SAMI & LOTS OF ANTLERS

After my 4 legged alarm clock awakened me at a little before 5am, we stepped out the door to be greeted by 5 Mule Deer, all gathered around the motor home. Even though this is not an uncommon occurrence, I decided to step back inside and retrieve my camera, since it's usually one or two hooved critters, not five.

Sami doesn't have a lot of interest in these much larger animals, but one of the young Bucks was very curious about this little Canine. Keeping in mind what happened last year, when one of the female Elk struck Sami on the top of the head with one of her front hooves, I kept the leash tight, ready to quickly yank her out of harms way. The two got pretty close, but there was no aggression on the part of the inquisitive Deer. Moments later, Sami decided she would much rather go back to sniffing the ground, instead of having a face to face with this animal that has funny looking things sticking out of it's head.

The Deer and the Elk at Grand Canyon National Park, are what we call humanized, and have very little fear of us. When I was returning to the motor home after taking Sami for a short walk, I had to almost push one of the Deer out of my way. Unfortunately, their approach to the roads and vehicles is very similar - not much fear. As a result, several of them are hit by vehicles every year. I guess if there's any good to that, the park service uses the road kill, as carrion sustenance for the California Condors that live here at the Grand Canyon.

"OK dad, get these critters out of my way, I have to go potty"!

This is where I had to scare one of these guys away, so we could get back inside the motor home.

Our morning greeting party consisted of 5 Mule Deer. Four are pictured above.

A few mornings ago, while sitting at the kitchen table, I took a couple of pictures of this very large Bull Elk, as it wandered by the side of the motor home. Seeing these magnificent creatures around our motor home, has become pretty routine, but they are still an impressive sight. We don't see the big males as much as the females, and I suspect it's because they are far fewer in number.

Today is my second day off, and the one day of the week that Patty and I have off together. Not sure what's on the agenda, but I'm sure we'll find something to do.

IMAGES FROM THE DRIVERS SEAT

I always have my camera with me, and during the last couple of days, I've been taking some pictures from various bus stops, mostly on the scenic Hermits Road. Except for the last two pictures which were taken yesterday evening from outside the bus, the others are from my position behind the wheel of a 40' transit bus.

Even though the routes, and the routine is pretty much the same, every day presents itself with something new. The ever changing dynamic of the public is what keeps every day different, and often, quite challenging. Even though most of the questions can be answered with a prerecorded sound bite, trying to communicate with some of our foreign visitors often resorts to primitive sign language. It still blows me away how many people who come to the Grand Canyon are from different parts of the world. Fortunately, most everybody speaks at least a little bit of English.

The first two pictures were taken from the Bright Angel Lodge bus stop, shortly after the arrival of the daily train from Williams.

The west end of the Hermits Road, at the Hermits Rest bus stop.

Windshield view from the Hopi Point bus stop, with two bicycles on the front of the bus.

This fellow was catching a few winks, as viewed through the windshield at the Mojave Point bus stop.

The westbound Powell Point bus stop affords the drivers with one of the best views of the Grand Canyon, without leaving the drivers seat.

This view is looking back at the Grand Canyon Village from the Trail Head Overlook bus stop.

With a few minutes to kill while waiting for the sunset viewers yesterday evening at Hopi Point, I got out of the bus and took these pictures. On a typical summer evening, anywhere from a few hundred, to perhaps over a thousand folks make the journey to Hopi Point for a view of the sun setting over the rim of the canyon. Driving a free shuttle bus here at the Grand Canyon National Park has been a two year cumulative experience, that has broadened my perspective of not only the discipline necessary to do the job, but the wide range of personalities inherent to the people who come here from all over the world.

SHOPPING IN FLAGSTAFF

These signs in downtown Flagstaff give folks lots of choices.

