It's alive, it's ALIVE!

My mom asked me an excellent question yesterday evening. "Why did your phone go in the water??"

I was too tired to write down my longwinded story yesterday, but fortunately for ya'll (sarcasm), I'm feeling pretty darned good today... so here it goes:

Trail Log (You know I just had to): Finch Lake, from the Allenspark Trailhead, 8 miles round trip. That link sends you to somebody else's Trail Log, since there really isn't much on the internet about that specific route (you can also get there from the Finch Lake TH or the Wild Basin TH... those ways are longer but more traveled). This is how I spent my day on Sunday. I was so sick of the swarms of people, I wanted to hike a trail that I hoped would be relatively quiet - and I was right! The trailhead itself is a little tougher to find because it's not labeled on the road and is a 20 minute (? don't even know for sure) drive south of Estes Park, and there are only a small number of parking sites once you get there.

The trail was pretty rocky and was moderately uphill for most of the way, until you get close to the lake - then it's blissful downhill trot... until you remember that you will have to go UP on your way back! Mostly forested, with a section that goes through the site of the 1978 Allenspark fire. The pine, aspen, golden banner and indian paintbrush have all grown back pretty vigorously, and it's a neat contrast to see 4-8 ft. pines next to towering charred remains. It's not animals or cliffs or any other thing that worries me on hikes - it's dead snags creaking and swaying in the wind! Since I do the whole hazard tree thing, I'm always painfully aware of the fact that a dead tree could just decide to fall on me. Sound stupid? I've been told that's the #1 killer of wildland firefighters on the fire line. I'm going to keep looking up, even if I'm paranoid. :)

The lake itself was... well, a little lake, surrounded by pine and rock. I would have continued the other 2 miles to Pear Lake if I had brought lunch, but I was hungry and honestly, Finch Lake was pretty unremarkable so I didn't feel like taking a gamble that Pear Lake would be any better. Hey, I'm just being honest! I won't take anybody on that hike. It was a great work-out and as quiet as I could probably find on a summer Sunday in Rocky Mt., but it was a pretty boring lake. I forgot my camera but I will post the couple pictures I actually did take eventually.

...But my phone seemed to really like the lake! To answer my mom's question, I had taken the phone out to check the time and I set it down next to me, on a rock next to the lake. I gathered my stuff to leave and noticed my shirt was falling out of the bungees on my pack... then had this thought that I don't remember putting my phone back... Started looking around, I mean I hadn't gone 5 feet but WHERE WAS THE PHONE?! I didn't go very far so I was at a loss. I glanced into Finch Lake with a sinking feeling, didn't see it... did a double take...!#$%^&*%!#, my phone!!!! I'm not sure if my Camelback pack hit it, or if it just rolled, or if some evil chipmunk pushed it... I didn't even hear it go in.

BUT there is a good ending to this tragic story of cell phone near-death! Later I plugged in just the phone part to my car adapter, and it LIVED! I think the battery is toast and am hoping that a new one will work in the phone. So, in the meantime my cell is on life-support and only works while plugged in. :)

Here's my plan for coming home: I am driving with my parents back from visiting me on the 6th and we're gonna drive straight thru. Pack up my stuff the 7th?? See some people and have a good time that night, then if I'm super ambitious head back to CO on the 8th. If anybody does come out with me, I will obviously drive you to the airport, and you are free to stay as long as you want! I do have to work but we'll work something out. Perhaps the lucky volunteer can come and be my slave at Rocky for the day and help drag slash or something. J'k, we'd go easy on you.

I'm in a fantastic mood today, I went to the west side and got to goof off with my friends over there a little bit. Ron is in the military and has to go back to his base in August, and he has a 3 year old yellow lab thathe needs to find a home for. I wasn't planning on getting a lab, yet alone one that old... but I'm gonna meet his pup and see how compatible we are. He said he's well trained and a great hiker, so maybe Tara's puppy will have an uncle! ;)  Ron also said he would ride me back to MI on his touring motorcycle so I could pick mine up, and we'd cruise the backroads back to CO... to which I said, I've only been riding for about a year, I haven't ridden since last fall, AND the longest trip I've driven myself was 3 hours! On an old '87 Honda I bought off eBay! So don't worry Mom, I'm not going to do it!

Speaking of which, she heard about some Michigan lady that fell off a cliff in Yellowstone, and some Chicago girl that went missing on a hike at Mt. Rainier and yelled at me over email for hiking alone. Hey guess what! I don't think "It can't happen to me" - It CAN happen to me, but I just have to trust in what I've learned over the years and hope that my training, experience, stubborn will to live and a little bit of good luck will help me through it all. I mean, it's a bigger risk to drive a car than for me to go hiking! Living a full exciting life is worth the risk and I'd rather die hiking than in a car or on the couch or something boring!

On top of that, one thing my sister Linda and I have learned, for better or worse, is to be self sufficient and never have to rely on anybody else. I'm not going to stop hiking just because I am alone. It might be even better that way - I'm not being pushed to do something harder than my ability, or being aggrivated by having to go too slow or stop! I pay very careful attention to everything around me BECAUSE I am alone. You can't get careless or lazy when you go it alone! My mom raised independent confident women, and look what she got - stress and worry! Let that be a lesson to the rest of you, ha ha!

Anyway I'm obviously doing much better today, things are just too good for me out here to linger on the bad stuff! It helped seeing Travis, Ron and Doug today, and getting emails from Maria and Jon... oh and getting my tree climbing gear!

So... what should I write my novel about? I'd already be done if all these entries were worth publishing! ;)  All I can say is I'm glad so many of you are bored at work, otherwise I don't think anybody would read all this!

Coming back, and dead phone

Ok so two important quick things:

My phone went swimming in Finch Lake today... but seeing as it doesn't know how to swim, it's DEAD. I'm not sure if it will come back alive when it dries out, but in the meantime, I have no phone. Which is especially sucky because I was supposed to call Mom when I got done with my long hike today. Woops. Hope she doesn't call SAR on me!

Second thing: I might be coming back to get all of my stuff on July 7th! Which means I have about 3-4 days to pack everything in the moving truck, see everybody I want to see, and drive all the way back out to CO and unpack. Anybody want to come with me?? You'd just have to fly home. In any case, I'd love to see ya'll that weekend, even if it's not for long!

I'm exhausted from the hike I went on today so that's all for now. It was 8+ miles and I am JUST eating lunch! Once I found out phone drowned, I went from Allenspark to Boulder to ask the Verizon people to recessitate it... But alas, all I can do is wait at this point. Ugh!

Besides that... still not doing so well from that "other stuff" going on. Just this big empty space in my heart...

Cowgirl

I bought some notecards with cowgirl designs on them today, and this is what it said inside the box:

"Cowgirl: She loving, generous to a fault and almost always kind. She is known for her ability to laugh at herself and loves laughing with others... She has a deviant streak and is a believer that in the end, everything will turn out alright. Her family is her pride and joy, but not her life, and her goal is to be a loving, genergous, independent and confident woman. She surrounds herself with people who are seeking, living, and fulfilling their life's dreams. She refuses to live the settle-for lifestyle, and wants only the company of those passionate about life... She loves to flirt, and tease; however, she is a one man woman... She won't brag about what she cannot do or what she doesn't know. She loves stimulating and intelligent company. She is a mother, daughter, sister, aunt, lover, friend."

Sounds like the Colorado equivelant to a Michigan Vixen! ;)

Nothing like finding inspiration and wisdom in unexpected places. Here's to being a cowgirl (or a vixen)!

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I was in a grumpy mood when I woke up and went into Estes - gotta love the tourists for appreciating our natural treasures, but I despise trying to LIVE there while they're stopping in the middle of the road, backing up unexpectedly, driving all over the road, and just plainly ignoring all driving laws. Estes Park = no rules?? It has to be the elevation or SOMETHING, because collectively, these people are just dangerous and not thinking! It annoyed me to the point that I just decided to keep driving... and wound up back in Boulder. :) I do have lots of errands to run down here, so I'm still a little grumpy but the notecards cheered me up a bit.

My weekend? This is my ambitous list:

Wash Truck
Clean out Focus so I can sell it
Open bank Account (I tried to do this but the bank was closed by the time I got there!)
Visit the dogs at the Humane Society
Go to Best Buy for printer ink cartridges and see how much new speakers for Truck would cost
Either lift weights or go for an intense trail run
Do a hard, long hike tomorrow just to prove that I still can
Call lots of people, even though I don't like talking on the phone
Maybe go to the Wool Festival in Estes?
Go over to Grand Lake and hang out with the Maintenance and Trails Guys
Make a chiropractor appointment!
Do laundry

What will I really get done? Go to Best Buy, get some exercise, forget to do laundry until I'm in bed on Sunday night, and maybe start cleaning out Focus. It's just so tiring having to drive 40+ minutes from Estes to Boulder to get anything done, then dealing with the traffic and trying to find everything... I hate shopping and errands!

At least I waste a lot of time on here playing with my photos, writing emails and chatting with friends! ;)

No longer lost! Found a home!

To my complete and total shock - I found a place to live! And it's not only affordable, all utilities and INTERNET (woo hoo!) included, in a great location between Boulder and Estes Park, and in a sweet location - I can also get a pupper!!

