It is hard to comprehend how quickly the calendar has flipped from April to September, but obviously it is not a dream because there is Desmond from "Lost" admonishing me to "have a little faith, brother" and he is September, 2008. I know because I peeked. I am also wearing my Dallas Cowboys t-shirt, quite proudly I might add, because today was the beginning of the season. Finally, on Wednesday the 10th, I will turn 54, a September boldfaced date if there ever was one. Parenthetically, I must admit that I usually have some grand plan on where I will be to celebrate, say on a train in Canada or Santa Fe, for example, but this year dining in the lodge dining room at the Grand Canyon North Rim just doesn't carry the same cachet. Been there, done that, but lunch with my buddy, Brody, will be special since we celebrated his 19th in the same place and I bet the memory will be one that remains with us for a long time.
Now that I have that out of the way (the subtle reminder), maybe we should return to Desmond's advice. When I decided to abandon the real world and sign on for this adventure, I always knew that if I spent too much, if any, time worrying about what I would do afterward, I would never come here in the first place. I'd still be in "the rut" at Magee Resource Group. Now, however, "the biggest rut in the world" is about to close for the winter and it is time to figure out what to do. As crazy as it may sound, I may come back. But in the meantime, where do I "winter" as the veterans of this lifestyle put it. I have the resources to simply go to Santa Fe and sit in front of a fire and read, maybe work part-time in a gallery or hotel. Or do i get my affairs in order in Shreveport and take off for three or four months at Big Bend? I turned down the full-time offer simply because they needed me immediately and I need a break. Instead, I can come down after the 1st of the year and fill in until I come back here or simply stay there for good. Who knows? Maybe this is where I should insert a reader's poll or simply have "a little faith" that it will resolve itself in time.
What makes this so difficult is that my typical weekend here is so beyond the norm I will find it hard to come back to reality no matter what I decide.
On Friday, I worked a half day, then changed into hiking clothes and within a matter of an hour was at a spot above the canyon and off the beaten path. You would not know the side trail was there unless you'd been there before and even then it is a bit overgrown in places leading you to think it is a dead end.Once you find it and make your way to the end, you discover this outcropping, wide enough and flat at the end to have a picnic or just lean back against a rock and survey a good part of the east end of the Grand Canyon. It's not the only spot like this, but the easiest to get to.
From this point of view it doesn't seem that spectacular or isolated, but if you hike in from the right direction or leave it after a few hours, then turn around and look back, the realization of what makes this such a fun place to hang out sets in. Take a look below and see just what this little corner of paradise looks like from afar...
Later that night, after skipping the dinner in the EDR, I went to the lodge, ordered a drink and sat out on the veranda listening to the astronomy lecture, but frankly with billions of stars above, just taking in the sheer magnitude of the universe needs no lecture. A can of white paint exploded inside an inky blue bowl and no additional description is necessary.
On Saturday, the entire day was spent on the west side of the North Rim, hiking between two points along the Rainbow Rim Trail. Six miles round trip was a good workout and after Garrison Keillor's broadcast from Vermont, a double bacon-cheeseburger from the Kaibab Lodge north of here hit the spot.
Today, I put in a half day at the office, watched the Dallas Cowboys and filled out my application for next season. And now it's time for bed and in a few hours we start the whole process over again...oh, and this evening we booked a round-trip ticket for Brody to go to the Ukraine for Christmas to visit his beloved Natalia. Only $965 to Kiev from Las Vegas. Privately, we all thought her departure would be the end of this housekeeping department love affair, but like Zhivago's "Lara," she apparently knows how to strum his balalaika!
And finally, Happy Birthday, Adam "Frodo" Wilson. The Old Grey One is only a few days behind you...but still wandering the wilderness doing wizardly things, nevertheless.
1 comment:
Now that I'm caught up after 6 days without checking my RSS feeds (the torture!) let me first start with, Happy-belated Birthday, BB! I hope the day was memorable and this post makes it sound like it is, or maybe, a memory that will mark the beginning of ever-changing adventures.
I'm happy to hear you've applied to return to North Rim for next season. I'd like to say I've known you long enough and had enough deep conversations to think, based on your writing here, that you are really happy to be in the place your at; figuratively and literally.
I am with you on one thing - things will work themselves out. They always do; I've had to learn that with my boys and I've only been a dad for a couple years.
And thanks for the pictures this time. The North Rim is spectacular! I can't wait for the boys to be old enough for a nice, long vacation to that part of the country.
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