One of the good things about living at the Grand Canyon, is the fact that we're far away from any metropolitan hustle and bustle. Being isolated from all of the city conveniences at one of the earths natural wonders is both good and bad. One of the bad things about living at the Grand Canyon, is the fact that there are very little choices when it comes to shopping for stuff like food, hardware, electronics, etc. The General Store where Patty works, offers a pretty good selection of the basics, but with a size only a fraction of most supermarkets, there's a lot they don't have.

About once a month, we head off to Flagstaff, where in two stops at the local Wally World, and then Sam's Club, we usually load the back of the Jeep pretty full of mostly food. Yesterday was one of the those trips into the "big city", and we were back at the canyon by 3 pm.

It's hard to believe, but in about another week or so, our summer will be half over, and it will be time to move on to some different adventures. Our plans are always subject to change, but it looks like right after we leave the canyon, we'll be hosting an RV/Train Rally in Williams for our FMCA Golden Spike RV Chapter. When that's over, we have a two week reservation at the Thousand Trails RV Park near Sedona. Our pal Nancy plans on joining us here at the canyon in her new motor home, and for the subsequent travels to Williams and Sedona. When we all leave the Thousand Trails Park, we'll head for Lake Havasu for a few days, then Patty will leave with Nancy, for the trip back to Nancy's home in Atwater, CA. The two of them are leaving in early Oct, to spend a couple of weeks in Hawaii at Nancy's condo, then I'll pick up Patty in the motor home when they get back in late October. Wow, our schedule is pretty full for the months of Sep and Oct. It'll be good to be home for the holidays, and most of the winter.

A LINK TO MY FATHER

First of all, NO, I haven't given up on the blog. With both of us working 40+ hours a week, there simply isn't anything new to write about. I suspect that will pretty much be the case for the next couple of months, until we leave the canyon in early September.

One of the projects that I've had in the back of my mind for several years, has been to get my fathers military record, and put together a shadow box, commemorating his service during World War II. The only information that was ever passed down to me, was that he enlisted in the Coast Guard, and served in the South Pacific during the later years of the war. I didn't know what his rank was, or what medals he earned. I had been given a small banner with the name U.S.S. Celtic, and always assumed that was the ship he served on. I also have a large document that my son Marc had framed, that commemorates my dads crossing of the international date line on the ship, the U.S.C.G.C. Hermes. Those are the only two tangible pieces of evidence in my possession from his military service. I can remember my Grandmother, (his mom), saying on many occasions, that he survived several South Pacific battles during the war, only to be killed on a highway, in a motor vehicle accident.

I first tried to find his military record on the Internet, but ran into several roadblocks. What I did find out was a way to request a hard copy of his military record (DD214). I printed out the form, filled in as many blanks as I could, and sent it along with $20 to the military archives division in St. Louis. A few weeks ago, two copies of his DD214 arrived in the mail, and I began to put together an order with Medals of America, a company that specializes in all things related to the military. The shadow box and all of the medals, plaques, patches, and medallion showed up a few days ago.

Yesterday, I put it all together, and the pictures reflect the finished product. When we get home, this display will hang next to mine, and will be a reminder of a small part of my fathers life, that due to tragic circumstances, I was never able to be involved.

Even though at the time I got drafted into the Army in 1966, I wasn't overly enthusiastic about serving in the military, I can now say that I'm proud of my service, and proud that both of my sons, Mike and Marc served honorably in the Army. The fact that Mike retired as a Chief Warrant Officer just adds to the tradition of my families military service.

My father enlisted in the Coast Guard when he had just turned 17, entering the military on October 22, 1943. He was honorably discharged after the war on April 2, 1946, and he and my mother were killed in an auto accident in mid December of the same year. He was only a few months over the age of 20 when he died, and my mom was only 18. Now that I have his military record, and this display, one more small part of the puzzle is now in place.

FLYING HIGHER

After our helicopter tour over the Grand Canyon, we decided to stop by Grand Canyon Airlines (GCA), and check to see if they had any standby availability. One of the neat perks for Paul Revere Bus Drivers away from the job, is the deeply discounted airfare on GCA's scenic flight over the canyon. Of course, seats at the reduced price are only offered on a space available basis, and it looked like there might be a couple of seats on the 4 pm flight.