I just called this one ad that was in the paper, expecting it to be either really small, or some catch to it. When he told me where it was located, I got mildly optimistic... It's outside of the town of Lyons, off Apple Valley Road - which is a lush area along the St. Vrain River, full of trees, and surrounded by the foothills. The apartment is actually the walk-out basement of a large house build on the side of a hill: the 56 yr old owner lives on the main floor (he is also building a studio for his art company), and a 36 year old guy that works nights and flyfishes by day lives upstairs. The house is on 6 acres that is directly behind Hall Ranch, a Boulder Open Space Park, and has a fenced area outside my door for the dog. He also has a dog, a Golden Retriever/Black Lab mix - she looks just like a black version of the regular Golden, and she's so sweet!

Because of the river, the Valley is warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. The apartment itself is a bit of an efficiency, with one good sized bedroom and another room for living/dining, with one wall lined with the kitchen - oven, fridge, even dishwasher! I'm spoiled! No more dish-pan hands, ha ha!

Lyons itself is a mixed small community, a tiny down town with a brewery I really like, Oscar Blues, and is also home to the RockyGrass Bluegrass Festival. There aren't really any big grocery stores or any chain stores here, but I'm only a short drive outside of the busy sprawling consumer area in Boulder. I have acres and acres of hiking and biking trails literally right behind me, and to both sides of me. 6 month lease, then goes month to month - which is great because who knows where I might be working come this fall/winter! Hopefully in Boulder as a Ranger but hey we'll see what I stumble upon!

Which means that I will be able to have people stay with me when you visit, because I have a sleeper sofa! And acres and acres to pitch a tent on! Oh, did I mention I have a garage to store my motorcycle?! (To which my mom replied, "I wish you would just sell that thing and use the money for something else! I don't wanna have to fly out to Colorado just because you hurt yourself on that thing!" Thanks mom! Ha ha!)

Well after being in Boulder all day and then coming to the coffee shop here in Estes to update AGAIN, I think I'm going to head home and watch Bonnie and Clyde and figure out when I'm going to come back to Michigan to get the rest of my stuff. Soon! So hey, anybody wanna take a road trip with me and a Penske truck full of my stuff and help me move?? Anybody?? I'll buy you beer at Oscar Blues! ;)

Here's some photos of my place, and photos of Lucy and Wilson playing! I'm still sad, but I am resilient and feel much better knowing I have somewhere to live... and if it sucks for some crazy reason, I only have to stay for 6 months!

Ha ha, almost forgot to mention that while I'm sitting in this coffee shop, there is a mama elk that hid her baby close by... and whenever people get to close to her, the elk charges them. It's amusing, but boy people can be stupid sometimes!

This is the home I am moving into in July. My place is in the walk-out basement.

This is the view out my window!

 

Tara's new puppy, Lucy!

Lucy and Wilson!

Am I sad, or am I mad?

Ok, I wrote this big venting journal earlier but I've calmed down now so I cut it down a bit. :)

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Yeah, I'm not doing so well today. Not only has somebody very close and dear emotionally hurt me, but I had written an introspective entry that just got deleted when I tried to save it. Not doing well at all.

I can't seem to decide if I am depressed, fuming angry, numb, or just plain washed my hands of this whole situation. Rather than lie around in bed on this rainy day, alternating between crying, cussing, and sleeping, I thought it would do me better to sit in this lively coffee shop in Boulder, hoping that the social atmosphere would raise my mood a little bit. Instead, I'm even more aggrivated because the internet connection crashed and I lost my journal entry. Grrrrr. Plus, I am sad because I don't have anybody out here to talk to and comfort me, so I'm missing my friends and family even more.

I am fed up with dishonesty. And I don't just mean plain-out lies - I mean half truths that don't tell the whole story. I think those are the most dangerous - they're so hard to identify because nothing false is being said, but the story it tells can be so different from reality. It's not even just myself that has suffered because of these incomplete truths; I'm just fortunate enough to now know I was being mislead. Why can't he just tell the truth?! How can somebody mislead those that love them, when in the end it will only cause pain??

If you cause somebody pain, be responsible and deal with the consequences of your actions! Deal with it, tell the truth, and right your wrongs! People who love you deserve to know what's REALLY going on so that they can make an INFORMED decision whether to forgive you for treating them poorly, or tell you to go to hell. Don't the people who love you and who you love at least deserve that?? It's not fair to play with people's emotions when they love you. It's just not right.

Mad, sad... Sunday was fantastic, full of fun and romance. Monday, everything changed. The pace of change is just nauseating and I still don't have my bearings on how Ireally feel. I guess that makes me lost...

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But, life goes on. I woke up early (couldn't sleep, go figure) and finally got mylicense. I'm officially a Colorado resident! I was very excited, but I'm so sad and depressed right now, I'm just plain homesick. I miss my family and friends, I miss the three terror dogs at my mom's house and I'm bummed I can't watch Tara's puppy and Wilson frolick in the garden hose. I feel so alone and rejected right now, I trusted him completely. How can you trust anybody, when the one that loves you does that??

I am listening to the Killers and it is making me feel a little better. It reminds me of Michigan - dancing at 5th Avenue with Jess, and of Linda helping me move that last chaotic week in Royal Oak. Plus, it's her CD so I should probably mail that to her soon. :) It just makes me feel a little bit warm and happy. And now I am chatting with Jeff online! Good to talk to him!

I feel better now, and I just might have a place to live in Lyons! Woo hoo! Gotta go check it out now!

Thanks guys for cheering me up!!

The Flying of the Beetles

My drink of the moment in this coffee shop is an iced vanilla chai - and boy, let me tell you it feels good to be out of the dreadful heat. Down in Denver they were supposed to have record temps in the 100s - not quite that hot up here in the mountains, but it was still pretty rotten. Plus, a few of us had to head down to Loveland, where it is much hotter... in a truck without AC. :)

I officially got the Grade A Stamp of Approval on my physical for wildland firefighting.  This gives me the ok to now take the "Pack Test" - 3 miles in 45 minutes (I think it's 46 something at this elevation) with 45 pounds on your back. It might not sound that bad, but it's not easy and usually a couple people die each year of a heart attack while taking it. Once I pass that on the 22nd, I will have a current Red Card (wildland firefighting certificate) and be able to help with prescribed burns and wildfires. Looks like I will have plenty of chances, too - this summer is proving to be very hot, very dry, and with all the pine beetle kill, it's just a matter of "when", not "if", we get a big one. In fact, almost every time we get a lightening storm, we get some sort of small wildfire. That might seem weird to you folks in SE Michigan, but it's just a part of life out here.

Work for me has changed from Mountain Pine Beetle mode to Hazard Tree mode. We had a few residual beetle trees left in a campground that we were supposed to drop this week, but by the time we got to them - bye bye beetles! We were just a little too late, and the beetles have left the trees and flown to their next target. Oh well. It's not a huge deal, since it is a natural part of the cycle... but then again, who wants to stay in a campground without trees? We'll see what happens next season.

Hazard tree means walking every public front-country area and assessing ALL trees that have potential hazards. Needless to say, I spend most of my day hugging trees (to get the diameter), walking, and doing paperwork. Yes, we have to document all these trees, rank them for priority, and decide what to do about them. Unfortunately, there are a lot to remove because of their high potential to fail and, say, land on a sleeping camper in his tent or something. Not so good. I officially took down the first hazard tree of theseason, a windblown lodgepole that was stuck in another tree, right over a trailhead. Not the most technical or exciting removal, but tomorrow morning I have 3 trees to fell - two Engleman spruce and one lodgepole. Cisco won't be in so it's all me, baby!

My endeavor to get my Colorado license last week was futile and aggrivating. Joe and I went to the license place and the guy was a condensending arsch to me, saying I needed my medical card for my CDL. Somebody else told me I didn't. So I waited the 3 hours (had to wait anyway, I was Joe's ride!) and went up there and thought I was going to get my license when the woman says, "Oh wait! I almost forgot! Do you have your DOT card?" DOH! I am going to try again at a smaller office in Hot Sulfer Springs on Friday. Grrrrr....

And how is my hunt for housing going? Well as of yesterday I thought I had some good prospects lined up in either Boulder or Nederland but apparently that's changed and I'm not happy about it. Totally back to square one. I'm in a pretty nasty mood about it right now, so don't ask. I am pretty sick of hearing my neighbor's television at 10 pm though so I'm just gonna keep on keepin' on until I find a place.

This past weekend, Joe and I went to that Tree Climbing Competition in Fort Collins and I got to meet a bunch of his coworkers. Great bunch of people and three chihuahuas to play with! We layed around in the grass and watched the climbers swing around, doing various tasks - aerial rescue, where they have to retrieve a dummy out of a tree; work climb, where they have different points in a tree they need to get to and ring a bell; and throw line competition, where they have to throw their throw line into different crotches of the tree. There were only two women there competing; one was one of Joe's coworkers (she didn't finish in time) and one was a smokejumper. I've never watched women climb so it was neat to watch. Can't wait to get my gear so I can work on becoming as fluid and confident in a tree as they were!

