Thursday, June 18, 2009

Road to California; Day 4

4 am is actually really early, for those who do not routinely wake up at this time. It is the time before dawn; the time before hotel bills being slipped under the door; and the time before coffee being properly brewed. And it was this time we chose to wake and depart. We were on the road by 4:20 pm. Not bad for two girls.

The darkness was consuming, and we had been warned to watch out for elk. I drove in part because I felt that if we hit and elk, I should be driving the car, and in part because we had already determined that my friend A is overdue for a new glasses prescription. We did not see elk.

We did not see the photographed sunrise over the Grand Canyon, but it was still very pretty.



A cloudy sunrise gave way to rain and the view was occluded. We drove to the other side of the south rim and tried a trail. The rain chased us back up the steep trail and we dodged mule poop the entire way back. We headed to the entrance of the park and attended the IMAX movie- it could not have been better! When we stepped out the theater, we smiled and headed back to the Canyons. The sun was back.

Lunch was eaten on the edge of the canyon overlooking the beauty. I had a very interested friend hoping for crumbs (or, if I had turned my back, half my sandwich!)



Puffy white clouds and sunlight brought out some of the colors of the canyon.



And then the rain swept back across the canyon. First, a smaller storm across the canyon. Then, a larger storm engulfing the area in lightening. We headed back to the car and drove what seemed to be a never-ending journey to Kingman, AZ.



Kingman, AZ- Oyster's Mexican restaurant was surprisingly good, and within walking distance of the Holiday Inn Express. This was good, as we were out of energy. As I type this, A is fast asleep and I'm ashamed to say I've been "resting" my eyes as each picture loads. It's almost 10 pm and I'm ready to sleep. Am I so tired due to getting up prior to the crack of dawn or is it the fatigue from racing across the United States? I don't know. I'm glad this trip occurred and I'm enjoying it immensely. Tomorrow, we enter California and we have absolutely no plans other than to pick up my apartment key Friday or Saturday. I don't know what tomorrow holds, but it can't possibly be as full as today.

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey there, my name is adam and i have been following your blog and love it. as a current grad student, can u please post information about how working as a travelling SLP differs from a permanent location? is the pay or benefits different? are u paid salary or is it per hour ?
Are there many opportunities? which companies are trustworthy to deal with? about how long do u stay at each location? they give u health insurance? thanks in advance...I am in New York and cant decide if I want to do home visits (I enjoy the freedom, and it seems that doing jobs per hour will maximize the amount u can earn)...or if perhaps I shopuld do the travelling thing since I LOVEEE to travel..thanks.

18 June, 2009  
Anonymous AMS (who else whould it be?) said...

those western national park varmits are everywhere. from personal experience, if you go to hold food out to one, feel panic about how close they will get to you, hold food over head without thinking...yeah they'll climb you!

23 June, 2009  
Anonymous Guppy said...

Showed little N the picture of the squirrel. He said "Skerl go outside. Let's go get skerl." So, now I have to convince him that squirrel hunting isn't a good idea in a thunderstorm. Don't you love 2-year-old logic?

08 July, 2009  

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