Organ Pipe Thanksgiving

Although it felt odd to be out of Albuquerque for Thanksgiving we did have a nice day with our neighbors and fellow volunteers. Ten of us had dinner together in the community building. We had turkey with a lot of trimmings since everyone brought a dish. Dinner and conversation lasted for 2 1/2 hours, so we learned many things about each others lives and RV experiences. Here are a few of the happy diners.

This past week we were off Sunday - Thursday and we have been busy. On Sunday we went on a hike with a fellow volunteer to Victoria Mine. Sherry has been here for a couple of months and is a wealth of knowledge. Victoria Mine was one of  the few mines that actually made money for its owners, silver and gold were mined. The mine was active from the1880's through the 1930's. The pictures are Sherri and Sherry in an old residence and Sherri in front of an Ocotillo.

Tuesday morning we stopped off at the Visitor Center before heading out to Ajo for grocery shopping and a haircut. At the visitor center we met volunteers from the past. Two couples who volunteered in ORPI starting 11 years ago. After a few years of volunteering they liked the area so much that both couples have purchased homes in Ajo and now live in Ajo six months out of the year. They were heading up to Alamo Canyon which is 10 miles north of the visitor center so we tagged along for a short hike and they too like Sherry are a wealth of knowledge. Alamo Canyon was used by ranchers to graze and coral their cattle well into the 1950's. It is a beautiful canyon with a wide arroyo running through the canyon. As we were hiking a border patrol helicopter came by to check us out. I guess we were okay and after flying overhead the agents headed to the hills. It was an interesting experience.

I'm sure we will be seeing these folks often this winter and spring.

We had a nice lunch in Ajo and got our chores done. Yesterday, Friday, it was back to work. It is still slow in the park but that is giving us time to explore and get ready for the busy season starting in January. We do have two weeks of classroom training staring December 19th.
I'll finish with three pictures from near the VIP housing. Ryder and I are usually out walking as the sun is coming up.

The housing area for VIPS and NPS from the hills above.

And last is a nice shot of Organ Pipe Cactus and Ocotillo.

Arrived at ORPI

We have arrived and are set up at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (ORPI). We stayed in Albuquerque for 16 days and did many necessary and fun things. The 5er needed some maintenance which is always fun when it is your home and you have to take it in for repairs, but we now have new tires and a straight frame.
Amy visited for a few days over our first weekend in town and on our second weekend we had a Thanksgiving Dinner with Sherri's family. We also celebrated Erin's 11th birthday.

 

After not playing golf for 5 1/2 months I was able to enjoy three rounds at three of my favorite Albuquerque courses. After not playing for so long I was pretty rusty, but it was great to get out with my friends.
From Albuquerque we stopped for a night in Las Cruces to visit Amy and Jake. We had a nice dinner with Amy, unfortunately Jake had school that night. Mom (Sherri) feels much better now that she knows where Amy lives and goes to school. It was on to Phoenix for three days to see my sister. It had been several years since we had seen each other and it was great to see her new home and catch up on life. We went out to eat, took in a Sunday service at her church and had Susan over for dinner in the RV. I'm not sure she sees why we have chosen to be full-time RVers.
We arrived at Organ Pipe on Monday 11/14 and are settling in, starting our new "jobs" and adjusting to our new surroundings. The pictures below are: The city of Sonoyta five miles south, in Mexico, from the ridge above our RV park. Our site in the VIP RV park which includes a community building and 12 sites that are very spacious. The bottom picture is our first sunset.

On Tuesday, our first day, we took a NPS pickup out on the 21 mile Ajo Mountain Drive with another newbie couple. I will finish this blog with a couple photos from the drive. I'm sure that we will post many more photos from this spectacular loop.

Albuquerque for Awhile

We left North Rim on Sunday 10/23 and after a night in Holbrook AZ we arrived in Albuquerque on Monday. We have been busy working on the 5er and getting ready to head to Organ Pipe. We are supposed to be in ORPI by 11/13. Amy has a break in her cosmetology classes so she came up from Las Cruces to spend a few days with us. It's great to see her and interesting having three in the RV.
It's good to see friends and family and be in Albuquerque. A not so good thing is I went to a Lobo football game today and the worst team in D1 lost to Air Force 42-0. At least the Frontier cinnamon rolls and Lota Burger breakfast burritos were as good as ever. I had a good time tailgating this morning with some old friends.
A very sad note is Mark Taylor passed away this week. Mark, his brother Clay and I went on our first golf trip to Myrtle Beach in 1986. Mark was a golf buddy and good friend. Sherri and I will be going to the Memorial Service on Monday morning. Our condolences go out to his wife Kay and the family.

End of Season

This week has been filled with lot's of goodbyes and closing down the Gift Shop. Most of the services at the North Rim closed on October 16 for the winter. We will be heading to Albuquerque tomorrow and arriving on Monday. Out of the 230 employees there are 25 of us still here. Living and working so closely with people for five months makes it hard to say goodbye. Most of the people we became friends with we will probably never see again...I guess that is seasonal work.
On the flip side it is very cool being up here with almost nobody else in the park. I took a couple of parting shots in the "grassy knoll" and from the veranda.