So, we had lunch in Tusayan, killed a little time doing some driving around, and when we returned to the airport at about 3:30 pm, the seats were still available. When we boarded the single engine Cessna Caravan, our lady pilot directed us where to sit, based mostly on distributing the weight evenly. Guess who got to ride up front with the pilot........again! Yep, Patty got the nod to sit in the co-pilots seat, and was two for two.

The Cessna Caravan seats about 10 people, and is a workhorse for small airlines. It's also used extensively by FedEx as a mover of packages from small communities, to their hub airports. One of these planes is based in Lake Havasu, and every afternoon around 5 pm, it takes it's load to Phoenix.

What? You want me to fly this contraption!

Takeoff from the 9,000 foot runway at Grand Canyon Airport was quick, and a left turn took us to the rim of the canyon east of Desert View. From there, we flew over the eastern portion of the canyon, where I got some pretty good pictures of where the Little Colorado River intersects with the main Colorado River.

The Little Colorado River is a bright Turquoise color, contrasting sharply with the dark greenish color of the main river. The Junction of the two is just above the wheel of the aircraft.

This fixed wing flight over the canyon, and the North Rim, is a little less than an hour in length, and takes in all of the contrasting scenery. From high desert, to dense Ponderosa Pine Forest, to the magnificence of the canyon itself, the best way to see it all is from the sky above. In the helicopter, you fly much lower, and the perspective is very much different than the higher fixed wing flight. From the higher altitude, you get a much clearer picture of the entire area, and especially the vastness of the canyon itself. This is truly one big hole in the ground!

The turquoise color of the Little Colorado River is clearly visible in the center left of the picture.

The North Rim offers more "red rock" color, which contrast with the dense green of the Ponderosa Pine forest.

As we approached Tusayan, and the Grand Canyon Airport, we had one last look at the area from high above. This is the third time I've flown over the canyon, twice in a Cessna Caravan, and once in a twin engine Otter. Now, if there was just some way to make commercial flights on big jets as much fun as flying in small planes, then perhaps I wouldn't object so much, when asked to fly for hours on those big buses in the sky.

It was a fun day off for both of us, and was unique, as it was the first time in 2 summers, that we both had a day off together. Hopefully, Patty will continue to have Thursdays and Fridays off, giving us Thursday off from work together.

As Patty exited the aircraft, we both agreed that the cost of the flights was well worth it, especially at the discounted price. The fact that these tour operations (helicopter & fixed wing) are based at the Grand Canyon Airport, and all of their take offs and landings make this small airport just outside Tusayan, the third busiest airport in Arizona. Now, I need to sign up for some overtime, to pay for our extravagant sightseeing adventures!

FLYING HIGH

For the first time in two summers, we both had a day off together, so we headed for the Grand Canyon Airport, and took to the air........literally! One of the things that we wanted to do last year, but never accomplished, was to go flying over the canyon in one of the tour helicopters.

At Papillon Helicopters, the largest of the three tour helicopter operations, we received a 30% discount off the regular price because we both worked in the park, and waited only a few minutes before boarding the Bell Ranger 206 whirlybird. There was one other couple from Holland that joined us on the flight, and it was a picture perfect weather day, for a scenic air excursion over the canyon.

The 20-25 minute flight took us over the Ponderosa Pine forest to a point west of Hermits Rest, where we entered the canyon. The advantage of the helicopter flight versus the fixed wing tour of the canyon, is that you fly much lower, and the detail of specific landmarks is much clearer. Except for the flight over the canyon, which is almost a mile deep, we flew at about 500 feet above the ground.

While passing over the Grand Canyon Railroad Tracks (shown below), I caught a glimpse of the morning train from Williams, as it rounded one of the many corners near the South Rim Village. I'm looking forward to riding this train in September, when it will be pulled by a steam engine, and we join our friends for a Golden Spike Chapter RV rally in Williams.

