We are settled into a pretty steady routine of late. Our co-host couple, Don and Anne had to leave for a few days. Don needed emergency dental work to replace a cap that popped off a molar and then they are scheduled for a six-day rafting trip down the Colorado. That has left us with a continuous duty schedule from Sunday to Sunday. For now we are trying to keep up the pace and not let things get too shabby for when they return and pick up their half of the week.
We will get one day of rest and then we'll head for Bryce Canyon. We were able to find a combination of hotel room availability and positions open on a half-day trail ride in Bryce. We wanted to do this for a couple reasons; Bryce Canyon is on our must-see list while volunteering here at the North Rim and the trail ride into Bryce is less steep and wider than the Grand Canyon trail rides (they can use horses instead of mules) and have more opportunities to take pictures because of broad, flat places in the trail. We are signed up for the early morning departure, hopefully getting back to the barn before the thermometer hits the century mark.
Our medics and EMT's have been busy, as well as law enforcement. Everybody thinks it must be the full moon because everything is happening at night when the moon is high overhead. There have been drunks at the lodge that have simply passed out and split their head open on the rock floor, anxiety attacks, a couple of respiratory calls (asthma attacks) and a life-flight cardiac (this one was the only one during the day).
The first night of the full moon we had a camper in the tent-only section come out of his tent at about one in the morning and start howling at the moon at the top of his lungs. The camper in the next sight over asked him to knock it off, the moon-howler tried to oblige him by knocking his head off. Law enforcement was called; it was a scene ready made for an episode of COPS. A guy stinking drunk, no shirt, scuffling with officers, handcuffed and spread-eagle over the hood of a patrol car. One guy (an employee of the resort and living in one of the cabins a stones throw away) even brought his Doberman, although the only thing it knew how to do was bark. All the LE's were shaking their heads and saying; "This never happens here".
When they finally got Moon-Howler to take a breathalyzer he blew a 0.24!!! Most people would be comatose with an alcohol content that high, but somehow this guy could assault his girlfriend (turns out they were celebrating her birthday), howl at the moon, assault the camper next door and scuffle with the cops. But they got him loaded up and he spent the night and the next day in our two-cell pokey at the fire station. At 10:30 the next morning he still blew a 0.14 (legal limit around here is 0.07), they would not release him until it was 0.0 and that took well into the late afternoon.
Tonight, after the rangers had gone home for the evening we had a woman wave Cyndee and I over as we were doing our 7pm posting of the reserved signs for the folks that had not made it in yet. We pulled over and she asked if we had a first aid station. We do, at the fire station, but no one is there at this time of day. She did not seem to be in need of first aid so we asked what the situation was and she said; "a cut, probably needs stitches". About that time a man comes around from behind a car with a little, white bandage on his thumb and said he had sliced it but it had stopped bleeding. He was going to call it good but the wife wanted it to be treated. I looked, and directly above the tree tops, almost straight overhead was the full moon. No sense fighting it, I got on the radio and called dispatch (they are housed on the South Rim) and relayed the situation. They started down their call list and found somebody over on our side of the canyon to come out.
Cyndee and I went around to the entrance of the campground and waited to see who got the call. The staff on the North Rim is very limited so everybody wears lots of hats. On this night the guy that was the first responder LEO for the moon howler is the same one that got tagged to be the EMT for tonight. The LEO's carry large duffle bags in their cruisers for doing emergency medical response so Cyndee and I were quite surprised to see a great big diesel powered ambulance lumbering down the entrance road to the campground. We greeted him and gave him the low-down on the situation and since it was dark he asked us to lead the way to the camp site. It was quite the spectacle with the Polaris and its ultra-bright headlights closely followed by the big-box ambulance with clearance lights stuck on just about every surface it had. It looked like a Disney Electric Main Street Parade.
A saline wash, some antibiotic ointment, bandage and recommendation to see a doctor when they got home, and it was all over. Fifteen minutes max. The wife was satisfied and the husband was glad it was over. So were we. That's a wrap for today.
Gawd, What a night!!! Laughing sully
ReplyDelete