Hiking The Uncle Jim Trail

On June 9, Jim and I and our neighbor across the street went for a hike on the Uncle Jim Trail. The Uncle Jim is a 5 mile loop, that starts out at the North Kaibab Trailhead. The North Kaibab is the trail that goes down into the canyon. It goes across to the South Rim, where you meet up with the Bright Angel Trail and up to the top of the South Rim. The Uncle Jim Trail takes you through the forest out onto the North Rim, where you can get a fabulous view of the winding North Kaibab Trail. This first picture is the beginning of the Uncle Jim Trail.




One thing I did not like about the Uncle Jim Trail is that you have to share the trail with the mule rides, so you can just guess what it LOOKED like and what it SMELLED like. (can you say peee yewwww!!!) But after about a mile or so, the mule rides turn left and follow the Ken Patrick Trail and the Uncle Jim Trail turn right, so it did improve after that. Here is FabGrandpa standing at the intersection of the Ken Patrick and the Uncle Jim Trails.

I was ready for this hike, or so I thought, because I brought plenty of water and snacks, and it was ONLY 5 miles, right? But, we were surprised by the ravenous mosquitos. They came out after two o'clock, and wouldn't let us rest. We couldn't sit down or take a break at all, because if we did, the vicious little b#$@%r&* were relentless. I learned on THIS hike that I should pack some bug repellent wipes or spray in my backpack. Oh, and another thing I learned is that your hiking partner needs to take their own backpack. Here is the backpackless Jim hiking along on the Uncle Jim Trail:




This view of the canyon is from the Uncle Jim Trail, along the top of the ridge from the first "up" om the trail. You come out of the forest to the edge and see this :

At the top of the trail, near the edge of the canyon, is a lovely field of lupine. They were growing everywhere up there, all in a beautiful blue bloom:

Jim and Gary went all the way to the edge. I was a little afraid, so I didn't go down there. Don't they look like they are observing their kingdom?
If you click on the picture below, you will be able to see the winding North Kaibab Trail, down in the canyon below. You would not believe how many people hike down that trail to get to the bottom of the canyon. And can you believe those shear rock walls? It is an awesome view that just boggles my mind about how this area was formed.



It seems like everywhere I go on the North Rim, I wind up taking pictures of Humphrey's Peak. The mountain in the distance in this pic is 70 miles away, in Flagstaff. It still has a snowcap. When we were on our way up here we camped at a campground on the other side of that mountain.


Here is a picture of my elbow after the mosquitos got through with it. I am still itching over a week later. I will definitely have some bug stuff next time I go hiking!

And, I know this is not an attractive picture, but I wanted to show you that my feet are ok. No blisters, no sores, no cracks. Just fat feet. Oh, and I have to tell you, I have lost 17 pounds since I got here in April, so this hiking stuff is beginning to pay off. Yay me!

Where I Have Been

I know everyone is wondering what happened to me. Several of my friends have emailed and asked if I was still recuperating from my hike. Well, the truth is that my computer died. It just sort of sighed, made a weird whirring noise, and clicked itself off. FabGrandpa and I had to go to St. George, Utah, about 125 miles away, to the Best Buy store there, to get a new one.

We got pretty lucky on the price. For $459 plus tax I now have a brand new Sony Vaio laptop. It is pretty and new and shiny, but it has taken me a while to get used to using Windows Vista. I mean, it took me a couple of days to just figure out how to save a file with Vista. I am no dummy, but why does Bill Gates and Microsoft have to completely change how things work and look? I feel like it is an un-necessary aggravation to have to stop everything and learn how to use things all over again.

So, in the past couple of weeks since I hiked the Widforss Trail, we have been pretty busy: working, hiking, having fun, and I have not been able to tell you about any of it.

I will post tomorrow with some pictures of our hike on the Uncle Jim Trail. That one was only five miles, so I was not so worn out as I was on the other one. We also went to Nevada, and spent the night in Mesquite. I have some beautiful pictures of the trip over there, and IF I can find them, I will post some of them on here too.

I was able to coax the old computer to life long enough to save all my files to CD’s but there were sooooo many pictures that there are 10 CD’s of backed up files. I can’t find a thing. So, between learning how to use Vista, and the frustration of not being able to find things, and still having to load programs on the new computer, it is taking a little longer than I want to get back into the swing of things. Arrgghhh! Computers! I love to hate them!

