Ladies Day Out

I am sitting on my deck right now with a well-deserved beer after today's excursion, watching our favorite three bucks (Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail) eat their evening meal. This morning as I was getting ready, they also graced me with their presence out back letting me watch them eat as I made lunch for this afternoon and filled my camelback. Three deer just wandered up from the side yard to munch on an aspen as well and one wagged her tail when I said hi. I wonder if they understand more than we think they do...you know, the childish ideas that animals can talk too even though they might not actually do it? Lydia (the bird who sits on our windowsill and pecks at our window every morning) also showed up to wish me luck on what I thought was going to be a ten-mile hike.

I showed up at the office a little before 8:00am so Aubrey and I could get the radios and first aid kit to add to our packs. We drove out and dropped off her car at one end and sat in mine to get to the other trailhead at Cow Creek. As we started hiking, it was about 8:30am and a light breeze filled the air as we radioed Dispatch and began our journey through the mountains. About a mile in, we came to a junction to either continue the way we had informed Dispatch we were going or take a 6mile detour to Gem Lake. We had heard really good things about the lake and decided to check it out. After a grueling 3miles completely uphill, we made it to the water tucked back in the middle of nowhere with a rock wall as the backdrop. The lake was completely gorgeous and we were so glad we had gone that way, despite our already sore legs. After a half-hour break and a talk with a lady from Egypt whom I had written a backcountry permit for five days earlier, we turned back and went the three miles downhill back to the first junction.

At this point, we had traveled 7miles with a half-hour break, and it was only 11:30am. We turned to head back on our original route towards Bridal Veil Falls, with a short detour at two of our backcountry campsites. The last mile towards the fall was another complete uphill climb, with steps carved into the rocks that ran along the river. By the time we got up to our destination, we were beat and sat down for a half-hour lunch. We took out our map and evaluated our route and decided to continue the way we had set out, but to skip a 1mile detour since we had replaced it with Gem Lake. After the mile back down from the waterfall, we took another turn at a junction and realized we had already traveled 10miles (which was our original plan) and still had 6 more to go!

The next two miles were the worst of the trip. The trail went completely up with only switchbacks. The discouraging part about switchbacks is if you look straight down, you can see the exact spot where you were five minutes ago and you are still gasping for air because of the steep slopes. We were already exhausted because this was mile 11 and 12, but we slowly made it to a point where we got to the top of the trees and could only see the horizon in the distance rather than more of the same mountain. A sign ahead said 4miles left, and we began the long downhill journey to Lumpy Ridge Trailhead.

Altogether today, we saw 82 people (I counted). Six were climbers, four were backpackers, and everyone was super friendly. Aubrey and I were joking around that Disneyland's slogan is wrong "The Happiest Place on Earth." There's more magic and happiness here because it's real and it's not bought or covered with costumes. Maybe it was because we were in uniform, but we stopped to at least smile and say hi to every single person, and every single person either beat us or returned the salutation. There's something about that special connection even if it's for a few minutes to learn a lady came from San Antonio and is hiking with her dad but it's not a vacation--her mom is sick but they are at least able to get out so they aren't stuck home thinking about it all day, or about the older man who lives in Boulder and the older woman who lives in Fort Collins but they get together every other week or so to hike in the park and have been doing so since they met a few years ago snowshoeing in a different area of the park. They way people can start talking without holding back is just so friendly and eye-opening.

The nature and wildlife completely blew my mind today too. Aubrey and I talked a lot and got to know each other a lot better, but sometimes we would just be quiet and listen to nature as we hiked. There's so much that people miss when they are just listening to their ipods out here. The sounds of the wind through the trees and the differences between blowing through a pine or aspen. The sounds of the water cascading over the rocks or flowing gently through a smoother section. The insects who click, squeak, chirp, etc. and aren't even worried enough to stop when you pass by. It's Nature's Symphony.

A few different times on the trail (especially around the water), we would take a step and dozens of pale purple butterflies would swarm up from the ground. When their wings were closed, they were brown and blended in with the mud but if you walked by, they lit up the trail and fluttered around playing tag with one another. The idea that they showed up when you least expected them made me start thinking about butterflies in general. There are all sorts of mythological or biblical significances and roles that butterflies play, but they all have some sort of a magical quality in common.

