RAILS TO THE RIM

The first order of business yesterday morning, was to take Sami over to the RV Park Office, where they have a super nice kennel for dogs and cats. I suspect most of the usage is from folks like us who ride the train. At $23 a day, (weekly rates also), it's a little pricey, but when you're gone from the motor home for almost 10 hours, or more, it's nice to have a convenient place for your dog.

"Wait a minute, what did we do to deserve a jail cell?"
Sami above, Nancy's Jessie & Cooper lower left, and Bill & 'D's' Sophie & Bitsy lower right.
All 5 in the slammer!

With the dogs safely incarcerated for the day, we wandered over to the wild west shootout before boarding the train. This 15 minute skit plays out every morning, and provides a few laughs, as the characters have fine tuned this melodrama over the years. The backdrop is a false front western town.

Two friends waiting for the train.

Our steam engine for the trip to the Grand Canyon was #4960, a 1923 Baldwin locomotive, that has been restored to an almost new condition. It has been converted to burn waste vegetable oil, and if you closed your eyes next to the engine, you could almost smell the french fries. We departed the depot in Williams at 9:30 sharp, for the 2 + hour ride to the canyon.

A picture of Bill Hall after he took some pictures on the train.

Nancy, Bob Tucker, Patty standing, Ed & Anita Price.

Ron & Ann Slavicek, & Bill & 'D' Hall.

We had a crystal clear weather day, with temps in the mid 70's. Upon arrival at the Grand Canyon Village, lots of people gathered around the steam engine for pictures. Our fearless photographer, Nancy, found the perfect angle for a photo in front of the engine.


Ed & Anita took advantage of a tour & lunch offered by 3A, and the remaining 8 of us walked to the Bright Angel Lodge for lunch. After our meal, we walked down to the Red Route, and boarded one of the shuttle buses for a trip up on the Hermits Road. We were able to make 3 stops for different views of the canyon, and then it was time to make the return trip back to the train.

This picture of Bill, 'D', Nancy & Patty was taken from the Trailview Overlook bus stop, looking back at the Grand Canyon Village.

What would a train ride be, without a train robbery? Well, we weren't disappointed, as the train robbers dismounted their horses outside of Williams, and came through the cars, posing for pictures, and relieving those of their money, who volunteered to be robbery victims. Hot on the heels of the train robbers was the marshall, who couldn't quite muster the speed to catch up with the bad guys.

Upon return to Williams, we posed for a picture next to the steam engine. After the dogs were busted out of jail, we headed downtown for a dinner meal at Poncho's Mexican Restaurant, and brought an end to a great day on the railroad.

Left to right -Anita, Ed, Ron, Bob, Nancy, Patty, Bill, Ann, & 'D'.

A VISIT TO BEARIZONA

Bearizona is a relatively new drive through wild animal park, located just east of the town of Williams. It opened last summer, and the reviews from the folks we ran across at the canyon this summer, were all positive. We knew that at some point, a visit to this attraction was going to happen. Yesterday was that time, as our group of 10 loaded into 3 vehicles, and we drove the short distance to Bearizona.

I took a bazillion pictures of all the critters, of which most were native to North America. The first part of the experience was the 2 mile drive through, where we saw goats, sheep, bison, & wolves, to name a few, and all were in huge enclosures that replicated their natural habitat. Seeing these captive creatures in a natural environment is so much better than what you see at most zoos, where cages are the home for many of the animals.

After the drive through, we parked the jeep, and Patty, I, Nancy, & Bob Tucker headed for the more traditional enclosures where there were Bears, Lynx, Racoons, & a birds of prey show. The Bobcats were in jail, because they had figured a way to escape from their enclosure. All of the enclosures were large, giving the animals lots of room to do what they normally do.

There were 12 black bears, all born this year at the park, and they were doing what most kids do, wrestling with each other, and chasing all over the area. It was fun to watch their antics, as they played, and did all sorts of goofy things.

