Last week of training

Today is Monday and I should be getting ready to greet my kidos that I was going to teach in the field this week. But last night my director told me that he needed to change my schedule. Instead I am now doing a four-day program and I’m in the cabins = a total flip flop. It isn’t a total let down but it does kind of stink that I had been preparing both mentally and physically all weekend to teach a certain set of lessons and now that is all going to mush. I now have the day off which is why I’m writing to you time here as I’ve found out is quiet sparse. Most of my communication with the outside world is being down on the weekends. Although I am told it gets better as the weeks go on and you get more comfortable with the schedules and routines. I can’t wait until then!

This past week was our second week and final week of training. It was a blast! It was different from our first week in that we didn’t hike as much and focused more on the business side of this job instead of the fun classes. We worked on our certifications (CPR and First Aid), employee paperwork, safety procedures, and health plan options. That kind of stuff took up most of the day but at night we still found time to have some fun and bust a move experiencing the night programs that we will be doing with our students! It was so great!

Monday = Nocturnal Nation

This class is a neat experience for students to go hiking in the dark to listen and learn about the animals that are out at night. We did some really cool experiments to demonstrate the adaptations of nocturnal animals. One which everyone knows is eco-location which animals use to find their prey. These animals have a-symmetrical hearing which allows them to hear specifically in one direction which each ear. The coolest experiment we did was to demonstrate the night vision that nocturnal animals have. Did you know that our human eye takes about 2-3 hours to fully adjust to night light? That is why when you get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night it doesn’t seem as dark as when you went to bed. Your eyes have been adjusting why you slept.

Tuesday = Astronomy

This is another night hike activity where we talk about the planets, the moon, and the constellations. High Trails has this super sweet telescope that we got to use. My director set is up so we could see Jupiter. It was gorgeous! We got to see four of its moons, but it has more. I also learned the difference between a constellation and an asterism. They are both groupings of stars but constellations are universally recognized. Interesting huh? I felt cool being able to point out a few constellations that I had learned from my book. Thanks John!

Wednesday = Snakes and Line Dancing

This is when the whole school comes together and the directors run this program. We get into small circles as the teachers bring around all of the snakes that we own at camp. Now, if you know me you’ll know that I’m not good with snakes (thanks to a reoccurring nightmare as a child.) Being in the circle as the snakes came around was a little scary for me, not going to lie. A lot of the staff like to take the snakes out whenever and play with them so I’ve gotten used to them being in the same room as me. They passed the snakes around the circle and I tried to keep a smile on my face. I pet all of them and then at the end even helped hold the tail! It was a BIG step for me. They said I don’t have to be one of the teachers who brings around the snakes because there are information cards and snake skins that the kids are interested in too. For now I think I’ll stick to that job but I have made it my goal to hold one of the snakes by the end of the year. It’s now in my blog so it will happen. Yikes! J

Thursday = Campfire

Campfire is when we have a cook out to make hotdogs and smores on the fire. (Yes, the are in certified fire pits and the new staff is not allowed to use them yet until we have an in-service. J We don’t want to burn down our forest.) The food was great and afterward was the real fun…the skits! Each group got to perform two skits: admin staff, returning staff, the Edwards group, and us (Nawakwa). Our skits were great! The first was a game of guess who where they each acted out members of our admin staff. It was so funny! Then was the skit I was in. It was inspired by a joke we started while doing mock teaching of astronomy. We started out just teaching about the planets but then had the “campers” ask all of these inappropriate questions about Uranus. It was hilarious! Campfire was so much fun I’m going to be looking forward to every one!

Friday= Camp Out

Usually on Fridays the campers have left by about 10 or so then we work on stuff around camp to clean up and fix things until 4:30. But this Friday was different we still have one final bit of training left. We hiked from camp about 7 miles up the mountain to a flat spot to set up camp. We made some dinner, got settled in, and then told our life stories. We sat in a circle after the sun had gone down and listened each person at they told us a 2 minute summary of their life and how they ended up at High Trails. It was really neat to hear what people have done and it was a cool bonding experience. Then it was time for bed which was to sleep under the stars. It was beautiful!!! You could never do that in Minnesota. You’d either get eaten alive by mosquitoes or wake up with dew all over you, or both!

Well that was my training and now it’s time to face the real thing. It’s do or die time!

Here are some photos I finally had time to post.

This is my room before we had is set up. There is one of me with all of my stuff (oofta!) and one of my roommate Jessica striking a pose.

This is a picture of my friend Ange posing with the stuff we pulled out of the dumpster to use in our room. Good finds huh?

