Travel Blog

I'm back, baby! We finally got the internet up and running on my computer, so I don't have to fight through the mess on Phil's desk to use the computer. Yay! Does that mean I will have updates for this blog more often? Um, sure.

We thought Spring had sprung here in the canyon, but it turns out that's not going to be the case. The weather reports lately have been calling for snow tomorrow, and not just a dusting. Last count is between 4 and 8 inches. But speaking of snow, the last time we got any of import, I had to drive 22 miles to work at Tusayan Museum. When I got to work, I noticed my truck's tires had some fancy decorations:

Pretty cool, right? That almost made up for the horrible, slushy roads I had to endure. Almost. And speaking of the museum, there are a few rules that you have to follow if you want to come in and check it out. No pets, no food, no drinks. So when people walk in with their McDonald's coffee cups, I have to babysit them. One lady came in with the following drink:

This picture doesn't do it justice because of the way the sun is coming in the window, but if you look closely, you will see that there is a crust at the top, and what looks to be mud, sticks and leaves in there. While the woman was looking around the museum in the next room, I had the chance to study her concoction, and, of course, take a few photos of it. (She didn't catch me.) The mug and the straw alone where fascination to me. I described it to a ranger during my break, and she knew exactly what this woman was drinking. My ranger friend had spent some time in a South American country, and she actually owned a few of these mugs and straws. You make this drink by layering leaves and spices and such, and then adding some sort of liquid. She said some folks add sweetened milk to it. And at the bottom of the straw, there's a strainer to keep all the bits out of your mouth. It seems kind of involved to me, but I was intrigued nonetheless. And the ranger (Christine) brought her mugs and straws in to show me the next day, which was very neat.

My last day at the museum is supposed to be this Saturday. I will miss it out there. It's nice and secluded and quiet, and all the rangers who work there are super nice. I may not get the chance to say goodbye to them if the government shuts down Friday night, but we'll see what happens. And for my last two weeks of work, I'm going to be working in the warehouse, away from the public. I think that's a good move. I'm losing my cool with folks, and I still have a summer of retail in the Tetons to get through.

Now you may be asking how we'll be affected if there is a government shutdown. The park will indeed close. All the poor folks in the hotels and campgrounds will be kicked out. Folks who waited months and maybe years to stay down at Phantom Ranch won't be able to go. None of our stores will be able to open. But we have been told we'll still have work, but I'm not sure what they'll have us all do. But anyway, don't worry about us...we'll be fine for awhile. We just hope, if it happens, that it doesn't last too long since our next gig is kind of dependent on the government as well.

Today was our day off, so we went to have breakfast for the last time at the El Tovar. It was really good, as usual. We were hoping to see some condors flying around, but since it's colder than they like it right now, we didn't get the chance. I hope to see some before I leave, but I'm not sure I will. April is usually the time they come up from deep down in the canyon to fool around, but the weather is not cooperating. And Phil and I were going to go down a bit of the Bright Angel Trail, but it was way too muddy and we didn't wear the proper clothes. We're going to suit up right tomorrow, and if we're not buried in the white stuff, we may try again. But while we were nearby, we went into Kolb Studio to get some pictures. I had forgotten the alarm code to the house and set it off, and the manager there was none too pleased about that, but we managed to get a few photos before her frowning drove us away.

I don't know what the big fuss was about. I'm not the first person to set off the alarm. Hee hee.

We weren't sure what else to do today since the winds are pretty gusty and it's kind of cold, so we headed home to do some work around the RV. And we were greeted by a trio of elk right next door. The poor babies shed their antlers, and that's why their heads look so pitiful right now. Phil's going to go for a walk and try to find where they dropped their antlers...just kidding, park service rangers. We know better.

I guess that's about it for today. If we do anything exciting in the next couple weeks, I'll be sure to share.