Another major nature thing that stuck out in my mind today had to do with trees again. Looking at an aspen grove on the side of the last super steep section, I noticed that the trees were really, really tall and straight but the leaves only grew on the very top section. Looking through pictures of Gem Lake when I got home, I also noticed how all of the tree roots had been uncovered (possibly by the wind) so it looked like the trees were standing on their tiptoes. This made me start thinking about the phrase "growing up." I've never really understood the questions about what kids want to be when they grow up, because they are really growing older, not necessarily taller. In this case though, the trees were all growing up because they do get talled and begin reaching for the sky. Just something I'm thinking about...

Someone was talking to me yesterday about writing a book with these things at the end of the summer. It's funny because as I was walking to work earlier yesterday, I had been starting to think about the same thing. The more I think about it though, that's not what these are for. The entries range from descriptions of my day to a look inside my brain up here, but it's more of an open journal that others can read. I love reading the comments and am using this as a connection with the outside world (according to who's been reading it all the way to the UK somehow!) but I think that's about as far as it is going to go. I'm getting excited to have my sisters maybe visit for my birthday, and will extend to everyone the same offer I gave them...

If you can figure out how to get here, everything during your stay will be free.

I don't think that's a bad deal at all and I can even drive to Denver to pick you up from the airport if that's the way you want to go. It doesn't look like I will be getting to Flagstaff this summer, but I would love to have any connections with the outside world once and a while. Even a phone call is nice but remember the hour time difference. :)

Open Your Eyes

On the drive from the coffee shop where I last updated to my driveway, I remembered some parts that I forgot to mention. (INTERNET AT HOME NOW BTW!!)

I've almost hit two different animals between yesterday and today with my car when they tried running out on the road in front of me. Both times, I saw them happening and was able to step on the brakes before anything happened and luckily nobody was behind me, but they were both very scary situations! What it got me wondering was if that was a sign to pay even closer attention to the things around me.

On the flight back from S Korea to LA, I watched Australia and wrote down some quotes that really stuck in my mind. One of them was from Nullah to "Mrs. Boss" when he said, "When Mrs. Boss first come here, she look but she don't see. Now she got her eyes open for first time."

I've been thinking that my eyes have been opening up more and more each day I'm here...I think my mind has been too. I keep saying there's something about this place that's almost magical and that it's hard not to believe in things when you are here, but that's so hard to show if it's not a firsthand experience. I was also thinking on the ride home that I should try taking a picture from a specific spot throughout the summer, but I don't want that to become a chore more than anything else.

So anyway, even though it was getting dark, I started looking closer on the drive home tonight. I saw my favorite herd of bucks in the island before High Drive (my street) and Moraine (the road that goes into the park) but then saw some other white butts that belonged to the White-Tailed deer. That made my mind go to earlier tonight when I got off the phone and watched that same herd in our front yard and a few deer on the side of our house.

I wonder if humanity can learn more by paying closer attention to animals. One might argue that they are segregating themselves because they are staying apart by species, but I think it's more of a learning to coexist and work together despite their differences. There is some sort of mutual understanding between the two that let them graze in the same areas without conflict.

Similarly, Kendall and I spotted three marmots out of our dining room window tonight but realized the closest one was actually a badger. The fact that those animals can be just a tree apart and not fight amazes me.

While I am observing the positive sides of coexistion? (I guess that is now a word), I can also draw to an animal interaction we watched from one of the office windows today. A dead golden-mantle squirrel was lying in the road out front and a magpie came to start eating it. We watched the beautiful black/white/blue-tipped bird peck at this creature who was fulfilling it's duty in the circle of life. Enter turkey vulture, stage left. This second bird swooped in, scared away the magpie, and flew to the grass by a crow to taunt its good fortune. The crow and turkey vulture got in a fight over the meat, and the magpie tried to sneak in a little more of its meal while avoiding the duel.

Maybe one of the questions in life is whether we want to be a graceful elk or a scavenging turkey vulture. Do we want to be able to get along with those around us with peaceful understandings and interactions or would we rather fight to be on top while destroying the possible relationships of those around us?

