Rain, rain, go away!

Last week, I went with my new partners, Mike and Gregg, to the Bison Range to do some prep work for a prescribed fire that they are planning on burning in September.

Actually, we didn’t work at the Bison Range at all. We just stayed there for a night, then continued north to Swan Lake/Swan River National Wildlife Refuge. This might not seem significant, but let me sum up the Bison Range like this: Bison and dead grass. Period.

Boy, that would have been boring.

For you Michigan people, I can describe the Swan Lake area as sortof like Northern Michigan, but with bigger mountains. Pines and lakes and rivers - it was beautiful! And just a little bit south of Glacier National Park. Definitely going to stop there on my way home!

What kind of work did we do? Well, the first day I went on a boat ride with a guy that works there to survey for eagle nests. Rough life, huh? J We took the boat up the river and found the 20-yr old nest that had just been taken over by a Canada goose, but couldn’t find the new nest that the eagles had made. We needed to find these nests so that we could fireproof them. Yeah that’s right, I said FIREPROOF them. We cut down everything in a 20 foot radius around this nest so that the fire doesn’t burn it down.

Mike hopped in the tractor and mowed grass. It’s supposed to form a firebreak, but by the time they actually burn, it will probably have grown back. Go figure. But that’s the idea, at least. While he did that, Gregg and I scouted out ahead on an ATV and moved logs that were in the tractor’s way. Boats, ATVs, eagles, and chainsaws. It was a good time! J

While I was out on the boat the first day, there were two smokes that we could see from the lake. Ends up that Justin, a Flathead NF firefighter that I had met in Darby, works out of Swan Lake, and he stopped to talk to the guys and see if we wanted to help them out. Unfortunately, since myself and the other guy weren’t there, we didn’t end up getting to help them. After that, it rained. So much for smoke chasing!

One evening, we went into Big Fork for dinner - it was a welcome treat after staying at the ghetto-8 motel in Condon (it might look nice on the outside, but no AC on an 85 degree day… yuck!) and eating at the same restaurant for every meal. We go into this bar and it just seemed a little… different. As we were eating our meals and watching what was goingon around us, we realized… it’s a gay bar. Ha! No wonder nobody seemed to even notice me but did seem to fancy Gregg a little bit!

So that’s that. We did our part and now hopefully I will get to go back and help burn in September. We also stopped at the Smokejumper base in Missoula so I could finally meet my FMO (fire management officer) who was the one who hired me but I hadn’t actually met yet.

We got back to Red Rock Lakes on Friday night, but had to get up around 4 am to make a 3 hr trip to take Mike to the Bozeman airport so he could go back to Mississippi. Once we got that done with, Gregg and I decided to check out downtown, then drove to West Yellowstone for lunch. With nothing better to do, we adventured into Yellowstone National Park and do a quick drive-through.

That’s when it started raining.

It rained all afternoon, then into the evening. In the middle of the night, lightning flashed and sheets of rain hammered on the windows and roof.

So much for a fire season!

Well, I’m exaggerating a little bit, but it’s definitely been a slow fire season (for better or worse).

The next morning, the clouds encircled our Centennial valley and loomed over the mountains, hiding the peaks. Grey and nasty, but never intruded into the valley until later that evening. I think it rained Sunday also. That evening while running, I could finally see the top of Jefferson mountain.

All white! The first snow in the peaks that I have seen this summer. Actually, the snow just finally started melting off today - it’s been cooler lately, highs around 60 degrees, so it’s no surprise the snow lasted this long up at 10,000 ft.

I can’t remember if it rained Monday, but it was just raining here a few minutes ago.

I did talk to my FMO and he said that because of all this rain we’re getting, he is going to try and send Gregg and I “out of the region”. I am not sure what that means exactly, except that it would be cool if we could get out of here for at least a little bit and maybe get on one more fire. Sweetness all around!

In the meantime, we went grocery shopping and made that annoying 1 ½ hr drive to Dillon. At least we got to get jiggy with the CD player in another employee’s truck. When we got back, I had a package waiting for me from the UPS man - my new DVDs, Deliverance and The Boondock Saints! Woo hoo, something to keep me busy this week! ;)

Word, yo.

I'm back from "up north".

Drove all day. Beer and movie time. Weinhard's and Mothman. I've had enough Bison Range to last until at least September's burn.

I gave Gator the address to my journal and he said the way I worded all this fire stuff was "trivial". Ass. ;) Though, looking back at what I wrote before I came out here is definitely funny in retrospection. I had no idea what to expect and I was so nervous... even those first few days here, like that first lightning storm, I was so excited (and naive! But it's fun to be that way sometimes!) but definitely out of my element.

