Thank God -- it was my turn.

For fun!!!!

65 degrees. slight breeze

Doug and Yvonne -retired farmers from Saskatchewan (usually some of my least favorites) - but they were inquisitive, humorous, and gregarious---- read: FUN ----

They've been together for 40 years. Doug torments Yvonne the same way he did when they were 22 ( it's a guy thing) . He said, "Every girl I ever dated dumped me, and this one probably will too" It's the way a guy says "I'm so glad you're still here"

They travel now.

They are well experienced ( read: they were on time and cooperative). They never complained. They were just fun to be with... Thank God.

AND - Doug still has someone in his picture. You rock, Doug! Good luck.

(notice the rising moon)

Two zombie sisters from London sat at the back of the bus and talked to each other all day - but they didn't annoy others. When the left they gave me $7. ( not "each") You are FOREVER banished to the Hall of Shame --you Zombie sisters with no names!-- if I were Her Majesty, I would send you to the TOWER - BYE!

Forever!

Navajo sheep hearded by dogs.

A lovely Vietnamese-American couple - Martin and Sophie live in D.C. He works for FDA approving medical devices - his office "approves" the valves used in artificial hearts. She's a teacher.

He found his job in the "Plum Book" -- check it out --- I spent hours in the Plum Book last Fall - no luck.

He followed the rules and got a job They are so cool. She asked some of the best questions I ever ever get --- like, "How do Native American tribes associate with each other compared to their association with non-natives?" "How are their languages, customs, religions similar/ dissimilar?" She made me work! Then - they paid me $40. They can come back every week!

Bret, an Aussie on a "Walk-About". Aussie Walk-Abouters are clever, gregarious, and fun. Great news- he's from Melbourne (like the dumb-dumb horse riders). So Melbourne has been redeemed! He's been on a walk-about for a year. He's been "couch surfing". It's a totally cool travel idea. G'day mate!

Everyone stayed on time and on schedule. I arrived at the park 2o minutes early, so I made a stop at Grandview Point. I haven't been there in a year. This group was good. Grandview Point on DesertView Road a special place.

Utah Juniper" Trees grow at Grandview Point. They live to 1000 years old. - and they don't complain. The people who lived at Grand Canyon before Europeans arrived burn the needles for prayer incense.

They smell like Christmas.

MULE DEER

Five of seven should come back soon and often.

G'day mate!

Dumb-Dumb Managerie

An e-mail to my boss:

Donnita,

I had a couple with me yesterday from Melbourne who booked a four day tour over the Internet. She commented that she did it herself because "No Australian travel agent will take bookings for Arizona in November".

All I can guess is that she didn't "click through" the entire four-day itinerary. She didn't know she had paid for a horseback ride in Sedona as part of her "Cowboy Experience". Cowboys ride horses you see.

When Kathryn called Tuesday to tell me about my tour she directed me to remind them to take appropriate clothes and shoes from their bags before dropping the bags at the hotel. Kathryn also made a note on the manifest directing me again to remind them.

I was surprised when they arrived for a four-day tour with bags that were about the size of a lady's large handbag --- but then Australians travel light. She was wearing cotton slacks, a pink t-shirt , and open toe sandals. At our restroom break, I reminded her to take the things out of her bag that she would need for her horseback ride.

"What horseback ride"? It deteriorated from there. Among the things she said:

"I have never been on a horse in my life".
"No one told me I would be riding a horse".
"I don't want to ride a horse".
"Kathryn assured me my pickup time would be 7:30 a.m. - not 6:00 a.m. - and when she talked to me she said nothing about needing special clothes."
"Why did no one tell me I would be riding a horse?".
"I paid for a 'Cowboy Dinner', but nothing I paid for said I would have to ride a horse to get it".
"There is nothing in any of my paperwork that mentions a horse".
"We don't 'STUFF' people like this in Australia. (I'm not too keen on Australian idioms but I can guess what she meant."

Among the husbands comments:
"I guess the horse will have an easy day today as he will have no rider".
"I suppose we'll find dinner elsewhere".

Among my comments:
"Yes, you paid for a horseback ride".
"Here, in your itinerary are the words, 'horseback ride'"
"You are not wearing proper shoes or clothes for a horseback ride".
"Then don't get on the horse."

Donnita, they were adamant about not wanting a horseback ride. They were not properly clothed or prepared for a horseback ride. They are not young people. I expect they're close to 60 years old. They have never been on a horse.

I called Kathryn and explained the situation. She called "A Day in the West" and was able to re-schedule something for this couple. She called me back and explained that she had changed their booking to a two-hour jeep tour. The jeep tour obviously wouldn't include the "Cowboy Dinner" unless they could make arrangements other than a horseback ride to get there.