Tailgate Training, Fingerprints of God, or Snowing Up

I forgot to talk about the training Neil, John, and myself had with Barry yesterday morning for a few hours. We got to talk with him about basic office things, but he also told us some neat information about the park. Looking at the 3D map that’s on our north office wall, he pointed out how his idea that the wind always goes from California to New York is true because all the western slopes of the peaks are smooth, but the eastern sides are much more rugged. That’s why, he said, the east side of the park is more populated—people would rather explore the rougher terrain because it provides more obstacles. The most popular area is around Bear Lake, and he pointed out the five canyons/fingers that make up the major backcountry area. Looking at it, it’s almost as though some huge being just put his hand into the earth and pulled—kinda like when someone drags his hand through the sand at the beach. The major exploration areas then happen in the fingerprint areas. First is the pinky finger, then the thumb, index, middle, and finally ring finger. I pointed out it was like a finger roll starting the rotation on the pinky and Neil laughed at the piano reference I could have been making. Looking further around the map, I noticed more and more handprints throughout the park. That just makes me wonder again how anyone can’t think there’s something out there. It’s almost like a signature or proof to people who need to see something because it looks so much like a hand.

After I left the library last night, I stopped to get McDonalds (only my second fast food stop since being back in the US! Go me!!) and drove into the park. The nice thing about being an NPS employee is the free access to the park. I also found out that I get a discount for Verizon for being employed through NPS. Anyway, after getting my food and driving into the park, I began the drive up Trail Ridge Road. After about five miles, I pulled off to take some pictures of the sky. The nice thing about daylight savings time is that it stays light until 9pm or later, so despite the fact that it was around seven, the sky was bright blue and it was reflecting off the freshly snowed-on peaks. I turned around back on the road and began the drive down. When I was almost back, I noticed a dirt road that leads back a ways to some of our trailheads in a meadow. Driving back in, I couldn’t believe the numbers of elk just sitting back there out of the way of the noisy tourons (new conjunction…figure it out) since I was the only who seemed to have been back on that road for at least an hour.

Aside from the fantastic greens and elk on the ground and mountains, the higher elevation mountains were again that magical white and gray against the bright blue. As I sat in my car, foolishly taking pictures until my camera died and watching, a cloud appeared on top of the mountain. When I looked closer however, I realized it was actually snow being blown off the mountain so that it looked almost like a cloud from an explosion. It’s crazy that the mountains can just create their own weather and precipitation here. It’s crazy that the mountains decide which water for the entire country flows towards the Atlantic and which flows towards the Pacific. It’s crazy that the mountains are my home along with hundreds of other people and thousands of animals for an entire summer or more.

Driving a little further down the road, I was just letting my mind wander and take in the sights without actually thinking about anything. It’s easy to get lost doing that here. The next time I pulled over, there were two trees just to the side of my car that seemed to be joined together possibly in the roots. The juxtaposition they presented was amazing though. One tree was completely dead and the other had full needleage. The fact that both can be in the same area with the same conditions, yet one still dies baffles my mind. At the same time though, they are both still standing. I couldn’t tell if one was holding the other up or not, but the fact that whatever killed the outside of the first tree was still not enough to take the whole thing down. There is something inside of it that’s even stronger than lightning or bark beetles or elk grazing or whatever other tree threat. I think a lot of the time humans can be the same way. It’s strange how nature can so perfectly reflect human life in ways that are identifiable. Two people in the same conditions and upbringing, around the same age based on appearances, could be in the same situation. One could be thriving and the other not so much, but in the end nothing can really get either one down on the inside because their spirit or whatever you want to call it is untouchable.

These Boots Were Made For Working...

I've been here exactly a week now, and I couldn't have asked for a better dream-come-true summer! Every morning, I lace up my boots and look out at the deer from my bedroom window and know this is EXACTLY where I want to be. Almost everyone has been super supportive of my decision to move to Colorado, and while some situations didn't turn out as I had hoped, I know I can turn out for the better from those. If people don't support me following my dreams, then those aren't the people I want to interact with.

