Wednesday, May 26, 2010

One perk of our job is the opportunity for meeting interesting people.  This morning, two young men dressed in deerskin rode up to the store on horseback. Curiousity drove me to ask the reason for their unusual appearance.  They are two months into a 3000+ mile journey from El Paso, TX to the Canadian border via dirt roads, trails and private land, avoiding paved roads wherever possible.  They are not only attempting a super-long trek, they are doing it as they would have done in the early 1800's.  Each man not only made his own clothing, he shot the deer and tanned the hides with the animal's brain, as the Indians did. Authenticity extends to using oilcloth tents and bedrolls rather than modern tents and sleeping bags.  Their route took them and their five horses from the South Rim to Phantom Ranch, at the bottom of the canyon, and up the North Kaibab Trail to the North Rim and across the Kaibaba Plateau.

While the trekkers bought supplies, two buffalo hunters entered the store and the two groups struck up a conversation about buffalo, forest trails and conditions.  The contrast between their clothing and modes of transportation was as striking as the convergence of their interests and knowledge.  Shortly, the hunters droved away in a big 4WD pick-up and the horsemen saddled up and rode off.

On Tuesday, an Australian couple on a different sort of adventure stopped in.  They had started their bike trip in Phoenix about two weeks ago, bound for Vancouver, British Columbia by September.  Their visas required that they leave the US by the third week of August.  Both elevation and strong headwinds were providing challenges on this leg of their journey.