We were impressed with the facility, and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to see wild animals, mostly in a natural setting. Evidently, the park is doing quite well, as the local newspaper had an article stating that 6,000 people visited Bearizona over the Labor Day weekend.

Later in the day, all 10 of us had dinner at Rods Steak House, a family owned restaurant that has been at the same location in Williams since 1946. From the conversation, I think everyone had a good meal, I know my New York steak was excellent. After dinner, we drove down main street, and it looked like the town was very much alive, with people everywhere, and most of the shops still open at 8pm.

It was a good day with good friends, and as the morning sun rises, we'll soon be heading over to the train depot, and boarding our steam train to the Grand Canyon. I'll close with a few more pictures of the critters.

"HANGIN" IN WILLIAMS

We left the Canyon Wed morning, and made the 65 mile run south on Hwy 64 to Williams, followed by Nancy in her motor home. When we checked into the Grand Canyon RR RV Park, Bill & 'D' Hall were already here, parked a couple of spaces away. We hadn't seen Bill & 'D' since January, at the Indio FMCA RV Rally, & it was good to catch up with them.

The Grand Canyon RR Depot & RV park are a block or so from the main drag, which just happens to be the original Route 66. Many of the businesses have embraced the renewed interest in the "Mother Road", and there's lots of Route 66 merchandise in most of the downtown stores. Shortly after we got parked, Ed & Anita Price, and Ron & Ann Slavicek pulled into the RV park, with Bob Tucker arriving yesterday. We all had dinner at Cruisers, which is a converted gas station, with excellent BBQ items on the menu.

Yesterday, (Thursday), we spent a leisurely morning at the motor home, and most of the mid day walking the downtown area, where we found a cowhide rug that just had to go home with us. With all tile floors in the new Tucson house, I don't think we'll have a problem finding someplace to put it. The above picture was taken of Patty & Nancy, as we had lunch back at Cruisers, and the BBQ was still outstanding.

Ed & Anita had arranged for Al Richmond, Chairman & CEO of the AZ State RR Museum Foundation to give us an update on the progress of the museum, to eventually be built here in Williams. At 4pm, Al came by the RV park, giving us lots of information about the planned museum, and all of the hurdles that still have to be stepped over. As with any large project, funding is one of the biggest challenges, and the 25 million museum has yet to break ground, even though a lot of progress has been made. It was an interesting talk, with lots of questions answered, and all of us walked away with a much better understanding about this ambitious project.

Later that evening, Bill & 'D' fixed one of their specialties for dinner, called Mexican Pizza. It was a combination of meat, cheese, onions, & peppers, rolled into a flour tortilla, and warmed on a grill. When they were sliced into smaller portions, the end result was a mouthwatering treat that everybody loved. Bill even fixed a not so hot version for me, but when that was gone, I couldn't resist the temptation to eat a few more of the spicier samples. Thanks Bill & 'D'.

Today, we're in no hurry to do much of anything (it's sure nice to be retired again). At noon, we're all carpooling to Bearizona, which is a drive through wildlife park, just east of Williams. Patty and I have heard great things about this relatively new attraction, and being animal lovers, we're looking forward to the experience. Tomorrow is the steam train ride back to the Canyon.

Yesterday afternoon, we discovered this small dam, and lake just south of Williams.

The Winchester Steak House across the street from the RV park has these longhorns in a small pen in front of the restaurant. Sami was only mildly interested.

LEAVING THE GRAND CANYON

The fire in the sky sunsets will be one of many things that we will miss when we leave the Grand Canyon.

This morning, we'll hit the road for the first time since May. There were times this summer when I thought that this day would never come. Despite my anxiousness to get the wheels on the motor home turning once again, there are lots of things about our two summers at the Grand Canyon that we both will miss. This is such an awesome place, that words don't even come close to describing what you are seeing, when you stand on the rim of the canyon.