We also went for a hike on another horribly hot day at Roxborough State Park, south west of Denver. Oh wait, Trail Log Time!

Trail Log: Fountain Valley Loop, 2.2 miles (yeah, pretty weak huh). It was an easy hike through rattlesnake country (I'm sure my Dad is happy to hear that... "Look out for snakes!" he used to tell me every time he talked to me), very interesting rock formations... surrounded by subdivisions. Weird. It was a neat place to visit though, despite the houses in the background. Never did see or hear a snake, though we wanted to!

Well gotta wrap this up for now, I have the rest of Harry Potter III to watch and/or maybe go out with the coworkers for a brew. And, back to home hunting. Miss you guys!

 

Roxborough State Park, taken with my camera phone!

Where to live, where to live?!

Ok it's getting to be crunch time with home hunting! But I'm feeling optimistic. Lately things have been going very well and hopefully I'm on a roll!

Busy weekend too. Tree climbing competition was fun! Did some hiking south of Denver also. Gotta run off and look at some places to live though, so I'll update better soon!

Oh, and getting my tree climbing gear soon! Woo hoo! A huge thank you to the person who made it possible!

Lost and Found

JABENA! Thanks for leaving a comment! I am so very sorry I haven't talked to you since I left. That Scott guy... I've heard his name but I'm not really sure why. He might be a celebrity, but I'm really not in the loop with most celebrities anyway so I would have no idea! :)

With that important, overdue comment out of the way (Miss you Jabena, Tara and Mom!), on to the latest and greatest in Mountain-Woman Lisa's life.

No, no luck with housing. I'm considering sharing a house now; much more affordable, and will let me have a pupper. I really REALLY don't want to share, but I'm not home much anyway and there are some unique living opportunities out here - lots of huge mountain homes that people can't afford without a housemate, often with private bed, bath, and sometimes living space - but we'll see. I am in the process of applying for a Ranger/Naturalist job with the City of Boulder. The pay would be fantastic, and somehow along the meandering, random career path I've stumbled along, I've aquired many of the qualifications that they want. I always knew there was some logic behind my ADHD ways! ;)

As Jabena had said, they did in fact find that guy that was lost last week. Around noon a helicopter saw him but couldn't land, so they dropped a radio and supplies down to him until ground support could reach him. It's great being able to listen to the radio between the rangers and dispatch; some interesting, funny, or scary things happen every day. Today, there was a Jeep - no, somebody heard it was a van - carrying some guy that needed an ambulance - no, somebody heard they didn't want assistance - because a guy was hurt... somebody asked if they needed help and they said "WE GOTTA GO!" Was his leg broken? Or was this somebody else? You'll get visitors telling volunteers second hand information, who pass it on to ROMO (dispatch); in turn, ROMO tells the rangers, then the rangers have to try and relay back to the reporting party...

Another transmission I overheard were some people were "lost" on Flattop Mountain but used their cell phone to call the Park and try to get directions down. They called back after getting directions and said they couldn't go "up OR down". Huh. They got up there some how, right??

In other words, the radio can be very busy sometimes.

I was excited to see a report of a wolf sighting in the park. Chances are, it is only a very large coyote... they are huge out here, and most people just see WOLF. BUT... between you and I, a little reliable bird told me she saw three, and she used to live in Alaska. Methinks the wolves have come home...

No new hikes to add to my trail log; instead, I took Joe on his first driving tour west of Evergreen. I showed him Vail and how touristy and pretentious and obnoxious it is, then went down to Frisco where it was a little quieter. It was a nice way to escape the horrible heat down in Denver, and I am sooo glad I live up in the mountains! The weather is more unpredictable and it is colder, but it's worth it. My little Toyota is considently getting 22-23 mpg, and I'm happy with that. Still have to sell the Focus though!

I also got a chance to climb my first tree since... well, it's been a while. Joe let me borrow some of his gear and we went out to the hills near Evergreen and found a nice tall Ponderosa Pine on top of a little mountain to climb. We didn't go very high up, but we didn't need to since we were above everything anyway. It felt good to get up there again! Hopefully I will have some climbing gear on the way soon. I think him and I are going to Fort Collins this weekend for the ISA Tree Climbing Competition. That will be me some day! Yeah, right!!

My family is coming out to visit in just a few weeks! Yikes, I have to get their itinerary together! Flyfishing, camping, golf and whatever I can find for my Mom to do - poor thing pulled her calf and can't walk! Mom, you be careful! You can rent these little scooters and drive around town! Yeah, I know she's probably not digging that idea too much either, ha ha!

The elk have finally gone from looking starved, ragged, and pathetic to sleek and lean, like a horse. Some of the bulls have already developed impressive racks, and the muley deer are a little behind the elk in growing out their racks. Must be summer!

That's all for now. The photos this week are from the hike to Emerald Lake with Joe a couple weekends ago. Miss ya'll!

SAR

SAR stands for "Search and Rescue", which is sadly a very real event that I mostly likely will participate in during my career with the Park. Unfortunately, I was too busy at work this week and missed the formal training; I would really like to have attended so I would be more effective and knowledgeable of SAR procedures, come time for me to find somebody - it could be a matter of life or death, and I want to know what I'm doing! As touristy as the Park can get, it's easy to forget sometimes that this truly is a rugged, unforgiving and sometimes dangerous place - and people to do get lost, hurt, or worse.

Yesterday, I was supposed to meet my friend Mark on the west side for trivia night and to watch Ghost Hunters, but he got called out on a SAR to look for a man who had been missing since Sunday - his van had been parked at the Colorado River Trailhead on the west side for a number of days and he missed his flight home. It doesn't take training for what they need to do right now - hike, hike, and hike until they find this guy. Needless to say, at this point it doesn't look good. They were out until after 9 pm last night, and they headed out again early this morning. As of right now, he hasn't texted to say that they have found him. I guess when the ranger Jeff Christiansen had gone missing, the Park essentially shut down for 2 weeks and every able individual hiked all day, every day, trying to find him. Tragic but very real. A sheep researcher had fallen off a cliff  in 2003 when I worked here before, right after I met him. Good luck to the SAR teams. I might try to get involved with SAR when I am more settled; there are many great organizations around here.

I am going to head down to Fort Collins today and try to get my Colorado license! And by the way, car insurance is less than HALF what I was paying in Michigan! Which is important because as of right now, I am insuring two cars and a motorcycle. :) No luck in finding the right place to live, though. I had stopped to look at a cute little cabin outside of Lyons, and it seemed promising... except it was wayyyyy to close to the other houses around it, all which were owned by the landlord (an old lady) and her adult kids... and she started telling me how much she cries every day since her husband and son recently passed away. Very nice lady, but not quiet private enough. She did say she thought I was the answer to her prayers because she was worried about who to have rent the cabin. Hear that mom, somebody said I was the answer to their prayers! That lady just doesn't know any better. :)

Me overlooking Estes Park with Longs Peak and the Rocky Mountains in the background. (Taken by Joe)

Brrrrr

Happy Memorial Day!

I'm here, alive and well, busy as always. I worked 20+ hrs of overtime in the past two weeks, then had a busy weekend doing fun stuff and enjoying the sunny warm weather... until last night, it got cold, windy, and snowed up top on Trail Ridge Road... Which sucked because I was going to go over to Grand Lake for their little parade, but the road was closed this morning. Oh well. Slept all day and now looking for cabins or whatever to rent. Yawn. Even strong coffee can't seem to get me going today!

Trail Log: hiked to Emerald Lake with Joe yesterday (3.6 miles round trip); one of the very few hikes I haven't done out of the Bear Lake Trailhead. It was short and easy compared to the other hikes we have done so far, but probably the most spectacular in terms of scenery. There were a million people on the trail (forgot about the whole "mass influx of tourists" thing over holiday weekends) but we scrambled up some rocks away from them all. It's always great hiking in the snow wearing shorts. :) My photos aren't on here yet, but I'm going to post a nice one or two that Joe took.

Work should be slowing down; the air curtain burner goes back this week, so tomorrow we are going to the West Side to clean it up. I had to drive the loader up Trail Ridge Road for about 50 minutes going perhaps 10 miles an hour, up all those steep curves... Pretty boring, actually, but hey how many people can say they've done THAT before?? Ok, besides all the roads guys.

I finally got to fell my first trees as hazard tree chainsaw kitten this summer! We had some pretty large, tall (50-70' ft probably) lodgepole that needed to be dropped, skidded out and hauled away; my aim was just a little bit off and my cuts were a little crooked, but not bad for not having done it in months! I admit that I got very VERY sick of driving that freakin' double-clutch POS dump truck back and forth all day, grinding gears (it's not just me, the truck is just fundamentally ridiculous to drive!) and breaking the chains that hold the tailgate on... We had planned 10 hrs or less of work on Friday, but things just went so slowly I ended up not getting home until 8 pm. Yikes. No wonder I'm so tired!

Joe's photo of Hallett Peak and the Dragon's Tail (spire on right)

Go go go, all the time!

Phew! Glad that's over!