Hiking The Widforss Trail

One day every two weeks I have a “project day” on my schedule. Yesterday was my first project day. I chose to go on the Widforss Trail hike, to familiarize myself with it so I can tell guests about it. Now, my supervisor told me I did not have to go the entire way, that I could turn back at any time. But, no, I chose to go the entire 5 miles out to Widforss Point, which meant it was a 10-mile hike there and back.

(The first incline on the Widforss Trail)

For one thing, not many people get a chance to take this hike. Not many people get to see the view from Widforss Point. And I wanted to be one of those people. But, I have a confession to make. It was one of the most stupid things I have ever done. I put myself in danger, because I am not in good enough shape to take that hike.

(The first glimpse of the Transept Canyon from the Widforss Trail)

The Widforss Trail is a 5 miles one way, 10 mile round trip, trail that takes you from meadow through forest and along the edge of the Transept Canyon, up and down hills, ending at Widforss Point with a panoramic view of Bright Angel Canyon and Oza Butte.

I learned a lot from my project day, about hiking in general and about myself. Here are a few of the things I learned:

(A view of the forest from the Widforss Trail)

1. Take more water than you think you will need. I did not take enough water, and that fact became apparent on the trip back. It was very embarrassing for me, to be in my uniform out on the trail, and have to ask other hikers if they had extra water. I will repeat this point, both for your sake and for mine: Take more water than you think you will need.

(A real balancing act on the Widforss Trail)

2. Take more food than you think you will need. You use an awful lot of energy when you hike 10 miles, no matter what shape you are in. I had an apple, some applesauce, some cookies, some beef jerky, and some Fritos. I ate every bit of it, and needed more. I should have had at least twice what I took.

3. Know when to turn back. I should have listened to my legs, to my entire body. I should not have let my heart and pride be in charge. They could well have killed me. Yes, that does sound rather dramatic, but it is very true.

4. Walk slower, and rest more often. Don’t go out there trying to prove a point. I wanted to succeed, and in my desire to succeed, took on more than I should have for the shape I am in. Twice I had to lie down on the ground and sleep for half an hour because my feet would just not go another step. And in those times, I was terrified that I wouldn’t make it.

(Deer on the Widforss Trail)

5. I learned that I can walk 10 miles in one day, but that I should not have, and that it was a terribly stupid thing for me to do.

(The end of Transept Canyon on the Widforss Trail)

Now that all that was said, I have to say that I was greatly rewarded for my efforts. I saw some really awesome views.

I met some very nice people on the trail. I ate my meager lunch with a hiker from Alaska. I saw a flock of western tanagers, swooping down into the canyon, and perching in the trees to put on a fabulous bird fashion show of yellow and red just for me.

I had my picture taken by a stately ponderosa pine that is more than 13 feet in circumference.

And I sat on a rock and soaked in the view from the end of the trail.

Most of all, I made it back out, much the wiser for the experience.

Today, on my day off, I am taking it pretty easy. My feet hurt, and I have a blister on the bottom of one of them. My legs hurt, all the way up to my hips. I am unusually thirsty, so I am drinking more water than usual. And I am hungry. I have already eaten breakfast, but I am still hungry. And, I am very thankful that I was able to make it out of the Widforss Trail.

Yesterday Was My Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday. I don’t normally toot my own horn about my birthday. But, this year, when I woke up and started to get ready to go to work, I looked outside and it was snowing! I have never lived in a place where there was much snow, ever. I grew up and lived in Georgia for the first 48 years of my life. So to look outside and see snow on May 24^th, well, that is just different for me.

When I got to the office, my first task for the day was to drive down to Jacob Lake to take some stuff down there. So, I went home and got my camera.

Here is a picture I took out the front windshield of the truck I was driving:

Hooooo Wheeeeee! Now that is some snow!

Here are a couple more pics:

I love the little patch of blue sky showing through the snow clouds in this pic.

The reflection on this meadow lake sure does make it look more like mid-winter than soon to be summer.

This is the entrance station to the Grand Canyon, on May 24th, the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, 2008. It is where I work. Even with the snow, I still love it here.

Today Was A Pretty Cool Day

When FabGrandpa and I left the house early this morning, I told him "I am not taking my camera with me today." It has been a "thing" for him to tease me about taking that camera everywhere. I take pictures of everything, because you never know what you may need to illustrate something with. So, I left without it.

We were on our way to a routine day of shopping, but the routine since we got to Arizona is that we drive 125 miles to go grocery shopping, so we better have a real good list. We stopped at the cafe at Jacob Lake, 43 miles north of the Grand Canyon, to have breakfast.

