Grand and other Adventures!

I made it to the Grand Canyon, North Rim this week on my days off. Drove down there after work on Monday and pitched my tent in the dark again, only to discover that I had pitched it in a reserved site, so had to pack it back up and move to another site. It was a little silly, but the trip was way more than worth it. I was surprised by the prevalence of forested meadows leading for 100 or so miles up to the Grand Canyon. It was so gorgeous and very much reminded me of home (which in this case I mean north eastern Oregon and the wallowa and umatilla national wilderness areas!)

For some unkown reason I woke up at seven the next morning ready to go, so packed up all of my gear and headed the 18 miles further to the park. There was a herd of buffalo that greeted me just past the entrance. I got out and began my trek to the rim, and continued to pass older "RV'r" types, and realized I was up much too early and was now hanging out with the retired folks. Only later was it made aware to me that Arizona didn't believe in daylight savings time, so it was actually 6:30 as I was cruising around the sites.

The sites were absolutely amazing. It's hard to explain the Grand Canyon with words or a picture, as it is with most of the beautiful places in our world. The pictures almost look doctored, but the area is so massive and so indescript in it's quietude. At the north rim there is this .25 mile trail to an overlook, with canyon's sweeping away on either side of it. Along this route there was a sweet elderly man perched upon a rock overlooking the canyon, making watercolor pastel paintings of the rock formations. Apparently, the north rim is way better than the south rim because it is in fact 1,000 feet higher than the south rim, and there are far less people at the north rim.

After wandering about the lodge area, I turned around and drove the cape royal overlook road, which sports glimpses of the Colorado river. Being able to see the river coupled with the backcountry permit I got to hike the canyon to the Colorado in October made me very excited, and I walked around smiling (maybe somewhat awkwardly) for quite a while. After four hours of exploring the canyon, I headed back to Bryce.

I took the long way home, east and north through Page, Arizona, where I stopped at Wal-mart as otherwise the nearest shopping, or major conveniences from Bryce are about 1.5 hours away. Here I was very excited to find some Mirror Pond Pale Ale, as (no offense to Utah) it's 3.2% alcohol beers, just aren't that great. I was spoiled in the beer market back home. After this I circled back west by the southern tip of Lake Powell, and then along the southern side of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and back to Bryce.

Wednesday night is Karaoke night at the "local" pub. A big group of staffers drove into Panguitch (30+ miles away, and also the town with the closest bar) to the Big Fish Saloon. When I first pulled up and entered, the bar gave me the impression of something along the lines of the Longbranch in Weston, OR, meeting a truck stop. It was sparse, slightly unclean, with a baseball cap collection lining the walls, a couple pool tables and of course the locals. But, I soon warmed up to the experience once the karaoke, dancing, and pool playing started. No I did not sing karaoke, but I just don't have my brother's vocal skills or lack of stage fright. That, and I know that I am capable of only about three notes, the rest of the time, my voice refuses to satisfy what would be considered acceptable singing quality standards.

As for the job... well, it's working retail in a bowtie, hmmmm...... It's alright. The women I work with are hysterical. They are mostly 50+ and retired from all over. The assistant manager is from Spain and has lived like thirteen different lives. She was a criminologist for ten years, lived all over the world, has numerable kids that she has fostered over the years and she is a minority business owner (being Spanish and a woman). The others are from all over the United States and just have the most entertaining personalities and really make working fun. The staff in general here is very pleasant and I've spent many a night up, BS'ing with the retired men of the area as they drink their night caps. I love all the stories that I get to hear from all over, with all the different personalities. It's been quite entertaining, and I have made many friends. Even the bartender at the Big Fish asked if I'd like to play monopoly sometime... It's been entertaining.

On the other note, this place has had over a 100% turnover rate. Each day, the employee dining room is coupled with gossip about the newest firing, the newest person who showed up and left, or the newest person who didn't even bother to show up. There are something like 27 original employees still here, of 150 positions. The general manager, the food and beverage director, the gift shop manager, and the dining room manager have all been replaced since the beginning of the season. It's been quite the experience, and the drama is just beginning to unfold. It's actually satisfying my love of gossip magazines (as I can't get them here), as long as I don't become a part of the gossip. So I try to remain swiss-like and friendly with everyone.... We sha'll see what the rest of the season unfolds, as I know it will include many shirts in the gift shop that I must then refold.... SO EXCITING!