I'm mixed right now about being finished with living on the west side of the park in Grand Lake. It's colder, quieter, less people, and NOT where I really pay rent... but I really liked the people, the laid back attitude, and I'm going to miss it. I was getting exhausted and stressed out from having to eat out EVERY night (too much of a hassle to bring all my cooking stuff from my apartment in Estes) and having to share one truck between three people, but now that I'm back in Estes - along with the swarms of vacationers that are going to be saturating town from now until October - I am a little bit sad. I was even getting to know the restaurant and bar owners in Grand Lake, and our trivia team was making progress - still terrible, but improving! I'll have to go over there to say hi every once in a while.

BUT I am finally catching up on sleep, errands, and everything else that I neglected while I was over there! It's taken me all weekend to adjust to NOT being busy - my life has been GO GO GO GO! And suddenly STOP!

I was praised for my hard work over the radio after I ran around with 6 pesticide contractors, covering picnic tables, cars, and RVs with plastic and alerting everybody when we would be spraying around their homes, pets, campgrounds, visitor center... Maybe it doesn't sound that bad, but there was only one me (Cisco had the day off) with two spray rigs and 6 people that weren't always on the same page as me. Plus, I really don't like pesticides... But I busted my butt and got it done. My boss here on the East side also thanked me. It feels good to be appreciated! :)

The roads crews were diligently clearing the road and had it open to administrative travel - employees could go "over the top" on Trail Ridge Road from Grand Lake to Estes, a trip that is just over an hour or so, instead of having to go all the way around 3-4 hrs like I've had to do the past four weeks. On Monday, they led a media crew over the top, which was an absolute circus. A marmot had knawed his way into the middle of the road and kept popping his head out - which led to about 15 photographers, newscasters, and videographers lying on the ground, trying to find the perfect angle, snapping photos of the little guy. In the meantime, we just sat back and laughed at how ridiculous they looked! I took a few photos of how stupid they looked and will post them in the album. Eventually they let us go around... otherwise Idon't think we would have ever made it to Grand Lake!

Being on Trail Ridge Road before it is open to the public is surreal. There is less snow this year than in 2003 when I was up there last, but to know that I was the ONLY ONE on the top of that road, 11, 900-something ft. high, surrounded by barren tundra and sometimes wicked looking storm clouds... It was just breathtaking. It also made me a bit of a celebrity. On my way back on Thursday, I made it to the closed gate at Rainbow Curve, hopped out of the truck and unlocked the key. I had tourists taking my photo, in awe that somebody was coming down from that forbidden place above the gate! "Is the road opening? Are you opening it now? When will it be open?" I made a few people happy when I suggested that maybe, JUST MAYBE, the road would open this weekend.

Whadda ya know, the road opened Saturday morning! Joe came up to get the inaugural trip over the top of the Rockies, so once again I went from Estes to Grand Lake. He was happy just to drive my sweet little Toyota! On our way back, right by the continental divide where there was still plenty of snow and ice, we pulled up behind a few stopped cars, puzzled by what exactly we were looking at. Apparently there had just been a mini rock slide/avalanche, with a pile of rocks, a downed log and rushing water obstructing the road! We popped my truck into 4x4 and eased through the mess, but the cars were stuck. I'm not really sure where that water was coming from, it will be interesting to hear from my West side friends what happened. It was like a little river cutting through the snow and ice, straight down the hill and over the road. I did stop and report it so hopefully those people weren't stuck for too long... But it was pretty cool to see!

Trail Log Time: Bridal Veil Falls, 6.4 miles round trip. This was one of the first hikes I ever did in the park, while I was training for plant ID. I figured it would be a good one for Joe and I to do today - we hiked to a lake last time, a waterfall this time, and hope to do a peak next time. The hike itself is pretty but not very spectacular for a while, until you get deeper into the mountains and get into a more forested rocky area. Climb a few rock stairs and you reach the base of the falls, which is beautiful in itself... but I think it's much more rewarding to scramble up the steep slick rock to the top of the falls, where the water washes over the rock in a shallow ribbon - hence the name, "Bridal Veil". From there, we wanted to keep climbing higher so we climbed up to the top of a rock outcropping and realized we hadn't told anybody where we were, or when we left... a big no no! So from now on, I will always let somebody know where we are going. When I go solo, I usually leave either a note in my car or in my apartment saying where I was hiking, and what time I left. If I ever go missing, you'll know where to start looking!! :)

I've got a lot of random photos and some of the falls. Now, it's time for me to look for cabins or apartments that are affordable and MAYBE allow dogs. Yep, I feel ready to get a pupper if I can find the right housing! I am supposed to get a roommate - yes, a ROOM mate in a dinky apartment with twin beds in a small room, YUCK - and I just don't wanna do that anymore!

Enjoy the photos, and I'll try to call everybody back that I've been too busy to talk to!

New Truck!

Phew! Glad this week is over!

Not much time to update right now, but this was the pesticide spraying week at work. This is the first time I've had to relax all week. But...

I bought a truck!

1992 Toyota Pickup Extra cab 4x4 with a topper. High mileage but a great price and it's in GREAT shape!! Now I just have to sell the Focus. Anybody interested? Ha ha!

Next assignment: Find a new place to live. Easier said than done!

Anyway I'm just looking forward to some R & R this weekend. I love the west side... but I'm just soooo freaking tired!

Hiking Photos

These photos are from last weekend when Joe came up. And I thought the hike I picked out was going to be a challenge to him... Yeah right! He whooped me. I'd like to pretend it's because I was carrying the backpack. :)

Trail Log: Gem Lake (click for trail description), 3.6 miles round trip, 910 ft. elevation gain. Short but steep! This is what most of my photos are of in this album. Joe remembered his hiking boots this time and we got a late start on the trail. The weather was fantastic and the storm clouds hovered in the distance but never made it past the continental divide to ruin our hike! We went back to Lumpy Ridge, where we had found that dead elk the previous weekend. It was still there, and Joe took some great (nasty) photos - flies included! We looked like a couple of tourists taking photos of everything, to the point that I didn't know if we'd actually make it to the lake! But we did, just before the sun starting dropping the the weather cooled off.

After our hike, we went to Mary's Lake Lodge for dinner, which has a great reputation but I had never been there. We didn't sit in the really really expensive part, but the Tavern was more up my alley anyway. Fantastic food, live bluegrass music, and great views! Anybody that comes up here has to try it at least once.

Ok that's all for now, I know I haven't updated in forever but I have been working like crazy and still mostly living on the West Side, where I don't get on the computer much. The good news is we finished our slash clean-up at Green Mountain and I flagged those 1,000 trees - including pounding in sign posts - and we can now move on to more exciting things. Next week we supervise the pesticide contractors - not looking forward to it, we have to put plastic over all picnic tables, tent platforms, fire pits, etc - but our trivia team, formerly "The East Siders" now called "Good at Drinking, Bad at Trivia", is expecting a BIG WIN and I'm excited! Just kidding, we suck. :)

I'm still busy trying to find a truck, an apartment, and catching up on all the stuff I neglect while I am away from Estes. I've been on the computer at this coffee shop for breakfast AND lunch and still haven't finished everything I am working on!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDA! My sis is 23 today, and I wish I were there to take her out!! Miss you, Winny!

BTW, I am amazed that the radio is playing "Question" by the Old 97's. Suddenly, I like this station a whole lot more!

One more tidbit: One guy that works on the West side is in the Army and has men coming back from out East. He said that if I can get my motorcycle to them in Indiana, they'll ship it out here on their way to El Paso! SWEEEET! Now, if I only had an affordable way to get it to Indiana...!!

Ok, here we go... photos galore!

Finally home and catching up on everything! First album... moose, moose, moose!
The fox, "Boots", outside of the Bears Den in Grand Lake, taken by my camera phone at night.

Always running errands... gets in the way of fun!

Quick! Go online and order plane tickets to visit me!

I got a Farewatcher alert from Travelocity - $175 round trip tickets to Denver! I don't know what the restrictions are or how long it will last... Do it! Do it! Do it!

It's absolutely beautiful outside right now; Joe is on his way to REALLY go for a hike this time. I'm online trying to catch up with everything I can't do while I am on the West side.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT! It's my little bro's 14th today!

Usually I work four 10 hour days... This week, since we have so much going on, I stayed in Grand Lake through yesterday (Friday). Even though it's always much colder and snowier on that side of the continental divide, I am really enjoying my time over there. Of course, I just had to go and get an overuse injury from tearing at those logs and slash with a little too much enthusiasm... So I spent the week mostly flagging trees to be sprayed or for pheromone packets to repel the beetles. By the time I get done flagging everything, I will have marked about 2,000 trees. Phew.

We also got this thing called an Air Curtain Burner - it's a big dumpster that blows air and incinerates logs - so I got to help out on that a bit. Also got a little bit of overtime checking on it in the middle of the night to make sure it didn't start a forest fire. 52 hours of work this week, yippee!

... And all that money is going to my new used vehicle I hope to purchase in the next few weeks. Probably a Toyota pickup, since that's THE vehicle of choice out here. I was accelerating in Focus today, and the engine just SHUT DOWN. I restarted the car and it was fine... but yeah, methinks it's time to move on.

