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Laura-n-Sasha 3.2

A descriptive look at traveling and full-timing with our second RV, a fifth wheel toyhauler.
  Laura and Sasha started this adventure in April of 2005
 for a two week vacation in a truck camper.
 

October 2011: Leo & Karyn's Visit

So my parents left on October 15th, back to Virginia, and we went back to Grand Canyon for work, after picking up a few fruits and veggies at the market. Then we worked that weekend, October 15th through the 18th.

October 21st: I went into the village to talk to a co-worker on the star party for next year, and then got a bite to eat. I also went to a couple of places I had not been to before, and to the library as well. No pictures unfortunately, but that is OK, because we took a bunch later.

October 22nd: Back to work, but we only have another 9 days of work and play. Also, this week: friends coming to visit. We can not wait!

October 24th: First Day working at Desert View Visitor Center as a Grand Canyon Association sales person. And we made goal! The last guy in bought over $100 of books, including 2 geology books. I was in heaven! I wanted to show GCA how well a person can do just by being nice, friendly and knowledgable about the resource. And the second day was just as good as the first.

October 26th: OMG, it is snowing and the sun is out. At least it is warm here, the heaters are on, and I am drinking hot chocolate while watching my favorite show, Bones, Season 6. Supposedly, there will not be any sticking of the snow, but I am ready for Vegas Baby!

This is the day that Leo and Karyn are coming to the Grand Canyon, and it is going to be a cold day. But they have to fly in from Maryland, and so they did not get here until ~ 4:30/5 pm. So we drove to the Village to meet up with them.

Pictures of The Drive
Picture Explanation Options
Map

We wanted to see the sunset colors especially when there are clouds, it can get quite beautiful.

Map Great views and Sasha did pretty well with our camera.

Map No we did not get that close, good zooming ability with the camera.

 
Map I do not know why Google is saying Williams, because this is in the Grand Canyon, hello but maybe it is confused.
Map As you can see, we were wearing winter coats and hats. But the sky, clouds, and sun made for some interesting pictures.
Map I just love the colors. Map
Map And the clouds are so interesting. Map
Map Last one, with the sun already gone, we headed to see Leo and Karyn.

 

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..

So we headed out to see Karyn and Leo, and we met them in the lobby of El Tovar, then headed over to the Arizona Room. Usually there is no wait, but there was that night. So we had a drink before dinner, then had a great dinner. They are now vegetarians and they look extremely healthy. It would be nice to try, but we kind of like meat too much.

After dinner, we took a short walk outside and I showed them some of the stars that they could see. Only a few, but it was cold, and they were tired from the travel that day. We said, OK, let's get together tomorrow and we would show them the park.

Pictures of The Visit
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Map

This is on October 27th, great sky and canyon shot. It was a beautiful day.

This was not too far from the Visitor Center.

Map

A Sasha Picture

Karyn was getting cold, so I gave her my other shirt. We make a colorful bunch of folks.

Map
Map And then, we saw him. A Condor...

Map
Map You can see it in the colors of the bird and even though it is high up, how large it really is.
Map Big!
Map So Leo went out on a ledge and Karyn is not too much into ledges (like me!) but we managed to get a shot of them together (sort of!) Map
Map We took pictures at the Abyss (where we saw the Condor) which is on the western side of the South Rim Trail. Map
Map Map Map
Map Another great picture of us. We took a little hike on the western part of the south rim trail, and it was just a beautiful day.
Map One of the best hikes on the rim, going along to Hermit's Rest and then take the shuttle back.
Map The last of the pictures at hermit's rest.  

 

But wait, there is more. Sasha blew up the pictures we had of the condor, so that we could get a better look at it.

Pictures of the Condor
Picture Explanation Options
Map

A kind of zoomed in look, please click on the picture to see the larger picture.

Map

It is quite magical to see one of these birds, as they are an endangered species.

Map Even though they are an uglier bird than most, I still look at them and think, dinosaur! Pterodactyl only in its modern form.

 

 

So we went out to dinner that night, to the best place to have dinner, El Tovar's dining room. Karyn had made a reservation when they had booked the place, and so after we got back from the hike, we had just enough time to put our stuff in their room, and then head down to dinner. Seems we were actually early, so we got something to drink and sat in the lounge until our table was ready. And the restaurant was packed! No recession here.

So we had a fabulous meal, with everything very tasty. Now, some of you folks know that Sasha and I have been married for 14 years. When I first met Sasha, his laughter drew me towards him. He has a boisterous, infectious, and happy laugh that makes others want to know him and be close to him too. Well, that laugh got us into a bit of trouble that night. We were having so much fun with Leo and Karyn, that the manager came over and asked us to quiet down a bit. It seems the couple next to us asked to move tables as we were too loud! WOW were were not expecting that. Oh well, we still managed to have an enjoyable dinner :)

So after dinner, we went up to their room (suite really!) and they had a deck outside of their room, so I was able to show them around the skies for a bit. Even though there were a few bright lights, we were still able to see the Milky Way.

Since we had had a long and luxurious dinner, when it was time to go, we had missed the last shuttle bus. So they drove us back to our truck, and we said our good-byes there. They were headed to Las Vegas in the morning.

So on Friday, October 28th, we started getting ready to leave the area, with packing up and getting things ready.

We worked again the 29th through October 31st. I worked and found I had made the most money during my one month of working at GCA than the other person who works more days than I at that store. It made me feel good, that I was a top seller.

So check out next month when we move to Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

Check out Next Month: November for Pictures and Expenses for November.