Guadelupe Mountains National Park

After a 4 day road trip through Colorado and Utah I am finally in Arizona! My friend  Sam and I spent a night in the Rockies of Colorado, then drove to Arches National Park the next day. We hiked the trail leading to the Delicate Arch which is the most popular arch at the park and a highly photographed one as well. After Arches we went to Zion NP and hiked the Angels Landing trail. This is another popular trail, how it is difficult both physically and mentally. This trail takes about 4 hours to hike round trip and includes steep climbs with drop offs on both sides of you! Definitely a cool experience!

Finally we finished off with the Grand Canyon on Saturday after staying the night in Flagstaff. We spent some time just hanging out and looking at the canyon for a nice relaxing finish to our trip. On the way back to Flagstaff we stopped at the Lava River Caves which is a cave created by lava! Super cool place to explore a little bit.

Today was my first day of orientation for my 2nd term with ACE. It included lots of paper work which took up most of the day. I was a little surprised when I found out that I would be heading out to Guadelupe Mountains NP for a whole month tomorrow! I was not expecting to be thrown into a project the day after I got settled and on the second day of orientation technically. The good part is that I get to miss more of the boring stuff tomorrow! The bad part is I want quite prepared to leave for project tomorrow, especially for a whole month! I'm really excited to spend some time in Texas though since I've never been there, and I get to cross another National Park off my list! So I guess I'll see ya in a month!

I'm Baaaaack!

In two weeks I'll be heading back to Arizona to continue my adventure with ACE! This time around I will be working for 6 months!  Yikes! I'm so excited to start this journey for a second time around and I cannot wait to see the places I'll go and meet so many new people! My previous 3 months with ACE was incredible, and I know this 2nd time around will be even better!

I head down to Arizona on Tuesday night,  August 5th. I'm driving down this time with my friend Sam and we're making a road trip out of it! We're hoping to see some places in Colorado,  Utah,  and Arizona.  I'm prepared this time with a new camera so hopefully I can upload some great pictures of not only my road trip but also my entire 6 months in Arizona and beyond!  Stay tuned! 

My last project! Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest

The original plan for my last project was to go back to Dixie National Forest in Utah for a 4 day backcountry. However, in true ACE fashion they switched things around at the last minute (literally). On Monday night I found out I was leaving on Tuesday for Apache at 7:00 am the next day. The funny thing was that the crew going to Apache had already left that morning, so I had just missed them by a few hours. The next morning though, Adam, who I worked with in Sedona, picked me up along with Noah, who was also supposed to go to Dixie again, and drove us to Apache.


It was about a 3 hour drive and we arrived around 11:30. This particular project is very technical and apparently required a lot of training, which is what people were doing when we showed up. We went to the ranger station because the crew was in a conference room for the training. Both Noah and I already missed GPS training which was on Sunday (because we were not supposed to be on this project) and we missed the first few hours of training today. We walked into the conference room and were greet by the rest of our 20 person crew. Throughout the day we discussed how to use forest service radios, identify wolves and coyotes, Mexican Spotted owls, and of course we talked about our actual task. The next day of work was also a training day and we learned how to identify spruces, firs, and White Pines. This is because in some areas we need to individually treat trees and the tabs only protect spruces and firs. We needed to identify White Pines because later in the season the crews will have special tabs to put on just the White Pines to protect them, so we need to be able to tell the forest service what areas the pines are in.


This project is a 2 month project. The goal is to protect the forest trees from bark beetles which bore into the trees and kill them. This forest also had a bad fire a year or two ago, and fires usually mean an increase in beetle activity. Many trees are also home to the endangered Mexican Spotted owl. So there were many reasons why it was crucial to protect these trees and do our jobs well. The way we protect the trees is through stapling pheromone tabs onto the trees that send a signal to the beetles that the tree is "full" and they need to find a different tree. The hope is that the beetles will receive this signal from so many trees, become confused, and eventually be flying around long enough for birds and other insects to eat them.


