Vacation - What I've been doing (posting from Snowflake, Arizona)

Pin It I am currently in Snowflake, Arizona with Michelle and Mattie. This is going to be a long trip. It is expected that we will be 12 hours on the road…I’m going for support, mainly. I also decided to bring along my computer and work on a few projects along the way. I love how one can access the Internet just about anywhere there is civilization.

I went to church down here on Sunday with the Monks. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any clothes which would have been appropriate, however, I was offered the use of a neighbor’s clothes (because they were away on a trip). It felt strange going to someone else’s house and going through their closet to find stuff to wear. However, I do have to say that I looked pretty sharp nonetheless. It felt nice to wear new clothes, even if they were only on loan.

Yesterday was a busy day too. I ended up going to Coral Sands State Park. It was a pleasant excursion and I got a few nice photos. The rain was coming down like you wouldn’t believe, and I was caught in a torrential storm. Though it was nice, it was also good to have it finally end. I do have to say that the rain gives the desert that wondrously moist smell. There’s something about it which makes me love it down here all the more.

As I was driving down in the Kanab area, I passed this small airline service which took people on tours over the Grand Canyon. I stopped to check prices and found that a one-hour flight cost $150. I thanked the man, and then went back to my car. $150 was a lot of money…on the other hand, I never did stuff like this…I can’t recall how often I will go hungry instead of paying $12 for a hamburger at the only hole-in-the-wall eatery while on a trip if I know I can get a $5 meal at Burger King in a few more hours.

I stood at my car, caught in indecision.

Jason, you never do anything like this…isn’t life supposed to be all about experiences? How many of your friends have been to Hawaii or gone to foreign countries before? If you’ve got the chance to see the Grand Canyon like this, won’t you regret it afterward if you don’t go? How many breathtaking photos could you take from the lofty wings of small aircraft? Didn’t the man say that we’d, at several times, dip down into the canyon itself? It would take you three more hours to get to the Grand Canyon and back…isn’t your time worth $150? Also, gas is so expensive it would be pretty pricy to drive…not that you’d planned to see the Grand Canyon at all on this trip. Wouldn’t this be a memory worth the price tag which was attached? 

Didn’t the man say that flights left whenever there was a customer who wanted to go? Couldn’t you do it right now?

Yes.

I shut my car door and walked back in through the door, feeling a rush of excitement. I was already envisioning climbing aboard the small plane. “Okay, how soon can we take off?”

The man looked at me, and then back at his paperwork. “Tomorrow.”

Tomorrow? What the—“Held our last flight for the day already.”

“What about all of that, ‘We leave when a customer is ready to go’ stuff you told me earlier?”

“Well, that’s only until about 10:30 or 11:00 each day. You already missed the last flight…it took off right before you walked in the first time.”

I remembered the plane I'd taken a photo of (see above), just before entering the airport...I could have been on it if only I'd been there ten minutes sooner. I walked, somewhat dejectedly, out of the building and back to my car, feeling an immense feeling of letdown.

I wouldn’t be flying today. I wouldn’t be feeling the rush of flight over the Grand Canyon after all…

Curses.

As I climbed back into my car I smiled as a sudden realization hit me. After all, I’d just saved $150...