The West side is just one big sleep-deprived party - we eat out every night (don't feel like hauling our cooking utensils back and forth) and usually end up at the Lariat Saloon to play pool or trivia (we formed our own team, The East Siders... and lost, but not by a lot! Next week is our week!!), and pet the wolf-dog Otis and everybody else's mutts. One evening, Sandy and Doug hosted a Mai Tai Party in honor of a former coworker, and also in honor of their friend Susie who used to work for Rocky... she went to Haleakala NP in Hawaii and died when a rock fell off a cliff while she was clearing a road. It was also a little tribute to Jeff Christensen, the ranger who died in 2005.  They went to visit their friend who actually got the job that their deceased friend Susie had... Very strange. Anyway, they showed home videos of their trip out there and served up the best Mai Tais ever! There were quite a few people there; of course, Ron, Cisco, Travis and I were feeling pretty good by the end of the night!

Oh, and Sandy and Doug invited me to Hawaii with them in February... the only thing I have to pay for is airfare (~$600 or less from Denver!) and food and drinks!  Heck, maybe I'll even try to get a job there. Why not?! I heard it's relatively easy to get a seasonal job there... but near impossible to stay. I'm up for a challenge! ;)

Scott, whom I worked with in 2003, and Dayle came over from the East side to help us out, so those two, Mark and I took over the pool table (and I adopted the juke box) and the bowling alley... and the story ends with Mark standing outside the truck with a frozen trout in his hand, decided whether we would go back to the bar or cook turkey-dogs over the fire at the Air Burner. It doesn't sound that funny, but it was.

Anyway gotta jet before Joe gets here! So much going on, I know I am forgetting a bunch. Probably getting my own apartment, since it looks like I will be getting a roommate in June. Yuck!

Oh, lots and lots of moose pics to add later. Also saw a pine marten but the little bugger was too fast for me!

Here is the obituary for Dick Ingalls:

"Age 45 of Redford. May 4, 2006. Loving brother of Kathleen Hefni (Mohamed), Joanne Ingalls McKay, Paula McCue (Mike), William (Kathy Taves), Thomas (Donell), Mary, John, and Barbara. Preceeded in death by his loving wife Robin, father Richard, mother Mary, and sister Shirley. Also survived by 14 nephews and nieces. Visitation will be at Harry J. Will Funeral Home, at 34567 Michigan Ave, Wayne, MI on May 7, 2006 from 2-7 p.m. Internment after cremation at United Memorial Gardens, Curtis Rd, Plymouth Township. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society of Michigan in honor of Dick's wife Robin Ingalls."

Sad news about an O.P. coworker

Joe just called to tell me that one of our O.P. coworkers died of a heart attack at work yesterday. I was on the tree crew with Dick for a few weeks; he was a quiet, laid-back guy who always managed to keep his head above the negativity and crap at work. His dad had just passed away earlier this winter; a few days later, his wife died - she had cancer but was expected to live at least 6 months. Right before I left for Colorado, he came up to me and said "Want to see a picture of my girlfriend?" and handed me a photo of his 1940-something Indian motorcycle - a very sweet bike.

Wow, I am really glad him and I had a chance to talk a little bit before I left. He was just so quiet, but one day we just started talking. He was trying to get money to go to HVAC school and move up north. I kept trying to convince him to move to Colorado, because it's the place to be!

Very sad. :(  And just shocked. I have lots to type and pics to put up, but not really in the mood right now. He didn't have any kids, but 2 dogs. Those poor puppers. Yeah, don't know what else to say, just shocked. Dick was such a good guy...

Trail log and photos from Susan's Birthday

Fern Falls breaking through the snow

The photo album for today is from Susan's birthday back in March. We went to Friday's... and I guess when you tell them it's somebody's birthday, they come by all throughout dinner and tie balloons all over the person. Needless to say, anybody that knows Sue can imagine that she wasn't too keen with people trying to tie balloons to her arms and her head... She put a stop to that very quickly, but it sure was funny to watch her get ticked off!

I am going to keep track of the trails I hike this year. I had done it in 2003 but I can't remember how many gazillion miles I logged that year.

Today's Trail: Fern Falls, 6.6 miles round trip (trailhead was closed so added 1.6 miles to distance). Originally planned on hiking to Fern Lake but the weather kept changing from blue sky and fluffy white clouds, to total cloud cover and light rain, then nice again. There is still some snow along the trail when you get near the falls (and probably all the way to the Lake), but was firm enough that I didn't post-hole at all (which would have sucked, since I was wearing shorts!) By the time I returned to my car, the mountains were enclosed by clouds - good thing I turned around!

I had planned on doing this hike yesterday with Joe, but he forgot his hiking boots! GOSH! He's not a very good mountain man, ha ha! I gave him the grand tour of the Park and we did some hiking around Lumpy Ridge... where he found a dead elk, which was kindof neat in its own morbid way. Coincidentally, we were eating deep-fried ice cream at Ed's when the bartender introduced us to the guy right next to us... who owns the only official tree company in town, Mike's (and the guy's name was not Mike, but Adam... he just bought the company). It's a small world up here!

...Now, I'm talking to a few bikers here in the coffee shop about winter here - guess it's really really windy, but they ride every month of the year up here too. Don't really get snow accumulation either. It's great talking to locals! Don, Marcy and Steve. Need to remember that!

That's all for now, I've got my Sunday routine to follow - Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy tonite, pack up my stuff so I can head West again for the week, catch up on email, blah blah blah.

Enjoying the peace and quiet while it lasts...

I have a little bit of  time this morning to not only catch up a little better on this journal, but also call everybody that has been great enough to try to get ahold of me lately - been so busy with work, play, and life in general, time just flies when you have phone calls to return! So I'm back in the coffee shop, drinking a mexican mocha (with cayenne pepper)! Can you tell I'm having fun?

A little tidbit of Rocky Mt. National Park information:  They just released the Elk Management Proposal for public review this past week. It might not seem like a big deal, but the day they released it to the press, the park was swarming with news reporters and video cameras. There's just too many elk in the park, plain and simple. Hunting is not allowed and they have no real natural predators here (though I've heard the coyotes sometimes hunt in packs like wolves and have taken a rare sick or young elk down), so the population has exploded and taken quite a toll on the vegetation and resources in the park. The park has been working on this before I worked here in 2003, and their recommended action is to cull the herd through hunting - not just for the general public, but by rangers and/or other private individuals doing it at night, as not to disturb people. The scientists and employees in general, including myself, all favor this choice. A few of us are really into the idea of reintroducing wolves... but that's a bit more complicated.

Unfortunately, the general public doesn't want to see Bambi get shot, so to speak. It doesn't help when the news plasters personified images of "baby elk sticking its tongue out to catch snowflakes" and portreys hunting as murder. It will be interesting to see what happens. I'm pro-wolf in general, but there's gotta be good science and good management to deal with the complications of human-wolf interaction. The park needs that natural balance of predator-prey, and until/if ever wolves are "welcome" here, hunting is the best choice. Read it yourself if you feel so inclinded and see what you think! It's out there for public comment, and if you have an option, let them know! Unless you don't favor hunting. Ha ha just kidding. :)  The National Parks belong to everybody, and we all have a say in how they are managed.

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Didn't plan on spouting off dorky science stuff, but I love this place. The park is so central to this community, my livelihood, my social life, and my hobbies... it gets a little personal sometimes. :)

I think I was briefly explaning what I've been up to and why I've been so busy. Cisco and I are the only people devoted to Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) and hazard tree work... and since the problem is so severe, we have our work cut out for us. We are given a lot of freedom and not much supervision to accomplish our tasks, because we just have SO MUCH to do - it feels good to be important and trusted enough to have say in how and when things get done, despite that we are both only seasonal.

The next couple weeks are hectic. We have until mid-June at the latest to accomplish any active MPB work - that's when the beetles fly, and once they spread to new trees there isn't much that we can do. We are getting this huge dumpster-like bin called an "air curtain burner" on Monday on the West side, where we will be burning the mass quantity of beetle-killed trees for the next month. And we all know how much I enjoy a good bonfire! Next week, the pesticide contractors are coming to spray the trees we have been marking to protect them... we've been so busy though that as of right now, we still have 700 trees to mark. Not sure how that is going to work out, with the Air Curtain Burner going on, plus we need to supervise the contractors on both the East and the West sides... Then, there's always hazard tree work that pops up unexpectedly.

Oh, and it makes it a lot harder when the park goes from being relatively quiet in April (~67,000 in April last year) to busy (I think ~117k in May) to insane (~600k+ in July??) and we have to shut down roads or work in campground areas. It makes it that much harder. Should be fun! :)

For 4-5 days a week, I live in an apartment in Granby and party with the laid back, great folks on that side. Met a lot of cool people - Mark, Keith, Doug and Sandy, the trivia team - drank a few and watched too much Denver sports... I miss the Wings! On the weekends, I live in Estes at my "real" apartment, you know the one with all my stuff. This weekend, a lot of people are moving in and starting on Monday, so our housing area will no longer be as quiet as it as been. Probably the weekly/nightly bonfires and too many parties will start up. As if I'm not already sleep deprived! And I mean that in a good way! :)

Speaking of sleep deprived, I finally got to hang out with one of the former crew leaders, Lonnie. It was a pleasant surprise to find out that he is still around. Him, Cisco and I tore it up until 4 am Thursday night, watching the Nuggets and catching up at Kelli's Dance Club (real hoppin' place too, with like 6 of us there, ha ha!)... I left my car downtown because I don't drink and drive, so Cisco drove us all home. Of course, the next morning when I biked the few miles from my apartment to my car, it decided to get cold and snowy again. That's what I get for being a responsible drunk I guess! Anyway, Lonnie is big into running so if I get up to speed I'll have somebody to train with. It will be a while before I can keep up with him though!  