Hey, I've adapted. In my own "special" way, but I'm figuring it out and having a great time along the way! And yes, even out here in the middle of BFE I still find a reason to wear mascara and eye shadow. ;)

Anyway, back to my wild Friday night at the bunkhouse. Look out, boys - the only single female in this entire town (population 18) is gonna tear it up on the couch with that beer and my PS2 (that was sarcasm, boys and girls). Grrr, baby.

The map shows where we stayed, up near Glacier National Park. It's beautiful up there!

I'm here at the Bison Range, in a pimp-ass bunkhouse on the internet! I'm such a spoiled techno-brat. ;)
For the next week, we're going to be doing prep work for a prescribed burn here. The good news is that Kevin, one of the fire guys here, said that when I am done at Red Rock Lakes, he could use my help in October. I'm already pimping myself out, heh heh!
After tonite, we'll be staying in a motel but it definitely is pretty out here. Looks like we might get some storms so maybe something will happen...
That's all for now, time to tour the refuge!

And we'll all float on ahead...

I guess I’m officially a wildland firefighter, eh? Seven days dispatched in the Bitterroot National Forest and two fires, lots of overtime and hazard pay and living in Nomex pants for a week. I didn’t know what to expect, but I think I’m hooked on this fire thing!

After we were called and told we would be leaving on Wednesday, Gator and I finished getting the engine ready and tried to get a few hours of sleep for our 3 am departure. Gator, Jeff and I had our coffee mugs filled and drove the 4 1⁄2 hours to Hamilton, which is Northwest of Red Rock, and checked in with dispatch.

Dispatch sent us back the way we came, south a few miles to Darby.

This is how being “initial attack” (the first resources to respond to a fire) works. You bounce around and never know where you will be! I love it!

At Darby, there wasn’t much going on so they sent us out with a ranger to Como Lake for… a boat ride. J He needed to fix some buoys, so Jeff was nice enough to stay on shore while Gator and I went out. As you can expect from a man from the bayou , he was awesome at handling the boat. I just sat and enjoyed the scenery. Rough day, huh?

Later, we were just on our way to dinner when Ray from Dispatch tells us that we were going to a fire at West Fork, a little bit south of us. Time for action!

We got to that ranger station and talked to their dispatcher, Stu, who told us there were at least 3 small lightning fires in our area and gave us one. I think this is the point that we realized that we probably should have eaten dinner before we left. Woops. MREs for dinner later, oh boy!

We drove the engine to the point that we were told was directly downslope of the fire. What fun, a steep slope of loose rock! We put our fire line packs (45 lbs), helmets, and yellow shirts on, grabbed our tools and started uphill. It was tiring but exciting! A little bit of smoke drifted around the peaks. We still hadn’t reached the source and had more elevation to climb, it was hard work, keep hiking up…

Jeff calls out from above. “Found a road!”

Good news, but we were annoyed that the person who scouted the fire hadn’t told us about this road, which could potentially make life a heck of a lot easier. Still hadn’t reached the fire though, so we went up another 30 yards and reached our fire.

80 foot ponderosa pine struck by lightening, flames at its base, surrounded by a few burning logs and shrubs. Maybe 30-40 sq. feet?

It wasn’t huge, it wasn’t spectacular, but it still was a fire and you still need to be careful. A good beginner’s fire. Jeff was in training for crew boss and incident commander, so it was good for both him and I to start small. The biggest challenge was how steep the terrain was, and it was hard just standing in one place. At this point, we decided it would probably be a good idea to have a backpack pump with water; Jeff volunteered to go back to the engine and get it, as well as scout out the road.

While he was gone, Gator and I dug line around the fire. That means that we had hand tools and cut away all the unburned trees and bushes around the fire, then dug a trench to stop it from spreading. We got a call from Jeff on the radio - that old logging road was just up the road from where we climbed the slope, and was a much better hike to the fire. We couldn’t drive the engine up because of some trenches in the road, but just that easier hike made a big difference!

At one point, dispatch asked Jeff what the name of the fire was. He paused a second, then responded “Novi”. And so the Novi Fire was born, in memory of the place I can’t seem to escape. J

At this point, it was late afternoon and we ended up working on the fire until 10:30 or 11, working to the light of our headlamps and the flames. We scraped away the burning area of the tree as best we could, expecting it to settle down overnight and maybe be out overnight. Somehow we made it off the side of that mountain and set up camp around our engine. There was a 20-person crew also hanging out near us who had been dispatched to a fire even smaller than ours on more level ground. Go figure. J

And so it came that I ate my first MRE (Meals Read to Eat). Nothing screams gourmet like that pukish-beige colored bag that contains even more little bags, filled with all sorts of delicious goodies. Mine? Pork. I opened it up and a square hunk of fleshy Spam-like “meat” greeting me with the aroma of Alpo dog food. Eeeechhh. But I was starved and figured that putting it on a giant cracker with the “cheese product” might make it more bearable. Mental note: knead the cheese product more thoroughly next time. Lumpy cheese sauce doesn’t add much to the experience. It actually wasn’t awful, but I could only stand so much of that salty pork-stuff. I also had a pound cake and something like rice. I think the highlight of that meal were the chicklets for dessert.

