and my friend, Gaelyn, of Geogypsy, sent me this birthday card:
She took that picture when we went on our tour of Yarnell, AZ and The Castle there. Isn’t it great to have such good friends?
Life on the road
The Night Before
Kathie seems to be very interested in what Susan has to say, while Ace just watches the fire.
Val looks confused, while Bob just looks amused.
Richard looking down at his feet while Mary holds the leash.
Gizmo checking out Richard’s feet.
The night before we opened, our department had a cookout at the campground. The campground host cooked us some hamburgers and baked beans. We had a fun time, socializing and getting to know each other better outside of the classroom. It was a great time, and helped loosen us up a bit. Of course, the campground was empty because we were still closed. The gates opened the next day, and we haven’t had time to breathe since.
I Think We’re Ready, The Park Opens Tomorrow
Finally training is over! It has been three weeks for me–the first week getting everything ready, then two weeks of actual classroom and hands on stuff. Training always exhausts me, because you have to be alert and paying attention all day long. Yesterday when we finished up, we still had a couple of hours, so we drove up to Point Imperial. It is one of the most scenic parts of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Here I am, hanging out at 8803 feet:
The view changes with every step you take. I often wonder how those first people to see it felt when they came to the edge of the canyon:
This is Mount Hayden, one of the most photographed landmarks in the Grand Canyon. Awesome:
We are starting out the season with only 4 on staff–we should have 7, and they are on their way, but when we open the gates tomorrow, it will only be me, Susan, Val, and Mary. They are all just as excited as I am that we’re done with the book, and getting on to the real thing.
How many times do I have to say, “I just can’t see this enough?” I love this place.
I Won A Prize!
I read a blog called Art Gallery Fabrics. Back on April 30 they announced a giveaway for Mother’s Day. To enter, all you had to do was comment on that post saying what would be a perfect Mother’s Day for you, but they chose the winners randomly. Yay!
My prize is 40 (forty) 6 1/2″ squares in an assortment of all her collections of fabric. I can hardly wait to receive my squishy in the mail. It will be so much fun to make a quilt using those precut squares of her gorgeous fabrics! I’ll post some pictures of the fabric as soon as I get it.
Scenic Sunday
The Grand Canyon North Rim from the Transept Trail on June 7, 2008.
For more Scenic Sunday photos, click here.
I’m Not Having What You Would Call Good Luck With Ordering Online
Back in February, I ordered some gluten free stuff from an un-named company, who took For. Ev. Er. to get my products to me. I did get them in good shape, but it took from February 11th, the date I placed the order, until March 3rd to receive. I said never again from that company.
When we arrived at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon on April 26th, to begin working again, I decided to order some things from Amazon.com. The package was delivered in good time, less than a week, actually, which is amazing because of where we live right now. But, when I opened the box of Amy’s Tomato Bisque Gluten Free Soup, more than half of the cans were bent.
I don’t eat foods that are in bent cans, especially if they contain tomatoes. I was always taught that it was not a good idea to do that.
I went online to do a return, and found out that Amazon does not take returns on groceries. So, I sent them an email, telling them that I have to eat a gluten free diet, that I live in a remote area, that I ordered this product from them so I would have something to eat for my lunches, but that the order was received damaged. They replied that they are sending a new case, free. That sounds like good customer service to me.
I Don’t Think The Trailer Is Level…
We Have Arrived
A balanced rock in Marble CanyonJust wanted to come by here and let you all know we arrived safely at the Grand Canyon on Saturday afternoon. The wind died down a bit in the morning, so we left Flagstaff. Everything was fine until we rounded the bend in Marble Canyon, and were in a head wind. It was blowing about 45 miles per hour, and made it feel like the brakes were on. I have never experienced anything like it! That was the worst of it though, for about 20 miles, then it was fine the rest of the way. The trip up the plateau went smoothly.
There was one tree blown over and lying in the road, but we went around on the other side with no problem. There was not nearly as much snow on the ground as last year when we got here.
The weather has been warmer, too. I started working on Monday, after sitting on my behind all winter long. Let me tell you, with the high altitude (8800 ft) and the lazy winter, I am wiped out when I get home! Add to that the 15 pounds I gained over the winter, and well, I have to get into better shape. My pants are way too tight! Training the newbies starts this coming Monday. Can’t wait to meet all the new co-workers. It is going to be another fun season, I just know it.
I had ordered our telephone service way back on April 14th, with a requested installation date of April 24th, our planned arrival date. When we got here on Saturday, the 25th, the phone wasn’t working. Repair service told me there was “trouble on the line”. So when they sent someone out, they discovered they had installed the service at the wrong address. They fixed all that yesterday, so now I have my telly and am back on line. Yay! But why on why can’t a telephone service get it right???
