Desert View - Day 38 - Contrasts

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5:46 am - Monday - December 18th - Grand Canyon - 20º F, 41% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the south by southeast......sunny today with a forecast high of 46º F.

Sunday was slightly less busy than Saturday, but not by much.  As we edge towards the Christmas holiday, and schools begin to let out for the Christmas vacation the crowds here are beginning to increase once again.  It is the last hurrah, and then things will really settle down to a much, much slower pace, or so we are told.   

My 'open' shift began slowly, but gradually picked up steam towards noon.  I had been given a few chores by our assistant manager (some restocking of various store items) and those chores kept me busy for the first half of my shift.....keeping busy always helps the time to pass more quickly.  Eventually TLE arrived for her 'close' shift and it was time for me to count down my cash drawer once again.

As I walked home in the still cool early afternoon air (mid 40's) enjoying the feel of the sun on my face I thought about how different it would feel of there was even a little wind.  It's amazing how much difference there is in the feel of the air temperature with no breeze.  The day before it was a little breezy, and about the same air temperature, but it felt 20 degrees cooler.  The difference in the 'feel' is that with no breeze I can walk around outside in the afternoon and be comfortable in just shorts and flip flops......with the same temperature, but a light breeze I am wearing pants, a long sleeve t-shirt, a sweatshirt and shoes.  Now, to be fair, there is just a 2 hour window in the afternoon when I can walk around outside in shorts and flip flops, otherwise I am all bundled up against the elements.  

I find myself occasionally thinking of our time along the Colorado River last winter, and sitting outside day after day reading wearing shorts, t-shirts and flip flops, or just a few weeks ago we when were sitting on the shores of Lake Powell doing the same thing.  There is a certain part of me that misses, and will be missing that all winter.  I spent 99% of my life living in SoCal prior to embarking on this journey, so you might say I am a warm weather kind of guy.  Our decision to deliberately spend the winter at 7,400' elevation is a departure for us.  Our normal routine each year is to move north when it gets warmer, and south when it gets colder.....that is what most full timers do, and probably what we will return to after this winter, but we have been thinking about spending the winter in a colder place for a year, or two now, and finally pulled the trigger this year.  Fortunately, this year it is predicted that the Grand Canyon will not get as much snow as in prior years, so we have probably picked a good year to come here.....only time will tell.  On the other hand, this is what is looks like just north of Gardiner, MT as of Sunday......

TLE was home about 5:45, and shortly thereafter she was serving me Fajitas, which she had prepared earlier in the day before she came to work.  Her afternoon was a little busier than my morning, but not as busy as my 'close' shift the day before.  Knowing I had the 'open' shift again Monday morning I was in bed by 9:30 looking forward to another day in 'paradise'.

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