A Summer Place

I had to get outside in the so-called summer heat this afternoon.  As I walked away from the turnout just past Moose junction I realized how I see something that messes with my reality everyday.  It doesn't take a lot to do that especially since my definition of reality is so hazy in the first place.  I look up see something like this

 and I am stirred because there are no trees like this where I came from.  I might have gotten close enough to see if it was a Lodgepole pine, because Joseph recently defined those for me.  But no, I walked on.

 Ah this brings homesickness.  Nothing lifts my soul higher than a sunny day witnessed from the shade, an unblinking picture that goes on forever... well until sundown anyway.  And the desire to enter this picture and sort of shuffle around.

 As I walked back I stared out over the hills and saw how the pines seem to pour down the furrows of the hills, most likely from pinecones rolling downhill when they fall (4 years of college helped this hypothesis along).  I wondered if you could trace the ones at the bottom to the ones at the top.

Behind the Scenes

It's 11pm and I'm just finishing up my homework for the night. I would have finished earlier but I decided to go hunting for morels after work instead. My hunt was a bust, as I came up empty handed in my search. If you've never heard of morels, they are probably one of the most delicious types of mushrooms in existance! Many of you all may wonder what my job consist of, well now is the time for truth. I work like a busy little ant behind the scenes to ensure that you all are having the best experience possible. You may be sitting there reading this thinking hmmm.. I haven't heard from her in a while. Well not to worry, just because you haven't doesn't mean that I haven't spoken to your mentor or supervisor to make sure that things are running smoothly. Today Carl, Alfredo and I went and bought bicycles for the staff here at GTNP in hopes that it will make it easier on those that come here without transportation. Alfredo took off with the "bear lady" to cut lymph nodes out of a moose that was hit by a car. (don't worry, Carl took pictures) Then Sydney came over to the office for a visit and Cecily came over after to show me her gnarly cut which required 3 stiches! You all are doing an amazing job and I look forward to talking to you all on Friday, July 8th!

Keep up the great work and remember the three things we talked about during our week together!

P.S. - I spend the majority of my day on the phone, email or in meetings. The things I do behind the scenes! :)

Don't Worry, Be Happy...



Photo taking at Hidden Falls by Sydney Taylor



Like rough turbulence, my first and second week in Wyoming started out shaky. I found myself holding out my thumb, stranded. At times, I didn’t know how I was going to get back and forth from work. After the first week, I immediately wanted to relocate from Colter Bay to Beaver Creek. I thought moving would make all of my worries go away. At least, I could walk to work. Part of me didn’t want to leave. I connected with the Colter Bay area so well. They too became a part of my family, just like everyone in the NPS Academy. For the most part, things have been looking up. I’m no longer searching for a ride to work. I pay a 12 dollar fee to ride the Alltrans bus, back and forth to work. Through it all, I stopped worrying and kept smiling. Recently, I had the opportunity to hike to Hidden Falls near Jenny Lake. The scenery was amazing. The area was very diverse as people of all ages and different backgrounds came together to enjoy a sunny afternoon. I strongly recommend going to Hidden Falls. The waterfall hitting the surface of the ground was breathtaking. Until next time... Sincerly, Syd.

THE TRAILS ARE MONITORED

Here is a screen shot of the program used to map the trails.  Some stretches of a trail may be destroyed by weather or mad horses, and some may need time off to have their vegetation restored.  Cecily or Nara would be the best candidate for answering more questions about it.  As for me, it remains vaguely mysterious, like a crystal ball in a hut at a Scarborough Faire... 

I'LL TAKE A THURSDAY ON THE ROCKS

How do you do, my colleagues of the forest?
Today I am hoping to start watching some immense reels of funny footage, but we shall see if the system can get up and run smoothly like a wolf man awakened by the fresh air of an Irish moor. 

Yesterday I dropped by Colter Bay and visited our mutual friend Alfredo who was supervising some volunteers.  A building got a fresh coat of paint that fine day, and Alfredo looked very sharp in his uniform (Figure 1).  I am excited to visit the rest of my chums and see if I can help with the SNAP project in any way.  You know it!
Right now Joseph is one cubicle over working with Bonnie.  I heard some very technical sounding talk about emergency first aid, and she said he was doing very good so far; I thought he must be getting trained for some aspect of fire brigade.  Then she asked, "Now have you ever used one of these?"  Joseph hesitated and then answered no-- meanwhile I was grabbing my camera, powering it up as I sprang around the corner to catch whatever surgical instruction Joseph was getting.  I thought for sure he would be applying the jaws of life to half a mannequin, or trying to interpret the display screen of a defibrillator.  But she was just showing him a label-maker.
So I am off, looking for whatever I can get into!  There is a beautiful skirt of clouds around the Tetons this beautiful day, those large and voluptuous Tetons!

 No matter how fast I scramble toward them it seems like I will never be on top of them.
A closing line, people, taken from Michael Keaton's autobiography: "I had never been there before outside of the dreams I had again and again.  But suddenly after years of work there I was.  Funny how we actually can make our dreams come true, is it not?"  He was talking about his first visit to Cape Canaveral.

Delicious Candy Apples In a Wicker Hamper

Ahh, I had a conversation with someone who shall remain nameless... because I don't remember who it was... but I asked if Jackson ever sees any carnivals, a beloved occurrence in town square parking lots all throughout my homeland in the summer, and apparently there will be the Teton County Fair in late July and August! 

Lachaim! [TO LIFE]

Starting July 24, Teton county will have its annual fair-THAT'S RIGHT-where out-of-towners can embrace all the most exotic and alien aspects of Wyoming culture.  Carnival rides, rodeo, crafts, pig wrestling... this sounds like quite the soiree BOY HOWDY.  I don't know if it will match up with the Texas State Fair, where I have smelled delicious smells for an hour while I waited in line for the unbelievably large ferris wheel ride... where I saw a cat circus, and the world's smallest horse, and the butter sculpture garden, an 1100 lb. hog, and began a love-affair with the delectable treat known as "fried butter." FAR OUT, PADRE Man, you know it must be tasty when its ingredients are all so harmful to your health...

Forgive the excitement... but this would be a landmark way to spend one's day off in late July!!

Mountaintop dalliance

Good morning, Nara... see you around the office.  The rest of you are so busy, plying your trade and perhaps already dreaming of retirement in the Florida keys. 

Today the skies are thick with gray substance, some weightless matter which I perceive to be cotton or cigar smoke.  They say it will rain for the rest of the week, so if we Teton folk are going to gather we may have to hunker in the bunker of someone living in Beaver... I don't know what that place is called formally.

As I was driving down the highway yesterday I could see four buffalo in the distance, maybe three hundred yards away, grazing beneath a leafless tree.  Purely engaged in private buffalo affairs, and not getting hassled by the man.  The fact that they were way out there and not right on the roadside made me feel even more like I was out in the wild, as opposed to those wildlife drive-thru zoos you sometimes find out in the middle of nowhere where these unhappy animals don't have the choice to get more than twenty feet from your car as you holler gibberish at them to make them look at you.  While those are fun, there is something more lofty and noble about watching an animal that has options.