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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.
 

May 2011: At Grand Canyon National Park

This is a new page. I have taken the information from Facebook to make the page. Ultimately I will have pictures in here, will have to resize some of them. Not only that, we moved to Grand Canyon and we are getting used to a new place, and I also had to work on more programs, so there was less time spent on the website. But that will be changing!

So anyway, here is what was happening in May:

May 1st and 2nd: Sasha took lots of pictures of Grand Canyon NP, so when we can, we will get them up. This place is amazing, photos don't do it justice, though. So most of those pictures were in April, but I have pictures of Grand Canyon Village but before I do those, there are pictures of our site:

Also, I do not usually put "world events" on my site, as you can see it just about anywhere else. But sometimes I do, if it makes sense and is relevant to us. Well, today, May 1st, we found out that Bin Laden is dead. Killed by special ops team of the USA. The world is OK again now that he is gone. But it was interesting in the news, even though the President should have gotten high praise for the successful operation, instead the celebrations were kind of, I don't know, muted.

Anyway, back to cool pictures.

Pictures of Our Site
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So this picture was taken on April 29th, pretty much after we had fully set up at the site.

 

 

 

Map As you can see, there is no one around us, the nearest RV is two more sites away from us. However, there is an apartment building across the street from us, and a ranger station as well. We are close to a T intersection which is hard to tell from the Google Map.

 

Map

Cell phone coverage, no problem, but if you have Verizon, big problem. It seems Verizon does not want to be on a tower with other companies, just by itself. And of course, that distracts from the scenery. So only one tower allowed. So our internet is not the best.

This picture was taken on May 3rd. Beautiful blue sky!

 

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This picture was shot on May 4th at 6:30 pm. As you can see, I have got my plants outside. It was warm enought to allow them to be outside of a while. But we were seeing some cold weather still ahead.

 
Map

 

Pretty much a similar shot but now, we have the truck in line with the rig as it helps in regards to the wind. We get a bit of wind here as we are on top of a ridge. And look at those clouds, WOW, are they stormy. This was on May 18th, around 7 pm.

 

 

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The GRAND Canyon, Desert View -Now as a seasonal in 2011 and of course this means lots of research. It has been a while since I have really learned about archeology, but we have ruins here at Tusayan Museum, and I have to get my arch knowledge going. I loved it in college, and I am sure to love it here.

May 3rd: We took some pictures in the Village, so check them out:

Pictures of The Village
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So this was on the way to some of the viewpoints! Elk on the side of the road is a common thing. And so there are traffic jams as well.

 

 

 

Map So we are checking out everything, and it is still pretty cool here in May.

 

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In the afternoons, there seems to be a bit of haziness, because of the winds coming in from Los Angeles and Las Vegas. It is a shame, because the sunsets here are quite good even without the pollution.

 

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Good outstretch again of us and the rim trail. Yes, pretty much on the edge, but not completely. I am not too much for the edges, but I like to go hiking.

 
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Sunset, but not completely. We will get a few shots up that are great for the sunset shots.

 

 

May 10th: Oh my, it is snowing outside! So Sasha and I spent the day inside, drinking hot chocolate and watching movies. Which ones? I can not even remember. But it does not matter, we were cozy inside the rig. I think Sasha might have done the laundry, the hut is only 60 feet away from our rig.

May 12th: We went into the village again to check it out more. We are doing this when I have off, so that we can really enjoy it. So we have a few pictures of us, especially on the rim trail.Excellent time today - hiked the Geology Trail, took pictures like a crazy geologist, and now have to go through all of those pictures! Plus we got to see the visitor center, the new movie, plus hiked a little under three miles. With all the stopping and starting, it felt like more. But absolutely beautiful day! Back to work tomorrow!

Pictures of The Village
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Yes, pretty much on the edge, but not completely. I am not too much for the edges, but I like to go hiking. And this is again an outstretched arm shot. Pretty good, had to go high so that you can see the view below.

 

 

 

Map El Tovar Hotel

 

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Now, this is not that late in the day, but the colors just seem to pop more.

 

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OK folks, you just really have to get out here. The pictures do not do it justice. You can not understand its immensity without being within it and experiencing it. I hope that my family will be able to come out when we are here...It truly is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

 

Also on May 12th: We walked the Trails to Time, a great way to understand and see the BILLIONS of years of the rocks. When I get a chance, I will put up a geology page. This will show the rocks. But I have to upload the pictures first onto the FTP site and then I will make the pages. But the geology here is just SO good. Who would have thought I would get here AND work as a ranger? It is the perfect place for me.

May 13th: Big time high water on the Colorado and Green rivers in our old neck of the woods. White Rim Road closed on western side! Had a great day at work, my boss review my first program, stated that it was a very good job and that she liked my ideas. My first program is on Monday. I have two days to practice YIKES!

May 14th: Desert View pictures - so we went into the Village first, as there is a few more places to see and experience, but our own Desert View has quite a bit to offer too. Just no hotels here.

Pictures of Desert View
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This is not the prettiest shot of our visitor center, but there is construction going on. The should be done in early July. This is also where Sasha works a couple of days a week.

 

 

 

 

Map Beautiful, and you can see the Colorado River

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Desert View and the Watchtower!

 

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See the flat top mountain out there? That is Cedar Mountain, the ONLY place in the Grand Canyon National Park that has Triassic Rocks, pre-dino rocks! I talk about that mountain on two of my talks.

 

May 15th: Practice makes perfect for me. I work hard at making my programs perfect. Now all of that practice will come into play shortly.

May 16th: Dinner w the folks ! John and Laura's included - at my mother/father in law's home! So glad to see my parents are visiting Sasha's parents.

Our Quote: Monday is my Friday - which is usually the case, at least every two weeks!

We did not have as much hiking as you would think, because of the crazy weather. But there are pictures. Lots of them, there always are!

May 20th: Just spent the last 24 hours making two programs about the Geology of the Grand Canyon. My weekend is gone, time to get back to work. At least it is sunny outside and the winds are not as strong.

May 22nd: read an article about today's Scientists: It is unfortunate that we are not training more scientists. I know several extremely smart kids - doing well in science in high school, but plan on being business majors in college. We need more scientists. I majored in Geology and I think I'm doing pretty well. But I suppose not everyone is suited for science. It is rarely glamorous, usually you do not make boat-loads of money, but you feel good about what you are doing.

Zac Cunningham: I love history and can't imagine doing anything else. If, however, someone had explained my need for math, chemistry, or physics like John Green, a novelist ironically, in this videohttp://youtu.be/9jFQR2FUEm​4, I might have ended up in a different field or, at least, would have challenged myself more by taking a large number of sciency-math courses.

Me: Well, some that like history, go into archeology. And you still need some science in that degree. Especially if you go into Archeoastronomy or studying what people planted, ate, and hunted. You have to understand Climate and weather and rocks as well.

Even with history, having scientific thought and understanding the processes of science can only help you become a better historian.

May 23rd: Today's my Friday, and the start of a three day weekend before the holiday rush! What to do, what to do?

May 31st: Excellent time for the first potluck at Desert View - good food and great company, great campfire, sadly no marshmallows, will have to remedy that for next time....

Check out Next Month: June for Pictures and Expenses of June...