It's so quiet around the RV park that the deer are foraging in areas that have been too populated up until this week. They are wary of us but let us get pretty close.

We will miss the North Rim and we are looking forward to coming back next year. We are also looking forward to spending a couple of weeks in Albuquerque with friends and family, before we head off to a new adventure in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

Rim-to-Rim

Well we did it, went rim-to-rim Monday and Tuesday. We got up at 4:30a on Monday and we were on the trail by 6:30 in 25deg. temps. As we hiked into the canyon it quickly warmed up. The above picture shows the sun coming up behind us on the North Rim. A friend and co-worker from the gift shop, Anthony, hiked down with us to Cottonwood Campground, he turned around and hiked up from there. At the eight mile mark we took a short detour to a beautiful spot, Ribbon Falls.

Just after Ribbon Falls North Kaibab Trail enters a section called the box. It is a beautiful stretch where the trail winds along Bright Angel Creek through narrow cliffs.

We reached Phantom Ranch by 2:30p and stopped for a cool beverage in the Cantina. It was 80deg when we reached Phantom. We had hiked 14 miles down from 8,250' to 2,400'. We then set up our campsite in Bright Angel Campground.

We were up at 4:00a and anxious to hit the trail. By 6:00 we were off and crossing the Colorado River before sunrise.

The hike from Phantom Ranch to the South Rim is 9 miles and the elevation gain is 4,600'. The first half is a geourgeous hike again along Bright Angel Creek.

At the half-way point is Indian Gardens a nice place for camping or taking a shady break from the heat. The rest of the hike is straight up and is open.

The next stop is the three mile rest area and we are going UP! This photo is from just above the rest stop, Indian Gardens is the trees in the distance, on the flat.

It's a great feeling to get close to the rim, but it is a lot of work to make it to the top. Here is Sherri making her final push.

From this photo you can see the Roaring Springs Canyon which we came down on the north side and where the trail comes up on the south side.

Here is a neat shot of the last section below the rim of the Bright Angel Trail.

We were on the South Rim by 12:30, so in two days we hiked 23 miles in a total of 13 hours, not too bad for a couple of old farts. After finding our hotel room and cleaning up we celebrated with a nice dinner at the Arizona Room, right on the rim.

The next day we played tourists on the South Rim. Sherri paused to reflect on our hike across the Grand Canyon.

We had a great three days and we are proud of accomplishing our goal of hiking rim-to-rim. We took several great hikes this summer and this was the culmination of our hard work. Wednesday afternoon we took the Trans Canyon shuttle back to the North Rim. Here we are hanging out in front of the Bright Angel Lodge waiting to board the shuttle.

It was back to work Thursday for the final push. Almost all of the facilities close on Sunday the 16th and we will be wrapping up and taking inventory in the gift shop through the 20th. Sherri has been asked to work through Saturday the 22nd, doing a final payroll. We plan to pack up on Sunday and leave on Monday the 24th and be in Albuquerque Tuesday.

Snow

The weather quickly went from summer to winter this week. Thursday and Friday we had snow and low temps in the mid 20's. We had to disconnect the water and the heater has been busy. Here is a picture of the light snow in the forest.

Sherri and I are excited about our Rim-to-Rim trek on Monday-Tuesday. I wanted to get a warm up hike in Friday afternoon, but at noon it was blowing, snowy and cold. Sherri said no way to a hike, so I had a lot of convincing to do. We left at 1:30 for a short hike down the North Kaibab Trail. Fortunately for me, the weather changed and we were taking off layers as we hiked into the canyon. Photos from yesterday's hike.

Snow is visible on the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff. Next weeks blog post should have lots of photos from our rim-to-rim hike. Saturday 10/15 is the final night that the rooms are open, so it will be very quite by Sunday afternoon...moving on soon.

Widforss Again

We got our back country permit, Yea!! On October 10th we will hike down 14 miles to Bright Angel Campground, near Phantom Ranch, and spend the night. The next day we will hike out to the South Rim, which is 8 miles up, and spend the night in a room on the South Rim. On Wednesday we will take the Trans Canyon Shuttle back to the North Rim. We are excited and apprehensive about hiking rim-to-rim. If you get tired or hurt they don't send someone to pick you up.
On Friday we went on a fast 10 mile warmup on a beautiful trail we hiked earlier in the year, the Widforss Trail. We did the ten miles in less than four hours, which is good for us. The day was perfect, overcast and cool. The overcast doesn't make for the best pictures, plus there was a fire on the South Rim adding smoke to the overcast. I'll post a few pictures anyway:

The summer rains lead to tall grasses. Taller than Sherri.

The Aspens are too beautiful to not post at least one picture. So here is the Aspen picture of the week:

Since I am working tonight we went to the Lodge last night to celebrate our 28th Wedding Anniversary. It's the first time since the free employee night at the beginning of the season that we have dined at the Lodge. We had a very nice dinner and Sherri got a gift from the Gift Shop, a gorgeous ring. 
Looking forward to seeing those of you in ABQ soon!!