A Visit

In the last post I had completed a rim-to-rim hike with no pictures, since I forgot my camera. Anthony, my hiking partner took a few pictures with his phone so I'll post one in front of Phantom Ranch.

The North Rim has been open a month and everyone is settling into their positions. We are very busy since school is out and more families are taking day trips to the park. We have also hit the point where some employees believe the grass will be greener in another department. Overall I have a great group in the Gift Shop and I don't have to worry about a few malcontents. Managing employees who live and work together makes for interesting issues.

John and Carol paid us a visit this past Wednesday. John and Carol were fellow volunteers this past winter at Organ Pipe. Recently they have been volunteers at Bryce Canyon, right up the road from the North Rim. Wednesday is a day off so we were able to play tourist with them and had a great visit. Above, we are enjoying the view from Point Imperial.
From Point Imperial we headed up to Cape Royal for a picnic lunch on the rim.

Sometimes it takes visitors to get us out and about. After spending last summer on the North Rim we sometimes feel like we have been there-done that. Hope all the dads have a good Fathers Day and I will leave this post with a photo of the Colorado River from Cape Royal.

Rim-to-Rim Again

Last post I mentioned that Anthony, the Assistant Gift Shop Manager and I were going to hike rim-to-rim and that I would be posting lots of photos. Tuesday morning at 5:00AM Sherri drove Anthony and me to the North Kaibab trail head and off we went. About 3/4 mile into the hike I realized I forgot the camera, so much for posting a lot of photos. Instead I will have to write about the hike and if Anthony ever emails the few photos he took I will post them at that time.
The temperature at 5:00AM on the North Rim was 32deg. with a gusty breeze at times. Not wanting to carry jackets made it very cold, but cold would feel great in a few hours. We arrived at Phantom Ranch in 5 1/2 hours. The 14 miles downhill was fairly easy and uneventful. After a break we were on our way by 11:00AM and glad we were making good time.
The first two miles toward the South Rim is flat and parallels the Colorado River. Then it starts uphill and the sun was shinning down with little shade. Our pace quickly declined and we stopped often in what little shade we could find. At one point a back country ranger was concerned about Anthony since his face turns very red with exertion. We pressed on and made it to Indian Gardens by 2:00PM. We still faced the steepest climb for 4.7 miles and the temperature was 90deg. in the shade, plus we would no longer be hiking along Bright Angel Creek which was a great place to soak our shirts and bandanas.
After a nice break we went off to struggle uphill. A struggle it was, at times my mouth remained parched no matter how much fluid I took in and my legs were cramping. By 4:30 we still had two miles to go uphill, but a great thing happens at that time. The rim now offers shade on the entire trail for the final ascent. We made it to the rim at 6:04PM, a 23 mile hike in 13 hours. We were quite proud of our accomplishment and celebrated with steak and cocktails at the Arizona Room, a very nice restaurant right on the South Rim.
We stayed on the South Rim at the Maswik Lodge. Despite some soreness we were able to play tourist for all of Wednesday morning. Anthony had never walked around the South Rim and he was amazed by the different atmosphere on the South Rim in comparison to the laid back North Rim.
We caught the Trans Canyon Shuttle back to the North Rim at 1:30PM and arrived home at 6:00PM. Thursday it was back to work for both of us, with many stories to tell.

East Rim

We are 10 days into the season and it feels like we never left for the winter. The only difference is the new faces of the employees. The weather has been unseasonably warm, by this time last year we had been snowed on a couple of times in May. The fire season might be bad if we don't receive some moisture soon.
The exciting news is the Assistant Gift Shop Manager, Anthony and I are going to hike rim-to-rim on Tuesday. Twenty three miles down and up in one day, spend the night on the South Rim and shuttle back on Wednesday. To get some work in Anthony, Sherri, Ryder and I went out to the East Rim for a seven mile hike, which is steep down and a climb up.

Here is a nice shot of hardy pine trees growing out of the rock plateau.

Anthony isn't much of a pet person but he and Ryder had a good time hiking together. Maybe he will become a dog guy.

The hike was a good warmup with some good shade on a warm day. My next post will have lot's of pictures from our 12-13 hour rim-to-rim hike.
Ryder and Zeke relaxing after Ryder's hike. The cat doesn't need a reason to relax.

North Rim Again

Once again I am falling behind with my posts. We are back at the North Rim, arrived on 4/24. So far we have been busy getting set up for the new season. Most of the employees don't arrive until tomorrow 5/7, and the park opens on 5/15. So, we have had the park almost to ourselves. Last night we went on a "super moon" hike along the rim, it was very cool. We did get in a hike into the canyon with a couple of fellow employees, April and Wallace. April works in the Gift Shop and Wallace is in the warehouse. Last year I posted a few photos from Coconino Overlook and here we are again.

After Phoenix and before the Grand Canyon we stayed four nights in Sedona. Beautiful place with lot's to do. Day one was a drive up Oak Creek Canyon and shopping in Sedona.

The next day we headed over to the funky, quaint, old mining, mountainside town of Jerome. The shops are not all this funky, the bikers hang out at the Spirit Room on Sunday afternoon.

The views from the city are fabulous. This is looking toward Cottonwood.

We had a great dinner at a New Mexican restaurant. Being from Albuquerque we have missed good chile and 15. Quince receives their chile from Chimayo and Hatch. I ate so much it hurt.