At the cafe we sat at the counter because the place was pretty full. I struck up a conversation with the lady sitting beside me. She asked me where I was from, and when I said "Georgia", she asked me where in Georgia. I told her "Douglasville." She said her great aunt was a school teacher in Douglasville, and it turns out that her great aunt was Margaret Warren, one of my teachers when I was in high school. What a neat coincidence.

After breakfast, we drove to St. George, Utah to do our shopping. We went to Best Buy, a health food store called Dixie Nutrition (where I found my Pamela's Baking Mix and a jackpot of other gluten free foods); on to Wal-Mart for groceries and a hair cut for me. We bought a new cooler to put our groceries in so they wouldn't rot on the trip home. A stop at the Paiute Reservation for beer, wine and cigarettes completed the shopping day.

As we entered the Kaibab National Forest at Jacob Lake on the last leg of our trip home, we started counting the deer we saw, just for the heck of it. There were a total of 105 mule deer on that 43 miles road. But the coolest thing we saw, after we entered the Grand Canyon National Park, was the biggest beast of a bison, standing in the middle of the road. We stopped the truck, and it looked for a moment like he was going to charge us, but he turned at the last second and ran off into the woods. FabGrandpa and I just sat there, stunned, looking at each other. What a Fabulous day! But wouldn't you know it, I didn't have my camera!!!

My Work Group

The other day we walked over to the edge of the canyon for a group photo. This is the crew I work with. I love them all. I really enjoy my job so far. Don't we all look good?

Snow In May

Yes, it snowed overnight here at the North Rim. A lot of it. And it does not look like it is going to go away today.

Here is what I see out my front door this morning:Yep, it's snow alright!

I Am Finally Back Online!

We arrived here at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon on about April 26th, forgive me if I can't remember the exact date, it has been such a blur! I started training for my job two days later, and man, is it ever a lot to learn! We finally got our telephone and internet installed yesterday, so I have a connection to the world again.

I have AT&T for my cellphone service, but it only gets a signal at very specific spots, all of which are not in my trailer. One is at the helicopter pad at the edge of the canyon, another is in the campground at one certain picnic table, and the other is in the employee restroom. I found out about that one because I had my cellphone in my pocket, and while I was in there, uh, doing my stuff, the phone rang!! It was my Mom, so I answered it, but I doubt very seriously I would have invited anyone else in there with me.

Here is a peek at my morning commute. This is along the Transept Trail. You actually see a side canyon called Transept Canyon here.
I have run into these deer several times. They don't run away, just kind of look at me as if to say, "Oh, it's just you." Some mornings there are about 10 of them. I walk about 9/1o's of a mile each way to the office. Later, when the park opens, I'll drive about 12 miles from the office to the entrance station.

This pic is looking north from the entrance station down Hwy 67, towards the "town" of Jacob Lake, which is really only a gas station and a restaurant/lodge. It is 43 miles to Jacob Lake.

This one is looking south from the same spot, towards the canyon. It is another 13 miles or so to the edge of the North Rim from this spot. This is where I will be working this season. Boy, if ya have to work, this is the place to be! (Oh, did you notice the snow still on the ground? I took these photos on May 8, 2008. )

A Little Peak For Now

I have no internet service at the trailer yet, so I have to go to the employee dining room to get online right now. It is hard to write in a public space like that, so for now, here is a peak at my new hometown:

We're Not In Kansas Anymore

We left Wichita on our way to the Grand Canyon this morning. We had planned on going about 330 miles, and stopping early to rest up. We were making good time, so we stopped in Liberal, Kansas to visit the museum there that is dedicated to the movie, The Wizard of Oz. After taking the tour there, and getting our picture taken on the Yellow Brick Road, we stopped at a restaurant west of town to get a late lunch.

The two stops took about two hours, but we were still making good time. A few miles out of Liberal, a man passed us in a pick up truck, and honked his horn and motioned for us to pull over. We had had a flat tire on the trailer, and didn’t even know it!

Our Good Samaritan, Dave Christopher, said he was an insurance adjuster, and just happened to have a telephone book in his truck! How many times will that ever happen? Here is a picture of Dave and Jim:

When my cellphone wouldn’t work because it had no signal, he let us use his phone to call Guymon Tire Service. They sent out a service truck to change the tire.

