Grand Canyon

Happy 4th of July, Y’all!

While the 4th of July means going to a parade, going camping, spending the day at the lake, or just cooking out in the backyard with friends and family to most of you, my day will be spent in uniform, at the entrance station to one of the most beautiful national parks in this country. I love that living in the United States means that I can choose to live full time in an RV is want to, and that I can work at this gorgeous place. Even if it means I have to work on the holiday, so be it.

north rim grand canyon — the canyon in all her glory!

and because I work here, of course I get to live here for 6 months out of the year. Here is my backyard:

And there were people who thought I was crazy to want to live this life!

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Spring Snow At The Grand Canyon

Karen · 11 Comments

The last three days have been very windy and cold up here. The weather forecast yesterday was for up to six inches of snow by Thursday morning. We woke up today to this:

snow at the north rim may 18 2011 — Snow at the North Rim May 18, 2011

This is on Hwy 67 headed north out of the park this morning:

We had to go to Kanab to buy groceries, so we tried out the 4 wheel drive on our new truck. Although there was a lot of snow on the road, it wasn’t slick or slippery. Still, it was a scary ride down that plateau.

hwy 67 headed north may 18, 2011 — Hwy 67 north May 18, 2011

That’s a color picture, by the way. It looks more like Christmas than springtime! There were lots of cars going out, not so many coming in.

We bought all the groceries, filled up with fuel and headed back in record time. We wanted to get back home before it got dark and the temperature dropped. The sky looked ominous up ahead on the plateau where we live:

storm on the kaibab plateau — Storm clouds over the Kaibab Plateau

As we drove up Hwy 89A towards Jacob Lake, we went through a snow thunderstorm. It was very weird to have flashes of lightening and claps of thunder while it was snowing furiously. I don’t think I have ever encountered thunder snow before.

Hwy 89A going towards Jacob Lake May 18, 2011 — Hwy 89A, headed south towards Jacob Lake May 18, 2011

We passed one car that had run off the road into a ditch. I’m surprised there weren’t more. This road has a lot of traffic this time of year with visitors going to the North Rim.

Hwy 67 south towards the North Rim May 18, 2011

We finally made it home to the North Rim. This is on Hwy 67, about a mile inside the park. The ranger at the gate said they had plowed the road twice while we were gone. About a mile past this point, the road was clear.

I was not surprised by this snow. Last year, the last snow of the season was on June 12. I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least one more snowstorm this year.

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Would You Do This?

Karen · 9 Comments

I found this news item while reading through Facebook this morning. Swiis adventurer Yves Rossy flew across the Grand Canyon on the Hualapai Indian Reservation (on the western end of the Grand Canyon) wearing a “jet suit”. I don’t think I would do something like that, I am too much of a scaredy cat for it. As a matter of fact, I think he is a crazy man for doing it.

He was in the air for about 8 minutes. That would be 8 minutes too long for me. I am happy enough to be standing on the edge. What do you think? Would you do this?

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I Got Some New Software

Karen · 4 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, Amazon had PaintShop Photo Pro X3 on sale for the ridiculously low price of $25 and free shipping. I have wanted this for a long time, so I went for it. I finally got around to loading it on my computer today and play around with it. I am loving it, so far. I took this photo:

Fleabane, grand canyon, wildflowers — Fleabane at the entrance station at the North Rim

and turned it into my header up there at the top of my blog. It was relatively easy to do, and I think I like it better than the old one of just green leaves. Plus, that other photo was a free clip art image, and this one is one I took myself. I feel so proud!

p.s. I think those flowers are fleabane–they were growing at the entrance station at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, where I worked this summer. They are only about 4 or 5 inches tall at most, so I had to get down on the ground and use the macro setting on my camera to get this shot. I have an Olympus 600 SP-UZ600. So, what do you think of the new decor?

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What A Difference A Week Makes!

Karen · 4 Comments

The leaves on the Aspens at the entrance station have turned quite a bit in one week:

P9200028 — September 21, leaves of gold!

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My Turkey Hunt Was A Success!

Karen · 5 Comments

There are lots of wild turkeys here, but they are hard to find for most of the season. In fall, th0ugh, you may see a whole flock of them in a meadow, taking advantage of all the seeds falling from the grass and wildflowers out there. And while hunting is prohibited at the Grand Canyon National Park, but I went hunting today anyway–with my camera. My quest was a huge success!

(if the video doesn’t show up, click on the link to it. )Turkey Hunt

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The First Sign of Fall

Karen · 2 Comments

Yesterday at the entrance station, there were just these few leaves on that aspen over there that had turned yellow. It won’t be long now until the whole roadside is a glowing gold!

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Not Much Going On

Karen · 3 Comments

Another week gone by, and I have nothing much going on. I still have stuff to upload to the Etsy store, but haven’t had time to get it done. No sewing accomplished this week, either. I worked the late shift, so by the time I got home every evening this week, I was just plain pooped. All I wanted to do was eat my dinner and take a shower, then put my feet up.

DSCN4710 — Inside the restaurant at the lodge.

Today we were off, and FabGrandpa suggested that we go to breakfast at the lodge. He didn’t have to ask me twice. The lodge was built in 1928. It has massive beams in the ceiling, and lots of windows that provide great views of the canyon. We didn’t get there until 9:00 a.m, so it wasn’t very crowded. We got a seat by a window, so I was able to get some good pictures.

DSCN4713 — A view out the side window of the lodge.

My breakfast was two eggs over medium, hashbrowns, and bacon. Lots of coffee, too. I could have ordered a fruit plate, or huevos rancheros, or even gluten free pancakes. What I got looked and tasted pretty good.

DSCN4717 — Two eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon.

After we ate, we went out on the patio to take some pictures. Yes, I already have tons of photos of the canyon, but it looks different every day, in different light.

DSCN4718 — View from the North Rim Lodge patio 7-14-10

Fabgrandpa took my picture. Yes, I was posing.

Then I took his picture, too.

While we were out there, we saw my co-worker out roving. They gave us all pedometers this week–it’s a health and safety “initiative”, designed to get us moving and walking more. So, Richard was out walking the Transept Trail.

DSCN4727 — My co-worker waaaayyyyy over there on the viewpoint.

DSCN4728 — One last shot before we headed home

We went back home, and did all the grunt work–changed the sheets on the bed, turned the mattress, swept all the floors, shook out all the rugs. Then I cleaned out all the kitchen cabinets and straightened them up, cleaned out the refrigerator, and took out the trash. Yes, everyday life, only at the edge of the Grand Canyon.

We decided to cook out on the new barbecue grill for dinner. I had a whole chicken that needed cooking, so I cut it in half, put on the seasonings, and threw it on the grill. An hour later, it was delicious. I made some oven roasted potatoes with garlic to go with, and our friend, Terry, brought a three bean salad.

DSCN4746 — Barbecued chicken, roasted garlic potatoes, and three bean salad.

Yum, a great dinner, then a beautiful sunset. We sat out there at the picnic table until the stars came out.

DSCN4747 — Our friend (and FabGrandpa's co-worker) Terry

Life is truly grand!

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