This is it the next to the very last, almost dark, light of the day. The place is the Grand Canyon and even though I paid extra at the gate for a longer day it wasn’t long enough. There is something about the cosmos that has an attitude of, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn”, and just shuts down when its had enough. And apparently it had had enough.

This shot was taken at about 6pm at the end of a long cold December day and I fully expected to get another 2hrs worth for my money but no dice. It was put the camera away, go home and we’ll talk about it tomorrow kind of deal. Defiantly I snapped a few more shots after this one but it’s difficult to do the canyon justice when you can’t see your hand in front of your face. My camera’s good but it does need a little light.

I felt like I had been cheated because I had paid for more time so I complained. I went to the Customer Service desk at Grand Canyon central and began to explain to the disinterested but bored person manning the counter why I felt hard done by. She looked at my ticket and said in that voice designed to make you feel like you were not only insignificant but that she had a fly swatter handy and wasn’t afraid to use it, that I had gotten my extra time, they had just added it to the beginning of the day instead of the end. The “you moron” part was understood.

Chagrined but haughty I stalked away muttering imprecations on her and all of her get, even though I guess you could make the point that I had not read my ticket properly. These are things that happen to us intelligent, sophisticated and handsome travelers occasionally and my thoughts were headed along the lines of  “Oh well, I’ll think about that tomorrow.” I was a little concerned that I was channeling Scarlett O’Hara as I headed into the restaurant to stuff my face with a big bowl of chili and every carb they had on the menu. But I figured what with the carb bloat and the sugar rush plus a short nights sleep I’d be ready for my long day tomorrow. Extra time in the morning meant I’d have a longer sunrise and that was good. Tomorrow would be a better day.