Each day I am here makes me miss Flagstaff less and less. I've caught myself contemplating what I would say if I were ever asked to stay here full-time. I know that's not an option at all, but I surprise myself by having no real problem with dropping out of school to just do this. I guess my dream job of teaching in the school year and being a ranger in the summers wouldn't be terrible at all. Most of the BCO people either are or were (currently retired) teachers, so this seems like it would work. I've also mentioned wanting to live in Colorado before, and I couldn't imagine anywhere better than here!

Kendall and I explored downtown a little last night after leaving the library and ate dinner at a little restaurant that I have fond memories of. When my family was at ROMO a few summers ago, it poured to the point that we came into town one day and hung out in the library. After that, we braved the water to walk down about a block and a half to the same restaurant. I don't know why details like that stick in my mind, but I know I still have the coloring sheet from the kid's menu somewhere back at home.

I was given my first "projects" today, but the best part is that they were things I came up with on my own that got Barry super pumped! I had to go about finding all the resources, but they will be done by tomorrow afternoon! Also today, I ended up helping a lady who came in to pick up 33 permits for part of the Cheley Summer Camp excursions. I had to enter the trip leader name and license plate number for each permit, and Todd and Vic were keeping an eye on me for a bit. When they saw how fast I was going, they ended up just writing the parking permits but commented on how they couldn't keep up with the newbie! (Joking of course) When I finished, she double checked all of the permits and I didn't make a single mistake. After she left, Todd and Vic told me that was the fastest the Cheley permits have ever gone. Everyone keeps commenting on how quickly I've been picking up on things, and I just feel great about it all!

Aaron and I took the trash and recycling out in the early afternoon and had to drive towards the dumpsters. When we drove up, a huge buck elk crossed right in front of the car. (It had to have been one of the biggest I've seen so far, but part of that could have been due to how close it was!) As I pointed it out, another dozen bucks followed a few paces behind and they all went to eat at a huge pile of what I thought was just dirt. When we drove back to the BCO, they were close enough we could have reached out of the car to touch and it was just so cool. I asked Aaron if I am ever going to get tired of seeing them since he was here last year too, and he said that will only happen when the visitors block traffic because they are getting out taking pictures.

My mailbox is completely set up as of today, and I get to start wearing my uniform tomorrow because I found a belt I can borrow until mine comes in. (Be prepared for pictures at some point soon) Aubry and I have our first hike day Saturday, and are getting excited about our ten-mile excursion in the NE corner of the park.

Now, I will leave you with a quote from one of Barry's rocks that is keeping me going this week when I have that *don'twanttogetoutofbedforstupidreasons* feeling before looking out the window..."Where ever your journey takes you, there is beauty there waiting to be discovered."

The Aftermath of Johnny Tremain

Most people don't know this about me, but the first time I fainted was in third grade when our class was watching Johnny Tremain after a study on the Revolutionary War. The basic summary of the movie is: in colonial Boston, a young silversmith's apprentice injures his hand, and finds himself befriended by the Sons of Liberty and caught up in events of the American Revolution. (Thank you IMDB!) Anyway, when the part came around where he was going to lose his hand near the beginning, I shut my eyes. Most of you may know this part about me--I have an INCREDIBLY overactive imagination. While the movie only showed his hand going into a pot of boiling silver, I thought it was much worse. I asked to go to the bathroom and fainted as soon as I got to the nurse's office because my imagination had been so vivid.

That was in third grade, but apparently more than thirteen years later good ol' Johnny is still haunting me. Well, I guess it's not him--it's that funny thing called an imagination that just won't go away. Usually that's a good thing, but today we had First Aid/CPR certification training. The first four+ hours of the class were First Aid. I was doing much better than I thought I would with all the blood on the videos, pictures in the book, even the fake blood we smeared on our hands to practice taking the gloves off without touching anything. Then, we broke into groups to practice splints, wraps, and epipens.

My group started at the epipens.

