(c) 2010 Lydia Hinshaw
Sunset over the skyline of Zion National ParkCEDAR CITY, UT -- Prince Charming and I are on the road again, having left our jobs at the North Rim (after the usual two weeks' notice) Wednesday evening.
I would have preferred to stay until the bitter end in mid-October, but the Prince was working a job that required him to stand on his feet all day. Lately, he had been having so much back and knee pain that it was difficult to enjoy his time off. It was best for him if we left early.
I, on the other hand, sat behind the wheel of a van with minimal breaks for eight hours at a time. At the end of my day, the difficulty was in getting my knees to straighten out so I could walk. Within a few minutes I could recover enough to get on with my life.
We enjoyed our jobs, and the many nice folks we worked with, and the tourists all of us served. We were astonished at how many people went out of their way to tell us good-bye, and I have already thought of several I somehow missed seeing on our last day.
The entertainment provided by other not-so-wonderful employees was another story.
On our last morning on the job, a young co-worker was taken away in handcuffs by NPS rangers before dawn, after he'd pulled a switchblade on first his roommate, and then our two-man overnight security team. It was not the first time that something like this had happened, and it goes without saying that alcohol was involved.
We spent our first night of unemployment at Duck Creek Campground in the Dixie National Forest, which had become our weekend home this summer. Our favorite campground host, Ed, was happy to see us one last time.
The aspens at Duck Creek had begun to turn, and the temperature was 32 degrees when I woke up at 7 a.m. We've mailed four big boxes of stuff home, but were smart enough to keep all our blankets.
This weekend we're off to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Nevada, and then we'll head for the Northern California coast. It has been far too long since we had any fresh seafood.
I would have preferred to stay until the bitter end in mid-October, but the Prince was working a job that required him to stand on his feet all day. Lately, he had been having so much back and knee pain that it was difficult to enjoy his time off. It was best for him if we left early.
I, on the other hand, sat behind the wheel of a van with minimal breaks for eight hours at a time. At the end of my day, the difficulty was in getting my knees to straighten out so I could walk. Within a few minutes I could recover enough to get on with my life.
We enjoyed our jobs, and the many nice folks we worked with, and the tourists all of us served. We were astonished at how many people went out of their way to tell us good-bye, and I have already thought of several I somehow missed seeing on our last day.
The entertainment provided by other not-so-wonderful employees was another story.
On our last morning on the job, a young co-worker was taken away in handcuffs by NPS rangers before dawn, after he'd pulled a switchblade on first his roommate, and then our two-man overnight security team. It was not the first time that something like this had happened, and it goes without saying that alcohol was involved.
We spent our first night of unemployment at Duck Creek Campground in the Dixie National Forest, which had become our weekend home this summer. Our favorite campground host, Ed, was happy to see us one last time.
The aspens at Duck Creek had begun to turn, and the temperature was 32 degrees when I woke up at 7 a.m. We've mailed four big boxes of stuff home, but were smart enough to keep all our blankets.
This weekend we're off to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Nevada, and then we'll head for the Northern California coast. It has been far too long since we had any fresh seafood.
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