Jeff set up a tent while Gator and I decided to try and share the cab of the engine. I slept great… and apparently took up most of the cab while Gator froze his ass off. Woops. L I remember at one point waking up and telling him about a dream I had - my mom bought a little dog that started having seizures and I gave it CPR to save it. Ends up the dog had diabetes, but I saved his life so it thanked me. He thinks I’m a little “throwed off” now. J

In the morning, first thing first: coffee. I brought some along with my mini French-press, so we made a little fire and heated water in a tin can. 12 ounces at a time, we started our morning. Wednesday ended up being a 19 hour day! Back up the hill, this time up the road. Gator stayed at the engine in case we needed the chainsaw. We figured it would be pretty calm that early in the morning.

Jeff and I arrived to our tree and - surprise! - there were flames coming from the now-hollow base of the pine tree as well as the logs on the ground. We used the pumps and scraped away to try and put it out but that tree was definitely a problem. It made us a little nervous to see how little was holding the tree up now and it looked like it might fall soon. We needed the chainsaw and more water, so Jeff and I went back down to the engine for a refill and to get Gator.

We arrived back at the site with Gator maybe 20 minutes later, and the tree had fallen! Good thing we left when we did. Gator said we wouldn’t have been able to cut it down anyway and would have had to babysit it until it fell, so it was a good thing. We spent the day cutting the tree up, scraping it out, water, water, and more water, and finally we called it out. In the process, Jeff forged himself a nickname - “the Animal”.

That night, we went back to Darby and stayed in a motel. Showers! What a treat!

The next day (Friday), we were dispatched to the Sula district - a little bit south again - and were sent to mop-up with a few people from the Forest Service on the Saddle Mountain fire. This fire had been a bit bigger with some trees torching, but they had done a good job drowning it with a few helicopter bucket drops, a hand crew, an engine, and who knows what else. So, though this counts as a “fire”, it was sopping wet and there wasn’t much to mop up. Needless to say, we sat on that wet mess all day. In the meantime, the Capri fire had blown up so they were setting up a fire camp for that. We never were dispatched to that fire, since we were initial attack. We consider that a good thing - initial attack is the way to go!

…And once again, we were sent back to Darby. By this point, there had been a core group of crews that had also been staged there, so we knew people and went out to the bar and to dinner a few times. I met some great guys with the Flathead engine - Justin, Guy, and Jared - and they sparked my interest in working near them next year, at Swan Lake. We hung out at the station and Gator and I shared the engine cab again. But after a night of Guinness and spicy pizza… we’ll just say Gator nearly suffocated me. ;)

Saturday and Sunday, we stayed at Darby while the weather was calm and the action subsided. Lucky us, we got to do “project work” - fuels reduction, which means that Gator cut down trees and I stacked them up. It was fine to keep us busy, but seems sucky to me that the local crew who’s project it was didn’t have to work on it. But I guess that’s the way fire works, and it all evens out in the end. They even had us trimming their bushes at one point! We did have a good time at the Sawmill bar with everyone on Sunday night!

That’s the way fire works - “Hurry up and wait” is the phrase for it. Sit around and wait for something to happen… and when it does happen, you gotta bust ass!

Monday, Gator got us out of more project work by teaching the portable pumps class. At this point, we knew we were going home soon; weather was calm and even the Capri fire was demobing crews.We stayed at a motel that night and on Tuesday, we headed back to Red Rock Lakes.

It was a great trip and I couldn’t have asked for better company!

Other memories: alternate lyrics to “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes, singing that one line from “Float on” by Modest Mouse repeatedly, ordering two super-size pancakes on accident, hearing Gator’s life story over and over and over again, all the ladies (coffee shop, motel, waitresses) who told me they felt bad I was stuck with Jeff and Gator, "All - my - friends - live in Mon-i-da!", a guy with the nickname of Balls, and all everything that “happens in the engine, stays in the engine!”

When we returned to Red Rock, the new fire guys were already here to replace Gator, who left on Friday. We threw him a little party and him and I hung out Thursday and finally found some bull moose to photograph. I hope he can come back in a few weeks to work on the prescribed fire! It’s going to be a lot quieter and a lot more boring without him to mess with, but hopefully we’ll stay in touch!

Monday, my new partners and I are going to Bison NWR, 6 or 7 hrs from here, to do some prescribed fire prep. Not sure what that means, but it’s supposed to be very pretty up there. Fire danger starts to get high around this time of year, so hopefully I’ll get on another fire soon. I completed my Firefighter Type 2 task book and would start my Firefighter Type 1, but there is a course I need to take before I can begin.

