A Final Evaluation of our Gig at Grand Canyon Association at the South Rim—A Grand Experience!

Well, hard to believe, but my parents’ gig with the Grand Canyon Association has come to a close!  I had the pleasure of joining them on their last day.  And a busy day it was, too!   We were told things slowed down a bit after Labor Day, but we hadn’t seen any evidence of that.  In fact, other than a few weeks after Independence Day into August, visitors just continued to pour in daily!  Dealing with so many guests (6 million annually, with more than half of these representing international travelers) in the two busiest retail stores within the second most visited National Park takes patience and fortitude (think Mother Teresa), a keen sense of humor, and, most importantly, good teamwork.  My parents may have missed the mark a few times on the first two requirements, but they surely hit the jackpot on having one terrific bunch of co-workers and managers!  I know I enjoyed my time with them!  



Furthermore, after folding the same t-shirt a dozen times within a 5-minute interval, cleaning up people's spills and broken ornaments, and dealing with some very misbehaved children (what would Santa say!!!), we all agreed we have a deeper respect for and understanding of cashiers and retail workers everywhere!

A small sampling of our wonderful work associates!

Me helping Dad ask a customer to become a GCA Supporter!  Nailed it--who could resist me AND "Norman" the long-horned sheep as a "thank you" gift.

Never can say good-bye!!!!

Having some fun with co-workers outside of the "office"!

Mom, who acts as our family's bean counter/investment guru/budgetary adviser, found our GCA gig financially rewarding.   The job paid $10+ per hour.  We received a full hook-up RV site for a nominal charge of $50/month, and ours was well-sized and secluded.  We were responsible for the costs of electric and propane.  But even with running the air conditioner enough to make the RV a meat locker, and with all the cooking Mom did, our monthly costs for electricity/propane were $150 or less.  Additionally, we met Mom’s goal of earning 1/3 of our annual budget at this job.  As a result, we will not work the rest of the year, and instead will be recreating until our soon to-be-determined Spring 2018 gig!

Most importantly, we had the unique opportunity to truly “experience” one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World each and every day, from an early Spring snowstorm to radiant sunrises and glorious sunsets; from monsoon lightning storms to colorful rainbows (they looked like those on the Lucky Charms Cereal Box sans the leprechaun and pot of gold)!  

We witnessed Mama elk cows teaching their newly-born calves the facts of life while masculine bulls and their racks with many points emerged for rut season.  We watched the mule deer, squirrels, ravens, chipmunks, rabbits, even a California Condor, go about their daily lives throughout the seasons.

We glimpsed a big horn sheep, mountain lion, and javelina, and captured terrific photos (at least for a stuffed rat with no fingers) of the rare Grand Canyon Rattle Snake and Collared Lizard.

We heard the stereophonic bone-chilling howls of coyotes, and observed the Milky Way, constellations, and planets in the natural night skies.  We marveled at the flora and foliage that flourish in this desert climate.

We accomplished a “bucket-list” wish of hiking down to Phantom Ranch and the Colorado River, thanks to the GCA Field Institute offering a great backpacking trip and the fantastic guiding of Kory and Marin.

And we shared our knowledge of the area with several friends who visited us from back East!

Me and Dad with our Biker Bros--I call us the 4 Mousekateers!

Though they kept in contact through the years via phone calls/emails/texts, Mom hasn't seen these folks in nearly a decade!  What a treat to share the Canyon with them!

My parents are conscientious and hardworking, but ALWAYS take time for fun.  Hence, we visited lots of wondrous places in the surrounding areas, too (check out my prior blog posts for detailed accounts of these experiences)!  We optimized our days off and maximized our time for fun.  For example, we limited our trips to Flagstaff for food shopping.  Having an 18 cubic foot residential fridge in our rig PLUS a chest freezer that we filled to the gills helped tremendously in this endeavor.  Additionally, we used Amazon.com and Walmart.com for non-perishable food/household items. For as much touring as we did accomplish, however, there was so much more we wanted to do and see, all within a 2-3 hour radius.

Needless to say, we had a grand time here working for the Grand Canyon Association, earning the experience a coveted 5-cheese rating from this Rambling RV Rat!

We would like to thank some amazing organizations for all they do for the RVing community:

Escapees

Xscapers

RVillage

RV-Dreams