How did we end up sleeping in the Bus on the side of the road two hours outside L.A.? It was such a quick descent; one moment I was bragging to a friend about our plush accommodations in the West Hollywood Hills (thanks Elliott’s cousin) and our invite to the 20 th anniversary screening of the Labyrinth at the Academy, yes the Academy, and the next moment we’re sleeping like sardines. I suppose that’s life on the Bus.
The next morning we woke up and started our trek out to the Grand Canyon. After a full day’s drive across the desert where one or more bus members may or may not have melted into the seats, we arrived at an RV park in Williams, on the outskirts of the Canyon. As thunderheads rolled in over the pine-covered hills Sunshine, Crank, Mikey and I thoroughly dominated a quick game of intra-Bus beach volleyball. As the storm subsided the sun sank through and lit up the sky in the most amazing set of reds, oranges, and pinks as a full rainbow sparkled on the opposite side of the valley.
Sunshine swung the Bus north before sunrise and we arrived in the South Rim of the Park early in the morning. Throughout the day we talked to random passersby from all nations and states. Some of my personal favorites were a girl from Spain who was spending the summer in the States working in National Parks – all without spending time in any U.S. cities. We also got a great tip from a maintenance worker in the park, who also happened to live across the street from me in my hometown.
In the early afternoon thunderheads were rolling into the Canyon, and he suggested we sit on the rim, because the hot temperatures at the canyon bottom usually catch and hold the clouds over the canyon – to spectacular effect. So we set out to watch the afternoon’s thunderstorm – only the storm never fully materialized – but we found other ways to entertain ourselves. First, after spirited debate we decided that brontosaurs were probably about 100 feet long (though for awhile we thought 100 yards was appropriate) and that the length to the lookout point in the canyon was 17 brontos long. Henceforth, everything in the trip will be measured in brontos, i.e. BPG (brontos per gallon). As we were engaged in this momentous debate, a herd of Big Horn sheep quietly crept up on us in preparation for a full-on frontal assault, probably an attempt to drive us over the cliff that we were perched on. Luckily, Mitch spotted them and made a beeline to hide behind the rest of us. With their cover blown and their assault scuttled one of the baby sheep turned on its mother and began headbutting her sternum, looking to be fed (look for the video in future vodcasts). After much contemplation, I’ve decided that Viv and that sheep share a certain number of similarities. The sheep continued to lurk nearby all day.
Back at the bus, we had some great conversations with passers-by. Brian chatted with a repeat visitor about improving the efficiency of his biodiesel processor. A lovely lady brought Forrest and Stepho free Pepperidge Farms cookies. We also talked to a few rangers considering converting their pickups to biofuel.
As the day wound down we decided to take in the sunset from the edge of the Canyon. Although we were very late in making it, we did catch a lightning storm instead. Fortunately, on the drive out of town, we were just in time to run into the coolest family of caravaning Los Angelans at a gas-station. They told us about their family tradition of caravaning from LA to AZ twice a year, and brought to our attention Biota (linked below), a spring-water company selling their product in corn-based 'plastic bottle'. Neat stuff, Arizona. Neat stuff.
- Zabel |
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