Here is our bathroom house which we share with 8 girls. It is a little walk from our cabin which we'll have to shovel in the winter. People have been complaining about shoveling the walking paths. I want to tell them that I was born to shovel. haha :)

This is my view from my front steps. Beautiful, right?! I wish you could all see it with your own eyes. It’s amazing!

This is what we did on Saturday night...craft night! We all had to make props so we thought we'd do it in good company. We spread it all out in our room. From right to left its Matt, Jessica (my roommate), Drew, Ange, and MaryHelen (my roommate too). We had a fun night!

California forests = my new home ☺

Firstly, I should apologize for the lack of blogging. Internet up here in mountain isn’t the most accessible. Plus since I have arrived I have been incredibly busy with training and getting to know people. This weekend has been the first time that I have actually been able to use internet for more than 10 minutes.
This past week has been such a whorl wind of events and to be honest I’m surprised I’m still standing and actually excited for this next week. I can not recall a week when I have put in so many hours of work. A typical training day is from 7-10:30 which means I’m sure I worked well over 40 hours all together! The crazy thing is that even though we were busy all the time it really didn’t faze me much since everything was so interesting or super fun!

It’s a hard knock life for us
Training has been very interesting and overwhelming at times. I have learned so much and it has gotten me both excited and nervous. They have thrown so much science content at us that I don’t even how much more my brain can handle!

Here are some fun facts I’ve learned so far:
1. I am able to identify a Manzanita (sp) bush which the Serranos, the native people to these mountains, used to use for brushing their teeth. I tried it myself and found it to work quite well.
2. I was able to share dad’s trick for identifying the difference between a pine, spruce, and a fur to my class which they all found very helpful. Thanks Dad! :)
3. During my Little World class we searched for insects and I saw my first real scorpion. It was tiny but just as sweet to see it for real. I also examined a Wood Ant which you can actually eat and I DID!
4. In my Feathered Friends class I learn about the smart Acorn Wood Pecker who peck holes in the snags of the trunk and the place an acorn in that holes so that pine beetles will lay their eggs in there. Then the acorn wood pecker comes back and has a tasty treat.
5. I’ve always known that animals that come out at night are called nocturnal. But I didn’t know that there is a name for day time animals (diurnal) and even animals that are active at dawn and dusk (corpuscular) such as birds.

Besides environmental classes we have also been receiving training about cabin time. We do what is called “Tribes” which is when the students get to bond and get to know each other. This is the section that I’m most excited about. I’ve always wanted to be a councilor so I’m pretty excited, but at the same time I’ve never done it before I’m also really nervous too. There is a lot of responsibility for getting the kids ready for this and that as well as be on time. We have also talked about what to do if a child gets home sick or if there happens to be “code brown” or a “code yellow” in the middle of the night. There a many procedures for everything that I just hope I can remember them all.

Decision time…dun..dun..dun
Thursday night was the big night when we had to decide were we were going to work and live. It was an interesting process of who we did this. We toured all of the housing options in town on Wednesday and then toured the Edwards site and Nawakwa housing on Thursday. That night our last thing was to come to some sort of agreement of were everyone was going to work/live. They basically locked us in the dining hall to dook it out ourselves and could come out until we did. It took some time and a few girls cried a little, but we were able to reach an agreement and it all worked out.
I am now working and living at Nawakwa. I live in a cabin that is split into two rooms. In my room are two other girls: MaryHelen who worked for Americore based out of Denver for 2 years and Jessica who went to St. Thomas and is from Colorado. My roommates are absolutely great and we are all really pumped with who all decided to work at Nawakwa. It’s going to be a great year!!!

I wanted to post some pictures but they take too long to load. I'll be sure to do that as soon as I can. Until then I'll keep you in suspense. :) Miss you all!

Also my updated mailing address is:
PO Box 1911
Angelus Oaks, CA 92305

I'd love to hear from you! Love you, Minnesota my love!

Road Trip To Cali

Pit Stop in South Dakota

To make our road trip a little more like a road trip my parents and I stopped in SD to check out Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. We took a family trip there along time ago so it was really neat to see how it had changed. We got to see M. Rushmore really well, but Crazy Horse was some what of a let down. We hoped to see the lazer show and blowing off of some rock. We couldn’t get into the place because we were late so we parked about 3 blocks away on the side of the road. We were able to see the sights but it lost it’s effect without the narration and ambiance. It was still a good stop, but then it was time to hit the road again. Here are some photos to enjoy. Can you tell we had been driving for about 9 hours?

My Utah experience- summer style

One of the stops along the way to California was to spend a few days with my sister and her boyfriend, Chris, in Utah. They live in beautiful Park City, Utah. They both work hard but still find the energy to entertain and explore new things that this state has to offer.