Now I'm just hanging out, waiting for Joe to show up so I can introduce him to "real" mountain living up here! The weather is cold but I think we're going to go for my first hike in the park since I arrived. Hell, I haven't even driven all the way up Trail Ridge Road to where it is closed yet either... probably do that too!

Speaking of TRR, I met the guys that drive those HUGE plows and rotor-snowplow thing (I need to get a picture of it on here) and they said they are 4 miles from the Alpine Visitor Center - the top of the road. At this point, the snow is SO DEEP that it's a matter of how many FEET closer they get per day - 25+ ft. snow banks, a little at a time. I am going up there and if I am VERY nice, Doug might let me operate some of the equipment. They hope to open the road by Memorial Day, like usual.

Oh yeah, one more cool funny thing (at least to me) - I got trained how to operate a 13 speed dump truck last week! The ones at my last job were all automatic, and I never drive standard CARS... so it was quite a treat to learn how to deal with that split-speed transmission, old school beast! Jake brake and everything! I gave poor Ron whiplash at least a couple times but picked up on it pretty quick I suppose. Let me say this - it is honestly a work out to double clutch and shift through all those gears!

Off to adventure into the wilderness! Miss you all! And I have to give a big thank you to the people that helped me through my last week in Michigan - Linda, for driving out to help me move and drive back and forth too many times, my stepdad for his last minute life-saving help fitting everything in storage and cleaning my apartment, and a certain somebody who took off work to help me chill out and relax while playing Grand Theft Auto... That was a rough week and without them, I would have never gotten everything done and kept my sanity. And of course everybody else who took me out for my birthday and all those going away parties and for understanding when I just left without really saying goodbye... Thanks for being so awesome!

Snow makes for fantastic photo opps...

I am exhausted from my week on the West Side of the park again, and this coffee shop is closing shortly... But I had some GREAT photo opps this week!

I'll post some nice sized ones on here of my favs, but I'll put them all in the photo album for this entry.

I love 4 day work weeks... but it makes for a LONG DAY of dragging brush!

Muley Deer!

Mule deer in my front yard, elk in the back yard. A few more photos, because everybody loves pictures!

I'm bribing Cisco with beer and/or tequila to let me watch Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy tonite. Cheers to that!

 

What to do with all this SUNSHINE?!

Yesterday morning, I woke up and decided I would kick my workout routine into high gear so I can climb those mountains and bike some mean single track. I'm still running on "Michigan Time", so I keep waking up at 5-6 am (I would be 7-8 am in MI) and going to bed around 9-10 pm (11-midnite MI time). What could be better than an early morning run in the mountains?!

Ends up, a whole lot of things are better than that when you aren't used to the elevation!

There is a trail in the park that is right outside my apartment. I get cold induced asthma as it is but I was stubborn and ignored the fact that it was still only 40-45 degrees outside... and that running at 8,600 ft for the first time is like trying to breathe through a pillow... I ran for about, ohhhh maybe a minute or two... And had to stop before my lungs exploded!

Frustrating, but now I remember that's how it was the last time I was here. It took me about 2 months to run more than 3 miles. Fortunately, by the end of the summer I was one lean mean mountain running machine! Ok, maybe not that intense... but much better than I was before!

Anyway, my "run" ended up being a 25 minute hike with a couple minutes of labored jogging and much panting. I'll get there again. I'm too stubborn not to. :)

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Joe moved into an apartment about 1 1/2-2 hours south-east of me, outside of Denver, and I offered to help him move some of his stuff... Which meant I had volunteered to carry his stuff up 3 flights of stairs of course. He's in a pretty suburban area, so once the work got done we went to play in the foothills and wound up in the mountain town of Evergreen for dinner. There is a bar there called the Little Bear, and we paid $4 cover each to listen to some old hippies sing a song that went, "Arf arf arf arf arf arf arf..... WOOF!"  The band was a little goofy but the bar was cool, with upstairs wooden bleachers and live music.

And now today, I'm in Boulder at the Folsom St. Coffee Shop, catching up with the rest of the world and doing some shopping. I think I will take a hike before I try to do any more running. :)

Hope to have some more photos to share soon!

Vagabond Vixen

I'm sitting in a coffee shop in Estes Park, drinking coffee and taking advantage of free wireless internet! Woo hoo!

I started work on my birthday, and my hazard tree partner Cisco was nice enough to take me out... and I ran into a bunch of people that I had worked with in 2003. People either never leave this place, or they leave and come back! I think Cisco and I are going to have too much fun running around the Park with chainsaws and minimal supervision!

Looks like I'll be staying on the West side of the park (a 3-4 hour drive while Trail Ridge Road is closed) for 4-5 days a week on and off for a couple months. The folks over there are great and I guess it's tradition (8 years and going!) to hit up trivia night at some bar every Wednesday. Of course our team, "The People By the Back Door", won - free drinks! I'm gonna have to watch it around those crazy kids... did I mention they're all probably 40 yrs+??

What are we doing on the West side? Here's some dorky science and forestry stuff: There is this insect called the Mountain Pine Beetle, and it does its little life cycle thing inside Ponderosa and Lodgepole pines, as well as a few other evergreens. It's a natural occurrence and usually isn't a problem; however, due to the continuing drought (and I think also in part to fire suppression, so the forest is too thick in some places), the trees are overly stressed and the MPB (beetle) is wreaking havoc on the trees. If you ever go over there, you'll see miles of dead, red pines - all due to the beetle.

What that translates to is that the trees are screwed. Part of our job is to find "high value trees" and mark them to be sprayed with insecticide to protect them from the beetle. This is proving to be harder than we thought - the beetles have hit most of the trees 8" and up and we can't do anything about it. So we run around places in the park and put tape around trees. Another part of our job is to remove hazardous trees - which there are plenty of, because of the beetle. Later on, I will be on rotation to fight fires and hopefully get to see some action!!

It's great to be back here! The sun shines even when it's nasty out, and I forgot how bizarre the weather can be living in themountains - sunny and warm one minute, a blizzard the next... repeat 5-6x in a day, and that's how Tuesday was. :)  Today is looking to be fantastic and I am either going to go hiking, trail running, or find some mountain biking trails that won't kill me!

I've got my work cut out for me this summer, but these 3 day weekends are always fantastic for enjoying my new home!

Here's a photo of a moose on the West side. Hope to have lots more photos, especially since I have a digital camera this time around.

... And I can't wait to either get my motorcycle out here, or get a HARLEY!

 

The Notebook

I'm watching The Notebook... I avoided seeing it because I thought it was one of those popular movies that everybody sees just because everybody else has seen it. But it's really good! It's making me feel all girly. Here's a quote I really like:

"The best love is the kind that awakens the soul, that makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds..."

Awe... :)

Fall Colors Driving Tour

I uploaded pictures from my photo safari up to Traverse City/Northport/Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes/Charlevoix/Petoskey to my Trekshare website.

Here's just a few of my favorites.

OT

I worked today. Nine ash trees down in 7 hours. And if dragging brush wasn't exercise enough, I decided to go for my 4 mile run when I got home. Now, I think I deserve a cold Molson while I watch some hockey. Dinner was gourmet - grilled cheese sandwich, with Havarte cheese, and spinach in brown butter. Mmm mmm.

Now I'm just hanging out waiting for Jeff to get out here so we can tear it up in downtown Royal Oak. The catch is that he won't even get out here til 10. Hope I can stay up that late, I don't party the way I used to!

So here are some pictures from work today. I'll get my up north pictures on here when I feel like it. OH! Bad news. My dad might get rid of AOL, which means I'll lose my whole journal! I have no idea what to do, I have 2 years of crap on here and I can't just transfer it. #%&^%#@!*^&

 

I'm back!

Glen Lake from the top of some dunes at Sleeping Bear  

I'm watching a movie right now, but thought I'd post a few pics. My trip was short but worthwhile - I was itching for a road trip. I'm going to New York for the fire academy next weekend, but that doesn't count - I'm doing 20 hours of driving round trip for an 8 hour class. Ugh. More later.

Farm near Glen Lake

Gone.

Screw this place, I'm outta here.

Left work early today, got my crap together, and now I'm going up north to the Traverse area. Be back tomorrow night.

Gonna enjoy some fall colors and some much needed R & R!

Maple roasted apples and hockey

First thing first: I know I might be thinking ahead, but the fact that I-70 is currently shut down in Colorado because of that wicked snowstorm has thoughts of snowboarding and winter fun careening down the powder-covered mountains in my head.  I should probably feel sorry for those people stranded in the snowstorm... Oh who am I kidding, I don't feel sorry for them! Anybody who is stuck in Colorado and has a PROBLEM with it can kiss my butt, I WISH I were stuck in that beautiful state... working lots and lots of snowplow overtime, so I can spend all my money on ski passes!

