a, down here sometimes 4:00a? Tex: In the summertime Macy: In the summertime, yeah Tex: Another part of our job, which is really my favorite part, is we also get to give interpretive talks on the ride. Kate: Do you have a favorite spot or thing to talk about? Tex: I enjoy the rocks; I think geology is really interesting. Especially because from the rim you cannot see how cool all of these rocks from the second half down, how they actually look down here. Macy: I’d say one of the points I really like is Skeleton Point. Tex: Good choice Macy: ‘Cause I mean it’s crazy, it’s such a narrow pathway and you got the rock wall on your side and then you got this ginormous vast of area you can look at with, of course, a nice little drop-off. And then Phantom Ranch is really cool. Tex: The Narrows on the Bright Angel Trail in the Tapeats Sandstone is really cool too. And I love just before Oh Jesus Corner as you’re going through that gateway into the metamorphic rock and you can see Devil’s Corkscrew, all the switchbacks below. That’s a beautiful view too. Kate: What would you say is something that surprised you most when you started this job? Something that you didn’t expect when you applied? Tex: Good questions. I think maybe how much the wranglers do to keep an eye on the people and make sure that they are safe and all of the things that people could encounter on the ride surprised me. Because they make, and I guess we do now (laughter)… it look’s like a piece of cake from the outside. But really there’s quite a bit that goes on for ensuring the safety of all the riders. Macy: Yeah. My other thing was, because I’ve worked with horses a little bit as a kid with my dad as an able rider and roper so I got into that with him, but the skills of all the mules like how sure-footed, and how strong they are. I mean they just push themselves and they’re just amazing. It’s hard to explain mules, like once to get to know them and stuff, like their personalities and everything, and really get to work with them it’s a really great experience. Kate: How do you get to know the mules? Tex: The bosses ride them to make sure they’re legit and good for us. They come saddle broke but they’re still very young. They’re about five years old and so they’re pretty green. Macy: I was going to say I think we have a few that are three maybe Tex: As wranglers it’s our job to start riding them first out on the canyon vista ride and really get them to settle down and keep riding them until they are safe enough to turn over to the dudes Kate: Could you define dude for me? Tex: We just refer to dudes for guests. Macy: Mules that people can ride easily without being scared that they would do something crazy. Kate: Do you have any funny, or interesting, or just stories that stand out from your time here? Tex: My recent story is that we have to open and close the gates while we feed the mules. They bring in this little Bobcat machine and feed them. So, I was standing at the gate one day and there’s this cute, cute large mule named Vike who came over and wanted attention. Mules are very, very affectionate. So I said “hi Vike,” loving on him, loving on him, he takes off. Then later he comes back with a friend, Hance, and I say “hi you guys” and I’m petting them then Hance disappears so I’m loving on Vike. All of a sudden my hat gets yanked off my head, because we have these long things called stampede strings that we put under our chin to keep our hat from blowing away. Well Hance had decided to grab that and he ran away with my hat and I was chasing him and cursing at him and he was just flinging that hat all over creation having the best time. And eventually it ended up on the ground with a hole in it. (Laughter) So they are very funny. They hold in their farts too. They let it rip right in our face every morning. Macy: I felt bad for a guest one time. One of our mules, Delilah, she has some…I mean they’re pretty ranky. Tex: She is a very gaseous mule. Macy: She is, and we were going on the trail and we were coming up above two-mile. We were coming around all these switch backs and there was this guest at one of the corners and he’s breathing pretty heavily, and I was like he’s probably running or doing something. And all of a sudden, we started going and all of a sudden I see Delilah’s face and I was like “Don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t do it.” And as she is coming around the corner she lets it rip. I mean, she just lets it all out as she is turning the corner. I could smell it all the way in the back. And this guy breathes it all in, and he’s just sitting there and starts coughing and everything and I’m like “I’m so sorry!” I felt so bad for the man. I was like, golly. Tex: There’s two times of the day that are my favorite with these guys. That’s in the morning when we come out here, especially down at Phantom, because we sneak up on them and they’re laying down. And they’re so cute. They’re looking at us like mom, just fine more minutes, I’m not ready to get up to work yet. And then after we unsaddle them for the day, they will go and roll and we just watch them. We give them a round of applause