Off the clock at the Grand Canyon

My agreement with Tracy was that I would take a few days off when Norm came out to AZ. I knew from riding through here that I wanted to see some of the spectacular sights in AZ and NM. So this morning I said goodbye to the riders and staff as they left Flagstaff. It felt like I was saying goodbye to family. And the staff are family. And the riders are important to me. I wonder how their day went riding to Holbrook. I hope they had tailwinds.

Norm and I drove up to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. I have to say when you walk through the pine forest and then all of a sudden you see the canyon it is truly breathtaking. No words can describe it. We walked along the rim for quite a ways. The park service had great displays along the way showing the types of rocks in the strata. And some of the layers are over 1.7 million years old. At one spot there was a Hopi Indian center. We were there at just the right time to catch the dances. What a treat.

Tonight we are staying at Tasayan AZ. It is a very small town a mile from the entrance to the park. Last year I observed Brick Susko. He always took the time to talk to the people he met along the route. And he listened to their stories and shared them. This year I am really trying to follow his example. Tonight we were the only people in the bar at the hotel. In fact we had to wait about 20 minutes for the bar to open. That is because the bartender, Bob, was finishing up another job he had at the hotel. Anyway over the course of a couple of glasses of wine, we learned some of his story. And what a story. He was from Veracruz Mexico. After problems with the cartel he immigrated to Canada. He went back to Mexico four years later to get a permanent visa for Canada. After paying lots of money to a lawyer he never made it back to Canada. Now he is in the USA and working to send money to his family and get them here. He has such a wonderful attitude and works very hard to send money to his family in Mexico. What a wonderful story of someone working hard to make a life for themselves. The picture is of Bob and I behind the bar.

On to Santa Fe tomorrow.