I have had so much experience with needles from all that hospital crap my freshman year of high school that I didn't think it would really be a problem. Alyssa told me the needles were taken out and they were just practice pens, but I was still uneasy about them. My brain kept asking me, "what if yours is the only one with a needle that was accidentally left in!?!" but I kept telling it to go away. I stabbed the leg of the lady next to me first, but I had to concentrate on my breathing and tell myself to hold my hand steady. Everything worked without a problem. Then, she took it and stabbed my leg and I felt an imaginary pain like a needle was actually entering my skin. She pulled it away, and then we practiced with the pens that have the regular charge and the syringe you can get out for a double dose, and I ended up holding both when we were finished. I kept looking at the needle-less objects in my hands, but with the caps on you wouldn't know if they had them or not! Vern (our teacher) kept telling us horror stories about people who had their hands on the wrong ends and the needle went through their finger and bone...

I thought I was doing ok, but I was feeling a little uneasy. The groups rotated and I went and stood around, listening to the wrap descriptions. As Emily (our teacher for this part) kept talking, I felt the room begin to spin and my legs start to give way. I sank down to sit on the floor and my hearing started to go away as the spinning increased with the rate of my sweat in the freezing room. I tugged on the pants leg of the lady next to me and told her I felt like I was going to faint. Then, I laid down/passed out.

I couldn't have been out for more than a few seconds because Emily was on her way over to me. She informed Vern and had me stay lying down for a bit. I kept feeling dizzy back and forth, but eventually was able to stand up and wrap arms and heads. I kept wondering what it was exactly, but my guess is the fact that I actually had to "stab" someone else with the needle. I'm completely ok with nurses doing whatever tests they need to run, yadda yadda, but I don't trust myself or anyone else with the same qualifications as myself to give a needle to someone else. The idea that I would be inflicting pain upon someone else (regardless that it would help them) was so hard for me in this situation because it was simulated. I think in real life, I wouldn't have as much of a problem because of the adrenaline rush, but I just couldn't handle it here. Vern's stories about what could happen if not administered correctly didn't help my thoughts, and down I went.

I'm fine now, and made it through the CPR training without a problem and officially passed off for both certificates. The few of us who stuck around for the three-hour CPR part went to Dairy Queen on the way back to the BCO, and I am really enjoying the family we have going on. After we got back, there were ten of us in the office, so it was fun to joke around and take prank pictures with Todd's camera for the end of the year slide show. Now, Kendall and I are finishing up in the library and off for dinner/grocery shopping along with a possible stop at a bar. (Laura told me about some fun ones earlier today so we might have to check them out!)

It's been snowing a lot in the higher elevations of the park and we had to close some roads, but we've just been getting icy hail/slush along with the rain. Hopefully it will clear up soon because Aubry and I have our 10-mile hike day planned for Saturday!

Welcome to Our Humble Abode

I guess I should give a virtual tour of the house since I have my laptop in the library tonight and can post pictures from it. You have already seen the front of the house, but here is a closer view of the front of the house, our cars in the driveway, the front of the deck upstairs, and our front door.

Once you walk in the front door, you come to a wooden hallway with the basement on the left, garage on the right, and the staircase in front of you. We don't go into the basement or the garage because there are bones in the basement from SOMETHING and we don't care to find out. Also, there is a rat or similar animal living in the garage and we would rather just leave it there and not deal with it. The only downside is that the fourth bedroom can only be accessed from the garage, so don't plan on seeing any pictures of that one here :) My bike is living under the stairs until I get air in the tires, and the Yogi warning is by the front door and the backdoor upstairs.

The stairs lead up to the door that gives entrance to the rest of the house.
From here and to the right, the living room opens up. If you keep heading right, you then hit the dining room, kitchen, pantry, and back door respectively.







The back yard is amazing and backs up right onto Deer Mountain. There is a small side walk area that leads around the corner to the clothesline that is out the living room window area, but then the mountains just unfold. To the right (near the driveway) we have an outdoor firepit/grill area and picnic table and I guess our house hosts the Chili Cookoff at the end of every summer, so we will have that to look forward to!


Back inside the house, if you had headed straight forward when you came to the stairs, you would have gone out the door onto the deck. I wish I had brought my windchimes because they would have been perfect out there. We also want to get a hamoc to hang up, because that is where we have been spending most of our time. In the first picture, the two windows you see are from my bedroom and the other looks back at the living room front windows.