When I left them in Sedona, it was my understanding they were taking a two-hour jeep ride.

Donnita, NO ONE in THIS company told them they were required to ride a horse. We informed them that they had PAID for a horseback ride. Kathryn and I worked together with " A Day in the West" to give them an alternative to the horseback ride that they adamantly said they did not want.

I am informed that AFTER I left them in Sedona, they went to "A Day in the West" and demanded their horseback ride. I am informed that within ten minutes of climbing onto the horse the husband fell off the horse and may have hurt his back. I sincerely hope he didn't hurt himself too badly by the choices he made.

Of course, if I can answer any other questions or be helpful in any way please let me know.

Paul

****************************************

Was there a "disturbance in the force" that sent me a boatload of dumb-dumbs yesterday? Did I do something to mess up my own Karma?

It should have been a beautiful day:Notice how I try to take this picture on each tour, so I can show the progression of weather.

I had:

The two above mentioned Australians,

An Argentine sales manager for Starwood Resorts(YES, the sky IS that blue.)

A Swede named Anders Johannson

( aren't all Swedes named "Anders Johannson")

A pair of computer science majors from Alabama:

One Swiss - who spoke only French ( so she had an excuse).

A Japanese textile expert who just lost her job in clothing manufacturingin New York.

Some person from Queens - but that's all I learned about her all day. Not even does she have a career or family. She did, however, give me $30 when she got home - so I wish I had her every day!

Two Irish students who live in London:

A retired General Motors assembly worker from Deerborn:

Now that the US Government runs his GM health care, John no longer "qualifies" for vision or dental benefits. He's going for a nine hour Greyhound Bus ride to Las Vegas where he can by generic drugs at a state pharmacy.

It should have been a fun day. The weather was perfect: 65 degrees, clear, no wind. Maybe it was too many cultures and languages, too many single travelers, too many shy people - maybe they were all horrified by the Australian Cowboy Wannabes. I don't know. I KNOW I'm talented at peeking curiosity and promoting social interaction.

They all climbed on the bus and sat face-forward, flat affected, zombies. They looked like they were riding a deportation train to their doom.

They bored me to death.

I got two - exactly two questions all day:
John asked, "How do the wild horses find water"?

And Victoria, from Buenos Aires, asked, "Why is Route 66 important"?

Not even interested in Grand Canyon Wildlife!

That's not the worst of it. The forest was on fire yesterday. Yes, I said, "on fire". It's "managed burns". Tourists always love scream about it. I drove a bus load of people through a fire and --- O ---- of them had the curiousity to ask, "Paul, why are you driving us through a fire?".

After that I gave up.

All the way back to Phoenix I told no stories, gave no commentary. When I got within 50 miles of Phoenix I turned on the radio and waited for this day to end.

No Snow.

Visibility was zero on Wednesday. Thank God I didn't have to go. Customers are always mad about that. "Will I get a refund?" - like the driver makes that decision. I don't even answer that question. "Well, call and talk to management. But, in the meantime, we can have a nice day.... " Now leave me alone.

We sent out this tour today with only five people. Two Iraqi chemical engineers (one of whom couldn't even be bothered to get in the picture), an Iraqi wife (in red) who barely spoke English, and, thankfully, a Brit and an Australian Veterinarian.

The Iraqis were clueless on what a group tour is. Luckily, I didn't have a full van as they each took up two seats. Some countries have nerve calling Americans "arrogant." I promise I will always have more respect for myself than to tolerate being treated like the houseservant of some third world uberling.

Anna, a Brit, married to one of the Iraqis was fun to be with. She asked good questions, participated well, appreciated the trip. Elaine was very interesting to be with. She was particularly interested in native herbal remedies and shared interesting information about wholistic medical practice. She and Anna had a great day together. So, I worked all day just for them.

Horses. We saw more horses yesterday on the res. They come down from the mountain to steal grain and water from the cattle.

HORSES. My boss told me that a woman who was with me several weeks ago called to complain about my tour. MY TOUR! It seems that she took umbrage with my enthusiasm for the wild horses: where they came from, how they live, how many they are. I even go out of my way to stop for pictures of WILD horses. But - her complaint was that the only INDIANS I showed her are........

.....civilized. She wanted to see WILD Indians.

I don't make these stories up.

Saint Earth Walking

With Chihuly Glass

Desert Botanical Garden.

FIRST SNOW

I thought this was my last group but that crisis was averted.

The group was pretty much NOT memorable but they didn't give me any trouble and the day went smoothly...
Of course my best passenger was ...