But, as they say, "all good things must come to an end", and this chapter will be closed when we pass through the entrance gate on our way south to Williams. We'll be meeting several of our Golden Spike Chapter members at the Grand Canyon Railroad RV Park, and a steam train ride back to the canyon this Saturday is the focus of the get together.

The property that we purchased in Tucson should be closing today or tomorrow, and the move from Lake Havasu City will pretty much dominate our activities this winter. It's been about 10 years since we moved from CA to AZ, and I know that there will have to be a giant moving sale, in order to get rid of some stuff that doesn't need to go with us to Tucson. Lots to do in the coming months, and it's a safe bet to say that we won't be bored!

DONE

When I left work last night, after a 10 1/2 hr shift, I told the supervisor that I would not be back next summer, and that we would probably be headed for Alaska instead. As with most things, there's always mixed emotions about just about any experience, and working seasonal jobs is no different. The one thing that is palpable this morning, is the fact that I no longer have the proverbial time clock waiting for me to punch any more. That is indeed a good feeling!

Certainly, the one thing that will be missed, is the weekly paycheck that was the result of our working hours. This year, with a couple of extra work weeks, my earnings will once again exceed the Social Security threshold, and sometime next year, I will have to pay the penalty. Last year, I only exceeded the maximum allowable income by a few hundred dollars, and the payback was minimal. This year, that payback figure will be much higher. I guess the good news is that we're in a financial position where we only need to work if we want to. And right now, wanting to work is way down on the priority list. Our next gig will most likely be the Tucson Rodeo in February, and after working that event for many years, we still look forward to spending a couple of weeks at the rodeo grounds.

The next few days will be spent getting our house on wheels ready to return to the open road. Whenever we sit for several months, there's always a lot to do in transitioning from a fixed home, to a once again mobile home.

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!

DOWN TO THE WIRE

Living, and working at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon these past two summers, has been an experience that ranges in the extremes. Now that it's almost over, my reflections of the good and the bad, tend to be a contrast between the natural world, and the masses of humanity who are drawn to this most unique, and beautiful place.

Our motivation for working in different parts of the country these past 10 years, has been the ability to temporarily live, and experience the surroundings of the diverse geographical locations that we have chosen for our summer adventures. When we sort of retired, after leaving Jamestown Harley-Davidson, during those first two years, we continual traveled around most of the United States, as part of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag race circuit. Then, it was off to Skagway, Alaska, where we spent 4 great summers, living in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Next, we spent a summer in northwest Montana, just outside Glacier National Park, where the Northern Rocky Mountains were truly inspirational.

After a couple of summers of travel around the U.S., including a 12,000 mile loop around the country, we both returned to the work place here at the Grand Canyon. Now that we both have just one more day to work, I think we have mixed emotions about leaving this most beautiful, natural wonder of the world. Getting away from the masses of people who flock to the Grand Canyon will be a welcome change. Dealing with the public, a large percentage from different countries & cultures, has been a much bigger challenge than driving a 40' bus around the narrow roads of the park. After two summers of moving huge numbers of people, I'm beyond ready for a little peace and quiet.

Next summer, and perhaps for many summers to come, working will not be on the agenda, and travel will be the focus of our journey's away from Arizona. We're both looking forward to returning to Alaska next year, where we both have many pleasant memories of living in one of the most unique small towns in America.

As we prepare to leave the Grand Canyon, and start to focus on this winters move from Lake Havasu City, to Tucson, I'll leave with a few images of the Grand Canyon, where we have enjoyed living these past two summers.

ONE CANYON, TWO FRIENDS

About a week ago, our friend Nancy (kissackadventures.blogspot.com) arrived here at the Grand Canyon, in her new Allegro Phaeton, diesel pusher motor home. This is her longest venture away from home in Central California since she got the new rig, and she's planning on staying here until we finish our jobs on Sep 7th. We've been friends for over 25 years, and Patty and Nancy have always shared many of the same interests, like photography, antiques, travel, and lots of other stuff. Speaking of travel, when we get back to Havasu late next month, the two girls are going back to Nancy's in her motor home, then, they're flying to Nancy's condo in Maui for a two week stay in early October. With the purchase of a new home in Tucson, and all that goes along with that, I have a hunch that this winter is going to be quite busy.

