Grand Canyon: great

GRAND CANYON (Ariz.) -- Note to self: Don't lock the keys in the car at the Grand Canyon.

Had the excitement of seeing one of the seven natural wonders of the world distracted me? Was not enough oxygen traveling to my brain at this heightened elevation? Or was I just more concerned about bringing my camera (iPhone) instead of taking the keys out of the ignition?

To add insult to injury, a thunderstorm was approaching. That's right. When I go to the Grand Canyon in Arizona (the South Rim averages 0.66 precipitate inches in May) it rains. They had had a drought in April and this was nature's way of making up for it--we could see the charred remains of trees where forest fires had sprung up along the road.

Thunderstorms are especially dangerous in such a sparse landscape. If lightning strikes and you hear thunder within 30 seconds from the strike, run for cover. Get into a building (not that many in the Grand Canyon). Get into your car with the windows up. And if you're hiking, stand by trees that are surrounded by larger trees. I love how the brochure said that last resort wasn't full-proof. But at that point you're looking for least likely lightning strike scenarios. And if you feel the hair on the back of your neck standing up as static crackles in your area, an electrical charge is building up. See ya lata.

But I didn't panic. I got the park ranger to radio down to dispatch, who contacted the garage roughly 25 miles away. Joe the truck driver made it up to our lookout point within 40.

With surgeon-like precision, Joe pried his way into the Forester. He stuck a sphygmomanometer like contraption inside the crack of the passenger's side window pane. He inflated the wedged bag until he had about an inch of space to fish a long bendable metal rod into the inside car door panel. From there he latched the curved end of rod onto the lock handle and unlocked the door. Joe, you're a lifesaver.

And it only cost me $140 (sarcasm). I think Joe has set a good living for himself on the Grand Canyon; he said I was his 12th customer that day.

Look at Katie pondering our predicament as we both realized neither of us had the car keys.

I've uploaded about a billion more Grand Canyon pics to facebook. Again, they're pretty touristy. I wanted to get one of me hanging over the edge or from a cliff-side tree, but the risks totally outweighed the benefits. Maybe if my name was Travis Pastrana.

We're at the Travelodge in Kingman, Ariz., 300 miles and some change from the City of Angels. We'll be in L.A. by tonight.
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