Indra, who is at the top of her fourth grade class in Perth, Australia. She took notes for the report she has to right when the gets home. North of Flagstaff, I gave her some of our lava rocks to take back to her school librarian and we found a fossil imprint of a deciduous leaf in the painted desert.

Ron is a district sales manager for Pepsi in Maryland He's blames President Obama because people drink less Pepsi in Maryland than they did before he became President. (I don't make this stuff up.)

Between them, he and his wife smoke three packs a day.

Dan and Sherry from Columbus. He refuses to vote because "they're all alike".

The confused cirrus clouds in Sedona were ominous. It looked like the weather service was going to be right this time.

The Hualapai Indians live west of Grand Canyon. They live between Flagstaff and Nevada, about 250 miles from Grand Canyon Park.

They call their home, "Grand Canyon West" and they've built some kind of a plexiglass contraption over their canyon to sell tourists tickets. It's not really Grand Canyon.

By the time we got to Cameron, Navajo Nation, the wind was howling. The Navajo have 37 different words for "wind". This is one I had not yet experienced. The air ran like it was running away from something frightening. The air stampeded past me.

Canyon and Hopi Watchtower at Desert View.

Rob, an electrician from Edmonton, and I both wish we had coats. Hell, he would have been satisfied with socks!

The snow didn't actually start till I already dropped them at Grand Canyon Village and went to take my nap. When I picked them up and hour later, they said that snow at one point blocked their view.

But I was asleep - who cares.

Forty Hours in Three Days

And then I went back to Grand Canyon on Friday. Thank God I had a good group.

SISTER MARGARET: Sister Margaret is a Christian Speaker at Women's Clubs and Aglow Lighthouses. She's a Pulpit Minister and Missionary.

She's looking forward to President Sarah Palin's inauguration and she has grave concerns about the winner of the last election. But she's not fighting the last election, she's looking forward to giving people like me a "taste" in the 2010 election.

We couldn't be more opposite - AND - I love her!

She's intelligent, charming, educated - and as strongly opinionated as I am. I've never had someone "correct" me when I explained the geology of the formation of Grand Canyon. Northern Arizona, to Sister Margaret, is evidence for the "recent 'Creation'" theory and the WorldWide flood. But she did it in a polite, loving, educationally sound manner. It was really fun to hear why my explanation of how Grand Canyon was formed is all wrong.

Sister Margaret was horrified by my description of the development of the American West as the "Mother of All Stimulus Packages", and the genocide of the Native Americans in the West as the "Apocalypse";but, she bravely shared her opinion in a loving and polite way - which helped me see where I can change my "Stimulus and Apocalypse" lecture. I'm going to e-mail Sister Margaret. I hope she becomes my friend.

Wild horses on the Res.

Bull Elk.

Jane, from Sweden. Jane is the student every teacher wishes he had in class! She brought a notebook and sat in the front seat. She offered me European cough drops when my voice was tired. She offered me candies and fruit. She made sure my water bottle was full. And she asked EVERY question she could think of ---- including, if I used and English word that she didn't understand ( "This is 'pristine' desert", I said. "What kind of desert is that", she asked.)Everyone on the bus was amused and educated by her questions. She was innocent.

"It is such a shame," she lamented, " that Americans do not have drinking water in their homes, as rich as Americans are". What? Since she's been here for five days, she has only observed Americans drinking bottled water - so, evidently, one cannot drink American tap water.

Isn't that sweet? Everyone enjoyed Jane's company. I wish I had someone like her on every trip.

When I showed her the Indian gaming Casino: "Poor things", she again lamented, "Did they have this forced on them?"

"Yes, Jane, yes they were forced to accept millions and millions of dollars. I'm waiting to be the first in line when the Irish are forced to accept cash".

Buck mule deer with his doe deer in the park.

We saw a lot of wildlife this trip.

Jane asked, "How do you stop the Germans from shooting them?"

Her cultural innocence was downright amusing. What the hell was she talking about?

In her experience in Sweden, Germans cross the border and poach any animal anytime, so she assumed Germans did that here too. Picture a bunch of German poachers invading Grand Canyon National Park. Wouldn't that be provocation for war under the Bush Administration? (I wrote that to irritate Margaret).

Jim and Nancy ( No Picture). This trip was Nancy's gift to Jim for his 55th birthday. Jim is a geneticist and Professor at University of Pennsylvania. He was fascinated by the stories of the many civilizations that have lived in AZ. When Jim met the Navajos, he thought he recognized a resemblance to the Mayans. Perhaps. Perhaps.

I was exhausted by the time I got home. Ruined for days. But it was a good day.

Zuni Drum Circle: Everyone must hit the drum at the exact same rate --- making them "One".