To accomplish this task we worked in sub-crews of 5 (that's why there are 20 people on the crew). Each person in the crew has a different task as well, and each crew has a specific plot of forest to cover (many many acres). For most of the forest we are able to cover our plots in a grid like pattern (which means it doesn't matter what trees we staple tabs too, however, when we can't use grids and need to individually treat trees, we have to identify them specifically). The 5 people in the crew are lined up at the start of the plot, 40 feet apart. The sub-crew leader has the topographic maps and the GPS and they begin at the edge of the plot. It is their job to make sure we stay in our plot. We move as a unit, with the leader beginning each movement. They begin by walking out 40 ft, the next person walks and lines up with them, and so on. Every 40 ft we stop, make sure we are in a line 40 ft from the next person, and staple a tab, then we walk 40 ft with the leader, staple a tab, and so on. It's important that we stay 40 ft apart because any more and the pheromones would not be as potent to the beetles, and the trees would be in danger (the idea of the grid is that a larger area is being covered by the pheromone scent). The second person has the forest service radio and is in charge of communications, the third person has a compass and assists the crew with figuring out our bearings. The fourth person is responsible for the medical kit, and the fifth person (which was me) is responsible for flagging the line they are walking. This is because the plots are larger that the 5 person line we are in. At the end of that one section, we basically pivot around, with the crew leader beginning at the flagging, which signifies the end of our last section, and we begin from that point so we know exactly what we covered. The plots are never a perfect rectangle shape. They are more organic looking shapes with weird angles, however, we can work in a rectangle, and the go back to areas that were not in the rectangle we worked, and hit those trees individually.


Because we are working in an area with an endangered species and it is also their mating season, we are not allowed to talk while we work. We used a series of hand signals to communicate certain group needs. We were also off trail and far away from the other crews (which is why we had the radios) and we needed to be very cautious with snags and widow makers in the area. A snag is a standing, dead tree, and a widow maker is a dead branch that's hanging from a tree. Both can fall at any time, especially in winds, which we had during our project, and it is so important to always be looking up. We also need to be very careful walking because we aren't on a trail. There were many times when we were forced to walk through or around piles of fallen trees, up boulders, down cliffs, and things like that (which is actually pretty fun). We also had to wash our hands each break before we ate because, you know, its probably not a good idea to ingest beetles pheromones, but we did wear gloves to help that. It would have been really cool to be able to finish this project with everyone and learn a lot more about GPS's and topographic maps. Because of the immense amounts of training and the technicality of the project, they are going to keep many of the same people on this project because they are familiar with it.


This particular project was very laid back and chill, mostly because all of the training we had to do. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were full of tree identifications and practice with moving as a group. Friday we did the actual work, and Saturday it SNOWED!! WHAT??? Yes! It snowed in Alpine, Arizona (we were about 8,000 ft)! It was pretty cold the whole week actually. Saturday we spent the day driving around and "scouting" the plots that need to be worked on in the next few weeks. It was a pretty boring being in a car all day. Sunday we did actual work, and Monday we left!


This whole week we were on a rather large campground at a lake, Lake Hulsey. It wasn't too comfortable actually, very bumpy. We also weren't allowed to have fires because it's getting to that point in the season when everything is pretty dry. The first night I was there, Tuesday, everyone went to bed around 8 or so, which is normal. I felt like I was having trouble falling asleep, and at one point in the night I started hearing voices. I woke up, and it turns out it was about 10:15 pm. I heard several boys who were on the crew and saw their head lamps. My first thought was that they were doing something they weren't supposed to be doing (boys, you know?) Then I heard them walking around and going to tents by me, asking the people if they knew who's tents were where. That's when I started getting really curious, and a little scared. I put my head lamp and shoes on and went out. The boys had already walked down a bit, but were turning around so I stayed by my tent. They saw me standing there and approached me, about 5 of them. They asked me if I had heard anything that night and I said no. They told me that 3 people had a heard what sounded like a woman's scream (the campgrounds weren't open yet, so no one else should have been near us, but we were far away from the next campground anyway). A few of the people that heard were close to my tent as well. The boys were walking around to everyone's tent (remember, their was 20 of us) making sure everyone was ok. I was surprised I didn't hear anything because I didn't think I was sleeping deeply. They really spooked me though, and I definitely had trouble sleeping the rest of the night.


