Today was the 3rd day of the Pura Vida program and I finally had the opportunity to spend more than an hour with the kids! After a short program about careers in the NPS to the TSS Field and Natural History group I jetted off to the Jenny Lake Rescue Cache at Lupine Meadows to find the kids rock climbing with George Montopoli and Phil Edmonds, Jenny Lake Climbing Rangers spotting the kids as they climbed. After a request and refusal by me to partake in the climbing I gave in after a chant of "Vanessa, Vanessa, Vanessa..." How could I say no! So with flat hat and all I successfully climbed the rock wall without any injuries. After climbing the kids took turns riding around in the wheeled liter with each one of them taking their turn in "driving." We all squeezed back inside the cache and we learned how to devise a pulley system in order to hoist Susie up towards the ceiling while in a rescue harness.
Shortly after saying farewell to the kids new best friends, George and Phil and taking our photo outside with the Tetons as the backdrop, we followed Nara to Lucas-Fabian Ranch. With all the snow this year a majority of the trail is under water, so we were prepared to get our feet wet. By "we" I mean the kids, I completely forgot about this portion of today's itinerary and of course had my service uniform on so got completely wet and have had to wear soggy shoes all day. Nara orchestrated a scavenger hunt for the kids to find Geraldine's grave site with GPS units, while explaining her story of how she got here.
I just got back from Gros Ventre campground where we played a game to learn about campground safety and the students began setting up their tents. Tonight a handful of NPS Academy students will join the students for dinner, campfire stories and camping. This is probably one of my favorite parts of my job, being able to get out and be a part of the programs that I develop. A great day was had for all. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!
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