Overall, I’m loving it! I think I just may have found myself a career I would enjoy!

The photos are of after the tree fell the next day, plus a few of Gator and Jeff.

Well, my first assignment as a wildland firefighter was awesome. Unfortunately, I received tragic news and haven‘t been much in the mood to write. I lost a friend earlier this week, he was only 19 and the younger brother of my two good friends. It seems surreal, since I am so far removed from everything. It was wayyyy to expensive for me to fly back (cheapest was $750) but my heart goes out to the family.

In other bad news, my cousin had a seizure and was sent to the hospital… only to run into my other cousin, who was also there for seizures! What a crappy coincidence. They did some tests on the first cousin and ends up she was having mini-seizures during the entire test - which means she could have a seizure-disease or even a brain tumor!

Good family news - my lil’ bro made it on the travel hockey team!

Anyway here is a photo of Gator, Jeff and me with Red Rocks Engine, making coffee after a night of sleeping at our first fire that Jeff lovingly dubbed the “Novi” fire for me. It looks a little weird because the road should actually be flat and the engine should be slanted uphill. ;) More will come soon!

Finally got the call!

Dispatched to Bitterroot National Forest about 5-6 hrs away, leaving tomorrow at 3 am!

Fortunately we put the finishing touches on the engine this afternoon! I hope I brought everything I'll need - who knows how long we will be gone!

EXCITED! Time to get 4 hours of sleep!

Handy-chic

Finally, a chance to write an update!

This past week has been busy - I worked overtime every day but Sunday, and by the time I get home I certainly don’t want to wait for my slow dial-up internet connection to do an update!

I’m sure the big question everybody is thinking is “Did you get any fires yet?”

Funny that you ask.

Actually…. No.

But in the meantime, Gator and I have been bringing their engine up to standards and increasing the efficiency and usefulness of it. Our big project over the past week and a half has been fabricating two long metal boxes to mount on each side of the rig. They are each about 6 ft. long and made of steel; this means I had plenty of time to practice cutting metal, welding, grinding, and being a handy-chic! Believe it or not, I picked up on welding quickly and got a lot of compliments about how well I was doing. I’ll post pics of the boxes whenever I get around to it.

Gator mounted them on Saturday while I went on a hike into the burn area of last year’s fire. The first true hiking-trial of my fire boots. They felt ok for the first 3 hours, but that last hour… Won’t wear thick wool socks again, fer sure! There is so much “bug-kill” (dead pines from the bark beetles) in this refuge that the fire last year burned so hot, the land is still nearly barren in some areas. There’s still plenty of dead wood around, so the next lightening bolt could spark off another big one at any time!

So besides mastering the art of welding, I’ve been getting in my paid PT (physical training) and running a few times a week. I’m still trying to get my high-altitude lungs back, but there’s a nice trail that runs down the valley through the willows, usually startling a few sandhill cranes or distant cows. I heard coyotes yapping from their den the other day, and often large raptors - bald eagles, hawks, even golden eagles - fly overhead. Sometimes the killer mosquitoes can be mistaken for birds of prey… ;)

We watch a lot of movies. A LOT of movies. People rejoiced when they found out I had a PS2 and plenty of DVDs. In fact, we are watching “Hellboy” right now. Last night alone we watched 2 movies, on top of going to see Catwoman in Dillon yesterday. By the way, except for providing the inspiration for my Halloween costume this year, the movie was really really BAD.

Besides to see the movie, Gator and I went to Dillon to visit his friend Ward, a firefighter for the Montana DNR. They hadn’t seen each other in years, and since he is a dispatcher, he was up on all the fire news. We had only been there for about 10 minutes, and as he was explaining that there haven’t been any fires and nobody has really been called out, he got a message over his radio.

Fire report. Go check it out!

We all laughed in amazement. Not only was their visit cut short, they were called out to their first fire in ages. The luck!

…And of course, Gator and I did not drive the engine to the city, after debating over it earlier. There was finally the possibility of being dispatched, and we screwed ourselves over!

The only other highlight of that day was swinging on the swings a 36 year old man (Gator). Teaching an old man new tricks! Ha! ;)

On our drive home, our valley was filled with smoke - smoke from the fire that Ward was dispatched on. We never got a call from them, though the wind was strong and probably made the fire spread. So Jeff called them this morning to see what was up.

“The engine here at Red Rock Lakes is available for dispatch.”

“Oh, really?” said the dispatcher.

Doh! We went from being #4 on their list, to absolutely forgotten. From now on, we’re going to call every morning just to remind them that we exist. If it hadn’t been for their poor communication, we probably would have been sent out by now. We’ll see what happens!

