It's true what they say about the isolating factors of the Grand Canyon. Especially for my job. People kept telling me how summer is "primetime" for kids my age (22ish) to be hanging around here. Really? And they would be where exactly?
I work in an office with two other people, one other person on Fridays. My housemate works long hours at the gates, so I see her every other day-ish at about 5 or 6 in the morning. She's been here two years and is looking for bigger and better things away from here. I'm the new freshman eager to get in, and she's the jaded senior eager to get out. And it's just the two of us in that big house.
Every so often, though, one of these big guys like to come around, piss off the neighborhood dogs (all named Cujo, what are the odds?), and poop all over the place behind my fence:
My thoughts keep turning to my impending birthday, two weeks away on July 8th. I turn 22. I keep wondering what I'll do that day, if I should even celebrate it by myself. I was thinking about going in to Flagstaff to see a certain movie and laugh at all the high school fangirls. That always seems to cheer me up.
On a slightly more positive note, at least I'm starting to actually do things for my internship. I've been getting out more lately to just go observe. Yesterday I did some work out at the South Rim, really just watching people and taking some pictures. I finally made it out to Kolb Studios.
The Kolb Brothers are infamous around here: their studio/movie theater house sits on the ledge right over Bright Angel Trail. Back in the day, they got their start simply taking pics of mule riders and selling them. Later in their careers, they expanded to panoramas of the Canyon: these daredevils would be hanging off things, perched atop dangerous peaks, and generally doing things sane people would not do to get pictures. Eventually, the brothers were the first to film what it was like going down the Colorado River. This movie would be shown in their own studio for many, many years. Even today they have the projector still sitting up in its room so you can go look at it. The studio has to be one of my favorite places, and the Kolb Brothers some of my favorite people of Grand Canyon history.
I was glad to get out of my office and walk around, even if it was one of the hottest days since I've been here. I've been drawn more and more to take pictures of the vegetation on the ledge, I don't know why it interests me so much.
Although the office is mostly boring I did have an encounter yesterday morning. As I sat at my desk typing, I kept hearing rustling noises from somewhere I thought in my office. But every time I turned around, it stopped. I knew I was hearing something IN my office, but then thought that since everything echoes around here it could be someone else behind the wall or outside my door doing something.
And so I kept on typing, peering around at noises that didn't seem to have an origin. But then I saw it. Yes, my trashcan was mostly definitely shaking on its own. I slowly crept over to the can and used a stick to poke the bag around (gently) and there it was: a little furry body at the bottom of my trashcan. I'll admit I'm horrible at taking out garbage so this mouse was enjoying old apple cores, tissues, and granola. I didn't want to admit my folly, so I waited for four hours, masking the noise of the mouse in the can as best I could, until lunch.
At lunch, I took the can out, tipped it on its side and slid the bag out with a stick. But the mouse did not want to leave. I rolled the can a little. Nothing. "Get out of there!" I said, clearly unaware that library patrons were now giving me a wide berth as I screamed into a little metal trashcan outside my office doors.
And I wonder why I don't get visitors in the safety office.
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