Anyone still following?

June 28, 2022 In case anybody still follows this blog, then I figure it's about time to let you know that I am in South Dakota. I have been here since last October. I work in a rock shop in the famous Wall Drug....in Wall, South Dakota, about 8-10 miles away from Badlands National Park.

I took that picture soon after I started working here last Fall. I have been learning more about rocks and always seem to find something interesting every week. I recently applied for an income-based apartment here in town but haven't heard back from the housing managers. We have 2 different income-based apartment buildings here and tomorrow I will walk over to check out the 2nd one. I like this little town and hope to stay here permanently. I am getting tired of moving around the country and starting over in new places. Last month I rejoined Weight Watchers online. I signed up for 6 months. It's been a learning experience because now I can scan barcodes on packages to get the points value on my favorite snacks, and I found out that I should stop eating some of my favorites. I weigh more now than I did when I started this blogger page years ago. Yesterday I was at 188#. I want to lose about 50+ pounds. If I could lose 70# then that would be perfect...but doesn't sound very realistic. Well actually losing 50# doesn't either. I have tried that for years and its never happened. ok lets see if this will post...I have been on WordPress so long that I have forgotten how blogger works.

November 2020

 

Well I am in Arizona (again), a state that doesn't change its clocks...except my laptop, tablets and fitbit were all set with Pacific Time Zone from my time of living in Death Valley. So I got a bit confused yesterday morning when the clock on the kitchen stove was different then all my electronics.

Luckily I figured it out, and finally changed all the settings on everything before I had to go into work. Speaking of work..it was boring, dead slow. My manager sent me home an hour early. I have split days off this week: Thursday and Saturday...we have a 20% chance of getting snow on Saturday.

I mostly blog on wordpress and a website called Sparkpeople now, but someone on wordpress mentioned bloggers yesterday so I decided to come check out my old blogs and see if bloggers had changed at all.

Today I made a Mexican Cornbread Casserole for my housemates dinner...hope they like it. Just the smell seems to spicy for me. There are 4 people living in this house...2 work at Starbucks and then me and one of the assistant managers work in the general store. All 3 of my housemates are young enough to be my children.

Waiting in Flagstaff

I arrived in Flagstaff on July 3rd. I figured it was a good spot to wait for the HR department of my next job to contact me. The job is in Tusayan ( the little community outside of the Grand Canyon National Park). Flagstaff is about 1.5 hours away.



Waiting for the HR department is also not easy to do. I have been in contact with my future boss. He is also a past boss, as my next job is one that I left 2 years ago. But we have to wait for HR to go through all the proper procedures.

So while I wait, I am spending time watching alot of food network on television. Actually it's almost 6am, so I should go catch a bus to get breakfast. 



Of course getting a room over the 4th of July weekend is not the easiest or the cheapest thing to do.

Summer Haircut

When the temperature is up to 124°, then it's time to chop my hair off.

No more sweaty hair sticking to my neck. Went to Pahrump Nevada with a friend yesterday and got the haircut.

It's Been Awhile

Sitting outside my dorm in Death Valley. Been working at Stovepipe Wells, since last June. So many stormy clouds tonight, I don't think there's a chance to see the moon. But the air feels nice with a slight breeze. It's March so I won't freeze.



 
Today I went riding around with my friend Cindy. She showed me where the original spot for the "WELL" for the Stovepipe Wells area was. We both don't understand why the village wasn't closer to the Well. Why would you find a water hole in this HOT dry barren desert, and then make a village 10+ miles away?

Anyways I plan on staying here for 1 more year. Next year in March, I will probably think about different locations to travel to. For now, I will continue being a desert-rat. I just hope the heat this coming Summer isn't as brutal as it was last year. 130 degrees is not something I can do every summer for the rest of my life.

Ooh, and tonight my roomie is packing up to leave. She is moving somewhere Southeast of here with her boyfriend. Which means I will have a room to myself for awhile.

2018

Hello everyone, The last few years I have been all over the country. 2015...went to work at Mt Rushmore for the Summer season, Then 2015-2016 Winter season I went to Death Valley. Summer of 2016, I went to Yellowstone but I left early. So from mid-July to September 1st, I stayed in Cedar City Utah. The picture below is from a park in Cedar City that I loved to visit. It wasn't there when I lived here in the 80's.

Then I came back to work in the Desert View area of the Grand Canyon National Park...I love this area of the park. So quiet and remote. Well some personal issues popped up (that I won't get into) and I ended up leaving AZ. Went to stay with an aunt in Georgia for about 2.5 months. Then got a car from her neighbors and moved to Brunswick, Georgia. I stayed in Georgia till Thanksgiving then took a greyhound bus back to AZ. See my car stopped working a few months after I bought it. So now I am working in the general store in Tusayan. I like the job, but hate the housing situation...so hoping to save $$$ to move again. Actually I already applied for couple jobs inside the park.