Today we officially initiated my “task book”, which is a record of certain tasks that I need to complete in order to become certified as a Firefighter Type 2. That’s the first step; after that, I complete the next round of tasks for Firefighter Type 1, and then up from there. I will be starting a water pump class this week, as well as taking the fire behavior course. I also will be getting training on chainsaws and doing more work on the engine. Today, we took an inventory of rig and are now official above minimum standards! It feels good to get that out of the way so I can get some more hands-on training.

In other news, I shot a gun for the first time ever! Jeff, the biologist here (coincidentally from Port Huron), took Gator and me out to shoot some clay pigeons with his shotgun. I didn’t hit a single one, but they realized that I should have probably started on targets that are NOT flying through the air. They’re going to take me out again soon, hopefully! They both are avid hunters, so they hit nearly every one. Jeff might take me hunting this fallor at least let me shoot his bow - they’ll make a country girl out of me yet!

Gator is leaving next week, while two new fire guys will be coming in for a month to work with me. Fortunately, Gator and I get along very well - we pick on and beat up each other a lot, but it’s fun to have another sarcastic smart-ass to spar with. J He’s got a crazy history - 6 yrs in the military, smoke jumping, heli-rappelling - but he’s got a lot of good stories to tell!

I don’t know what I’m going to do once he leaves, though. The nature of our job is such that I worked with him 56 hrs last week, plus live with him AND hang out with him. I have never spent so much time with a person. We’re not sick of each other yet, but I’m not sure who I’ll hang out with once he’s gone. Most everybody is leaving in the next 2 weeks, so it will get awfully quiet around here. Anybody got any good books to read?

That’s the latest and greatest here! The job is going well, the people are great, and I’m learning so much! Hope everybody out there is doing well and I miss ya’ll!

so far, so good?

Here’s the lowdown: not many people work here. It’s small. It’s in the middle of BFE… unless you’re a cow, then you’re right at home. I live in a bunkhouse with 2 men and 2 other women. In 3 weeks, I’ll have my own room. I’ll be counting the days. ;)

 

Room is small and roommate apparently likes to go to bed early. Not good for a night owl like me. We have satellite cable and I figured out how to use a calling card to dial AOL through my modem.

 

There is one fire engine. My boss and I are the only people who are on the engine crew. Out of 15 available engines throughout the region, we are currently #4 on the list… which means that we will get to travel soon if those other 3 engines get called out! It’s a huge region to which we could get dispatched, so who knows where I’ll end up!

 

Gator has plenty of experience and he’s already been very helpful! Plus, he’s more sarcastic than I am so we get along pretty well.

 

We went into town – over an hour away – and it really is rural and tight-knit. One of the older guys knew practically half the town! Rumors spread quickly, people know everybody else, and there’s always time to stop and shoot the shit. It’s definitely different from what this city girl is used to but I can cope. The lack of privacy and the gossip could get annoying, but it’s all good. (I hope!)

 

I’m not really sure what to do around here besides bike and hike. There aren’t even any real hiking trails, either – it’s all cross country. Hope I am still up on orienteering! There is always TV and beer, or JOURNAL UPDATING, but I know I’m going to miss movies, coffee shops, book stores, walking around town, and dancing!

 

I have to compare it to last year at Colorado, of course… And I gotta say, Colorado wins. It has that good combination of nature and city, plus the mountains are bigger. J

A sea of cows

Well, I’m here. Now what?

*********************

Actually, as I’m sitting in the living room of the bunkhouse typing this, thunder grumbles menacingly and lightening strikes the mountain tops surrounding the valley I now call home.

I’m also wearing my fire uniform – green Nomex pants, with my yellow shirt close by – and sitting on the edge of my seat. Thunderstorms mean smoke and/or fire… which means that I could be called out at any minute.

Exciting! A little scary!

Did I mention that I am 50% of the fire engine crew here?

And, by the way, I’ve never worked on a fire before?

Bring it. ;)

At least these fire pants make my ass look good.

**********************

Let’s backtrack a little bit. (rolling thunder and lightening flashes every 2 seconds… nervously waiting…)

The drive to Montana from Michigan was annoying. This is coming from me, Xena the Road-Warrior Princess. While passing through the flat expanses of boring South Dakota, a black nasty thunderstorm like none I have ever seen loomed straight ahead. Then I think about flat… like Kansas… Kansas gets lots of tornados…. South Dakota is flat… What if I get stuck in a tornado!!

I’ve never seen a storm somewhere so flat that the entire system surrounds and bombards you with lightening from all sides. I love thunderstorms, but this one was pretty severe and I got a little freaked out after it passed and suddenly the winds were practically pushing my car off the road. (rain is pouring… where’d my boss go??) I was almost convinced a big ol’ twister was gonna come down and sweep Focus away!

