The Joy of Teachers: Thriving on Our Collegiality

One of the best parts about teaching for me--especially here at Yavapai College--is the outstanding colleagues I get to teach along side.  But it's more than that.

My colleagues are my friends.  We literally laugh and cry together over life's jubilant surprises and horrendous curve balls.  And we play together!

Steve and Mark on the South Rim.

Steve riding on the Grand Canyon Greenbelt

Every year I've done the 9x9x25 seems to coincide with some epic bicycle ride with my YC colleagues.  Curtis Kleinman and I rode from Prescott to Downtown Phoenix via Yarnell and Wickenburg one year--all 113 miles of it.  Another year we did the "Tour de Yavapai"--starting out at Chino Valley and riding to all our campuses--CTEC, Prescott, Prescott Valley, Verde Valley and Sedona:  85 miles and lots of ups and downs.

On this Veterans Day, Steve Doyle (Geography) and I headed up north to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Outstanding weather (cool but sunny) greeted us as we cycled from the Visitors Center to Tusayan on paved bike paths winding their way through the ponderosa and pinion pine forest. Fortunately, we ended up at Wendy's just in time for lunch!

We rode back into the Park (it was free to all visitors on Veteran's Day!), and took the turnoff through Mather Campgrounds to Grand Canyon Village.  Winding our way through train depot, El Tovar Hotel and the Bright Angel Trailhead, we intersected Hermit Road and headed west.

Park entrance on the bike trail from Tusayan

Hermit Road is closed to vehicles except for the Grand Canyon busses.  So the road was (more or less) ours for the taking.  We stopped at all the viewpoints, including the Powell Memorial.  The air was clear and the rock colors appeared especially red.  We spied the might Colorado River and its rapids a mile below us.

About 2.5 miles from the end of the road, the Rim Trail is paved and open to bikers.  We weaved our way up and down and around (avoiding right turns that could have put us at the bottom of this grand ravine!), finally arriving at Hermit's Rest.  The "hermit" (he really wasn't) was a Canadian gentleman who helped set up an "upscale" resort (canvas tents and cots, with dining service provided) at Hermit's Camp, a half day's trip down into the Canyon.  He and his partners set up this experience to avoid the "tolls" charged on the Bright Angel Trail in the early 1900s.  When the Grand Canyon became a National Park, the Bright Angel Trail was then open to all, and Hermit's Camp fell on hard times.  The ruins are still visible from the Rim.  The                                                                        "rest" at the top of the Canyon remains.

After munching down energy and chocolate bars, and washing them down with Gatorade, we headed back east toward Steve's car.  As we re-entered the Village, we paralled a truck guiding a herd of about 20 elk (including a half dozen young calves) away from the populated area.  We also witnessed a couple of deer crossing the rode right in front of us.

Steve's "Map My Ride" app said we burned almost 2,000 calories, climbed almost 1,800 feet during the day, and covered 34 beautiful miles.  We ended the day pleasantly exhausted.

YC means lots of things--great teaching, inspiring relationship with students, service to the community.  But it's also a fertile ground for life long friendships.  For this, I will be ever grateful.

Steve Doyle and Mark Shelley at Hermit's Rest, South Rim of the Grand Canyon.