A BIG MOVE

Yes, we are still alive and well. As I've mentioned several times, with both of us working full time here at the Grand Canyon, the subject matter of any blog posts are pretty limited. As a result, my decision to only post on a very limited basis is where we are today.

The big news is that we are moving to Tucson, AZ! The idea of moving closer to our kids Marc & Chandra, and our only Grandchild Laila, has been gaining momentum for the last couple of years. We finally decided to pull the trigger several weeks ago, and began the search for a property to move to. We found a home on 4 acres, southeast of Tucson in the small community of Vail. It's about a 15 minute drive from Marc & Chandra's home, and we're in the process of dealing with all of the paperwork and logistics of purchasing the property. Doing all of this long distance, while still working, only complicates the process. However, with the technology of the day, signing documents, and the speed of email versus snail mail, certainly speeds up the process.

We haven't put our house in Lake Havasu up for sale yet, and will deal with that when we finish up with our work commitment on Sep 7th. The good news is that it's a great time to buy property. With home values way down from where they were a few years ago, the downside is that it's not a great time to sell. Fortunately, we don't have a mortgage, and even though we probably will not get a full return on everything that we have invested in the Lake Havasu property, at least whatever we get, will go in our pockets.

The reality of living closer to Marc, Chandra, and Laila is pretty exciting to both of us. With Laila turning 7 in a couple of months, the window of being active Grandparents with our precious little girl, is only going to be open for so long. In a few years, when she becomes a teenager, priorities will change, and our role in her life will also change. This was a big factor in our decision to move closer, and have the opportunity to be more involved. As we get older, I think this decision to move closer to part of our family, will end up being very positive.

ARIZONA MONSOON

View through the bus windshield, from the driver seat.

Beginning in mid summer, usually around the middle of July, the skies start to cloud up, and the thunderstorms start to roll in. Here at the Grand Canyon, the last few weeks have brought almost daily thunderstorm activity.

Yesterday, while driving a Blue Route Bus in the village, we had a monster cell pass through the area, and dump an enormous amount of rain, in just a few minutes. These kinds of super cells are the ones that appear in red on the Doppler radar images. While the water was dumping from the sky, there was some brief flooding, and these images are from the trailer village bus stop. This temporary river was probably a couple of inches deep, and needless to say, no one was waiting for the bus while this deluge of water was trying to find somewhere to go.

For an hour or so, this was the scene all over the park, as thunder, lightning, and lots of rain, combined to create a pretty good mess. The weather, combined with lots of wet people, was a formula for minor cases of chaos, depending on where the bus stop was. At the Visitors Center, I had a mob rush the bus in heavy rain, while I was trying to unload a disabled gentleman in a wheel chair. These kinds of scenes were playing out all along the route, as people were trying to get to their destinations, and out of the nasty weather.

After the storm had passed, the good news was that most people had given up on using the bus system, and the rest of the day was relatively calm. These kinds of storms are fairly common in Arizona, and the majority of annual rainfall totals are picked up in July & August. Speaking of August, just a few more weeks to go, then it's back to being retired! Yipeeeee!

ALIVE, & NOT SO WELL

A few days ago, we made a spontaneous decision to drive to Tucson, and stay overnight with Marc, Chandra, & Laila. It had been several months since we had seen the kids, and our Granddaughter, so, with two days off together, we made the 6 hour drive.

