24 Aug 2023, Thursday

August 24, 2023

24 Aug 2024, Thursday

Prioritized Daily Task

Check out of 2 rooms at Angel Bright 9 Village Loop Drive, Grand Canyon Village, Arizona 86023

8:00 Am Mule ride on Thursday 24th. $1,235.10

Travel 8 hours to Matthew and Melodie's home in San Marcos, CA

Debbie and I were up at about 5:30 AM, had prayer, got ready, and went to breakfast with Mirko, Ljubica, and Bojana. We have adjoining room at Bright Angel Resort. At 6:30 AM we had breakfast in the lodge; 7:30 AM we checked in to the mule ride. At 7:45 AM we border the bust that took us to the mule barn. The company that handles the mule ride have 140 mules they purchase from back East at a cost of $2,000 to $6,000 each. When I was a boy, my dad purchased mules from about $100 to $300 for good strong young mules. At the barn, we were given leather water canteens, whips, and rain gear for the ride. At the end of the ride, Mirko told his wife and daughter in Croatian, "I will never get my legs to go back together. When we ended the ride, we turned our whips and rain gear back in. The leather canteen was ours to keep. There were 2 groups this morning of 10 each. We were in the second group. Our guide's name was John. He was from Texas but his family was from north Georgia. He was part Cherokee Indiana. On the trail, we rode in a line. I rode at the front so I could talk to him. He has been working full-time for a couple of years or more. There was a drizzle of rain when we started with low clouds. Before the 3 hours ride was over the sun had come out and it turned into a beautiful day. When we got back to the lodge, loaded the car, and checked out of Angel Bright Lodge on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon it was a few minutes after 12 noon. We drove straight to Matthew and Melodies only stopping for gas and restroom breaks. We arrived at 90 Pearl Drive, San Marcos, CA at 9:15 PM PST, over 9 hours of driving. Matthew and Melodie keep the girls, Madeline, Bella, and Ava up. After Melodie put them to bed Matthew helped us unload the SUV and bring our things in. Mirko, Ljubica, and Bojana stayed in the cosada. Ava gave Debbie and me her her room. We had prayer and got to bed a little after 11 p.m.