Skip Granger
While attending law school at the University of Kansas, I spent my summer vacations leading tours for Berry World Travel. One of those tours included the Utah Parks – Zion, Bryce and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The latter was unique from the South Rim of the Canyon in that it was much more isolated with fewer visitors and amenities.
When leading a group at the North Rim, my custom was to sit at the drivers’ table at Grand Canyon Lodge, and when asked by a server if I wanted coffee, I would say ”I’d prefer instant Postum, if you have it.” It didn’t taste very good, but it assured me of a date that evening because most of the employees were members of a very strict religious group that didn’t drink coffee, so they assumed that I was one of their flock. That request often guaranteed me a date for the evening.
One particular trip, an attractive young park employee came to my cabin and asked if she might take a bath while I was at dinner since they only had showers. I didn’t mind, so I said yes. I assumed that she would be gone when I returned, but that was not the case. Since there was only one full bed, I let her stay, but followed my ”Dolly rule.” Dolly was my mother, and if I had a child out of wedlock, there’d be hell to pay!
That night, there was a huge storm, and a knock on my door alerted me that one of my tourists had a heart attack and had to be flown out of the park to a hospital. Otherwise, the evening was quiet and without passion. However, in the morning, after breakfast, when I went out to load my 30 passengers into the bus to depart, I was told that there would be a ”kissawy” – a longstanding tradition in which all of the young female employees line up and I was kissed by each of them before boarding the bus. I thought that the bus might turn over since all of my tourists inside came toward the lodge side to get pictures.
My favorite young lady named Toy kissed me on the cheek, but that was not the case with some of the other young ladies! I later learned that the ”tradition” was symbolic of one young lady who had spent the night with the tour director. That she had done, but not as most assumed.
The lodge was destroyed by fire on July 14, 2025.
Skip, you have more stories than anyone I know. This was amusing except for the heart attack and the fire. Keep the stories coming. You have had many experiences of a very wide variety. And, someday I want you to tell me about the magic of cutting a pretty girl in half and then putting her back together.