I lugged everything down to the shuttle stop. The shuttle only goes one way and the round trip is 50 minutes. I spent about 40 minutes till I got back to Masiwik but it was better than hauling my stuff a quarter of a mile the the stop going the other direction. By the time I got to the Masiwik Lodge it was 9:00 and the bus left at 10:30 so I had time to have a leisurely breakfast and read the paper.

All kinds of news. Just a couple days of being away from television and radio and we so quickly lose touch. I found out that Arizona now is 1/3 minority, which is no surprise. We always have been an interesting and multi-ethnic state.

There were also a couple articles on ADD (attention deficit disorder) that I read as we have a family history of ADD. To my shock, though it shouldn't be a surprise, I fit all the criteria. That's spooky. I have a niece on ritalin and a couple brothers who are strongly ADD and my father says that he is so I shouldn't be shocked.

There were only four of us on the bus to Flagstaff. This is the slow season during the middle of the week. The driver was in training and kept asking the trainer which way to turn. This is always a little unnerving. We took US-180 all the way back to Flagstaff but did have to wait at one point and then follow a lead lead vehicle through the construction.

The trainer mentioned that one of the tour buses almost hit an elk on this highway a couple weeks before. They do have "Watch for Elk" signs. At the Grand Canyon I saw several deer including some fawns. They also have warnings to not feed them as they have to kill deer because they are starving because their digestive system has been clogged with plastic .

I had a couple hours at Flagstaff so I had lunch at the Downtown Diner. They have grilled cheese sandwiches and all the good stuff and the prices aren't too bad either. I walked around the downtown and saw the Babbitt name on so many places. Yes this is Bruce Babbitt, our secretary of the interior's family. They are an old founding family here.

The bus pulled in and the driver pulled a duffel out of the luggage compartment and there was a crunch and liquor spilled all over the concrete. What a bummer. What a dumb way to carry a glass bottle. Smelled like good rum too. The lady was very pissed but it wasn't the driver's fault.

I spent the trip to Phoenix half asleep, just opening my eyes once in a while to enjoy the scenery. It was 5:00 when we pulled into the Phoenix airport. I rushed down to the counter to get on the 5:30 shuttle and it was full. The next was the 6:30 and they wouldn't know till 6:00 if there were any openings on it.

I rushed over to the information counter and found out where the Greyhound stopped and got there just in time to catch the local to Tucson. There were only two others on the bus but he said that he often filled up.

The driver talked to me all the way to Tucson. He even asked me out but since he had told me, at great length, how he didn't think he wanted to marry the lady he'd been dating, even though the announcements had been sent out, because she was always wanting to spend his money on things like eating out once in a while. I didn't think it would be a good idea to get involved with him in any way.

He was interesting to talk to and it beat staring out the window for three hours as this was the local and not too fast. At Casa Grande a guy was waiting and the driver just looked at him and said he was a prisoner that had just been released. They bring them over from the state prison at Florence to catch the bus. I guess the driver could tell by the paper he had.

It was good to see Tucson and be in my own home again. Cat was glad to see me. She even followed me around instead of ignoring me like she often does when I've been away. I checked my email and got ready for bed. It's so nice to be home.