New Year's Eve

Well the year has come to an end. And what an end it has turned out to be here at the North Rim. We are down to 1 snowmobile for 4 people as of right now. Come Sunday we will be back up to 4 snowmobiles for 6 people. Upon doing rounds this morning, the Gift Shop's big window was discovered to be broken. Gary & Brian spend most of the day boarding up the hole and taking care of whatever else they had to do for it.

And we have a Ponderosa Pine that has become split and dangerous out by the employee basketball court. Hopefully the next big wind storm we have will knock this tree over and we won't have to wait for the Hotshots to take care of it come spring.

Some of the snow has melted in the last couple of days, which is nice also. We can see part of the work trucks again and the walk-way has been clean for 3 days now!

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year and a very safe one too. Talk to you again in 2009!

Sunday

Yesterday Gary & I went for a ride, a 26 mile snowmobile ride. It was a beautiful, sunny but not that warm of a day. It was great pratice for me-I'm getting better on that machine! We went all the way out to the front gate of the Park and then came back. Got a nice picture of the shack at the Park entrance.

Hope every one had a very Merry Christmas! We finally received our mail Christmas Eve. I received Thank You letters from Brandon's class from when I went there at Thanksgiving time to talk to them about The Petrified Forest and The Grand Canyon. And we got all our Christmas cards from our friends and relatives. (Remember our mail box is 45 miles away so it takes someone going on a snowmobile to get it and bring it to all of us.) What a wonderful way to spend the evening reading!

Of course it has snowed most everyday for awhile and we have quite a build up now. Yesterday-Christmas Day-was very cold,windy and dropped another 6-8 inches of snow. We were quite warm and cozy in our apartments and enjoyed our Christmas dinner together with our other maintenance neighbors Mike, Trish, Brian & Tanya.

Maintenance work trucks on Dec. 17.

The same trucks on the morning of Dec. 26. The walkway was clean Christmas Day when we got up in the morning.

Snowed more today-imagine that! At lunch time we measured 1/2" in a 1/2 hour. In the last 10 days it has snowed 8 days.

Perfect Day!

Gary packing the snow.

Facing East.

Facing West

Facing Bright Angel Point

Gary with the snow up to the seat of the bench.

Edie practicing.

What a beautiful, sunny day today. Perfect for snowmobiling. And the Canyon was just georgious!

Finally......

After 32 years of marriage-guess what? I made corn fritters last night and Gary said "I hate to tell you this but those taste JUST like my mothers." (I did take it as a compliment!) Now keep in mind this is an amazing thing since I don't fry food very often at all. I can not fry chicken to save my life.


It's still snowing!

More snow

Here is the morning after pictures-notice the chunk of wood has disappeared. And here is Gary after cleaning off a snowmobile to go break trail.

Snowed all day!

Well it did snow all day but it doesn't look like much accumulation in the back. Gary said there is alot more out front but I haven't gone out there-that would mean putting on boots.

Snow Day

Looking out our back door.

It's a snow day! Imagine that. Only got to work for 3.45 hrs this morning when Mike decided it was to slippery for us to be out. There is not enough snow for the snowmobiles yet but just to much for driving the trucks. There really is not that much out there concidering I'm from NH and we used to have to drive in a foot of snow while waiting for the snow plow to make it's rounds. I will periodically take more pictures during the day to show how fast it is accumulating. We are suppose to be getting 30 inches or more by the time the storm is done on Wed.

All Alone

How long has it been since I had a day off without Gary?......To long!

We had to take the truck to Jacob Lake this morning and leave it there for the winter. The big winter storm we have been waiting for is suppose to arrive Saturday. I needed to go to town first, get some things and go to the Post Office with all my Christmas cards. When we got back from doing all that I stayed home for the afternoon and Gary went to work. Did I just relax and enjoy the alone time? Well not really. I reorganized my pantry closet with the little frig and freezer. Now I can open the frig door and actually get to things. Most of the canned goods were still in the case box so all that was not bad to move. I discovered some things I forgot I had too. And I got most of these things just over a month ago! I cleaned up the front coat closet space too. That was GREAT! I was so tired of having the boots and winter things just scattered. After 32 years you would think I would realize Gary was not going to put anything away and just do it all myself without putting it off for so long.

