A certain appreciation of the natural beauty that makes up this wonderful country of ours’ is ascertained while travelling by train.  You can find a secluded spot to read or contemplate your life as you watch Americana roll by.  You are free to roam around the train, you can socialize in the club car, unless you’re currently travelling through certain counties in Kansas, which are “Dry Counties” and no libations may be served or consumed. 
   Mike and I met two girls who were our age that were travelling to see friends on the west coast.  So for the next eight hours or so, we hung out on the train.  We had a great time playing card games and wandering around the train.  As the train pulled into Flagstaff Arizona we made hasty plans to keep in touch something I never did………. but often wonder what ever happen to them.
   The Weatherford Hotel looked like something right out the old west; we went there to find out what would be the best way to get to the Grand Canyon.  A bus was leaving in 30 minutes so we boarded and headed to the Grand Canyon.  We spent a very short amount of time at the top in the National park resort area, just enough to look at the views and then we headed down the trail.  Our plan was to hike to the bottom and then hike back up in time to catch the last bus back to Flagstaff.
   We were actually pretty proud of ourselves for putting together a plan of action.  We have learned that pre planning is a good thing.  However being novices at planning our adventures, we neglected to think globally so to speak.  We had a very narrow focus, Hike down Hike up, not rocket science.
   A quick check of the day’s weather forecast would have been very beneficial, we would have altered our plans if we had known a large winter storm was predicted to hit later in the day.  Also a basic knowledge of highland hiking tidbits would have been nice to know.  What we failed to take into consideration was that going down into the canyon was very, very easy we actually jogged at times, But trudging UP a 22 degree slope on the switch back trail was a very slow and arduous process.   We never reached the bottom because at one of the rest areas along the trail we started to talk to a fellow hiker.  Cameron was his name; he was from Australia, here on “holiday.”  He was going up and said everyone was being told to hike out before the storm hit.   So we hiked out with our new friend Cameron.
   Needless to say it took three times long to reach the top of the canyon than it did going down.  The news just kept getting better (not really)……… we had missed the last bus to flagstaff and the resort hotel did not have any rooms.    I vaguely remembered some of the early morning bus ride into the park and recalled a hotel that was just off the main highway just up the road a piece.  Day light was fading fast and the snow was really starting to come down now.  So it was decided to hike to the main highway.
   The three of us were dressed for the cold blustery weather but I would be lying if I didn’t say I was cold.  We did not see any cars on this long stretch of road except for one van going the opposite direction.  The van quickly decelerated and then backed up.  The driver rolled down his window and asked just where the hell we thought we were going?  We had walked about three miles already and said we just wanted to hike to the highway and go to the hotel.   If it weren’t for the kindness of strangers we may have been found the next day huddled together frozen to death, for you see we were still eleven miles from the highway.
  These kind folks turned around and gave us a ride to the main highway and we slogged our way to the hotel were we got a room.  Cameron was a college student in Australia studying engineering and was just travelling around the United States, he showed us his itinerary with, dates, times, and helpful information about each destination, very neatly laid out.  He asked where we were going next and we both shrugged and said we didn’t have a clue.
   The next morning we parted ways Cameron wanted to see a few more sites around the area while Mike and I decided to head back to Flagstaff and grab a train to California.  I knew a guy that lived in L.A. well at lest he did last I heard.  I called him and luckily he still lived there and said he would meet us at the train station.   As we were standing on the side of the highway thumbs out hoping to hitch a ride into Flagstaff, when this car started to swerve and slid through the intersection on the freshly fallen snow.  The car slid off of the road and became stuck, Mike and I jogged over to the stranded motorist who happened to be two older ladies who were pretty shook up from their little off road excursion.
   After a few minutes Mike and I got them unstuck and when they offered to take us to Flagstaff we gladly accepted.  I just love it when a plan comes together.  California here we come!
 
~Owen Burgin~