Richard's Ramblings

Richard's Ramblings

Guide Richard Thayer's tour diary

Christmas Day, 2010

Christmas Day, 2010 – Such a good and proper Christmas we had – the act of giving, in the best tradition. I gave a day of peace and beauty to a very pleasant family of four, an older man and his wife and their two grown sons, gathered from far and wide (Florida, New York, and California) for the holiday. It was a chilly but lovely tour, the snow-covered forest and upper slopes of the Canyon gleaming. They seemed oblivious to the cold during my little rock talk, after which we had a welcome respite, a tasty lunch at the Bright Angel Lodge dining room.

The family did a lot of laughing and good-natured teasing of each other all day. Normally I prefer to have two or three groups on a tour for the sake of meeting, sharing, and social interaction. But today I was glad they were the only party with me, so they could completely relax and enjoy each other’s company without reservation. They especially enjoyed the Little Colorado River overlook under a great dome of scudding clouds, and the Canyon rewarded us at the close of the day with a brilliant magenta/vermillion/salmon-colored sunset. Couldn’t ask for a better Christmas.

December 13, 2010

Today I had a really nice time with four Brits, a young husband, his wife and his parents. Very intelligent, polite people, interested in everything and full of good questions. The young woman was especially fascinated by the geology talk, "A brief history of the last 2 billion years," as I like to call it. The weather has been unseasonably warm lately, particularly today in the low 60's (nearly 20 celsius), so we were able to spend the whole day out in the sun, in our shirtsleeves.

Their awe and wonder at seeing the Canyon for the first time reminded me strongly of one of the main reasons I love taking tours. Having grown up near here, I've been to the Canyon hundreds of times, and it never gets old - on the contrary, it becomes more amazing with each visit. But I especially enjoy the sharing, because it allows me to renew my vision, to experience again the wonder of the first visit, vicariously through their eyes.

I had hoped to show them some big animals not found in the U.K., and sure enough, late in the day we suddenly went by a couple of elk that were not far from the road. I turned around as soon as I could, so we could go back and stare at them for a bit. It turned out that it was a small herd, scattered here and there in the forest near the road, first two, then three more, and so on, until we had seen nearly a dozen. We stopped beside the road to gaze at the big bull elk with two of his harem. Everyone was very pleased with that, as well as with the marvellous sunset over the Canyon to conclude the tour.

All in all, a fine day.