I made it through alive, but got caught hours later in an even worse storm. Needless to say, I was done driving for the night – hours short of my planned stop and I knew I’d be running way behind schedule the next day. Murdo, South Dakota. Get a decent room and take my bike off of my car to bring it in. No problem. Right?

“Hey, you aren’t bringing THAT thing in here are you?!” said the hotel keeper.

Yes, he raised hell about my bike. It was going to ruin his entire hotel. Grease and mud and oil EVERYWHERE! I didn’t even stop myself from laughing at his exclamations.

(YIKES! HOLY SHIT! Lightening just struck something right outside!!)

You probably can’t imagine the anticipation it is to be sitting, watching every lightning strike as a potential fire that you have to go and put out… when you’ve never done it before!!

Anyway, I yelled back at him in exasperation that I had to leave my very expensive bike outside to get stolen and I even cleaned it off with a towel. This old, stern man looked disgusted but when other people told him he was being ridiculous and that hotels never want people to leave valuables outside, especially not bikes! I had my way.

Of course, when I woke in the morning and brought my bike out, another hotel employee – another stern @sshole – looked at me like I was walking out with the TV. He gave me hell and I just laughed at him and sassed him good. These country folk just don’t know how to handle a city girl like me. ;)

(Uh oh, now we just lost our satellite cable signal, and my boss still isn’t back. He’s probably running around in the rain, looking for a reason for us to get in that engine!)

Blah blah blah, Focus usually gets around 30 mpg but with the bike on top, going up and down mountains - but Focus doesn’t like to multitask and I’m afraid she’ll explode if I go uphill at 75 mph with the AC on, plus the strong winds and the drag from the bike… I got 20 mpg! Which means my car only got 200 miles per tank. That’s a helluva lot of gas fill- ups.

Did I mention after spending 2 hours at a boot shop, trying to find fire boots to fit my feet (most places don’t carry fire boots that small, since it’s mostly men that buy them), I finally go to pay and the credit card company FINALLY decides to block my credit card for suspicious activity? I mean, I love that they notice strange charges and that would help in case it was really stolen, but at this point I had already gone through 6 states and spent hundreds of dollars. Subsequently, it took the clueless girl behind the counter and I half an hour to talk to the credit card company and prove my identity. But at least I was finally verified and it wouldn’t happen again.

It happened again. And I went through another 10 minute interrogation.

But alas, I finally reached… Bozeman. Then West Yellowstone. The last town I would see for over an hour.

Down a long, winding dirt road I drove. And drove. And drove.

And then I stopped. Huh, funny. There seems to be cattle blocking the road. I’ve never been stopped due to a cattle-jam. 28 miles of cow.

(Lightening has calmed a little and Gator is back. Guess I’m not going anywhere anytime soon?)

I finally reached the refuge and, simply, it is postcard beautiful. Miles of lakes and wetlands, blooming wildflowers, and surrounded by mountains on all sides. I drive up to a few small log buildings.

Home!

I went to my boss’ cabin and was invited to stay for homemade blueberry yogurt with him, his wife, and their friends. I was delirious from driving, chugging Red Bull, and devouring Twizzlers, but I smiled and nodded and kept my drooping eyelids open.

After a while, he brought me to the bunkhouse. Welcome to my new life!

(the photo is of Heather, Steve and I at Jeff's for my going-away party on Saturday. I do remember this picture being taken, hee hee!)

"But why is the rum gone??"

"How was the party??"

Uhhh... I don't remember?? I think that means it was good. :)

Let me put it this way - I think I was drunk when I woke up this morning. Ugggghhhhh. If anybody sees Amadeo, please tell him I am infinitely thankful and that he should go climbing with me in Montana.

Now, it's time for me to find a nice dark corner to go and die in. Thank you Jeff for sending me off in style!

All smiles!

Isn't it great when life gives you an unexpected break??

Birds chirping, blue sky, warm weather... haven't packed a damn thing yet... but feelin' so good! Especially because I don't have to forfeit my chance for that full time job I thought I was leaving behind! It will be waiting for me when I return from Montana (if I return, of course)!!!!

I called the guy back and told him my situation and he was all excited for me and said he spoke to the city manager and arranged things so that I can take the agility test and interview when I return... and they were going to fill 3 spots, but instead they will fill 2 and keep that last spot open until October! He said he was impressed with my credentials (I stifled a laugh at that - my credentials are good if you're looking for a one-woman circus act!) and said I'm one of the top people on the list. I don't think you can imagine how unexpected and funny this all seems to me. Maybe it's cuz I'm a chic and they wanna "diversify", because I don't know how I did so well on a test about installing sewer pipes, water valves, paving, and construction.

"When installing a sewer pipe, do you place it: A. upgrade with the bell up B. downgrade with the bell up C. upgrade with the bell down D. downgrade with braces..."