The next morning with each person that woke up for breakfast there was a small cheer of "So and so's alive!". No one had any idea what the sound was the night before, and not everyone heard so it was really difficult to tell, but one thing was for sure and that was that no one wanted to hear it! Most of us slept with ear plugs in the rest of the week. Some of the theories going around, with help from the forest service, were foxes, mountain lions, and coyotes. Several people heard more noises by their tent the rest of the week (hooves, breathing, things like that). One of the less popular, and much less likely theory (but much scarier) was that we heard the work of a skin-walker, being in the APACHE forest and all (you know, spirits). Here's what Wikipedia says about skin-walkers, if you're curious (and I know you are):
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin-walker


Like I said, most likely wasn't a skin-walker, but "most likely" doesn't exactly help you sleep any more soundly in the middle of the wilderness, in a tent, by yourself.


All that spooky stuff aside, this was a pretty fun last project. The technicality of it was interesting, and very different from everything else I've done. Working with such a large crew is also always cool because you get to know so many people. I also got to work with some people I've grown close to, so that was nice to spend more time with them before I left. This whole experience has been life changing. I have loved everything I've done these past few months. It's kind of crazy I'm already done, but I am so thankful for the experience I have gotten. The southwest has treated me well these past few months, and I greatly look forward to being back.

Dixie National Forest- Utah!

I'm finally all caught up! My most recent project was in Dixie National Forest, the Pine Valley ranger district. I was super excited to get put on this project because I have never been to Utah! I was on a crew with Nora, Dale, Jamie, Noah, who were in Prescott with me, and Neil who was in Sedona with me. We also had a guy named Cal as our crew leader, and another guy Wyatt. Wyatt and Cal were already in Utah, so those of us that were not were driven up on Tuesday. ACE has a house in Utah that's actually really cute looking and it's in a town called Hurricane (pronounced Hurri-kin lol). I was told we might be staying in Utah for our off days, but still forgot things like soap lol. The other people I was with were not told anything and were not prepared at all to stay longer than our project time. I was also told that this project was going to be up to 10 miles of hiking a day! Which was making me kind of nervous, but it turned out to not be that much at all!


We left for Pine Valley on Wednesday morning with Jason, a Utah ACE manager. He helped us take some cubies of water and personal gear up because we did not have a trailer. Dixie wasn't that far from Hurricane so we arrived around 10:00 and were able to work most of the day. We were working on 2 trails that met in the middle, basically forming a big loop. We started right at the trail head of the first trail and began working our way up. The objective was to open the corridor, which meant we were cutting bushes and trees that were in the trail, or a few feet off the trail. Both trails we were on were definitely a little old and had not been maintained in a while because the brush was thick! We had 2 chainsaws (Wyatt and Cal were the sawyers) and 1 brush cutter, which was a lot like a weed wacker lol. There were some straps that you wore with the brush cutter so you could clip it to your waist as opposed to totally carrying it while you hiked which was nice. I used it the first day, and it was pretty fun! The rest of the days I was lopping (cutting the bushes and things with loppers) and swamping (following behind a sawyer and throwing what they cut off the trail).


The hike to the work site every day was probably the hardest hike I've done so far. We work through close to a mile everyday, so each day the hike got longer. It was literally uphill both ways because we would hike up this mountain sides, then hike back down, and have to hike back up at the end of the day. A few days we got one mile of work done, and were hiking up and down several times! The hike during the day while we were working wasn't hard though because you move so slowly when you're swamping or lopping. No matter where you were on the trail though you had an amazing view! It was either the mountain behind you or canyons and mesas in front of you in the distance!  