When we arrived, one of the things we discovered was that Laila was saving money for some sort of gizmo thing, and was learning the value of earning money, by actually doing certain chores. What a concept! Maybe we should send a few million welfare recipients to Marc & Chandra's for a lesson in WORK equals pay. With that in mind, we decided that since we had Sami with us, we asked Laila to petsit for the next 24 hrs, which didn't take a lot of persuasion. In addition to playing dressup, and other things, she also did the less glamorous things, like, well, you know, picking up certain stuff. When she got payed the next day, she was only a few dollars short of her goal.

A cool whip spray in the mouth kind of missed the mark.

Laila is wearing her new shirt that Patty brought back from Paris, and her new Navajo Jewelry that we picked up on our recent trip to Cameron.

We had a great, short visit with the kids, and then it was back to the canyon. When we were nearing the National Park, we saw signs of a recent hailstorm, that turned part of the scenery white. By the time I took this picture, we were almost past where the storm had dumped most of the white stuff. The last few days have produced several thunderstorms, and the severe fire conditions have eased a bit. The park has lifted the ban on campfires, so we're all feeling a little more comfortable, now that the monsoon season is upon us.

The downside of the quick trip to Tucson is that I picked up a summer cold, and going back to work with a sore throat, and congestion, was not at the top of my list of things to do. This morning, I'm feeling better, but unfortunately, the inevitability of me passing this to Patty has become a reality. Hopefully, we didn't leave anything behind in Tucson.

BREAKFAST AT THE EL TOVAR

After a week of us both working, finally a day off together. Yesterday morning, we met Beatriz, (one of my co-workers), at the El Tovar Dining Room for breakfast. This was the first time in two summers that we had patronized the famous lodges restaurant, and we weren't disappointed. Patty had Trout & eggs, I had an omelet, and Beatriz had eggs Benedict with salmon. We spent about 2 hours visiting, and then, we decided to drive to Cameron on the Navajo Indian Reservation.

Cameron isn't a large community, but the Cameron Trading Post has been there for a long time, and many of their wares are authentic Navajo arts and crafts. The price of some of the blankets, pottery, and baskets were in the several thousands of dollars. The trading post includes a restaurant, motel, and a gas station. Located on Highway 89, at the Little Colorado River, I got a few pictures of the old suspension bridge over the river gorge. Even though the bridge is fenced off to the public, at least it wasn't torn down when the new highway bridge was built.

The old bridge has a new purpose, supporting a gas pipeline.

On the drive back to the park, we stopped at Lipan Point, where I snapped a few pictures of this magnificent canyon. This particular part of the canyon is near Desert View, and is at the eastern end of the Grand Canyon National Park. This is where the inner gorge begins, and as the river continues to cut it's way farther down into the earth, this deeper part of the canyon is about 1,000 feet deep near the South Rim Village.

This white water is the Hance Rapids, and they are about 1 mile in length.

Looking east from Lipan Point.

It was nice to see some new scenery, even if only for a few hours. Today, I'm back to work, and Patty has one more day off. In some ways, the summer is passing very quickly, and in other ways, it's dragging ever so slowly. The slow part is raising it's ugly head this morning, as I head back to work for the next week!

THE BIG SCREEN

Just outside the south entrance to Grand Canyon National Park, sits the little community of Tusayan. It's mostly a service oriented town, with motels, food establishments, and other businesses that cater to the traveling public. The National Geographic Visitors Center offers an IMAX, 40 minute movie about the history of the Grand Canyon, and arguably, other than the Grand Canyon itself, is the most popular attraction in the area. It's billed as the most watched IMAX movie of all time.

Since it had been a year since Patty and I had seen the movie, we decided that we would drive into Tusayan, and watch it again. As with all IMAX Theaters, the screen is huge, and when you sit directly in the middle, there almost isn't anything outside your peripheral vision. The action images taken by air (helicopter, I suspect), are almost as if you are in the aircraft. There have been many documented cases of people getting motion sickness at IMAX Theaters.

It was a good way to spend part of the afternoon, and the fact that locals who work in the park get free admission, just made the movie that much better!