If you turn left down the hallway after coming up the stairs, you would enter bedroom three, which will become Christina's if she ever moves in with us. Right next to that if you continue down the hall is Kendall's room.



Directly across from bedroom three is the bathroom, and across from Kendall's room is the cleaning supply closet. There is tons of storage place in the house, and I never even mentioned most of the other closets and cabinets throughout. The picture of the bathroom here is from when we first moved in. On my trip to Boulder yesterday, one of the main purposes was to get cleaning supplies at Target so I will need to post updated pictures of the bathroom soon!

Finally, the most important room inside the house...MINE! Kendall keeps making fun of me because it's so "homey" as she says. I hung up pictures and I even got curtains for the windows in Boulder yesterday, but you won't see them in the pictures. The room seems to be bigger than my room in Flag, but that might be because the bed is much smaller. It's working out for me though, and I love practicing in there because of the wood floors!

So that's the inside of the house, but here is the best part...the front yard! We have a herd of about 10 white-tailed deer that live on our lawn and three buck elk who come by every evening to eat. We also had a marmot that was lurking around and tried coming into our house the other afternoon. Thank goodness he didn't! Every morning, I wake up and open my windows. Looking out, I just keep reminding myself how lucky I am to be in such a beautiful place, despite whatever drama and stupidness is going on in my life otherwise.

Cloud Mountains

One of the downsides of this summer is the tourist-town aspect. While I am loving Estes Park, the town is really small and everything is super expensive here. Taking that into account, I drove to Boulder, CO on my day off today to get some things at Target. The drive is just under an hour, but it's worth it even for the gas that is about 50 cents cheaper in Lyons! The road winds through the mountains and hills and I don't think Crayola has come up with enough shades of green to even begin describing the drive.

I just got into town on the way back and stopped at the Library since Dad said he left a comment when we talked. The sun is just beginning to set though and there have been thunderstorms on and off all day. Because of this, the clouds are all down in the mountains and blend in with the snow-capped peaks. Rain is sprinkling down from some of the higher clouds, but the sun hits the water as it falls which illuminates sections of the sky. On the drive this morning (at 6am, ugh) from Denver to our house, Kendall and I were talking about how we hope this feeling of amazement doesn't go away.

Every morning when I wake up and look out my window, it's a completely new experience. I think most of that is due to the sky. The changes in blues or the location/color of the clouds make everything look completely different each day. The breath-taking views of the mountain aren't getting old either and neither are the dozens upon dozens of elk and deer. When we pulled up this morning, there were about nine white-tailed deer sitting on the side of our driveway in the grass and all you could see were their ears sticking up. How can anyone get sick of that? Even further, when I am surrounded by all this natural beauty, it makes me wonder how anyone can even really think there's not something more out there making this all happen.

One more exciting thing before I sign off for the night--I am getting internet at the house! Mom helped me contact Verizon and I am going to get a cord either tomorrow or Wednesday that hooks my phone into my computer. Using this, I will be able to update this much more easily, and I will be able to post more pictures. Since we had internet access in Denver last night, I was able to use my own computer. Here at the library though I don't want my pictures to be going onto public computers. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that and packing up to go drive around and take pictures of yet another ROMO sunset with the cloud mountains as my background tonight.

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.

Home, Home on the Range

I am finally here.

Every uncertainty I had about being here this summer was completely washed away last night after I dropped Aaron off at the airport and looked through my windshield. As the sun was setting through the clouds, the snow-capped peaks were just staring at me, beckoning me home. The way the sun sets like that--through the clouds--always makes me smile. It's the kind of sunset where you can see the beams and it's almost as if someone up there is shining down the light to let you know everything is going to be ok.

The car ride was quite eventful. We woke up at 5am so I could shower and finish loading the car. When we got out to it, Aaron noticed the tires looked low so we checked the pressure and it was down to 10psi in a few of the tires. After figuring out how to get the bike on the rack, we drove to Conoco to fill air only to find out the hose leaked. We had more luck at Varsity Gasser, and were on our way by 6:15am. Lunch was in Moab, UT...one of my absolute favorite places I've been. I drove the entire six hours from home to lunch, and we only made one other stop in that time to get gas in Bluff, UT.