Anyway, back to the present. October is my favorite month. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love cooler weather and changing leaves and apples. APPLES! I'm apple-mad right now. Plus, I have this urge to cook. Now, I'm not reknowned for my cooking ability, but give me a recipe and I'll give you a meal. ;) With my apple-madness came the inspiration to cook up some Maple Roasted Apples tonite. Did I mention I made tortellini for dinner? LOL! Not exactly a complimentary pair, but I am a woman and can have ridiculous cravings. They turned out pretty good, but here are my comments: I used Fuji apples - it was all I had - but I think they might be better with more tart apples, like Granny Smith. I also added some nutmeg for subtle flavor. Overall, they're pretty darn good! One more mental note: When stealing cinnamon from my parent's house, make sure it's PURE, like the bottle says... and not mixed with sugar. Woops. So my Maple Apples might be a bit sweeter than they should be, but they're still mighty tasty and perfect for...

Watching hockey! I know, another mismatch - baked apples, tortellini, and hockey. This is why I am a bachelorette - so I can do ridiculous things like that and not care what anybody else thinks!

Oh, and so I can also do all of this while wearing only shorts and a bra. :P Hee hee!

That website I got the recipe from - the State of Michigan - has a lot of other delicious sounding dishes that I'll probably try out once I buy some groceries. Check it out!

Wings lost but that's ok. I love hockey. In fact, I am probably going to play again this winter. It's been two years since the women's hockey team I was on won the "Cup" - a mounted men's jock strap - and I found a great Adult Beginner's hockey program that sounds just what I need - it's not a team, but an actual class where you work on those fundamental skills that make you a good player. I can PLAY but during a game, it moves so quickly it is hard to work on technique (which I have none, hee hee).

Wilson kept me company this weekend and we had a romantic and wonderful time together. He was afraid of my hallway for some reason (??) and slept on the couch (we sound like a feuding married couple!) but we was good to snuggle with for a mid-day nap on Saturday. I love cider mills and Wilson loves being outside, so I took him up to Yates and we hiked along the river. He made friends with a pug, a pit bull, and some old blind mutt, and I just strolled along in my cowgirl shirt and cordouroys looking cute. ;)  I thought dogs were a good way to pick up guys, but apparently I was a good way for him to pick up other dogs! Hmmph!

The party Saturday night was... interesting. I'd rather not recap. It wasn't pretty.

Sunday was absolutely beautiful, and I had my typical dilemma - it was so nice outside, I couldn't decide what I wanted to do! It always comes down to: running, mountain biking, going for a motorcycle ride, or hiking. I wanted to see Jenna but she's a busy lass so we had to postpone, but she helped me narrow it down to "something on wheels". Motorized, or non? My Honda won over my Raleigh, so I put on my new leather jacket, my warm gloves, and hit the road on that beautiful, sunny, cool day!

I had grand plans - go up Rochester Road, take Orion Road to Lake Orion, then up to Oxford,head east to Romeo, and eventually take Mound Road back down and eventually make my way home. What really happened was that I was mildly cold because I don't have chaps, so I was going to head up Rochester... and didn't realize it was dirt road. I backtracked and went to Orion Rd, to downtown Lake Orion... and came home. It was still 60-70 miles, and it was BEAUTIFUL! I think Orion Rd. beats Dixboro as my favorite ride so far. I used to work in Oakland Township and forgot that road goes right by my old work. It's winding and hilly, the blue sky was pure and crisp, leaves just starting to change to orange, yellow, and red, the smell of leaves and wood burning, cool wind blowing through my hair... I am so glad I bought that motorcycle!

I am now working five 8 hour days instead of four 10 hour days... Gosh it doesn't seem like we get anything done. I'm not complaining - I'm burnt out. We busted ASH (hee hee, get it? Ash, as in ash trees with the ash borer... ok stupid forestry humor) all summer and I'm exhausted.

Enough for now. Guess I was feeling conversational with my computer tonite. :)

Here's some pictures. Enjoy.

Song that's in my head lately:

Ryan Adams - Touch, Feel and Lose

I knew I was never gonna talk to you tomorrow
And oh, the birds how they sing
If you were a bird could you sing me a song of sorrow
'Cause all I know from you is grief
But I never wanted to be your rolling train

I never wanted to be your dancin' shoes
I just wanted you to love me
I just wanted you to love me
Touch, feel & lose
And cry, cry, cry

I thought maybe I could be some kind of shelter
But oh, your storm how it raged
You know your kisses, they like lightnin' and thunder
And your smile is sweet and come down like rain

I never wanted to be your dancin' shoes
I just wanted you to love me
I just wanted you to love me
Touch, feel & lose
And cry, cry, cry

Leaves and Pumpkins!

With my allergies running rampant, I'm sitting here watching Wyatt Earp, chatting with my friend Tara online, and hanging out with my main man of my life, Wilson.

Yes, Wilson is my family's Scotty dog. But he's as good as it gets right now. ;)  Yeah, I just took him for the evening to give him a little vacation, and give me a little canine companionship so maybe I won't go out and get Munchkin (aka Darby) tomorrow. Having a puppy when leaf and snow seasons come up, with all that overtime and not being home a lot, would be very hard to do.

So now, instead of a puppy, I might buy a truck. Focus is getting to that point where I either need to fix some things, or get a new car. Toyota Tacoma or Chevy Silverado, 4x4 and extended cab, for those rugged Montana and Colorado roads when I go back out there!

Some guy's dad just bought Key Largo, a bar on Walled Lake, so they are having a big party tomorrow. My Novi boys and I are going to be there tomorrow to tear it up! Should be fun. Besides that, I plan on taking a scenic tour of the fall colors - hopefully on my motorcycle if the weather is kind. Michigan's travel website has a few good routes: Mackinaw City - Charlevoix - Petosky, or Jackson - Ann Arbor - Monroe, or Detroit - Algonac - Lake Orion - Port Huron.

My sister Linda and I have decided (more accurately: I ORDERED her, and she agreed) to go on a vacation some time after April next year. It's either going to be Alaska, Utah, or, if we both save our money diligently (not gonna happen), New Zealand. I told her she must go mountain biking in Moab and explore the slot canyons in Zion if she goes with me to Utah, hiking and camping in New Zealand, or watching grizzlies and getting lost in Denali if we go to Alaska - and she will love it. No ifs, ands, or buts.

For once, I don't think she minded me telling her what to do. ;)

Well, back to my movie and my man Wilson!

amazing discovery!

I discovered something fantastic today:

I can hook up my little-but-powerful speakers and subwoofer to my little dinky TV to get surround sound! So much sound out of a little TV!

This would have been nice to have when Matt, my friend from Virginia, visited me - we sat around drinking PBR and MGD while watching a bad French film, Le Femme Nikita, and we couldn't hear what they were saying and kept turning it up... but we realized how silly it was to turn it up, because we couldn't understand it anyway.  ;)

It was great to see him though, and after I went to Kevin's for his and Jeff's birthday celebration, I went with him and his friend to a party at some Fisheries grad students' condo... And they probably had at least 10 aquariums, ranging from full salt-water reefs, to lungfish from around to world, to an assortment of gars. We played flip cup with Labatt Blue Light, and I figured out that for the life of me, I just can't get even a mere BUZZ off of Light, just simply felt very FULL. At least there were fewer empty calories than I would have had otherwise! hee hee.

I ended up sleeping on Matt's friend's couch, in the company of two cats... which I am allergic to. Needless to say, it took a strong cup of coffee and some strong allergy pills to get me going the next morning.

Last night, I watched a show on the Discovery Channel called "Heart of a Lioness". It was about this lone lioness, whos entire pride had probably been killed by the locals when she was young. A lion's social structure is so important, that it traumatized her and caused her to act in a very strang way. She found a baby oryx - like an antelope - and the baby was so scared, it didn't run away. This can throw off a predator sometimes, when it doesn't run, it doesn't always trigger the predator's kill instinct... in this lioness' case, she started licking the baby... following the baby... She adopted the baby oryx! Which was all cute and all, but the baby couldn't feed from the lioness, and was too young to eat solid foods by itself. The lioness adopted the baby and cuddled it and followed it for over 2 weeks, and neither one of them ate. The locals tried to feed the lioness, but she wouldn't even eat the meat thrown to her. So this naturalist chic is driving along following lioness and oryx when suddenly, out of nowhere - GROWL! - A male lion comes out of the bushes and has the baby's throat in his mouth! The baby was still alive, but lioness was too starved and weak to do anything about it! She had to simply watch as "her" oryx was eaten. She even behaved as if a lion had just killed a real cub. It ends up she adopted 5 more oryxs before she disappeared - probably because she had the instinct to raise babies, but no means to do it. The look on the naturalist's face when the lion snatched up the baby was horrific! It was so sad, I could have cried if I was more girlie. :P

And one last thing before I hop in the shower and then watch Lost... MSN has an article on some good places to live to be out-of-doors. I'd live in any of these cities... except I have no idea how Grand Rapids, MI got on the same list as Missoula, MT and Laramie, WY!! Anybody wanna move with me?

