Western Sun Number One!

This one week trip was a whirlwind. By the end I feel a combination of complete exhaustion, slight good-riddance, and a good amount of satisfaction. This was the ultimate 'girl's trip', nine lovely ladies and myself! Despite the obvious challenges of guiding nine European girls around the Southwest, we all managed to have an amazing trip and a little femme boost is always good forthe soul!

Highlights of the week included an amazing sunset at the Grand Canyon followed by a clear night of star gazing followed by an incredible sunrise. Renting a party bus in Vegas equipped with two stripper poles and proving to all my girls that Canadian tour guides are quite gifted dancers. Driving on the recently opened (two-days prior) Tioga Pass to Yosemite Valley. The road is still lined with snow and the waterfalls are gushing with runoff into rushing rivers and sky blue lakes.

Our group was fairly dominated by the energy (and noise) of four of the five British girls on the trip. With demeanours that can politely be described as 'girly girls' I am not sure if any of them actually read the trip notes before our departure as they seemed to be surprised on a nightly basis that we were on a camping trip and therefore sleeping in tents. When they weren't passed out in the van they were most likely berating me with thought provoking questions like:

"Where can I straighten my hair?"

"Why are there so many old people at this star party?"

"Do bears really eat British people more than American?"

"How many strip clubs can we go to"

"Why does your fake British accent always make English sound whiney?"

My answers were as follows:

"try the outlet in the port-o-pottie"

"a star party is a group of people star gazing, not a night club"

"yes, but they will only know you are British if you keep talking"

"as many as we want"

"I am really good at imitating"

Although they were ridiculous in their girly ways, they certainly kept me entertained and I even managed to learn a few new things about Vegas night life!

All in all this week leaves me even happier and exited about the miles I will cover this summer and the people that will join me. Now it is back to Santa Rosa for a week to clean my equipment and wind down in Occidental with a russian river beer...