Q1 2018 - A plan is in place!

I had a surprise come at the end of 2017.  The diverter valve in my bathroom broke, pouring water behind my wall and creeping through wallboard and flooring.  Of course, living in a small town, finding help over holidays is a challenge.  It took a couple of days for a plumber to arrive and then there was the assessment....major damage requiring complete floor replacement as well as cabinetry repairs!  Water damage is insidious and penetrating.  I feel fortunate that I could know right away what the issue was.  It is not always the case.  The end result: nearly half of my flooring was replaced and I ended up with new appliances as the old had to be pulled in order to get to the floor.  I took the opportunity to get new appliances and feel like my place has a face lift!  Thank goodness for insurance!

Generally, I am always happy when a new year rolls around.  It seems strange, but it appears as a clean slate to me.  It is just another new month, but for some reason I see it as an opportunity to plan ahead.  I will give more details about extended plans, but first I would find myself preparing for a visit from a new friend. 

I met Jeanne Tinkham last September in Rome, Italy. 

She would be with a group I would rendezvous with sailing aboard The Royal Clipper in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.  Jeanne lives in Massachusetts and had only visited Arizona once before.  As our group talked one night about birthdays, she would reveal that she generally hates her birthday as it is always exceptionally cold where she lives.  Well, I said that she needed to come Arizona to celebrate as the weather is nearly perfect! She made plans to do just that!  Just days prior to her arrival we would see our first sign of winter.....luckily, the white stuff does not stay for long!

She arrived in Payson, AZ and rested the first night, but then we would be on the go!  She wanted to revisit Sedona. I took her the long way via Mormon Lake, Flagstaff, Oak Creek Canyon and finally Sedona where we would find a resting spot and visit with fellow travelers.  We opted to stay the night in the area as we were to take the Verde Canyon Rail the next day out of Clarkdale, just a few miles from Sedona.  Jeanne wanted Mexican food for dinner and I am ALWAYS up for that!  We found a perfect restaurant right next door to the Best Western.  Boy, did they have the best food and, of course margaritas by the pitcher!  The next morning we got up early enough for a quick trip to Jerome, an old mining town.  From Jerome one can see the beautiful red rock country at a distance. 

We made our way to the train depot about noon and boarded for the all afternoon journey into this magical and beautiful setting.  Of course, the desert was dry looking, as deserts are but the red rocks were amazing and closer than I had expected.  

Why, we could reach out and nearly touch some of the cliffs.  The lunch was nice and an option I would recommend on that train.  Of course, we started with a Champaign toast! After returning about 5PM we headed back to the Payson area.  We had reservations and plans to join the Oxbow Outfit and Payson Petticoats for dinner.  That is the reenactment group I have been involved with the last year.  The members made Jeanne feel right at home, of course!  The next day would have us going South for the much anticipated warm weather that Jeanne longed for.  We started out hiking to the lower dwellings of Tonto National Monument. 
https://www.nps.gov/tont/index.htm

Then we poked around the little communities adjacent to Lake Roosevelt. 

After lunch we took in a local winery and then some good ole' country and western music by the locally famous band, Junction 87.  The night was finished off by another great Mexican food dinner and one of my favorite Payson restaurants. On Jeanne's last day we drove to the top of the Mogollion Rim for one of Arizona's most spectacular views. 

We drove back to Payson for a quick look at Green Valley Park before seeing the movie, "12 Strong"....very powerful movie.  The  night was capped with dinner at Fargo's steakhouse where we split and meal and still left with food!  

I enjoyed having a fun Jeanne visiting and look forward to her return...maybe on her next birthday!

Just a few days after Jeanne's departure, Payson would see the annual run of the Hashknife Pony Express.  This is a reenactment of how mail was delivered for a short time over a 100 years ago.  Payson folks love this event and folks from far and wide meet at the post office to greet cowboys and their horses. Below you see a transfer of the mail bag from one rider to another shortly after leaving Payson.

Now, I  turn back to looking to the summer. I began the year poking into jobs in National Parks. Some of my favorite summers were spent in The Grand Teton National Park in the 80's. Times have changed in regards to applying for work in the parks.  Back in the day, I saw an ad in the Arizona Republic for summer work in the Teton's.  Recruiters from Jackson Lake Lodge would be in place the following week at a downtown Phoenix location to interview for seasonal summer jobs in Wyoming. I interviewed on site and was offered a cashier job in one of the restaurants in the park. What would intentionally start as a one season job became three seasons.  So, leaning on that fond memory, I began my search for the 2018 season.  Of course, now we are living in the age of technology.  I looked directly at the NPS sites and saw voluntary positions.  As much as I would LIKE to volunteer, I do need a stipend at the least.  Then, it dawned on me that the paid jobs are outsourced.  After I did a search for concessionaires contracted by National Parks I was set!  I did start with Teton National Park and quickly got a job offer as a Reservations Agent.  I retracted others (I thought) for Glacier and Denali.  However, just a week later I received a call from the HR Department at Glacier.  Once again, I was offered a job!  My last visit to Glacier was as a six year old!  I asked for a few days to give my response and after consulting with an equally adventuresome sister, I was encouraged to "Look forward, not backward."  So, now I am wrapping my mind around the fact that I have new territory to explore from early May to late September! For those of you who might like to come visit, I will be at the Lake McDonald Hotel.  I have been told there is no cell service, but WIFI is in pockets.  I will be reminded of the remoteness of my village in Guyana!  The best way for people to reach me then was by the app, WhatsApp.  If you think you'd like to visit Glacier National Park, let me know and once I am in place I might be able to get a "friends and family rate".

In the time between now and my departure for Montana I will make the rounds to see my children and the grands.  In addition, I will have another visit from a Peace Corps friend and continue to dig up bones....a term I use for my personal genealogy search! I will have a small support role in a murder mystery play done by the Oxbow Outfit and Payson Petticoats March 24 and 25.  It will be our first attempt at a play and judging by rehearsals, should be pretty fun! So, until we meet again.....

PEACE!