Moose, Marmots, and Bears...OH MY!

I've officially completed my first three days of work and my first day off! I am sitting in Denver, CO after a spur of the moment decision to visit here with my roommate, but it's been a fun few days!

My first day of work, I reported to the BCO (Backcountry Office) around 7:45 to make sure I wouldn't be late for my first day of work. I went in and started introducing myself to people and immediately felt at home. Everyone was joking around with each other, and I didn't stop laughing all day. We loaded into two vans and drove to the cabin of an older couple who volunteer in the BCO--Janet and Rob. All of the 15 BCO employees were there for possibly the only time all summer. We discussed what brought us here, and then learned some of the basic procedures and/or changes for this year from what some of the old people might have learned. Janet made us an amazing lunch, and we all started to get to know each other better and continue the jokes.

The second day was another TOD (Train Out Day), meaning volunteers took over in the office again while the staff went out. This day was a tour around the whole park so we could familiarize ourselves with where the trailheads are. We drove to the NE side of the park and stopped for the world's BEST cinnamon rolls. Seriously. If any of you ever come to visit me, you can count on me taking you there. What's even better is that there is 25 cent coffee! (BTW, I started drinking coffee the day before to stay awake through the meeting because jet lag was a killer and I might enjoy it by the end of the summer!)

After the NE side, we went to the SE area, by Long's Peak. Fun Facts: This is the tallest mountain in Colorado and the only 14er in the park (mountain 14,000 feet or taller). Also, this mountain was discovered by Long, but he never hiked it and instead climbed Pike's Peak. In similar fashion, Pike never climbed his peak, but climber Long's. :) Anyway, after there, we drove back towards the main park entrance on the E side, by our office, and drove across Trail Ridge Road which is the 50 mile road connecting the E and W side across the Continental Divide (the area that differentiates between the water that flows towards the Atlantic v. the Pacific). The whole ride was gorgeous and we stopped occasionally for more information between the two vans.


On the W side, we saw some cars pulled over and found a moose! I looked into the bushes a little bit down and saw a dark shape which turned out to be another moose! A little further down the road, we pulled over because we saw two more. In total by this point, we had seen four sows. We finished the drive to the BCO West and Grand Lake to see other trailheads, and began the 1.5 hour journey back to the E side. On the way, we found a mama moose with a baby that couldn't have even been a month old because of its size and how wobbly it was. So in all, that was a 6-moose day which is UNHEARD OF in the park, and we got to see all around.


The third day was my first day in the office. I worked with Walt, Vic, and Lyle (a volunteer) and it was lots of fun getting to shadow all three of them to learn the ropes. By the end of the day, I was able to completely work the computer reservation system and was getting an idea of some of the trails and ways to plan trips. I also took my hour and a half government privacy computer test, and passed. Go me! I had walked to work that day rather than the cruise in neutral the whole way, and had to walk back afterwards. On the way, I crossed between a herd of about a dozen elk bucks which was quite intimidating, but I made it home without any problems. We actually have three bucks that live in our front yard, so it's been nice to see them every evening when they come out to eat.

That night, Kendall's boyfriend who had been visiting had a few friends come up from Denver to spend the night with us. The five of us went downtown to explore some nightlife and came home to play boardgames. We learned the hard way that there is only one taxi cab for all of Estes Park, and he uses those grounds to charge an arm and a leg to drive people home. After our $20 ride home, we determined that might not be the best plan in the future. The boys invited a guy we met there home too so he played Apples to Apples with us and crashed on the couch. He works for the YMCA camp and was only there one more day before returning to Denver too.

This morning, we woke up and Kendall and I took the boys for a tour. First, we drove to Glen Haven to eat the amazing cinnamon rolls. After that, we drove to Sprague Lake and walked the whole way around and then drove towards Bear Lake and saw a bunch of people out of their cars on the side of the road. We pulled up and asked what was going on and they said it was a bear and her cub. We pulled up to park and immediately called dispatch to report the bears to send an LE (Law Enforcement Officer/Ranger) to take care of the situation. We then drove to the AVC (Alpine Visitor Center) on Trail Ridge Road which goes up above 12,000 feet and saw lots of snow and a marmot! After returning home, the Denver boys took off to go home so Kendall and I could shower. We then drove her boyfriend to Denver by way of dinner in Boulder so she could have one last night with him before he heads back to Flag in the morning.

So far, Colorado has been great! I am still a little anxious or nervous? (I don't know the word) about things back in Flagstaff, but I'm hoping things will work themselves out. I know that I am a strong enough person to hold my ground and not let things get me too down. These new experiences with starting completely from scratch in a new living situation, with a new job, a new state, new friends, and new directions to go are only showing me how much stronger I am than I thought before and if the moose, marmot, and bears are any sign of this summer, I am excited to see what is yet to come.