for the ones that roll all the way over. Very entertaining. Macy: Sometimes some of them will be on hill or in a little hole and they’ll be on the side where they that can’t turn the other way and your like “You can do it, I believe!” Kate: What are some challenges or misconception that you have to deal with? Tex: That’s a good one. The first one that come to mind is as we pass some hikers, not many, some people believe that riding the mules in the canyon is a cruelty to them. And that is not at all the case, these guys are so in shape, they’re really like Olympians. They work out every single day. The amount of weight of a person on them is negligible given the amount that they weigh. Just like backpackers, you don’t want to carry more than 20% of your weight on your back. Same thing with the mules, we’re not overburdening them. Macy: We make sure that if someone’s over we’ll be like “Look we’re sorry but we can’t.” We’re not going to do that to them and put them in that position. Tex: They’re very strict on the weight limits. Macy: Very strict. We make sure to take care of these guys, especially with that kind of stuff. Tex: Some people think that we’re working them too hard and yes, they do have to go uphill, however, they love their job. When we are picking out mules for the next day and putting them into the other coral there are mules that try to get in. They want to work. Macy: Yeah, they will try to run in and fight the other ones and you’re like “Come on back off!” Tex: “It’s not your turn yet!” Macy: I will say I have a lot of people tell me that on the trail that don’t they hate doing this? They actually really enjoy it. They really like to do it, it’s a lot of fun for them. Kate: Do you have a favorite interaction with one of your guests? (Weather rolls in, rain is heard in the background along with intermittent thunder) Tex: I will say I have the best time with the groups, especially if the entire group is together, we take ten riders at a time down to Phantom, and it is so much fun to have the groups that are hooting and hollering and having a good time. I love the people who chit-chat and talk and have a good time on the ride. Macy: I’ll even have people on my rides sometime yell yee-haw out of fun and you’re like yee-haw! When they’re having a good time, I’m having a good time. Tex: Absolutely. Kate: Is there anything else you would like for the future of Grand Canyon? Tex: I think that the park service is doing a really great job, to be honest. Especially with all the things that I’m seeing y’all put out. I think outreach and education is really important, especially with online and podcasts venues right now, just so that we continue to have funding for these parks we have to out to as many people as possible, especially minority groups. We want everyone to continue coming to the canyon so they can see how special it is and really experience it for themselves. And if you do come to the canyon I would really suggest, ensuring it’s safe, get below the rim. See inside the canyon because it’s a whole other ballgame. Whether you go down for a hike a little ways or you ride the mules down or even getting on the river, it is just so special and you can’t see it all from the rim. I personally would like to see more, and I know you are already working on it, about the native people. From what I hear there’s an intertribal council that you guys working with but I cannot wait until that information comes out. We have a fantastic museum collection on the South Rim. I would love to see more of that available to the public, because they have a whole museum with all the river boats out there. Kate: Is there anything else or thoughts about your job that you want out there? Tex: Best job in the world! Macy: Oh yeah, definitely, couldn’t ask for a better job. There’s always something different in the canyon and it’s just very spectacular, especially with the different weather that comes in too. It’s amazing. Tex: That’s absolutely true. You see new things. I love seeing people on the rides especially, or even just hiking in the canyon. This place is really quite magical, and it can really touch you on a very deep level. I love when that happens and you really make a connection. Kate: Do you have a favorite joke you tell? Macy: My thing is I like to tell my guests we can’t teach you how to ride like John Wayne, but we can teach you how to walk like him. (Laughter) Tex: The hikers that we pass, especially going uphill, they always make a comment about how we have the easy way. I like to tell them, just wait until they get off, or ask them how their rear end feel right now. The people who work at Phantom can easily tell who hiked down and who rode the mules down. And the answer is “The hikers don’t want to stand up and – Tex and Macy together: – mule riders don’t want to sit down.” (sound of mules walking by) Kate: Thank you for listening to this episode of Canyon Cuts, a Behind the Scenery mini episode brought to you by the North Rim and Canyon District interpretation teams at Grand Canyon National Park. (sound of mules walking by) Male voice: Hello! Is this the Uber we ordered? hahaha