After lunch, I crashed for an interruted hour when Aaron woke me up to see the fire on the side of the road, the state line, and then our next gas stop in Grand Junction. I couldn't really sleep after that but the hour definitely helped. We held our breath through the tunnels and stopped at No Name Rest Stop aka the most gorgeous rest stop I've ever seen. We stopped there last summer on the way to Denver for the International Horn Convention, and I made sure we found it again. If you are ever travelling E on I70, it's definitely worth the stop. Aaron drove the rest of the way to the airport and I dropped him off without crying and went on my way for the last two hours.

I managed to get lost twice, but finally made it to Estes Park where Kendall was waiting for me in a parking lot. Kendall is a girl I met and sat next to in my second forestry class last semester. She got a job in Dispatch at RMNP this summer, and she texted me while I was still in China to tell me we are roommates! She met me and we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant where she bought me a beer :) then we went to Safeway to get basic groceries like lunch stuff. I followed her to the house after that, and got stuck twice on our driveway because it breaks off into a long dirt road.

By this point, it was 10pm so I couldn't see anything around me like what the yard looked like. We parked the cars though and I went in to take a look around. When you walk in the front door, there is a deep closet on the left that has a dirt floor with bones from SOMETHING in the back. To the right is a one-car garage that we probably won't use because there are also rat turds all over the floor that are freaking us out. One of the four bedrooms is also downstairs and the only way to get to that is through the garage, so we probably won't use that.

Straight ahead are the stairs, which lead to the other three rooms, kitchen, pantry, living room, and deck. I'm getting kicked off the computer right now because I'm at the Estes Park Library. That's another thing...no internet at home and these computers don't allow Facebook! I'm going to have to start bringing my laptop for the free wifi.

I'll try to write more tomorrow after our drive across the park. My phone usually works though, so keep in touch people!

The house in daytime...

Packing Up, Getting Ready to Go

I can't believe it's almost here. I've spent the past week moving everything from my room into the tiny cubicle we call "the shed" on the back porch, but there's something mildly upsetting about seeing all my favorite things crammed into the space next to the water heater. As RMNP gets closer, I keep getting more and more hesitant about what is lying ahead this summer. I know I will be fine once I get there, but I keep thinking about how much I am going to miss in Flagstaff as life moves on without me here, but maybe this is just a taste of life after graduation next year?...

Yesterday, Bekha and I drove around town to try and find her some furniture since she is finishing moving in as our third roommate for next year. At a second-hand shop downtown, we found the perfect desk for her, but it definitely wasn't the perfect desk for my car. The main desk part was too big for us to even think about carrying and fitting into my car, but the shelf-section came off and was light enough for us to carry. From our eyeball-analysis, we figured the section would fit into the car, so off we went. The sight of the two of us crossing the street and walking to my car with half a desk was quite amusing, and we got a few laughs from some cars that drove by. Once we got the car, I unlocked it and we tried to get it in from all sorts of different angles, but it was NOT working. A man dressed in typical downtown fashion (tie-dye shirt, torn-up pants, scruffy face) was walking by and immediately stopped to help us. He told me to go around to the other side of the car and help guide while he positioned the furniture piece to go into the car. The whole time, he reminded me to be careful not to scrape the roof of the car, and somehow he managed to get the thing to fit. When we finished, he wished us a happy day with the beautiful weather, and disappeared down the street. Bekha and I looked at each other in amazement and mentioned how we could have ended up in a completely different situation if we had been in either of our hometowns (Phoenix or Bakersfield). There's just something about Flagstaff that makes people go out of their way to be nice to one another, and I really hope I can find that atmosphere in Estes Park this summer too.

I have been watching my "TO-DO" list grow and shrink the past three days as I complete tasks and then remember more things I need to do before I go. Now, I'm down to a phone call, bank stop, oil change, gas in the car, and packing.

Packing.

It's not that I don't want to pack, in fact I usually enjoy the spacial organization aspect of fitting things into a small area, whether it be a suitcase or the trunk of a car. The difference this time is that I am not coming home for much longer than usual. It's hard to look around my room right now and realize that everything I see that is left in here has to fit into my car one way or another for that fourteen hour drive that's coming faster than I think.