I am still here

Yes, it's been a long time since I posted anything on this blog. I left NH, to return to AZ, in March 2014. Then I moved to Las Vegas in Nov 2014. Now I am applying to variety of seasonal jobs. I had a phone interview yesterday for a prep cook/waitress job @ Cliff Dwellers Lodge at Marble Canyon, AZ. It's near Lees Ferry...about 45 minutes South of Page, AZ. Usually I hate interviews, but this was more like the guy telling me about the company & wanting to make sure I could handle living in isolation. Oh believe me, I thrive better in isolation better then most people I know. The guy said he would call at a later date after he figures out the exact start date...sometime in late February. Now while I was at the Desert View are of the Grand Canyon, last year I had picked up some historical books on that area, and had wanted to explore it for myself. Now I might get my chance to do that.

For: Military Families

For anyone still following me, I have been back in my hometown of Plymouth NH, living with family. My brother retired from the USAF after 25 years and he has hired a company to have his own personal fireworks on his property.

Army Air Corps Vintage Star Patriotic T-Shirt
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proud air force sister t shirts
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Proud Army Dad Shirts
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Solider Brother Tshirt
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My solider is worth the wait-Army fiance T Shirts
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I Heart My Soldier Hoodies
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I Heart My Airman T-shirt
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proud air force sister t shirts
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Deployed Husband Bitchy Wife Fridge Magnet
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Some Heroes Wear Capes, Mine Wears Combat Boots Tshirts
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Key to my heart tee shirts
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Proud ARMY Mom dog tag Tees
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Heading Back to Arizona

I applied to jobs with Xanterra again this month..jobs in Crater lake, Zion and a job at the Grand Canyon. Well after finally filling out all the needed info on the website, I finally got a job offer at the Grand canyon 4 days later. Not the job I applied for but still...it only took them 4 days to offer me a job. WOW, I have personally heard the HR staff tell people that it takes at least 4 weeks to hear anything; and it only took me 4 days. I guess I should look at thaat in a positive light. :) I start back to work there on July 16th. I am leaving Cooper Landing on July 2nd, to go spend a couple days in Anchorage and then I fly out to Phoenix on July 5th. My brother paid for the plane ticket and prices get jacked up after the 5th. So I'm trying to arrange a schedule to visit a friend in Prescott for a few days, and then spend a few days in Flagstaff and then maybe a couple days visiting another friend in Williams before I start work. Right now it's almost midnight in Alaska, but you can walk all around the yard without a flashlight. I love the fact that it doesn't really get dark here, but I also love the sunsets at the Grand canyon. But it gets so dark in Arizona after a sunset. I guess in order to enjoy a sunset I will have to tolerate the darkness again. There was a few things I had wanted to do at the canyon before and never gotten around to do them; guess I'm getting a second chance to check off more items on my bucket-list now.

New Friend- Willow the Mule

I'm riding a HUGE mule named Willow. She was so big I needed help getting on & off of her. Once I was on her, she didn't seem so big. The wranglers chose this mule for me because she is good with kids and anyone who is not used to riding. But someone really needs to invent a padded saddle, cuz my butt still hurts this morning. Not sure how the mule-packers & tour guides can ride everyday....course someone on facebook told me that your butt gets tenderized and toughens up when you ride alot.

Well I can cross the mule-ride off my bucket list now, and I have no desire to do it again. My mule was great but the saddle was not. Not sure how I am going to work today...glad I only have a 1/2 shift today.

Today I woke up to snow outside and some very cold wind...glad I ain't riding a mule today :)

Pics of the day: DEER

I walked down to Maswik to get something to eat, for an early dinner. Saw these deer on my walk back home today...around 4pm.

Goodbye 2011

Wow, what a year!

My favorite aunt died in April & my best friend left the Grand Canyon Park in June, then my mom dies unexpectedly on December 7th.

I did get to enjoy a smooth River trip in July and I took a greyhound bus to Missouri in August, to watch my son graduate from basic training.

I interviewed for a job in human resources in August but I didn't get the job...just as well because now I have 85 days left of work here before I move on to Anchorage,AK.

Halloween 2011

This was taken at the local school's Halloween Carnival.
My co-worker (the sailor) is a senior at the school. She moved here last Summer to live with her grandmother (the pirate). In this picture of them, they are trying to decide which cake they want because the sailor won a cake during the cake-walk.




