The Call, part II

When: Last Tuesday. Time: 7am

Me: Hey…
Mom (my own this time, not his mum): Hi … what’s up?
Me: So I’m going to do it.
Mom: Going to do what?
Me: You know, the Grand Canyon.
Mom: What?!?
Me: I’m going to do the Grand Canyon.
Mom: When…why?
Me: I’m piggybacking it with a conference in Las Vegas, so I’ll just fly in a few days earlier, rent a car and head out…

...and so began a half hour long discussion about my personal safety and state of mind.

The back story is this… my parents had the Travel Channel on while I was over at their house last weekend to watch the race (yay team B.K. Harvickers!). The show featured the mules that take travelers down to the bottom of the canyon. By the time the show was over, I had turned to my mom and said (pointing at the TV), "I want to do that…I really want to DO THAT."

But you know, without the mules.

And then whoopideedo this conference pops up and it just clicked in my head when I woke up Tuesday morning to simply go and do it. The phone call to mom was me betting that it was still early enough that she’d be too groggy to argue, but I was mistaken as I mostly am when it comes to mom.

But it’s really the perfect trip if you think about it.

1) Inexpensive. The conference is taken care of, and I already own all my own backpacking gear. I need to rent a car to get there, but I was flabbergasted to find a midsize for $20/day, including all the taxes and airport fees (it’s a Christmas miracle!). Ok, so add gas, park fees and getting some supplies (purchased well outside of the park of course), I’m pretty much set. And if that wasn’t enough…

2) The best of both worlds. Ever have to decide to go on either a plane trip or a road trip? This one is both! It’s a five-hour drive from McCarran to the Grand Canyon, plus some side excursions (including Needles, for a whole host of uninteresting reasons...source the code and find them if you really want to know), and back to Vegas is about 14-hour drive, enough for it to feel like a road trip.

3) Adventure! I need my fix, especially after being denied the marathon and having to turn down an invite for Hood to Coast (*sigh* that would have been fun...stupid ankles). I was left with nothing B-I-G to do this year.

4) Vegas, baby! And I’ll be tired…but not that tired.

I thank the universe for getting me to Vegas, one way or another, every single year. The universe is amazing.

Update from the other call: The work is done, paid for and the cello is now safely home. They did a great job -- It looks waaaay better and sounds fantastic. And now that it's done and over with, we don't have to worry…at least until next year when we replace the case!