Taking pictures through a Plexiglas helicopter door window doesn't make for the clearest pictures, but when it's the only option, you take what you get. Patty got to ride in the left front seat, which afforded her a better forward view of the scenery, and enhanced the overall experience of riding in a helicopter.

When flying over the canyon, the scenery is just simply breathtaking, and pictures do not reflect the true visual experience. It's just almost impossible to believe that over the course of 5-10 million years, the Colorado River is what caused this former flat plateau to become one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Seeing it from the air is an entirely different experience, and well worth the airfare.

The north rim, pictured above and below, is higher than the south rim, and the environment, and climate are much different. It's not so much high desert like the south rim, with much greener panoramas, and thicker Ponderosa Pine forest. The north rim is home to one of the largest Mule Deer Herds in North America.

What is known as the "Inner Canyon", where the river is still carving its way downward at the rate of about 1 inch every hundred years, is often hard to see from the rims. However, when you fly over the canyon, you can clearly see how many rapids there are along the river. Participating in one of the week long raft trips through the canyon is still on our radar screen, but in reality, it's probably one of the things on our bucket list that will never be crossed off.


Just before touching back down at the airport, we flew to the east over the small community of Tusayan, where the construction crews are putting the final touches on a year long highway improvement project. Even though I don't drive a bus on the Tusayan route, I know that the drivers who do, will be glad when all of the upgrades are finished.

It seems that roundabouts are the latest rage in highway engineering, with two being constructed in Tusayan. The one pictured below is on the south end of town, and is the first one encountered by folks who are driving up to the park.

And then...................later in the day, we took to the air again, in a more conventional flying contraption. More on that tomorrow.

WORKING, WORKING

Not a whole lot to write about when the workday dominates everything else. My work schedule is Friday - Tuesday, with Wed. and Thurs. as days off. Patty starts work today at 9 am, but doesn't yet know what her days off are. Once her schedule is somewhat established, then we'll settle into some sort of routine for the next 3 months. While we spend most of our time punching the time clock, I think the blog posts will be more infrequent. If there's something to write about, I will. If not, I won't. How's that for a profound statement!

MY LONG DAY

When the bus drivers were selecting their summer shifts, routes & schedules a few weeks ago, I think I mentioned that in terms of seniority, I was #47 out of 57 drivers. I had a few choices, and selected a schedule that gave me Wed & Thurs off. Fri is a Blue Village route, Sat & Sun is a Red Hermits route, and I finish the week with a Blue Village route on Mon & Tues.

All of the shifts are 8 hours, give or take a few minutes. The one exception is Friday, which is an almost 10 hour work shift. Perhaps that is the one reason that this schedule was still open when the bidding got down to me. It's a long day, with 6 rounds (each round trip is approx. 45 minutes), a 45 minute lunch break, then back for 5 more rounds. I start the day at 10:20 am, and finish at about 8:50pm. The good news is that there's a couple hours of overtime, and the bad news is that Fridays are a long day behind the wheel.

I've been working for about a month now, with 3 more to go. Patty checked in with her employer yesterday, and she starts work this coming Monday. Not sure what her days off are yet, but for the next 90 days, work is just a temporary inconvenience to our retired lifestyle. September 7th is our last day of work here at the canyon, and we already have lots of travel, and activity plans for the time period right after summer.

HOME REPAIRS

It's a good thing I took an extra day while returning home to pick up Patty. I discovered that some of my plants and shrubs along the back of the property were either dead, or dying. It didn't take long to figure out the problem. One of the four irrigation valves in the backyard had failed, and it had to be replaced. When I installed all of the pipes and valves several years ago, it was relatively easy. After the hard part of digging the trenches was done, it was simply a matter of gluing PVC pipe together, and laying it where it needed to go. Skip ahead a bunch of years, and with everything back filled with dirt, changing a valve wasn't quite as easy as it was during the initial installation. Eventually, it got done, and with a heavy watering, I think most of the plants were saved.