Ok I lied, THIS is the last thing before I watch Lost... Looks like Montana and Wyoming got dumped on by a snowstorm! I remember when I was out there last year, Matt was visiting and we got our first accumulation on Sept. 18th, if I remember correctly... driving that 1 1/2 hrs between Yellowstone and Red Rocks was definitely a trip, with my Focus sliding all over the dirt road. Ahh, I miss it out there. There I go again... reminicing on the past. ;)

I was looking through some photos on my computer and found something funny that I didn't even know I had.

I'm going to be a bridesmaid in Donna's wedding... but at least I won't have to swat deer flies off of her like I did for Tara! ;)

Happy Birthday Kevin and Jeff!

Spending the weekend hanging with my random-adventure friend Matt and drinking enough Labatt Lite to last a life time. Oh, and the Lions just lost, of course.

What's wrong with this picture?

We're training a guy at work on how to limb out a tree from the bucket. What's wrong with this picture?

If you can't tell, that's a CHAINSAW stuck in the tree, probably 30 feet in the air. He was trying to cut this one limb so that it would go in a certain direction... and as he was finishing the cut, a gust of wind blew the limb back, causing it to pinch down on the saw - and he couldn't get it out! They ended up attaching a lanyard from the saw to the tree, and were about to push the limb in the other direction when the wind changed... and the branch nearly fell on Tim's head. Never a dull moment.

I just got news that a friend from Virginia might be coming up this weekend - haven't seen him since I invited myself over when I escaped from South Carolina in the middle of the night! Plus, the Michigan-Michigan State game is this weekend, Sponge is playing at 5th Avenue in Novi, and I wanna go mountain biking!

Autumn fun

I forgot to mention another reason why my weekend was so great:

It's cider mill season! I went to Parmenter's in Northville and picked up their awesome spiced donuts, apple cider, and cherry jalapeno salsa! That's one of the things that I missed most every time I moved out of state - the few weeks of apples apples apples!

I didn't do anything that was on my weekend wish-list, because I drove out to Cabelas on Saturday and Sunday for the Hunter Safety Class. I was the only older female, and the only adult without 12 year kids hanging off me! I did get to shoot a bow, but they only had a simulated rifle that you shot at a movie of deer on a big screen... which I did pretty well at! ;) I don't think I'll actually make it hunting this season, BUT...

There is a women's only firearms clinic at Multi-Lakes Conservation Association on October 15th for any of you ladies that want to try shooting a rifle or pistol! Here's the link for the "Women on Target" clinic. I'm excited!

So my wish list from last weekend... I'd do it this weekend, but I'm BUSY BUSY BUSY again! Kevin's birthday is the 1st, Jeff's is the 2nd... and they always have one hell of a party! Plus, I'm supposed to go to Cedar Point on Saturday...

I love fall! I am always so busy but it's so beautiful!

the good things in life

Another perfect evening, courtesy of the only good thing on Comcast: On Demand!

I can watch HBO's series "Deadwood" WHENEVER I WANT! Nothing like a sexy western lawman like Seth Bullock to keep me warm on a cool Friday night.

Add some gourmet pasta for dinner and I'm a happy camper. :)

My weekend wish-list is probably going to be modified quite a bit. I did end up taking a short hike with Wilson after taking him to the vet for an ear infection, but well I think I'm driving out to Cabela's in Dundee for a 2 day hunter safety class. Surprise! Yes I want to learn how to hunt, but my avenues for learning are limited to say the least. I might beg a guy from my old job to take me but I wish I had close friend that hunted! So that is going to take up all day both Saturday and Sunday. The plus is that I get to have another elk sandwich from their awesome deli!

I could always go out to Ann Arbor tonite to party with our no-longer-a-freshman friend Frosh (what do we call him now?!) and help get rid of 90 beers in beer pong... But all those empty calories! Hee hee!

Whenever I am stuck in traffic, I put on one of my favorite CDs and sing loudly to pass the time. I love it when I see other people singing, but especially men. If I ever find myself a single man that can handle me (ha ha ha!), I want him to be the type to sing in the car. Loudly. Enthusiastically. (And I don't mean to ghetto rap crap either!) So we can go on road trips and sound (and look) ridiculous together. And it would be great if he hunted, so he can show me how!! He has to own at least one pair of REAL boots and look good in Carhartts. And appreciate GOOD beer. And like spontaneous adventures. And Netflix. I'm addicted to Netflix.

Ok, now I just have to find him. ;)

thunderstorms

I'm sitting here with the lights off and the windows open, listening to the rain and thunder, watching a movie, and drinking the bestest summer beer in Michigan, Bell's Oberon.

What a fantastic evening!

The weather has turned a little cooler and the leaves are beginning to change, and seeing as fall is one of my top 4 favorite seasons (I love them all), it's inspiring me to do a lot of things I know I won't have time to do.

My weekend to-do/fantasy list:

- Take my digital camera with me EVERYWHERE. Take pictures of leaves changing, try to capture the flavor of pre-autumn in a photograph, for some reason everything seems so beautiful to me outside right now!

- Go for a long hike.

- Related to the hike: Either do that locally (Brighton? Bald Mountain? Somewhere new?) or go up north...

- Buy a leather jacket (FINALLY!) and hop on my motorcycle for a LONG ride - my longest is 1 1/2 hrs one way, so let's see where I can go!

- MOUNTAIN BIKE! I have to steal my parents tools and put on my clipless pedals that my buddy Dave hooked me up with, but this weather makes me wanna eat some dirt!

- Dog-nap my family's scotty dog Wilson for the weekend and take him with me for any adventures I get into... But he doesn't really fit on a motorcycle so I'll have to get creative.

Now back to my Bell's and my movie!

What my parents don't want to know...

Ok, so I'm not really a logger (I prefer the term "urban lumberchic), but this little article on MSN has supposedly the most dangerous jobs. The list is different from what I usually have heard, but they all say the same thing:

I love dangerous jobs, and I DON'T do it for the money. ;)

Sorry mom and dad. At least I have life insurance now! Hee hee!

Other news: Darby my fostered pup still hasn't been adopted yet. In another few weeks... if she's still around... hmmmm....

Got a windshield for my motorcycle. Just haven't had time to ride it!

Busy busy busy!

National Geographic photos!

I just have to share these links with you guys.

The first is a feature of NationalGeographic.com - their "Scenic Drive Guides to National Parks." Beautiful photographs of some of my favorite places in the United States. If I could, I would post a photo from the site, but I think technically that is a no-no. It's actually an advertisement, but I don't care!

The other is a photo of a liger - a lion/tiger hybrid. I've never seen a picture, but it's exactly what you would think of if you thought of putting a tiger and lion together - half a mane, lion's body, tiger stripes! And it's popular because of Napoleon Dynamite, or so they say.

All for now!

 

Puppy no more

After fostering Darby Coyote (aka Munchkin), the sweetest little shepherd girl, I decided not to keep her.

I SHOULD HAVE KEPT HER!

It was a tough call, but she had a few health problems I was concerned about, and she kept beating up my family's three little dogs. Looked like she was going to grow up to be an alpha female, but we were a bit worried she might hurt Tiny accidentally. She's just so young, it's hard to tell what kind of temperment and health problems she might have when she gets older. Gosh but she was the sweetest little thing. She was great in the car, and pretty good in her crate - only whined for a few minutes before quieting down. I think sometimes I bored her, especially when I was trying to put together my kitchen chairs and she kept stealing the screwdriver and anything else that was shiny. I brought her out to the park on Friday when I played horseshoes with my cityworker friends, and she was the best! She is a bit of a chicken so she didn't wander very far, but once she warmed up to the guys, she was the happiest little puppy and I could keep her off her leash without worrying about her.

I also know that having a dog would be a major hinderance to being a wildland firefighter in the future. Some places will allow dogs, and not all jobs travel as much as others... it would be do-able but challenging. For now, I had to give her back.

... But if she's not adopted out in a few weeks, I'm gonna take her back, as long as her health is better. No more worms! YUCK!

I even taught her how to sit and lie down in 5 minutes. She was so smart! And so pretty! It's lonely without her around here now. Granted, it was stressful and tiring trying to pottytrain her and deal with her endless puppy energy, but right now I miss having to take her out ever hour (only to have her end up peeing in the house anyway). She was a pain in the butt, but I loved her anyway! I mean, who doesn't appreciate unconditional puppy love? :)  She just followed me around and stared at her with her big brown eyes and tongue hanging out, watching me do dishes with such adoration, thinking I'm the most important person in the world when I am brushing my teeth... Why can't I find a man that treats me like that?! HA! :)

So here's lots of cute pictures. I hope Darby Coyote finds a great loving home! And if she doesn't... well I'm gonna get her back!

(photos are from my cell phone, that's why they're fuzzy)

 

My baby!

Got a pupper!

12 week old shepherd/spaniel mix, named Munchkin for now - but she won't be a munchkin for long! She already has big paws... and she's such a sweetie!

Need to think of a name!