Anyways, all that moving and exercise got my achey muscles feeling better. Achey muscles? Yes, I started painting the dorms. Yesterday I did the hall walls of 1 of the dorms. Up, down and sitting on the floor to do the baseboard area with carpeting up the wall instead of baseboard. The painters tape won't stick to the carpet so I ended up doing it all by hand and I must say I did a good job, very few places with paint on the carpet. And you have to get close to even see it. If a really tall ladder can be found for me tomorrow I will finish the walls in that dorm and move everything to another dorm. I've got to find a way to slow down or I will have all the painting done by the end of this year!

Having Fun!

Hurray the Gift Shop is closed and sealed up for the winter. So...we took a 4 day weekend to just enjoy ourselves. Our first stop ended up being Mormon Lake Lodge. We had a great dinner and decided to spend the night there. It is a Forever Resort Property so we got a $125 a night cabin with fireplace for only $19! Yea...well, we first booked a $90 room but it had not been cleaned so they had to give us the next room...the cabin with fireplace for the $90. And then in the morning at check-out they gave us a really great employee discount.

It was a very nice place to visit and we will have to research it more as they have so much there to do and for employment too. http://www.mormonlakelodge.com/



That was Thursday.

Friday morning we decided to go to Camp Verde and check that area out. We had reservations for Saturday at the Verde Canyon Railroad for a 4 hour train ride. We took the back roads and enjoyed seeing new places and taking our time. Our first stop in Camp Verde was going to be Walmart but at the gas station they informed us that was 16 miles away in Cottonwood. So off to Cottonwood to find Walmart. We went past "Out of Africa" and decided we would check that out. So we find Walmart, get the necessary things we need, decide to find a room and get some lunch.

We got to Out of Africa at 3PM and really enjoyed the 2 hours we were there. We hopped on the shuttle to go see the animals get fed. There were lions, tigers and bears! Oh My!! Hyenas, leopards, zebras, giraffes, camels and so many more species that I can't remember the names of them all.







After the feedings we got to go inside part of the sanctuary and see up close some of the animals. We fed Tebo, the 17' giraffe, carrots and the ostriches had to come and get their fare share too. Even some of the zebras came up to get their share.








Saturday morning we get up and go find the train station. Just in time too, since the Christmas Parade with Santa was going to be closing off the road we needed. We got there a bit early so we went over to Tuzigoot National Monument to see some ancient ruins.


Finally, the train ride! It's a 4 hour ride from Clarkdale to Perkinsville and back. We went right up the Verde Canyon.

I really like the differences in the rocks. It just makes one wonder what forces were at work to change the rock so much and just how long did it take to build up the different layers.

For supper we went to the Blazin-M-Ranch for a cowboy dinner and show. We had a great time too. I haven't laughed that hard in years. Three tables in a row where we were sitting happen to have all New Englanders! There was even 6 of us from NH. There was a Jack Edwards from Meredith who worked at the Meredith Center Fire Dept. Small world!!!

On our way home we drove thru Sedona. We were not impressed, to many "rich" homes that look the same and the Red Rock to me is not as pretty as the mixed colors of the Grand Canyon. I guess I'm just spoiled now that I've lived here at the North Rim for so long. :)

Upon reaching home, we get the truck unloaded and guess what? It starts to snow! What timing. Now that we are home, it can snow as much as it wants!!


What a great weekend.

Winter Wonderland

Need I say More.........

Had a great time down in the Valley. After a big turkey dinner at Philips we went bowling. Matthew did great for a 5 year old! By the end of the round Brandon and Sam were finally getting the hang of it too.

8 More Days

I stayed busy all day today. The man from Wheeler Jewelry came and took his jewelry away. He showed up at 9AM and was gone by 1PM. While he was doing his thing I was checking all the food/candy for expiration dates. Found a lot that needed to be marked down 50% so hopefully we can get rid of them by Dec. 1. They are not expired yet but will be by May 2009 when we reopen. All that does not sell will get split up between all of us that are staying the winter :) (Gary really likes Reese's Fast Break candy bar so those got put aside just for him!)

Still no snow but it is getting colder tonight. Feels like it just might snow.

Kristal was here from Tue. night until Fri. morning. Just her-no kids or husband-it was so nice to have a conversation with no interruptions :) We took the tour of the Glen Canyon Damn and learnt a few things. Went to Walmart in Page and got more groceries. And had supper out at Cliff Dwellers Resturant.