We loaded up the Jeep, and said goodbye to the house for awhile, as we headed east for the Grand Canyon. With a stop in Williams to do some preliminary checking on a few things for the RV Rally we're putting together in the fall, we then headed north for the canyon. When we arrived back at the motor home, there was a little cat who was really happy to see us. She even rubbed up against Sami several times, as if to say "it's about time you got back".

It was nice to reunite with Patty after 5 weeks of separation, and fun to hear all about her trip to France. She had a great time, and particularly enjoyed the stay outside of Paris, in a small town that I can't pronounce, much less spell. Spending time with her brother Michael, and friend Donald was as they say "priceless". Now, it's back to reality, and a return to work for me, with Patty checking in at her work place today.

BACK TO HAVASU

Yesterday was Patty's travel day from Paris to San Francisco. Today, she boards a flight from S.F. to Las Vegas, where the Havasu shuttle will drive her home. Lots of miles in just a couple of days, but by tomorrow afternoon, she'll be here at the canyon, and in the motor home for the summer.

Later this morning, Sami and I will drive to Lake Havasu, where I'm sure it will be a whirlwind of activity, as Patty makes the transition from world traveler, to a summer workamper at the Grand Canyon. Gracie told me she doesn't want to leave, so her job for the next 24 hours, is to be an attack cat, guarding the motor home against unwanted intruders.

No blog post tomorrow morning, as I'm not taking the laptop on this quick trip, and we've already suspended our phone & DSL at the house.

PARIS TO SAN FRANCISCO

Today is Patty's travel day from Europe back to the states. Tomorrow, she flies from S.F. to Las Vegas, where the shuttle will pick her up for the drive home to Lake Havasu. Starting tomorrow, I begin my two days off, and I'll be making a quick trip home to change vehicles, and then we'll both return to the canyon for the summer. Not sure when Patty will start her job, but according to the last communication with her employer, whenever she got here, they would put her to work.

Speaking of work, I sometimes wonder about what is really going on in this country when it comes to jobs, or the supposed lack thereof. Since we stepped away from our Harley-Davidson Dealership over 10 years ago, we have had little, or no difficulty finding work camping jobs. Even though the seasonal work environment is a bit different, and employers rarely offer much in the way of benefits, the jobs are out there for those that want them. Our biggest challenge has often been trying to choose between several job opportunities. What it often boiled down to was where we wanted to live for part of the year, or, did we just want to stay retired and travel during the summer. When unemployment benefits stretch into the 2 year category, one has to wonder if the entitlement mentality has become the dominant factor. It's a complicated issue, but I know one thing, if I want to work, I haven't had any trouble finding a job.

THE GRAND CANYON RAILROAD

The daily Grand Canyon Railway Train arrives here at the South Rim at approx. 11:45 am, and departs at 3:30 pm. I took these pictures a couple of weeks ago, when the daily train preceded the AMTRAK Steam Special.

For over twenty years (1968 - 1989), these rails saw no action, and only gathered rust and weeds. This 64 mile spur line, built by the Santa Fe Railroad in 1901, was in danger of being abandoned, with the tracks and equipment destined for the scrap metal pile. The automobile had replaced the railroad as the transportation of choice, and on the last train to the canyon in 1968, there were 3 paying passengers. There were several attempts to purchase the railroad from Santa Fe, but it wasn't until 1988, that Max and Thelma Biegert became the new owners. From that point forward, the railroad, it's equipment & properties were revitalized, and today, the train is a business success story, bringing several hundred thousand people to the canyon each year. Xanterra, the largest State & National Park Concessionaire in the U.S., purchased the railroad in 2006, and combined the railroad with their many other services available at Grand Canyon National Park.