Raul arrived in about 20 minutes and got right to work. He got us back on the road really fast, and only charged $50.

We stopped in Guymon, Oklahoma at Guymon Tire and bought a new tire for the spare.The whole episode only set us back $167. Not so bad, it could have been worse.

We finally made it to our destination for tonight, Dalhart, Texas. We pulled into the Corral RV Park about 6:30 p.m. The park is level and quiet, and only cost us $19 for a pull through site big enough to park a semi truck and trailer, and it even has cable TV. We hope to be in Albequerque, New Mexico tomorrow night.

Where I Have Been

The last time I wrote anything here was when we had just crossed over the Mississippi River and were stopped for the night in Little Rock, Arkansas. Here is a picture of our trailer home following us down the road: We traveled more than 1000 miles in three days, pulling our home behind us. We usually don't like to go that far so quickly. The main reason why is we get so tired doing it. But, we had to get to USI RV Park in Wichita for a temporary job, so we did.

Here is a picture of the flooding in Arkansas along I-40. I am sure the water is up even more than this because it has rained some more since we went through there.

I like to stop at all the welcome centers for the states we go through. The one in Oklahoma was nice. They gave us free coffee, and Jim took my picture with the Indian guy there:

The Oklahoma countryside is mostly flat. They have a lot of cows there. We even saw a herd of buffalo but I was not quick enough with my camera to get a picture of them.


We went out I-40 west to I-35 north, to Wichita.

The Kansas welcome center is more than 20 miles inside the state line. I told Jim they want to be sure you're really coming to Kansas before they welcome you to their state. There was a McDonald's restaurant there, but they didn't give us anything free to eat or drink, just a map of Kansas so we could find our way out of there when we got ready to leave.

The Kansas countryside in early spring is much like that in Oklahoma, only a little greener.

We have enjoyed our stay in Kansas, but we are leaving tomorrow, because we got the telephone call we have been waiting for from the National Park Service at the Grand Canyon. We will get there sometime Saturday, and start working a day or two later. We are really excited about our new jobs.

We're Traveling Again

Jim and I left Unicoi State Park on Sunday, headed for Wichita, Kansas. Yes, we are still waiting to hear the final word about our jobs at the Grand Canyon, but we can't sit around waiting until we run out of money, so we arranged to work as temporaries at a campground in Kansas while we wait. Doing this is a win-win situation for everyone involved--the campground needed someone ASAP, we needed to be working, it will put us half-way to Arizona when we do finally get hired, and we will be making a little money while we wait. What a great deal. Oh, yeah, it also gets us halfway there before the price of diesel fuel goes up any more.

When I started planning the trip to Arizona, I figured our travel budget as if we were paying $4.89 per gallon of fuel. It is not that high, yet, so we are way ahead in the budget.

On Saturday, the price of diesel fuel in Helen, Georgia was $4.05 per gallon. When we passed by the same gas station on Sunday when we left there, it was $4.10 per gallon. At the Ingle's Grocery Store in Cleveland, Georgia, it was $3.96 per gallon if you paid with an Ingle's gift card (which saves you 3 cents per gallon).

On Sunday, in Douglasville, Georgia, at the station near my mother's house, diesel was $4.27 per gallon!!! We drove right on by. In Bremen, near the Alabama border, it was $3.99 per gallon. We filled up there.

Today, in Jasper, Alabama, fuel was $3.93 per gallon, and in Olive Branch, Mississippi, it was $3.92 per gallon. While these prices are insane, they are nowhere near the price I figured our budget on. We may just have some money left when we arrive in Wichita.

Sunday was a frantically busy day. We woke up in north Georgia, packed up the trailer, and drove 130 miles to Carrollton to spend the night at a campground there. We took the trailer off the hitch, then drove 35 miles back to Douglasville, where we had to go and check our post office box, go to the bank, get our hair cut at Becky's shop. Then Jim, Becky and I met Emily, Tommy, and Spencer at Longhorn Steaks for a yummy scrummy dinner. Spencer's birthday was on April 10th, he turned 6 this year. He has now decided he likes steak, which is a good thing. He posed for me to take some pictures. When he saw this one, he said, "I look like an ice cream cone!" (that's his Mommy, Emily, my youngest daughter with him). After dinner, we ran by my mother's to say good bye to her before we left town. We finally got back to the trailer around 10:30 p.m. What a day!

