After receiving a comment on my last post from my sister, I figured I should probably update my blog...
I am living the canyon now, and have been working for nearly a month. After flying home to Buffalo, I bought a Toyota 4Runner (her name is Betty White, because she's sassy and has a dirty mouth sometimes, but looks very sweet), and drove from Buffalo, through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona... in just about 3 days. I spent an extra night in Flagstaff, AZ to pick up groceries and such before driving up to the canyon. It was a long trip, and not a whole lot to see along the way. I did get to see my sister, and a friend in Ohio, but that was just the first day. I did a lot singing loudly to my favorite tunes, and laughing at weird signs. I have pictures, which I will post.
After returning to the canyon I immediately dove back into work, though my job is different than it was when I left. I give programs every day, on everything about the canyon- geology, history, condors, math (yes, math), biology, and nature. I love it!! Every so often I get to help with special projects.
Every time I've had my first day back in uniform something has happened. My first summer when I was in uniform I had to make a call to dispatch because there was a dispute between two visitors. This past summer my first day in uniform I helped on a rescue of a man who had a heart attack in the canyon, carrying him out in a litter. Now returning to the canyon, my first day back in uniform I helped with a body recovery of a gentleman who fell over the edge. Another ranger and I got caught in a huge thunderstorm just after the helicopter took off with the body, and had to wait it out in a low lying area on the rim edge. We were frozen, though thankfully our uniforms kept us mostly dry.
Every day here is different. Some days I give programs on the condors to a group of over 100 visitors, and spend a half hour afterwards talking with folks and pledging in new junior rangers. Some days are quieter and I spend a lot of time out and about just admiring the canyon with visitors. It is getting colder here, and I am very thankful that my winter uniforms have finally arrived. We had one day where the temperature was around 49ºF all day, and I froze.
Yesterday I was called in to work overtime. We had a film crew from Swiss National TV who had a permit to tape at two locations in the park. While they are on site they need to be escorted by a ranger to make sure they aren't disturbing the area or visitors, or putting themselves or their host in harms way just for a cool shot. The group I worked with consisted of 4 Swiss nationals, and 1 American. They all spoke English, but most of the time conversed in German. And I don't think the German song I was taught as a child was really going to help much...
I didn't have to restrict them very much, which was good, but I was able to give them better information on where the sun was headed, what they were looking at, where would be good at a specific location to get the best view, and so forth. Mostly I stayed out of the way. And froze... it wasn't too cold, but very windy. At the end I needed to unlock a gate and I could barely use my hands.
Visitation has quieted down a bit, which is a nice change of pace. I no longer have a sore throat at the end of every day from trying to talk and be heard over the din of construction, or just the massive amounts of people.
On my days off sometimes I'll drive to get groceries, but also sometimes I'll go hiking. Most recently I hiked into the canyon down South Kaibab Trail to Skeleton Point. Let this be a warning to all canyon visitors- Unless you are used to hiking here, at Grand Canyon, with these conditions, at this elevation, and there are no storms on the horizon, NEVER under any circumstances attempt this hike. I am used to this area, and I know what the canyon can do, and I was still in an incredible amount of pain on the way out and for the next few days. Skeleton Point is listed as a 4-6 hour long hike. I was done in 3.5 hours, but that's only because I know what I'm doing (mostly). That and it was cooler down there than in the summer time, so I wasn't combatting the sun. On the other hand, I did get trapped in a rainstorm and froze out there. That's a bit painful. Also, I completed the hike when I hadn't fully recovered from a fever/cold, which brought back the fever in full force that night. Bad idea... bad ranger.
Well my lunch break is nearly over, so I'd best get back out there!! I'll update again soon, and in the meantime post some pictures.