I'm looking forward to working with the staff at Xanterra, in preparation for our Golden Spike Chapter RV Rally on Sep 13-15. Patty and I rode the 128 mile round trip from Williams to the Grand Canyon several years ago, but that train was pulled by a diesel engine similar to the one pictured. The train on Sep 15 will be pulled by a steam engine, and for train enthusiasts, that's a whole different ball game. The sound of a giant steamer pulling a heavy load up a grade, is like no other sound anywhere, and is sweet music to the ears of folks like me.

HELICOPTER OPERATIONS

Grand Canyon National Park has its own helicopter, and is one of only a handful of National Parks with this resource. Many of the National Parks have contract helicopter services, but only a few have their own bird. I think the reasons are obvious, particularly when you consider how inaccessible the Grand Canyon is below the rim. Sure, there are a bunch of trails down into the canyon, and rafting expeditions pass through on the Colorado River almost every day during the summer, but roads are nonexistent.

The park helicopter is based right next to our bus yard, and we see it coming and going on an almost daily basis. I'm not familiar with all of the tasks performed by the flight crew of this helicopter, other than rescues, fire related duties, and heavy lifting. Last year, when Patty and Nancy were hiking on the South Kaibab Trail, they came across one of the parks mules that had died on the trail. The only way to remove the animal was by way of the park's helicopter. When for whatever reason, vehicles end up in the canyon, the helicopter is the way that they are extractred. The thing we hear about most, are the medivac services provided by the park helicopter. When a person becomes ill, or is injured in the canyon, the only quick way out is by air.

When arriving for work a couple of days ago, the helicopter was just taking off, and I snapped these pictures.

FIRST ELK BABY ARRIVES

More often than not, the morning is usually the time when the Elk and Deer wander through Trailer Village, as was the case yesterday. These young male Elk (Bulls) were grazing outside the motor home, as I took a few pictures.

What I couldn't get a picture of, was one of the first baby Elk to be born in the park this year. While driving the Blue (Village) Route yesterday, one of the drivers broadcast on the radio for all of us to be cautious around Market Plaza, as a newborn Elk Calf and it's mother were close to the road. While driving past the Yavapai Lodge on my way to the Grand Canyon Visitors Center, I spotted the newborn nursing, while the mother stood within 50 feet of the road. This is the time of year when the Rocky Mountain Elk, and the Mule Deer give birth, and within a few weeks, we will start seeing more and more of these calf's and fawn's alongside the road.

This is also the time of year that as drivers we have to be much more cautious. These newborn critters, especially the fawns, are more apt to jump into the road in front of traffic. It's inevitable that a few of these four legged park inhabitants will lose the battle against the four wheeled occupants of the park road system. Last year, there were 3 bus versus Elk/Deer that I know of, and they were all at night. One of the buses sustained a fair amount of damage, taking out the windshield. Most of my work shifts only take me into a short amount of darkness, so, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I don't become one of the statistics.

DAY OFF CHORES

I kept busy yesterday, catching up on some household cleaning duties, and tackling a huge pile of dirty laundry. After working 7 days in a row, there was a bunch of stuff to do. Even though our washer/dryer combo unit isn't very big, it sure is convenient, eliminating most trips to the laundromat. After 3 loads of wash, I was caught up, ready to start a new pile.

Knowing the little Beagle would be bugging me at sunup, I got a head start last night, and was in bed by 9pm. Sure enough, just like an alarm clock at 4:50 this morning, the canine noises were unmistakable. I'm sure some folks might be able to ignore the early morning wake up call, and just roll over, dozing back off to sleep. I'm just not built that way, and one of the first things that always pops into my head once awakened, is that if I don't get up, that little doggie bladder might just decide to overflow. Once that thought is implanted, the possibility of any more sleep is simply impossible. So, the morning routine is pretty consistent, and the upside is that I have lots of leisure time for coffee, blogging, reading, and other quiet morning activities.

Back to work today, with the next days off devoted to a quick trip to Lake Havasu, and a long awaited reunification with Patty. It's been exactly a month since I arrived here at the canyon, and the days of batching it will soon come to an end.

With a full belly, and an empty bladder, someone has no problem going back to sleep.