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| From Return to CA Road Trip - Badlands Nat Park, Park City, Estes Park... |
I spent part of my winter at the Advanced Wildland Firefighting Academy, and yaaaaay! I graduated! The Advanced Academy was more fun than Basic - in part because I wasn't simultaneously trying to complete my Master's degree, but also because the atmosphere was more laid back and everybody knew each other already. I really enjoyed our Fireline Leadership class, taught my something called Mission Centered Solutions. I'm not supposed to disclose too many details about it, but the instructors were excellent at role-playing and we had multiple incident scenarios that we played out in the field, and in the classroom. Other classes included Basic Air Operations, Firing Methods, Intermediate Fire Behavior, and Fuels Management. We didn't have physical fitness testing this time, and very little time for paid PT. I had a great roommate so that made dorm life better. Of course nobody from my engine came down for graduation, which was fine by me. I'm not much of one for pomp and circumstance and ceremonies anyway, didn't even attend my bachelor's or master's graduations and I think neck ties (which I was forced to wear as part of my official uniform) are absolutely one of the stupidest human clothing invention. It was fun, but I'm glad it's over!
After graduation, I went back down to Tim's, packed some stuff, and the next morning Logan and I were on the road for Steamboat Springs, Colorado. My friend Matt was having a bachelor party and, being "one of the guys", I was invited to the ski-extravaganza. It was probably a 20-ish hour drive, and I found a great place to board Logan in Steamboat while I stayed at the condo. Unfortunately, after a successful drive all the way from California to Colorado, I ended up going off the shoulder right outside of Steamboat and broke my truck! At the time, I thought the damage was much worse than it ended up being - I thought I wrecked my shock along with some other steering components. Let me just say that I'm sorely disappointed in Geico and it was going to take DAYS for an adjuster just to LOOK at the damage. I was able to drive it to the condo and swapped out my spare tire and it drove much better. I was heading to Estes Park after Steamboat anyway, so I decided it was ok to drive and took it to a dealership in Fort Collins; bought a used rim and paid for an alignment, and all ended pretty well considering!
However, I didn't know it would be that cheap while I was in Steamboat, and I opted to save the $100/day for a ski pass to pay for my repairs. :( It was still a good trip and it's always great to see Matt. It was a pretty mellow bachelor party, and involved delicious microbrews, watching the Gold Rush and Cops marathons on tv, the hot tub, Strawberry Hot Springs, walking around town, and just relaxing. After a few days there, I got Logan and continued on to Estes Park for almost a week of playing in the snow, seeing friends, and checking on my storage unit (Yes, I still have stuff stored in Colorado!). The weather gods were kind and dumped tons of powder while I was there! It was apparently TOO much for good skiing in the park (and I'm not very good anyway) so I took Logan snowshoeing up Lily Mountain. Any trip to Estes wouldn't be complete without a few trips to eat, drink and be merry at the Rock Inn of course :) . It was good to relax before my next push east to...
Michigan! Yep, almost 2 months of hanging with the family. It was good to be back! Despite the overcast skies and typical suburban culture that annoys the crap out of me (soccer moms in huge SUVs that run stop signs in subdivisions, for one). I got a cheap membership to the gym so I could get in shape for fire season, saw some of my wonderful lovely long-lost friends, and spent a lot of time with my mom! My friend Beth even had her baby while I was in Michigan, so I was able to see little Alex a couple times. And my family is full of hockey fans, so it was fun whooping and hollering with them while watching the Red Wings on TV. It was pretty low key and I'm disappointed that there were certain things I didn't get to do, but oh well. Hopefully they enjoyed my time back, even though I harassed them about exercising, eating healthy, etc etc! ;)
In the meantime, I had been slated to be on the Yosemite helitack crew... as such, I had found a sweet cabin in Groveland. No surprise, I get a message from my old district saying that I was slated to go to a different helicopter (Bald Mt)!! What?! I had been told since October that it was Yosemite, and then suddenly in March (while I'm trying to find a place to live in Groveland, thinking I am still going to Yosemite) they jerk me around. Not cool at all. The person giving me the news was like, "Oh they said they told you months ago!" Which was NOT the case. So then, it was a matter of finding out if I could be put back on the Yosemite ship. I really did not appreciate getting jerked around without ANY input or contacting me at all. I'm not the first person they have done that to, but it doesn't make it right. It took weeks to finally hear the decision as to where I was going - and thankfully it was in my favor, still in Yosemite. However, in the meantime the realty company needed an answer about the cabin, so I had to forfeit it... which meant I was totally high and dry with a place to live. Fortunately, they have barracks in Groveland and due to budget cuts, no other divisions hired any women this summer so they had room for me. I'm still upset though, because I had intended on getting a place so I could have my dog all summer, as well as have visitors - like Tim and Neota! And as of right now, I still haven't found a place to live that is affordable, like that cabin was.
