Day 4

"Way out West where the bad men are

And the only friend to guide you is the evening star

He's the roughest, toughest man by far

He's the Ragtime Cowboy Joe

He loves to sing (doo-wah)

Ragtime music as he swings (doo-wah)

Back and forth in the saddle

On his horse (a pretty horse)

Who is a syncopated gaiter,

And with such a funny meter
To the roar of his repeater.

How they run,
When they hear the cowboy's gun,
Because the western folks all know (what do they know?):
He's a high falootin', rootin' tootin'
Son-of-a-gun from Arizona,
Ragtime Cowboy
(Talk about your cowboy),
Ragtime Cowboy Joe."

---Lewis F. Muir and Maurice Abrahams, "Ragtime Cowboy Joe"

Wow! What an amazing day Mom and I had at the Grand Canyon today!  We began the day with a quick drive to Williams, AZ to hop on the Grand Canyon Railway.  We saw a live gun shoot out, experienced a fantastic traveling musician on the train, and even experienced a railway robbery (where I was taken hostage) on the way home.  This is what prompted the lyrics from "Cowboy Joe"...I feel like we fully experienced wild west cowboys throughout our adventures.  I never thought that a camp song could sum up my day so well but for today it is perfect.

The traveling musician on the train really got me thinking about the amount of jobs in the music industry that I never realized existed.  I think about the amount of people who probably had a hand in hiring the musician who performs every day on the Grand Canyon Railway.  The musician, himself, is just one person in a group of many who helped him to get to where he is.  There were people behind him who believed in his music, hired him, helped program all the music for his show, obtained copyrights for the music, and I am sure many other things.  It makes me think about all of my possibilities for jobs in the music industry.  Possibilities are endless and I can go anywhere and do anything music related.  I wonder, looking back in ten years, if I ever would have been able to guess where I will be.

Now that I had insight about the music industry, back to the Grand Canyon!  The weather was incredible...not too cold, not windy, and not a cloud in the sky.  The views were outstanding and it was not at all crowded.  I guess it pays to visit a national landmark during the off-season.  Mom and I were able to walk around for a few hours and visit pretty much everything we wanted to see.  We left the canyon with some fabulous pictures and some great memories.

Day 4

Tomorrow I move into my apartment in Carlsbad and my internship starts in one short week.

Til then...