bus, they transitioned from my indignation to the verbal rath of the crowd, as they went to the end of the line. What's up with people like that?

I could go on about general rudeness, and be more specific regarding which nationalities seem to be at the top of the list, but that's not where I'm headed. I often think to myself - would I act that way? When the answer is no, then my thoughts tend to be condemning of that person or persons. It's pretty rare when I'm verbal about some one's disrespectful actions, or behavior, but this just might be the summer when my quiet demeanor becomes a little bit louder!

CRUISIN THE CARIBBEAN

It's done! All of the necessary reservations have been made, we're cruisin the Caribbean for a week this December on the Carnival Glory. We sail out of Miami with stops in Cozumel, Belize, Honduras, and Grand Cayman.

We've been planning this trip for a couple of years, with the original intent of taking all of our kids and grand daughter with us. As it turns out, Patty's son David, can not get the time off, but at least the two of them got to take a trip to Greece together last year. At that time, Dave was in between jobs, and has since transitioned to Memorial Hospital in Modesto, CA. With little seniority (there's that word again), unfortunately, he won't be able to get the time off.

My sons Mike and Marc, with their wives Amy and Chandra, and our grand daughter Laila, are all set to go. I've made the final reservations for the cruise, the flights, the hotel in Fort Lauderdale, and even the limo to take us to the cruise ship, and pick us up when we return.

As I mentioned, this has been in the works for a couple of years. We were holding off until Laila was a little older, and by the time we sail, she will be 6. It's going to be a busy fall for her, as Mom and Dad are taking her to Disneyland for her 6th birthday in October, then a cruise in December, and the Christmas Holiday right after the cruise.

This will be our 6th cruise, and 3rd to the Caribbean. In our 31 years together, Patty and I have gone on different cruises about every 5 years. The last one was 2 week journey from L.A. to San Juan, Puerto Rico through the Panama Canal, and ranks right up there with one of the best.

We're really looking forward to spending some time with our kids and grand daughter, in an environment where most everything is taken care of. Even though it's several months away, I'm sure the time will pass quickly, and we'll be packing our bags before we know it.

SUNSETS, DEER & ELK

Two days ago, I was driving a bus on the Hermits Rest Road (Red Route), when I had to stop at the Abyss for a few minutes, in order to readjust my time schedule. It just so happened that the adjustment coincided exactly with the sunset over the rim of the canyon. Not the best place to view the sunset at the Grand Canyon, but still not bad. Once again, my camera is very limited in it's capabilities, but after enhancing the scene on the computer with a little more light, well, you get the picture.

Sunsets are a big deal here, I think primarily because of the fact that there is so much scenery below where the sun sets on the rim of the canyon. Most sunsets are viewed simply on the horizon, but here, there is such a beautiful scene below the horizon, (which my camera doesn't capture), that the setting of the sun is enhanced by the magnificent scenery of the canyon. On most days, hundreds, if not several thousand people, flock to various points on the south rim for a view of this natural phenomenon.

Yesterday was my Cover Bus day, and after doing a couple of runs on Hermits Rest Road, I parked near the Back Country Information Center, waiting for a call from the dispatcher. It was just about dark when the call came, and as I was preparing to leave, I spotted several Mule Deer in front of the bus. It was a little too dark for any good pictures, but at least you can see the critters, as they ate their way past where I was parked.

Just as I pulled out, I spotted a female Elk with two newborns in tow. We've been seeing baby Elk during the past couple of weeks, and it's interesting that they, much like Deer Fawns, have a lot of spots on their bodies. As I rounded the corner, the Mother Elk and her kids, integrated themselves into the small Deer herd, which I had not seen before. In the past, I have always seen them by themselves, or within their own group.

Today is officially the one month milestone of our summer here at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. One down, and about 3 to go.