I also got some things together from the Visitor's Center to take to Brandon's class on Wednesday. This month is Arizona history month in his class so while we're down for T'Day I'm going to speak to his class about The Grand Canyon and The Petrified Forest. I'm going to give all the kids a piece of petrified wood too. That will be so cool!!!

Can't wait to go to Philip & Louise's for Thanksgiving. When Kristal was 1 1/2 yrs. old we had Thanksgiving with them and it was a great spread! It will be great to see their kids and grandkids too. Maybe not all but some of them.

2 WEEKS LEFT

We have 2 more weeks and then I can close the gift shop for the winter. Not knowing how things will be next year-scanners?-I think the best thing to do is bag and label everything I can. And just in case I'm in the Retail Warehouse, my inventory will be that much easier. Of course it doesn't help that I have found numerous mistakes in the inventroy that was just done in Oct. while I have been restocking the gift shop. Anyway, I should have a much better idea of things after Monday when Jack comes from the Corporate office. He's bringing more chips, sodas and candy bars.

Finally got all the meat cut up, bagged and sealed for the freezers. (We had ribeyes the other night after Gary cut up that huge piece of prime rib we got from Costco. Yummy!) Now that everything is froze I think I will unload all the freezers and take an inventory so I will know just what I have and can plan better menus for the winter. Then when I repack the freezers I can stagger the different kinds of meats and things. Maybe I can make more room too for everything. Then I can also get whatever else I may need when we go to Pheonix for Thanksgiving.

Yesterday was a georgious day here. Sunny, slight breeze and WARM. But when I got home from work, the wind started blowing and cooled us down in a hurry.

WHYYYYYYYYYY

Why do I have to keep the gift shop open?



I had 30 people today and the first didn't even come until 11:30AM! And I had a record sales of -ready------$65.72. My feet were cold all day and of course it seemed like everyone was a comedian today....Oh do you want the door open? (because the door stopper keeps falling down and holding the door open every time someone comes in--Gary, can't you fix this?)



I did fix the problem about the restrooms. :) I was soooo tired of telling soooo many people where the restrooms are and that they are Porter Potties!~ So I made a sign and taped it to the window in the door of the gift shop. In big RED letters is Porter Potties so noone can mistake what I'm saying. So far in 2 days I have had to tell only 2 customers where the restrooms are, so much better than every other customer :).



Today was, is, our grandson Jason's 6th birthday. It was so nice to hear his voice and have a nice chat with him. He's so grown up! Of course this picture is from last year so I bet he looks a lot different now. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASON!

Jason & Emily 2007

All moved in!

Well, we finally got all moved into the 6th plex here at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. However we did not get the RV down off the Rim until today. And last night we got our first snow storm, just a dusting in most places but a lot of ice on the road too.

Our booster antenna for the internet works great over here. And the cell phones work too so now I can keep the computer and both phones on every day and keep in touch with every one.

The gift shop is still open and it's really cold in there. We have 4 little 5" heater to heat the whole shop. Our counts have dropped off alot also. Last week we were having 100+ visitors per day and this week if we reach 50 we are lucky. Most of them are hunters. The drinks and snacks (left overs from the general store) are a big hit. Once every one finds out that is all there is to eat or drink until they get back to Jacob Lake, it doesn't take long for them to start buying.

Tomorrow we go to St. George, UT for the last of our winter shopping. Costco here we come! Finding room to put it all in a 1 bedroom is not easy. But then again I didn't know just how much "stuff" I had in the RV until I started to unload it and bring it in here. Definately going through things this winter and getting rid of a lot.

Time to finish my shopping list for tomorrow so "Good Night All"

Edie & Gary

I'm so bored at work. I had 46 customers or rather people that popped in. It is COLD up here today! The key chain thermometers inside the store say it is 50-60* but I don't think so. It's only 37 outside with the wind blowing. All I have for heat is 4 little 5 in. square heaters and the one at the register keeps shutting off the power cord. I think I have solved that problem by plugging it in directly to a big outlet. Now if I can keep from tripping over it! The wind is trying hard to push the door open which does not help keep me warm.

Gary's the only maintenance guy around today. Mike went to Cedar City to get the snowmobiles. Only 4 though and there are 6 of us here to use them. We are suppose to be getting 8 so that we can have 2 in case of break downs and we are suppose to have at least one down at Jacob Lake in case we are out and it snows so much we can't get back in by truck. Brian is off for the day.