I was told early April I was still on for Yosemite, but they didn't have a start date for me. I told them I was in Michigan and had to make the 2700 mile drive to get back, and I needed at least 2 weeks notice so I could pack and get back west. I was finally given a start date of May 9th and made my plans accordingly. Of course, they found a way to screw that up too... and ended up trying to give me 3 days notice, telling me on a Friday that I had to start on Monday, 2 weeks earlier!! You can imagine just how happy that made me. In the end I started a week later. And people wonder why I don't want to stay at this forest... So far, their communication, concern for their employees, and general attitude about jerking people around has left much to be desired! But at least I ended up on the crew I wanted this summer.
The drive back was fun, but getting the news that I had to start early definitely altered the pace of my planned drive. I had hoped to take my time, enjoy it, not stress out or keep to a schedule, but in the back of my mind I knew the sooner I got to California, the sooner I could unpack, repack, and get everything in order before work. I did manage to make a side trip to Badlands National Park in South Dakota, and saw tons of wildlife - antelope, coyote, deer, bighorn sheep, etc... I then stopped and saw my friend Gregg in Wyoming; he had just landed a new job in Montana and was moving in a few weeks. The timing was perfect, who knows when I will see him again after he moves! It was a short visit but was great to catch up! I had intended on a short trip back through Estes but it was out of the way, since my impromptu visit with Gregg changed my route. Next time, Estes, next time! And then there was Utah... and I FINALLY got to see my friend Steph in Park City! I wish I had a week to catch up and hang out with her, because her and I always have so much to talk about! Park City seems like a pretty awesome town and it was great to see the life she and her boyfriend are forging out in Utah! Went to the brewery, talked and talked and talked, walked the dog and talked more LOL... great hospitality and I was sad to leave early the next morning. I really can't let that much time go by again without seeing her!
And onward I drove, finally reaching Tim's place. I had only seen him like 2-3 times since I left for the fire academy in mid January, and let me reiterate that long distance SUCKS and I hate it! But I think we are getting good at it LOL. The young chickens are now full sized hens, the plots around the house are now sprouted with carrot tops, birds have nests in the rafters, and the green grass of the hills is now crispy and yellow. Guess it's springtime in the central valley! Tim had trimmed up this HUGE, old grape vine on the property - we call it the "vineyard", though it's just one very prolific plant, with two vines that are so far 20 feet long! The fig tree has green fruit, the pomegranate tree has red leathery flowers (the "petals" are the same tough, waxy red skin that the ripe fruit has, which I think is neat), and the cacti were blooming. I will hopefully take pictures of these things "on the farm" in the future. :)
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| From CA 2010 - Fall and Winter |
Next journal I plan on talking about my new home of Groveland, and what it's like being a Forest Service employee on a National Park Service helitack crew - which, by the way, seems like it will be amazing! I also recently had an interview for a job in Alaska; will know if I was selected in a couple weeks, but if I am... do I give up this awesome summer??
I'll throw some random pictures in here too, to break up my long-winded text. :)
From CA 2010 - Fall and Winter
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