I had thrown out my old costume a couple months ago when I noticed that it was ruined. I didn't want to buy a new costume just to wear for 1 night as I have no plans of carrying a costume to Alaska with me when I move in March.

I think pirate costumes were the "in" thing this year, as quite a few kids had some kind of pirate costume.

Yesterday in Tusayan

There is a new Live bird-show down at the IMAX theater in Tusayan. I finally went to check it out. Glad I get in free. No video cameras are allowed in the show but I was allowed to bring my digital camera in...I have more pictures on facebook.
One of the show's highlights is a raven that will come get dollar bills out of your hand and then put it into a fundraiser box.

The Pizza Hut area is also going through some recent changes, and they are hoping to make a buffet area in the future. I ate the orange chicken rice-bowl. There wasn't much going on in the art show area down near McDonald's. Hopefully there will be more tables out later in the Summer.

New Look

I cut & colored my hair this week. Everyone at work asked who cut it and was surprised when I said I did it myself. Just wrap scotch tape around your head/neck and then use the tape as the cutting line.

Old habits die hard...boredom & frustration & being down in the dumps===me attacking my hair

Never-ending Winter

My son is here

Unfortunately my computer doesn’t seem to recognize my camera at the moment, so I can’t download pictures of my son.

ok, we were able to hop on the 1pm shuttle from Flagstaff coming up to the canyon…only because his Greyhound bus was 25 minutes early. Otherwise we would of had to wait for the 3:45 shuttle. Luckily Tess was driving the shuttle too because she gave Phil the local discount for the ride.

After dropping his 1 and only backpack off in my room, we went to eat at Yavapai. He got the chicken Parmesan…which wasn’t to bad he said. I got the Chicken Pot Pie…which had to much pepper in it.

When we woke up on Monday morning (yesterday) it was snowing outside..and damn cold. We went to Bright Angel Restaurant for lunch. Surprised that it was so busy there. We went out to the rim to get a few pictures of the canyon with snow. But neither one of us can download them at this moment.

Later at about 9:30 or 10pm, we decided to walk over to the men’s dorm to raid the candy machine. Been here 4 years and that was the first time I ever walked over there at night. Philip got soda & 2 Twix candybars. and he finished the soda right when we got back to my dorm building. I got M&M’s, 3 musketeers, and some cinnamon roll pastry thing.

Today I need to take him into the housing office so he can get his visitor’s pass. Maybe they will even let him sign-in for his own room and let him start orientation on Thursday. They might just figure seeing as he is already here that they might as well. Which will be good before he goes totally stir-crazy from boredom.

Later I should show him where the rec center is and get him a month’s pass for the gym. That will cost $10 per month or $60 for the whole year. At least with the month’s pass…he can start running on the treadmills until it warms up outside, and it will give him something to do if he still has to wait for April 4th to sign in for his own housing & job. Besides I have to go back to work early Thursday morning and he will need something to do then if he can’t get into the next orientation group…or he will really go stir-crazy & die of boredom.

more Pics from Monument Valley

watching a couple tumbleweeds rolling around. I would of loved to get a pic of the Asian guy clearing tumble weeds out of the road...using an ice scraper. That cracked me up.

See even John Wayne liked Monument Valley.

If I ever go back here..I will take 1 of their guided jeep tours around. And hopefully not on a cold windy day.

Monument Valley~Picture Day

This is Brenda trying to get pics...course she was in my way when I tried to get pics. Carrie from the General Store took the next 2 pictures of me, while we were at the visitor's center.

This was a view from the visitor center.

Now as soon as my camera & computer will cooperate with each other, I will download more pictures. Because even though it was a very windy day, I took about 159 pictures and only have

16 on my computer so far.

GCSR Bucket List

ok, someone else here just made their bucket list today with things that she wants to do at the Grand Canyon before she leaves the park in July....so I figured "hey that's a good idea--seeing as there are things I still have not done."

Abyss mule ride

Helicopter ride

Jeep tour

Smooth River Raft Trip

Hike Hermits trail (at least part of it)

Hike South Kaibab trail

Camp at Phantom Ranch

Hike to Plateau Point to watch the sunset & sunrise from there

Walk the entire rim trail (Kaibab Trailhead to Hermits Rest) at least 1 way

Take suttle to North rim & camp a weekend there.

Helicopter ride to Havasu Falls & camp-out for weekend there

Wow, that's alot of stuff that I still ain't done. Guess I ain't really done to much in the 4 yrs I have been here. I need to pick a few things to do this year.... to add some exciting adventure to my 'free time'.
I mean, why is it that the international kids that work here for 3-4 months do & see more then I have????