We find ourselves at Bookmans in Flagstaff AZ this afternoon – drawn by the promise of used books and less inspiring scenery. Two days in Zion National Park and then three on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon have left us somewhat numb to grandeur. So we are camped out in the air-conditioning of a Flagstaff used book store. I’ll take a swing at stories of the parks later. It was my first visit to either Zion or the Grand Canyon as well, and I’m still sorting through what impacted me the most. Last night Peter and I hiked down the top section of the South Kaibab Trail with Ranger Joseph Felgenhauer: stunning and at a few points terrifying. I seem to be developing a reaction to narrow paths next to steep cliffs that remarkably resembles a fear of heights. Add in some serious wind and it turned into a memorable evening.
This morning we blew the bank on a breakfast at El Tovar – the elegant old hotel perched on the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. Dinners at El Tovar typically require reservations months in advance. We showed up for breakfast at 6:30 a.m. and had the old log dining room almost to ourselves… getting a table by the windows overlooking the canyon. Peter ordered Blackened Breakfast Trout with Eggs ($11, decent) and I tried the Prime Rib Hash ($12, also decent). Megan and Bredan ordered more standard breakfast fair. We liked the butter pressed into medalions with the El Tovar crest on the top and a fun presentation of the Belgian hot chocolate.
Our waiter was Harrison. At least that was how he introduced himself and what his namebag said. The only descrepancy was on our bill. When it came, it listed the name Meng rather than Harrison as our server: less like a Hollywood hero surely, but probably more common in western China where Harrison called home.
Through the course of the meal we heard a few stories about his time working at the Grand Canyon (his first visit to America) and decided we wanted to drop our third Unexpected 20 for Mr. Harrison Meng. I had to run out to the car to dig out up and ran back in to hand it to the woman at the reservation desk. Only when I arrived at the desk, there he was in person. It was a delight to hand it to him (inside a second blank envelope and disappear back out the front door.