Is the answer Jesus? (sorry, just a quote from Slap Shot)

In the meantime, I've had the phone stuck to my ear all afternoon trying to locate some fire boots. Yeah, Michigan has a lot of demand for wildland firefighter boots (sarcasm). I mean, I can get a pair when I get there but it's gonna suck because they won't be broken in - which I heard is hell on your feet.

Yesterday, my old pals Steve and Chuck went out for a brew at the Post Bar - Going Away Party #1. Then Saturday Jeff is throwing me Going Away Party #2. Heh heh. Always count on Jeff to celebrate and keep everyone drunk as a skunk and poor as a pauper!

The best part is that when I come back in a mere 2-3 months, we can celebrate all over again - "Welcome Home!" We all know that's why I really move - the parties. ;)

In the meantime, Steve put down an offer on a house near MSU - this thing is sweet! It needs a little work but it's got a huge wraparound porch and a nice yard that I would gladly be "contracted" to fix up for him!

(The map shows where I will be - in the middle of BFE! Yeah!!!)

landscaping

Just some photos of the flowers I planted earlier in the season. Stupid rabbits keep eating my coreopsis and pansies! And my Artemesia got HUGE! 

roll with it

I'm all excited and nervous about this whole "moving to Montana" thing, but it's gonna be fun, right??

Until everything you've been told has been contradicted in the direction you didn't want it to go. (Furrows eyebrows)

See, it might not have been so bad if I had known certain things from the get-go, but this sudden big change has got me more worried than excited. Example: Don't get my own bedroom, one phone-line for 8 people, and the only option for internet access is that one phone line. I was under the impression I had my own room, plus internet and cable if I want. I can cope, it's just way under-par from what I was expecting!

Those are just a few things. But I am stubborn and still moving! Adapt to the unexpected!

But it gets better. I took this test for a city job the other day, I was one of 50 people and the ONLY FEMALE. Yeah, it's a labor job and most of the guys were much older and tougher than me. Find out today - I was one of 6 to be invited to the next step - agility test! And they are filling 3 spots!

The catch - I'll be in Montana when they are doing the test. There's probably no way I can come back for it.

I begged and pleaded - as professionally as possible - if there was any way to take the test before I left, or when I get back, or some other time, but I have to call back later when they discuss it. Sigh. I'd hate to think I am missing an opportunity to do full-time work that I can actually tolerate at the expense of a seasonal whim - but I've wanted to do fire for so long that I know myself, and know I have to entertain this whim or it will never go away! And who knows, maybe I'll love fire and make it my career. In any case, I was having doubts about going but my instincts say "LEAVE!!!!"

burn

I'm hanging out, watching a show on National Geographic about smokejumpers and the tragic Storm King Mountain fire - the one in 1994 in Colorado that burned over 14 firefighters. Needless to say, it reminds me that in one week I will be taking a risk. The book, Fire on the Mountain by John N. Maclean, is an honoring and emotional recount of what happened and I highly recommend it!

Yeah, I think I'll sit in the air conditioning and watch fire on tv for right now. It's hot and sticky outside, and I need to recover from the wedding yesterday. ;) I'll write about that later. Maybe.

Go West!

Taken from California Interagency Hotshots

See this photo? That's gonna be me in about two week. ;)

Yep, I got the job in Montana at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge! I'm gonna be a wildland firefighter on an engine crew!

Assuming I pass the physical and drug test, I will once again be packing my life into the back of a little green hatchback and driving halfway across the country. Hopefully I'll be able to dial-up AOL and keep this thing updated, but I'm nervous and excited to finally try my hand as a firefighter. Sure it's intimidating to think that I will be standing on the front lines of a dangerous and physically intense job, with only a hose and water to defend myself, but I'm thrilled!

Tentative start date is the 21st so everybody I have two weeks to party with y'all!

For fun and excitement, here are some more links and photos of fire stuff. ;)

  
Both from Wildlandfire.com

Soundtrack to my life!

I love music. And I love the fact that there are certain songs that I say "Ah ha! They know how I feel!" Yes, there seems to be a song to cover every emotion possible. So here's the start of the Soundtrack to my Life! Because everybody likes a good soundtrack. It just so happens that all the titles sound negative, but it's really not that bad. ;) And I linked to the albums on Amazon.com so you too can own my favorite music!

"Left Me in a Hole" - Yonder Mountain String Band

"Misunderstood" - Better Than Ezra

"Nowhere Fast" - Incubus

"Lonesome Road" - Leftover Salmon

"Warning" - Incubus

"Firecracker" - Ryan Adams

"I Do" - Better Than Ezra

"Control" - Puddle of Mudd

I'll add more when I remember more!

