Grouse Hollow Journal for March 26, 2015 by Greg Koelker

outside Flagstaff, AZ

On the way to Flagstaff, AZ

Tom and Ellen with a grapefruit tree

Pick it yourself Grapefruit!

Lemon tree

Ah shorts outide

Out back at Tome and Jan's 

Catching some rays in T and J's back yard

Catching some rays out in T and J's back yard

Heath and Ellen in a milking parlor

digging some sugar beets for the goats

Go Brewers!

At the Grand Canyon

Breakfast in Avon, Co with Tyler, Ben, Ellen, Me, Whitney, and Mark

Tom's shop

Tom and Jan's new home

more dairy shots

a sugar beet

the guard dog llama

pet me please

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UW Milwaukee Chancellor throws out the first pitch 

Tom, Jan, El and I before we head north

First view of one of the seven natural wonders of the world - wow!

doin' tricks on Anna Banana's bike

Bucky Cabin at Grand Canyon

along the highway in Monument Canyon

On Wednesday morning Ellen's brother Tom took us over to their “old” house (now for sale) to pick fruit. Tom planted grapefruit, lemon, orange, and tangelo trees there over 20 years ago. For some years now, Tom has sent us a much appreciated box of Arizona citrus from his trees. He did it this year too, but we got the bonus of loading bags and bags of fruit to take to our mountain kids, share back home, and keep us in lemons and sweet grapefruit for a few weeks anyway.

I had checked about tickets to the Brewer's opener at Maryvale that day, some 20 miles east of there and got two tickets right behind home plate on Tuesday evening. The price was right - half off! $28 for two tickets. So on Wednesday afternoon, it was an all Milwaukee opener as the Brewers were playing the UW Milwaukee Panthers. The Panthers were on their winter tour of warm places. This was the first time the Brewers faced a college team since 1983 and also the first time that it was UW Milwaukee. Maldanado was catching as Lucroy was still healing up. Mike Fiers started on the mound for the Brewers, but we got to see Jim Henderson pitch - we got his bobble head last season when I don't think he pitched at all. We also saw a La Crosse Central grad, Mitch Ghelfi playing for the Panthers. He played well, getting robbed of a single on a great diving stop by Scooter Gennett at second base. Interestingly enough, back in the early 80's we were visting Tom and Jan when they in Idaho Falls and we went to a minor league baseball game and saw a La Crosse Ghelfi play there. I believe that was Mitch's uncle Tony, maybe. Mitch's dad Andy also played in the big leagues. UW pitchers were a tad hard on the pros too. Former Blue Jay, and now new Brewer first baseman Adam Lind, and Khris Davis and Garardo Parra all struck out on 90 MPH plus fastballs from UW's Joe Pavlock. A young man from UW Milwaukee was seated near us with a speed gun writing down stats. The Brewers didn't get a hit until the 4^th inning, and in the end won 8-0. I think the Panthers have nothing to be ashamed of though; they play great ball. We got to see a lot of ball and acres of green, green grass and most importantly, the Sausage Race! I think the Brat won this time. We also got some sun; it was 72 by the 7^th inning stretch.

After an elk steak dinner with Jessie and Ana joining us until bed and homework time - Jessie is an elementary teacher, we stayed up late talking with Tom and Jan that night.

We had breakfast with Tom and Jan, said our goodbyes, and headed north to the Grand Canyon. The drive north was beautiful, especially without a blizzard to blind us. We saw red hills, lots of cacti and trees, and Flagstaff without a foot of snow - most of the previous storm had melted. As we closed on the canyon, the scenery was dramatic with desert, red hills, forests, mesas, and distant snow-capped mountains. We stopped at a touristy gas station/souvenir shop outside the park. A nice lady told me we should wait til we got to the entrance to get our park pass if I was over 60. It turns out, I got a lifetime National Park Pass for $10! Pretty cool.

When we finally parked, we had to walk a few hundred yards through numerous parking lots to the canyon. The sun was out but it was cool and there was snow on the ground in shady places. We followed the crowd - and there was a crowd, mostly made up of bus loads of foreign tourists. When we got to the canyon - there it was, I mean we were walking a sidewalk surrounded by trees and then holy cow, our first visit to one of the seven natural wonders of the world! It is amazing, a deep depression so colossal in size, yet we couldn't see it somehow as we drove into the park. The canyons, peaks, and valleys down in the canyon are streaked with shades of orange and red with the Colorado River a tiny brown thread cutting through the deepest parts. Somewhere I read it was almost a mile down. The canyon is nearly 18 miles from rim to rim in places. I talked to a woman who said she hiked it last year, crossing in two days and taking two days back. I used to think it might be cool to take the mule train down into the canyon and stay at the Phantom Ranch, but the cost for two people is nearly $1,000 with tax, so that's probably not ever going to happen. Anyway, we were tired so we decided to see if there were any rooms at the lodge. We were able to stay in the Bucky Cabin. Our room was only $77, but we did have to use a semi-public bath. (There were men's and ladie's rooms and a shower room and a bath too.) We got a quick shower right away. Ellen wasn't feeling well and needed to crash, so like the caring husband I am, I fixed myself a martini and went out to enjoy it and the sunset on the canyon rim - by myself. (In my defense, I did mix a cocktail for Ellen which she didn't drink. She did get some much needed sleep though.) As the evening chilled and the canyon changed from shades of orange to shades of red and blue and dark greens and grays, I visited with a Methodist minister from Eagle River. I offered to take a picture on their camera of three women from Casper, Wyoming who were sisters on a trip together. We started talking Packer football - they were Packer fans! As it grew too dark to see much in the canyon anymore, the ladies invited me to join them at their reserved table in the lounge in the big lodge to listen to the band. The man and lady musicians were good. I enjoyed a Coors Light and went back to our room after the first set, promising the women that next season I would watch for their nephew who plays center for the Detroit Lions. Our bed was very comfortable, but the place was noisy with people coming and going in the hall all night long, or so it seemed anyway. In the morning, we had coffee and chocolate muffins in the lodge and went out to watch the sunrise. We headed out along the south rim on Highway 64, stopping along the way several times to look and take pictures.

We drove through Monument Valley and northern Arizona into Utah and had lunch at Moab. Monument Valley is an incredible place too, with rock mesas looming up out of desert in a helter skelter pattern. The road had many Navajo road side stands, but none we saw were open. I have to say, I don't think I could live in what I would call that dry, dismal land, but it appeared as though lots of people did.

Until next time, get out - we made I-70 that afternoon. It was hard to believe it was still winter in Colorado as there is very little snow until you get where you can see high country. Mostly the ground was brown. That evening we had dinner in Avon, Colorado with our mountain kids, Mark and Whitney and Ben and Christine. We crashed with Mark and Whitney and stayed up pretty late - for us anyway- catching up. We shared our bounty of AZ fruit and other goodies from WI with the kids and had breakfast with them and nephew Tyler Hauk the next morning before we left. Let's see, after we left the mountains, there isn't much to describe; I mean all brown and flat Nebraska and Iowa and Minnesota - right? I have to mention some big herds of antelope we saw in Colorado and the huge flocks - like millions maybe - of snow geese swirling into lakes and fields along the way. There were many places where hunters had put out decoys that we could see from I-80. We stayed in Grand Island that night and were home on Sunday afternoon. Years ago, as we started down the Nodine Hill into the Mississippi valley and home after a trip to Idaho and Yellowstone Park, Ellen's dad, Walt remarked, “I think this area is as pretty a spot as any on earth.” I agree. Enjoy.