During our short time in Utah we discovered that this state has a whole new array of activities besides skiing and snowboarding for those with an adventurous heart. My mom and I decided we almost prefer Utah in the summer verses the winter because of the variety of activities and also because it isn’t so crazy crowded with tourists and celebrities.

When we arrived we were exhausted from driving almost all the way straight from Minnesota. It was a very long drive, but we made it. We pretty much crashed for a long nap once we pulled into Carolyn’s place. Then we settled and went around town to check out their Muckers and Miners festival which was similar to the Lumberjack Days in Stillwater.

Then the next day was our hike and bike day. Carolyn took me on my first mountain biking ride. She has really gotten into it this summer. She’s learned a lot and is a great teacher. I quickly discovered that it is definitely not a sport for the faint of heart. The first time we stopped so I could catch my breath was a huge wake up call for me and the elevation. Ooo man! It took me a while to get a hang of biking upward and tackling the switch backs, but I eventually got it and each one was like a little triumph and felt awesome! Once we had climbed about 1,000 ft it was time to go back down. YIKES! It was very scary but with Carolyn’s coaching and patience I did it without a scrap or bruise. Thanks Big C!

Mom and Dad hiked while Carolyn and I biked. They had a great time, but also wanted to give the mountain biking a try. Carolyn took them on a little ride up and down a small hill. This is Mom still smiling after the experience. Mom, were you smiling when you were on the bike?

Here is a action shot of Dad and Carolyn. The bike was a little small for him.

In the afternoon we made a quick stop at a cemetery, my mom’s favorite. It actually wasn’t fairly interesting. They had a walking tour that told the stories on some of the grave stones and the people buried there. This was my mom’s favorite one. She thought it would be perfect for my day. It said, “My Husband” and had flowers around it. She loves cemeteries. Hehe.

Chris took the next day off so we went on a nice hike up to explore the Timpanogos Cave. It was well worth the exhausting hike for the sights to behold inside such a mountain. Here are some pictures from the hike and inside the cave.

Because the hike was up the mountain we Minnesotans couldn’t take the elevation as well as Carolyn and Chris. We felt very out of shape and out of breath.

Paul couldn’t come on this road trip, but we took a family photo as if he was there. Nice sunglasses Paul!

Here’s is one inside the cave. It was spectacular! There were some tight walk ways and Dad bumped his head a couple times. I learned a lot and was blown away by what our earth can do if we just give it time. The cave was millions of years old and still growing! This is Carolyn being a cave monster.

This is to show the tight, tight spaces. Squeeze in!

Yesterday Carolyn needed to do a training run with her friend John for the Twin Cities Marathon. They set out to run 20 miles. I told them I would run with them for part of it not realizing that I would end up running over 14 miles! It was out of the blue and I was worried about the elevation but it was alright. We got up bright and early and had a very nice run. Carolyn and John completed the 20 miles and she still had energy to do more things the rest of the day. She is totally ready for her fifth marathon!

For the rest of the day we spent it at the Canyons. This is the biggest skiing resort in Utah. Chris works here as a computer tech and during his lunch break gets to go skiing in the winter and disc golfing in the summer. He took us out on the course. It was an interesting event for all of us. Even though I’ve played my fair share of Frisbee these discs were totally different. Although I think I might be a little better at disc golf than regular golf. Just ask Tony, Leah, and John. They’ve seen my skills and its not pretty.

It was fun to ride the chair lifts with out skies. Tips up guys!

Chris was an all-star!

Look mom found her disc!

Before going down the mountain we decided to do a little hike and got extremely lucky. My mom was leading us and happened upon a mama moose and calf! Carolyn says they can charge at you so we were very cautious!

Hello moose friends!

It was an amazing sight! They are massive and sweet!

Now we are staying the night in San Bernardino, CA. I’m in California! Woohoo! Tomorrow is High Trails! I’m both nervous and excited! I don’t know what is in store…???

California or Bust!

Hello friends and family!

Welcome to my blog! I had a zanga site while I was in France and so I thought I keep this blog while I'm in Cali to tell you about my adventures. My sister has done a fine job of keeping a blog for those in Minnesota. She has some journalism skills that I don't have but I will do my best to keep this up to date and interesting. :) Enjoy and I look forward to hearing from you through comments, emails, and letters! Yeah! I love mail! I will post my exact address as soon as I know it. Until then feel free to check out the High Trails website: www.thehightrailsway.com

As a current status, I'm sitting at my sister's table with a beautiful view of the Utah mountains! She has planned out our whole week with many adventures. I'll be sure to post about them soon with photos too. :) Until then, ciao!