Added 7/13:

"If There's Still Ramblin' in the Rambler (let him go)" - Yonder Mountain

"Save You" - Pearl Jam

"Lonestar" - Norah Jones

"Fundamental"- Bonnie Raitt

thunder and lightening

I withheld from mentioning this since I first found out, but once again... moving may be in my very near future! I got an email a few weeks ago from a guy with the Fish and Wildlife Service at the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge (an hour west of Yellowstone in Montana) asking if I was still interested/available for a fire crew position. He called to do a speed-interview on my lunch hour (talk about awkward when my boss asked "Who was that?"), which consisted of questions like: How do you feel about living in a remote area? Do you have fire training? Are you physically fit? I love federal intervies. ;)

Photo from US Fish & Wildlife Service

...And I got a message today, asking to call back about the job. Hopefully it will be an offer! Which means I'll be hauling out in two weeks! Yeahhhh!!

But other possibilites have also popped up that I will have to ponder. No worries, though!

*******************************

Any holiday that involves fire, explosions, and being outside automatically rocks! Thanks to my dad for raising me a proper pyro. ;)  Steve and I had to decide: Wixom fireworks, or Kensington? I couldn't remember which were better, but we chose the free route and went to the community park in Wixom, bug dope and blanket in hand. Yay fireworks!

Whizzzzz..... BOOM!

4 second silence.

swoooooosh.... BOOM!

crickets chirp.

Yeah, they were slow. One at a time. Hardly spectacular, but they did have a few nice varieties - a star, the one that looks like saturn and its rings, big color-changing sparkling ones. It was also nice how close and relaxed it was.

But dammit, we should have gone to Kensington!

It was done early so we hopped in Focus and zoomed to Kensington, and from the hiway we could see a barrage of fireworks. Was it the grand finale already? Nope - the whole show was just that awesome! In fact, it was so crowded that the exit ramp to the park AND the hi-way shoulder were both jam-packed with cars! We lined up and watched from a distance. Mental note: next year, Kensington! And get there early!

Besides that, I watched lots of movies, went for a bike ride in the rain, took a "scenic detour" on a hike, played catch, and lounged in a hammock this weekend. It's definitely summer. ;) Good movies: Jaws, Always, Intolerable Cruelty, and (even the 20th time) Pirates of the Caribbean. Bad movies: Bad Santa (bleh!) and Basic Instinct. Yeah, watched a LOT of movies.

Meatwad. Heh heh. Aqua Teen Hungerforce is definitely something. I can't decide if I think it's clever and funny, or just dumb. If you don't know what it is, I can't really explain it. Cartoon on comedy central about a meatball, a carton of french fries with a goatee, and a soft drink. Yeah.

Did you know they are supposedly making a "Guys Gone Wild" show? That's the rumor, at least. Who honestly wants to see frat boys drop trou and bare their hairy butts?

Time to watch Chappelle's Show! :)

Shower pics

Some pics from the shower we had a few weeks ago!

The wedding is this weekend! Months of planning and working (and spending $$) soon come to an end!

personality tests

I admit, I took that personality test at Match.com. I will also admit that I did check out my "personality matches" to see how well it actually works. And, if I were actually interested in dating anyone, I was impressed with a few of the matches. Outdoorsy, spontaneous, and goofy = a good match! But it was more fun to see what my personality analysis said.

ME, according to match.com:

You have a special zeal for life
You're smart, insightful, and have an insatiable curiosity about life. You have a vision for how you want your life to be, so you refuse to settle long-term for a boring job or doing something just because it's expected of you. Life should be "balanced" with plenty of time for fun, friends, spontaneity, and romance! You've always had lots of friends. They enjoy your good sense of humor and playful nature. At this point in your life, you're ready to experience romance and a powerful "spark" with someone special.
You're a strong-willed woman and at times people see you as being bossy or controlling.

You're a strong-willed woman and at times people see you as being bossy or controlling. (They got that right!)

At times you can become so focused on ideas, plans for the future, or a new project that you lose track of the day to day details of life (like doing laundry, balancing your checkbook, or even eating).

You have such a positive attitude that at times your upbeat mood may irritate those who think you're "too happy" or aren't taking problems seriously. (Does optimistically sarcastic and cynical count as happy?)

You can put things off and be late more than you mean to.

WHO I'm LOOKING FOR

You're looking for a man who can be your soul mate AND playmate in life! Unlike most men, he's not afraid of his emotions. In fact, the two of you will probably share an immediate, passionate connection. Romance will come easily to the two of you. The challenge may be fitting into his busy life. You'll have to share him with his adoring friends, job, and variety of social and community causes.  But when you're alone with him, you'll always have his undivided attention and be the focus of his loving and supportive nature.

He has a "back bone" and won't be pushed around by other people.

He believes in letting life happen and not being too pinned down by doing any one thing.

Anybody out there interested?  ;)