Desert View - Day 126 - T minus 1

6:15 am - Friday - March 16th - Grand Canyon - 26º F, 77% humidity, wind 3 mph out of the north by northeast.......forecast for today is sunny with some clouds and a high of 49º F.......our last morning at Desert View.

Waking up to snow on our final Desert View day has only reaffirmed my intense desire to be somewhere else where the low will be higher than our forecast high here at Desert View today.  We'll be rolling our wheels in about 2 hours.

At last, the final day of our sojourn here at the Desert View Watchtower has arrived.  We had talked for the past year, or so about spending the winter at elevation where it was cold, and where there would possibly be snow on the ground a lot, if not all winter.  We have found ourselves over the past few years briefly in snow, but had never spent the winter where there was the possibility have snow on the ground all winter.  We escaped that bullet  here at Desert View, but not the cold.  The first couple of months the weather was wonderful most of the time, but beginning in January it got consistently cold, and the novelty began to wear off over time.  Consider us officially cured of wanting to live in the snow!  On our work day at the Desert View Market my eyes kept drifting to the top of my register monitor to see what time it was.....here it was 10:09 am meaning I had about 2 hour and 21 minutes before I would be clocking out for the last time....

 Yup, you're right.....they misspelled my first name

.......about 11 am it began to snow in earnest just as the weather guessers had predicted.  The accumulation, thank goodness, did not live up to their prognostications, but snow on the ground is snow on the ground.....it just makes everything more difficult when it comes to stow the final few things away Friday morning.

As the morning stretched on a few employees came by to say their 'until next times'.....Kathy was the first.......

 Final day with Kathy

.....Kathy is the Deli manager and one of our favorite people here at Desert View.  I remember the first time I met her way back in early November I told her "I don't know you very well yet, but I know I am going to like you!", and that is exactly how it came to be.  We will both miss her, and wish her all the best as she pursues her eventual dream to become a vagabonder, too.

Carlos has only been at Desert View a week, or less, but we developed a bond very quickly.  He is from Equador as I related previously, and very, very sharp.  He picked up the cashier routine very quickly, and will be more than a competent replacement for moi......

Carlos and moi for the last time

.....Kevin, who worked in the bakery, came by our 'home' after to work to bid his adieus, but I forgot to take an 'usie', however, I did get this shot of him Thursday doing his job.....

Kevin working

....he was also one of our favorite people and a real gentleman.  He has been working at Desert View for a little over a year now....Kevin, you will be missed!

There are other favorites that I did not get pictures of such as Mary (Deli) who when I would great her each morning and ask how she was always retorted....."Peachy!", Katie and Ashley (Trading Post Coffee Bar), and Scott (Receiving Clerk).......you guys are now apart of our lives and memories!

Around 11:10 am our manager, Wayne, came to me asking if I thought TLE would be okay with NOT working Thursday, and without hesitation, I answered "NO!" she would not mind.  I quickly called her and told her she did not have to report for work, but would have to come in to turn in her 'bank' of $400.  Carlos relieved me at the register around 11:55 am, and I quickly made my way to the back room to count my cash drawer, make my deposit ($356), and then turn in my remaining $400 bank.  We took our final 'usie' with Wayne and Ian......

Ian (floor manager), and Wayne (Interim Manager)

......and we were out the door at 11:25 am never to darken the back door of the General Store again.

We spent the afternoon watching golf, and watching the snow come down heavily.  I was beginning to get very concerned about what it might look like Friday morning.  Finally the snow began to abate, and we began to see blue sky once again. The snow did not really stick to the road, so our fears about being snowed in began to subside, and thoughts of being someplace much warmer on Friday afternoon began to come to the forefront.

We watched a few recorded shows to close out the evening and were in bed by 10 pm dreaming of flip flops, shorts and t-shirts within 24 hours.....thanks for stopping by!

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