Yesterday I made up menus for the winter. I figure if I can come up with 30 different meals then I can just figure 6 times each meal to know what I need to be getting. We bought a small chest type freezer last week and 25 lbs each of bread flour, regular flour, pinto beans, rice and 20 lbs of sugar along with canned things and a bread machine. I already had $150 worth of canned veggies from the bulk sale at Honey's Jubilee in Kanab. I must have 40 cans of tuna fish too since I had a case and then about 10 in the camper and Nancy gave me 24 when she left the mountain.

OH that's better...I just took a thermal shirt of the rack and went in back and put it on under my long sleeve white shirt & winter sweater vest. Now I'm a bit warmer :D And it was a marked down shirt too so it did not cost me much.

Today I am looking online to find out how to freeze things and do more figuring for my shopping trip on Thursday. I love celery and use it alot and have been beating my brains trying to figure how to freeze it so it won't be mushy. I think I have found the site that will help me alot. Kristal told me about it. "Pickyourown.org" and it tells about freezing too.

Well it's time for me to have some lunch. I got this electric tea pot (from Nancy) that boils water in minutes and is great for here to make raman noodles and those other "just add water" soups. My day is 3/7th over and I have had 12 people pop in!

Here some of the pictures of the 6th plex.

The living room (just moving in) the pantry with our freezer

and the kitchen. I did not realize just how much stuff the RV had in it until I started bringing things over to the 6th plex.

Definately this winter I have to get rid of alot of "things". (That is James in the pictures.)

November!

Well I've moved one more time! I just got all our stuff into the 6th plex for the winter and now just need to clean the RV, then Wed., our day off, take it down to Ferdonia for winter storage. Tonight Gary is suppose to hook up the antenna so I can get internet and if he does then I will post pictures of the sixth plex. But for now I'm at work in the gift shop. Here are some comparison pictures of how the shop has changed for the winter season. (If you want to call 6 weeks a season.)

Before After

Before the candy on the table we had shirts on the table. The things we sell the most of now are snacks and beverages. This morning has been the exception with people not really interested in the snacks. It is now 1PM and 23 people have been in the see what we have. No wait, 25 people, 2 just came in! Now I have 3 more hours before I can go home for the day. BORING.

Yesterday I sat here and made up menus for the coming months so when I go to town I can stock up more on what I figure I'll need. We have been given alot of left over food from the Lodge too. I should not have to buy any butter!

Well I'm so bored I guess I'll go find something to dust!

Everyone is GONE!!!!

I cleaned out the desk and got it organized this morning. Got the bank all squared away. (I have signed for $5000) Started making my list of what to bring back up from the warehouse. We had to have inventory at the end of the regular season-Oct. 15- so now I can restock the store.

I also have to sell the left over candy, chips, drinks and cigs from the general store so making room for all that is challenging. And keeping it stocked is very challenging since that is all the food that anyone can purchase for 20 miles or maybe 45 is Kaibab General Store and Lodge are closed.

I signed for the Gift Shop keys at 8AM and got the keys for the truck at lunch time. Nikolai was just hanging around till tomorrow so he can leave so I made him come to work and he brought all the cases of drinks down to the store and stacked them in the Native room which is now empty. No more expensive jewerly till May 09. Tomorrow I spend the first hour or so writing down what I brought up today before I can put in out on the floor so when inventory is done again in the spring everything will be accounted for. (No we don't have scanners, that would make life so much easier! After all we only did $2,000,000 worth of sales in 6 months.)

All of that from the "Cashier" back has been taken down also and room dividers have been put in front of the cashier "bull pen" so that the shelves with pottery can still be on display for sale.

My RV is so messy and crowded. Since we are staying for the winter everyone decided to give me their left overs. I have about 5 things of laundry detergent, 4 bottles of Dawn, 12 extra cans of tuna fish (I had just bought a case for the winter myself!) Cleaning supplies, towels, ect..... And I can not get anything organized because I have no place to put anything. Everything I leave outside has to be weather proof as it is getting quite chilly at night now. I don't know how much room we will have in the six plex apartment and we can not move into it until after Nov. 1. (It better not snow or get freezing cold until then as we may not be able to get the RV off the mountain if it snows to much.)

Time for bed, got alot to do tomorrow and have to be out of the store by 4:15 to go to dinner at Jacob Lake with Philip and Louise!