Easy Does it

Friday July 1, 2011
Bryce Canyon National Park
North Campground Site 45

 

Today was a hot day as Bryce standards go.
High of 89 so I had already decided I wasn’t doing
any hiking or running or anything that required
being out of the shade where it is probably 15 degrees
cooler here.

But the temperature is not the only reason
I was laying low.
I’m pretty sure David would hike every day for
hours for weeks for months who knows how long.
But that feels like “ramming” to me.
This is my real life, not a vacation and in
my real life, I like to take it easy A LOT. J

 

And that’s what I did today.

 

I also wanted to give my leg a rest to see what’s up.
For the first time in over 15 years of running,
I have a tenderness around my left shin.
Not sure if it’s a shin splint since I’ve never had one.

 

But it seemed prudent to take the day off from
all forms of hiking and running.
And so I did.

 

Since it is July 1, it was time to check on all
of our accounts and make sure money was where
it should be and in the amounts it should be and
authorize payments for things that need paying
and all the first of the month stuff.

 

So I did that.

 

I renewed our site for another 4 days.
We’re up to 8 days here at Bryce
and loving it!

 

I worked on the Fairyland Blog which
I just didn’t seem to be able to keep within reasonable limits
as you will know if you read it.
But it was SUCH a GREAT hike.

 

That’s my only defense.
I apologize for the eye strain it may have caused you.

 

But here is what I did that I enjoyed most today.
Reading Canyon Crossing by Seth Muller.
A great book about doing a rim to rim hike
from the North Rim down into the Canyon and
back out to the South Rim.
Have I mentioned this before???  :-)

 

 

I asked David how he spent his day or
at least what he’d like me to say about it.

 

Like me David did a lot of little stuff.
What we call Putzing around.

 

He fixed his watch band.
Fiddled with the dining room shade.
Took the recycling down to the collection bins.
Spent time on the computer finishing his
blog on our hiking of the Rim Trail on Wednesday.

 

 

 

He read some in The Harvey Girls.
Like the book on Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, I
enjoyed the Harvey Girls very much and since
David likes History I recommended it to him
and he too is enjoying it.

But we did get out and about later in the day.
While hiking the fairyland Trail yesterday, we had run in to
a couple from Maryland.
She had on a GREAT vest.
And I asked her about it.

 

Turns out she’s a photographer from Maryland.
Well you know how that goes.
We’re from Virginia.
Anyone else from Virginia is practically family
and if you are from a neighboring state
and we know the city you lived in,
well you are an instant friend.

 

 

Chris and Jay have been full timing since January
after two false starts in which problems with renting their
home caused them to have to go back.  But they
are set now for 3 to 5 years Chris says.

They are currently Camp Hosts here at Bryce
in the Sunset Campground for another 3 weeks
and invited us to a fire circle gathering this evening.
So we packed up a couple of beers, some chips
and salsa and went on over.

 

There are 4 full hook up sites in the
Sunset Campground Camp Host Loop.
Very nice that they have their own loop somewhat
away from the campground loops.
That’s unusual in my experience.

 

There are two campground host couples
and other folks who work as rangers and interpreters
who have their Coaches and 5^th wheels there.

 

I forgot to take my camera,
David had his but was so engrossed with all the folks
that he forgot to take pictures of their loop
and of them.

 

But, it was wonderful to meet them all.
We really appreciated the invitation from Chris and Jay
to meet the folks they work with.

 

And that pretty much wrapped up our
July 1^st “down day”.