I checked the Weather Channel online before we left to see if the route we planned to take had any flooding, and found that the Mississippi River at Memphis was at 37 feet this morning, and will continue to rise until at least Saturday, if there is no more rain. Flood stage at Memphis is 34 feet. I took a couple of pictures when we crossed over the Mighty Mississippi this afternoon, the water was high, but I-40 is a high road so it was not flooded.

We got as far as Little Rock today, which is a long way for us to go in one day. We'll arrive in Wichita tomorrow afternoon. I have never been to Kansas, so I can't wait to see it. Don't have a clue what to expect, but I will post some pictures tomorrow. See ya later!

A Campfire Party

We had our first, and last, campfire party with our co-hosts here at Unicoi tonight. The first one, because it is the first time everyone was here and available to get together, and the last because Jim and I are leaving on Sunday.

It was just an informal get together. We didn't even sit around the fire, exactly, because there was food. And to eat it, we had to sit at the picnic table. Joan and Frank brought a yummy 7 layer Mexican salad, and Debbie and Jim brought a hot spinach cheese dip. I made sausage balls, using my Pamela's Baking Mix. It just turned out that everything everyone brought was gluten free, but it wasn't planned that way. I even tried some Redbridge Beer. I though it was pretty good, and even drank two of them. Those of you who know me know I have never drunk two beers in one day, ever. But, Redbridge was that good. Really.

Here is the recipe I used for the Sausage Balls

1 lb pork sausage
2 cups Pamela's Baking Mix
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients together well in a bowl. You'll have to use your hands to squeeze it all together. Roll in small balls and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

I put them in a bowl that I had lined with a clean kitchen towel to keep them warm. Everyone loved them. Yum!

Spring In Georgia

Jim and I have been volunteering here at Unicoi for three winters. We are usually gone by the 1st of March, as we really do need to work and make some money. But, this year, we are still sitting here, waiting to hear the final word on the job at the Grand Canyon. Because we have always left so early, we have never been here in the springtime.

In the last two weeks, the campground came alive with campers. The whole place has been full, including the tents camping area, and today all of the platforms at the Squirrel's Nest were also occupied. The place is simply buzzing with people. I sold all the firewood we had today. And the excited fishermen bought nearly all of the red wigglers I had, too.

Little children were wading in the creek, which surely must still be ice cold. It is such a change from the gloomy winter days, when we hardly see other people all week.

I'm going to try to get some pictures tomorrow, just so you can see the difference just a couple of weeks make.

Michael and Owen

Just thought you all would like to see my newest picture of my two grandsons, Michael and Owen. They are the ones who live in Maryland, Seth's sons.

Nueva Cocina Taco Fresco

Last week I got this yum package of Taco Fresco Ground Beef Seasoning in the mail from Nueva Cocina. It is all natural and gluten free, and tastes really good. We don’t care much for tacos so I was thinking today I would use it to make some home made enchiladas. The sauce took only about 10 minutes to make, and it was delish!

Home Made Gluten Free Enchiladas

Sauce

1 6 oz can tomato paste

1 16 oz can chicken broth

1 pkg Nueva Cocina Taco Fresco Ground Beef Seasoning

1 Knorr Chipotle Mini Cube

Add all ingredients in a small saucepan, stirring well to mix tomato paste and the mini chipotle cube into the liquid. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes until thickened a bit. Remove from heat.

Filling

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ lb ground meat (I use 1/3 turkey, 1/3 pork, and 1/3 beef)

1 small onion, chopped

4-5 garlic cloves, chopped

1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp basil

1 tsp ground red pepper

Add olive oil to a skillet. When heated through, add onion, garlic and pepper, sautee until onion is clear. Add ground meat, crumbling and stiring, cook until meat is browned. Add cumin, basil, and red pepper, stir to mix well.

To assemble:

Pour about 1/3 cup of sauce in casserole dish, spread around to cover the bottom of the dish. For each enchilada, put a couple tablespoons of meat in the center of a corn tortilla. Roll the tortilla, and place seam side down in the casserole dish. Repeat until the filling is used up. Pour the rest of the sauce over the enchiladas. Bake in 400 degree oven 25 minutes. Take the casserole dish out of the oven, cover with 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese. Return to oven and bake for another 10 minutes

We made a salad with a bag of Fresh Express pre-cut lettuce, some canned tomatoes, some pickled garlic, and sliced onions. I also cut up an avacado to put on top of the enchiladas. I thought I would have some left over for lunch tomorrow, but Jim ate a second helping for dessert!