To work off our dinner, the next day we went for a nice hike just north of Sedona. Oak Creek and the red rocks make for some fantastic scenery.

The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy busy. The corporate retail department from Forever Resorts will be here for six days setting up the Gift Shop and I have to train 13 people in a week. It's busy but fun as 230 people get ready to open the North Rim.

Kactus to Koi

I've fallen behind in my postings. Time has been spent getting ready for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument's 75th birthday which was celebrated on April 14. At the same time we were getting ready to leave ORPI, which we did on the 17th. We are now in Phoenix and having visited with sister Susan and completed our shopping, we will be heading to Sedona tomorrow for six nights and then it's on to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for our summer work.
Before leaving Organ Pipe, I hiked Mount Ajo one more time with Sardius, Jim and Steve a visitor.

 The view from the top is spectacular.

The climb up is tough, but not nearly as hard as going down over the scree. Fortunately, we only had a couple of minor slips and falls.

Many cacti were blooming. The saguaro are just starting while the hedgehog are in full glory.

A great hike to finish out the season. The lizards are also out in full force. We spotted this desert iguana under a creosote bush right next to the 5er.

Although the high season is winding down at Organ Pipe it was tough to leave. This part of the Sonoran Desert is beautiful and over the past five months we learned a lot about the flora and fauna, and the people. We also made many friends who we already miss. The volunteer community is like no other and after working this summer we will look forward to volunteering at Santa Ana NWR next winter.
While in Phoenix we visited the Japanese Gardens with Susan. Tonight it is out for dinner.
Susan and Sherri sharing a bench at the gardens.

The visitor center sells cheerios to feed the Koi. I will leave this post with a photo of the Koi in a feeding frenzy, with one duck trying to outmaneuver the Koi.

Pinkley Peak

The last week has been about hiking. Monday Brian, Sardius and I hiked the Bull Pasture/Estes Canyon Trail. Sardius is a seasonal ranger and he is writing a trail guide book. Here are Sardius and I at an overlook with Mexico in the background.

Most of the wildflowers are past their prime and the heat is making them wither, but the cactus are just starting to bloom. A pretty hedgehog.

We completed the 4 mile loop and I wanted to continue on, so we ventured off the trail and down a large wash. The wash has a quick vertical drop and we reached a point where we could not continue down.

Instead of going back up the wash we went up the very steep side, shorter and a little hairy.

The hike was good, but it was just a warmup for Thursday's adventure. Pinkley Peak is named for the monument's first Superintendent, Frank Pinkley. This peak is climbed by no more than 10 people a year. There is no trail and it is all find your own way. The peak is about 3,200' and we started at 1,700'. The route we took was up through the wash on the left and up the back side.

 

Looking back down the wash and scrambling up the scree is Jim.

 We made it to the top and enjoyed the fabulous views.

Going down was tricky, it was sliding down on loose rock much of the way. But we did it and we felt good for our accomplishment. Maybe Sardius will include this hike in the trail guide.

On Saturday a Gila Monster was reported to be snooping around the administration building. It is rare to see one of these famous and poisonous lizards, so we all converged with cameras in hand. I'll leave you with two photos of the mad fellow.

Sonoran Desert Symposium

This past week was spent helping out with and attending the 2nd Sonoran Desert Symposium sponsored by the International Sonoran Desert Alliance which is based in Ajo, AZ. The purpose of the symposium is to bring together all the agencies which have a stake in the Sonoran Desert. The attendees included: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, El Pinacate National Park in Mexico, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, Border Patrol, Barry Goldwater Military Training Range, Tohono O'Odham Nation, Fish and Wildlife and the Interior Department, plus many individuals and several special interest groups. As volunteers, our job was to help with logistics and registration, but we also were able to attend many of the breakout sessions and partake in the meals and festivities. It was an extremely interesting week, the number of issues and concerns discussed showed why it is so important for all these agencies to have an open dialogue. The most pressing problem is how Homeland Security and those with a stake in preserving the desert can work  together to lessen illegal immigration, smuggling and Border Patrol's environmental impact on the Sonoran Desert.
The symposium was held at the Curley School which was built in 1919 when Ajo was beginning to boom as an important mining town. The entire town was laid out as a planned community with the Curley School built to house 500 students. When the mines closed, the school fell into disrepair. Much of the school has been renovated to house local artists and their works. Here is a view of the front of the school and Sherri in front of a bougainvillea.

 

On Wednesday the group came down to Organ Pipe for different activities. Sherri and I led a hike up into Arch Canyon, there were 16 on our hike. That night Organ Pipe hosted a BBQ. On Thursday the symposium wrapped up with a dinner and entertainment by the Ajo Ballet Folklorico.

Friday was field trip day. Sherri and I chose a trip to Lago Seco, a dry lake on the Barry Goldwater Bombing Range. Civilians are allowed to visit this archaeological site twice a year and must be escorted by the staff archaeologist. The dry lake was a hub for trading from 1100 to 1450 A.D. and is littered with pot sherds, sea shells and tools. Much of the site has not been mapped and all pieces must be left in place. It really was an amazing place, with the Air Force practicing bombing just over the ridge from our location. The woman with the blue head scarf is Adrian, the head Archaeologist for the Goldwater Range. Below Sherri is examining a pot sherd.

It was a very busy and educational week. Sherri and I learned a lot about the struggles to save the Sonaran Desert and the politics involved. 

I'll leave this blog with a photo of Ryder getting comfortable on the couch....he does know how to relax.