grand canyon update

so i came to a point this afternoon, i had nowhere i "had" to be. nothing that i "had" to do. and all kinds of time on my hands. alas, it's play time...lol ....but there's always house chores to do..bah humbug...lol...anyways, the real reason for this entry was to give you an update about my future Grand Canyon trip. i just learned last week that's there's another way to do the canyon, sorta. a woman in my class said her and her daughter i believe just hiked into the canyon and stayed at Phantom Ranch at the bottom. they hired a mule to carry their packs down there and just hiked into it without a 30lb backpack on their backs. how cool is that! so i called the Backcountry Infomation office there and sure enough one can do that. the only problem at the moment, Phantom Ranch is booked for 13months in advance. so, no problem with me. i'll still camp out there and just hire the mule to carry the backpack down & back up. it sure beats me doing it, although by the time i'm ready if a mule isn't available, i'll go ahead and pack it in myself. so, all this new information leads me into thinking that come next May, i'll be taking that trail, which is the time of the year i'd prefer. i won't need to buy a new sleepin bag for that time a year-already have one. i can just carry a small daypack on my back for munchies and water, and i'll be good to go. this will also be much better for my ailing knee. i'm lovin' this latest news and will begin the planning of that come January. in the meantime, hopefully starting monday i can get my conditioning going again, like riding my bicyle i bought as well as hiking. i'm taking this saturday off from working at the church. i'm going to cut back my hours there and work every other saturday versus every saturday. this will give me more free time for homework, house chores and exercise. i'm so much more confident right now about my money affairs too. just took care of something yesterday via an attorney and paid one bill off today. i am patiently perservering thru my financial woes climbing out of my debt. come february i'll be almost out of the tunnel. i have less worry and stress right now and i'm loving it!


now, for these balloon fiesta photos. i hope i haven't repeated any photos. i have so many i'm losing track. the striped guys photo'd are the "referees". i don't remember their exact title, but these are the guys who let the pilots know when they can take off while also blow their whistles to let the crowd know and move people out of the way for take off. both men and women do this and they're all over the field directing traffic....now the other guy photo'd, is a typical hat sold and worn at the fiesta (for those who like these hats). there are other hats typically worn too especially designed for the fiesta. people come to the fiesta annually collecting pins and/or patches. usually those wearing them are part of a chase crew, specifically assigned to one balloon. it all makes for a colorful fiesta. but anyone can collect pins and patches. i started many years ago to collect the patches, but didn't follow thru every year i was out there. every year i go out there, i want a souvenir of sorts, but usually keep my cash in my pocket. and this year i finally found a poster i wanted to purchase but didnt' get back to it, darn it. and did i tell you i met another photographer out there? anyways, after looking at her photos, i want to start doing more with my photos. think i'll start enlarging a few and frame them for sell. will attempt to sell them at church too if they let me....i'm feelin great today (aside my little rant about the p.o). Life is only gettin' better!