Grand Canyon - Day 7 - Tuesday 4/27/2021

-

We woke on our last day in the Canyon to partly cloudy skies, a nice break from the raining night that had just passed.


In style we were served Eggs Benedict. As was expected by now the hollandaise was prepared perfectly and the eggs were cooked to order. Since we’d lost the camaraderie from the night before, folks seemed to gather around at breakfast. 


The day went a little different as we no longer needed the dry bags as we prepared to be taken out of the canyon. Who couldn’t resist one last visit to the best seat in town with a wonderful river view, a solid #2 on the 7 days scale of locations, topped only by Deer Falls. [Sorry, I couldn’t resist ... both puns intended.]


After loading the boats, they took some parting shots of the group. 



What a nice group of people. On reflection during the trip and while scanning the group, I’m disappointed by the lack of diversity. Maybe next time.


Our takeout location was 6 miles downstream, as usual I took my position on point. 





We did enjoy a few parting rapids, but arrived at Whitmore Wash more or less dry.




On our arrival we discovered that the next group that would be enjoying our Guide’s expertise and fine fare, were held up by weather. Likewise the helicopters would also be delayed. We took the opportunity to reminisce and share a few left over beers.


After a few hours, I found myself on the 5th ride out. This being my first helicopter ride, I was a bit nervous. It was a wonderful experience. I felt just as safe as in a car even though we were 100’s of feet off the ground.







We ended our journey at the Bar Ten Ranch (GCT) were I picked up some souvenirs and had a long hot shower. We met the group that was headed into the Canyon as we waited on our flight back to Las Vegas.


As they got off the bus, the driver approached Joel and asked him to share some words of advice. Joel! We all snickered and joined in a last sharing opportunity, knowing that Joel of all people was a great pick ... if you are looking for deadpan dry humor.


Thanks to the Guides: Joe, Lauren, Macay, and Dan. Thanks to Willie Holdman our photography mentor. Thanks to Rich for inviting me on this adventurous trip. Thanks to Steph for organizing our group. Thanks to Don and Edwin the other folks from our group. Thanks to Don H. For joining our party. Thanks to my wife, Phyllis for holding down the fort [I owe you.] And finally, thanks to the rest of the 30 participants who joined me in this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Snyder/Gouline/Highstein/Bass - 2023 New Year / 5784 Rosh Hashana Genealogy Letter

-
Image
  L'Shana Tovah   Family,  This family letter come 9 months late, as the secular New Year was a hard time for me. I’m sure you all are well aware that my Mom, Cevia Rosol, z”l  (of blessed memory), passed away on December 28, 2022 after a turbulent 8 months, closely following the death of her husband of 43 years, George Rosol z”l, who passed away on May 2, 2022.  Here is my Eulogy for my Mom, for those who missed it:  I miss my Mom already. My name is Michael Snyder; Mikey to her. I thought that bringing her from Maine to Maryland would allow me and other family members to have a renewed and extended opportunity to spend quality time, share experiences, and create bonding memories. Sadly that did not happen.   My Mom wanted to live her life on her own terms. She loved her husband George more than anyone else on Earth. Now she has joined him for eternity and hopefully they are at peace.  Mom was creative, artistic, well organized, and a bit stubborn. She was a good mom to me. I was
Read more

As the War rages on, people of Ukraine need help with the little things

-
Direct Help to Ukrainian Individuals and Families When I visited Ukraine in 2018, one of my best resources was the secretary (Victoria Chymshyt) of the local Synagogue in Rivno. Gratefully, she and her son have escaped to Warsaw. She continues to stay connected and help out her congregational friends and families both inside Ukraine and refuges outside, like herself. I reached out to her to find out how we could help her community directly. She and the head of her community responded with 2 projects:   One of the biggest challenges is staying connected to family and friends and using their other cell phone apps. Believe it or not, communication and other services available on cell phones can be more important to them than food. "We will choose the numbers of those who need it the most. That would be great help.", Vik.   <<READ THIS RELAVANT ARTICLE> https://www.treehugger.com/people-are-outraged-see-refugees-smartphones-they-shouldnt-be-4867591 One of the congregants
Read more

I found my Maternal Great-Grand Father Jacob Gouline (Galon) in Ukraine

-
Image
 I found my Maternal Great-Grand Father Jacob Gouline (Galon) in Ukraine Father is Moyshe Gersh (same as Jacob's Headstone) Grandfather is Volf (same name as my Great Uncle Willie) Mother is Yenta Blyma (Same name as Grandmother Jeanne) Sister is Malka (Same name as Great Aunt Marcella) Sister is Ita (Same name as Great Aunt Ida) Likely Jeanne, Willie, Marcella, and Ida were named after these relatives! They lived in Lutzk which is where Jacob, Rachel, and Jeanne departed, to head to the U.S.
Read more