While we were working we ran into a few creeks which was an awesome break for our day! It would get pretty toasty during the day, so when we saw a creek we would dip our bandanas and heads in it! There were a few that had some little waterfalls you could bend down and get to. At one creek Dale walked up it a little bit and found 2 waterfalls that flowed into each other! One was about 4 feet off the ground and we just stood and dipped our heads in it. The other was up and you had to climb a little bit to see it. The rocks were pretty slick though otherwise we would have tried to hop on up and into the little pool that fed into the lower waterfall. The water so cold too and would actually take my breath away!






The unfortunate thing about the area we were working in though was that we had to watch out for ticks! No one got bit though, which is good! There were also a lot of bees where we were camped, and there was a literally a Bee Tree that was thing huge, old ponderosa that was hollow on the inside and home to a bunch of honey bees. There was a little trail leading to it right from our campsite. It had also survived a few fires and lightning strikes! The highest points on the tree were its branches because the very top was burnt off by lightning. There were also a lot of turkeys around and we were always hearing them! A few birds were pretty annoying at night too and would start chirping at 8:30 every night, almost non stop lol. There were a few nights we had fires, but because Utah is an hour ahead it didn't start getting dark until around 8:30, so some of us would stay up until it was dark because it was weird to go to bed when it was so light out!


This project my tent zipper broke so I couldn't close my tent all the way, which wasn't as much of an issue as I thought it would be. Surprisingly, little critters did not find their way into my tent! One of my water bottles also started leaking which stunk! Remember how I said we also didn't have a trailer for stuff? No one came to help us pack up and leave on Wednesday when we were done so we had to find a way to get all our food boxes, tools, and personal gear into the van, otherwise Cal would have to make 2 trips. We managed though and were able to consolidate a lot of stuff, but it was still a tight squeeze!


When we got back to Hurricane my crew hung out for awhile before attempting to shower because there is only one shower in the house and there was another crew of 10 people. We hung out across the street in the grass. It feels like the perfect summer weather in Utah, it's absolutely beautiful! We ended up deciding to do what Nora likes to call "stink and drink" where we go out to our crew dinner without showering or changing, so we did that! Well tried to, its hard to find a drink in Utah! And you have to order food with your beer, its weird lol. After we ate we went back to the house and later that night we were hanging out in a small barn corral of a tractor museum that was next door. We aren't allowed to drink on ACE property, but the museum allows us to use the barn. It was nice to have a place to just hang out and chill outside of the house since there aren't any bars around lol.


I'm heading back to Dixie on the same trails next week for 4 days. It's going to be a back country project which will be my first! I'll also be with Cal, Wyatt, and Noah, along with a new guy named Kyle who I haven't met yet. The 2 trails are about 10 miles long total, and we went in about 3 miles on each trail, so there are a few miles left to do in the middle where the trails meet, so I will be doing the same work. Because it's back country we have to hike in all our food, tools, and gear, as opposed to just driving up to a campsite. This will be another one with no bathrooms! For those of you wondering, when there aren't bathrooms the proper way to do your business is to dig a hole (cat hole) about 8 inches deep. It's all apart of Leave No Trace. And for those of you REALLY curious, sometimes when there's no toilet paper people use rocks. Yeah, that's a real thing haha. Anyways, I don't know where I'll be for the last 4 days of this project. It's my LAST PROJECT! I can't believe it's already here! Here's hoping it's a great one (and I know it will be :) ).

Prescott National Forest

Pronounced "Pres-kit". This was my first time in Prescott, but there have been a lot of crews on this trail this year, so for some people it was already their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time, which kind of stinks, even though it is a really pretty place! All week we were unable to have fires at night though because it was very windy! We had a few people's tents blow away during the day lol.


This particular project had 2 crews with 8 people each. I was on a crew with this girl Alex, and a few guys named Dale, Johnny, Noah, Jacob (an American citizen from Denmark), and Lionel who I have worked with before. Our crew leader was a guy named John as well, and on the other crew there was another Jon and Noah, and a Nora and an Ally (a crew leader I had in Sedona). Lots of similar sounds going on this week! The other crew also had a few guys I had worked with before, but there were a lot of new people I was looking forward to getting to know. Because we couldn't have fires at night, we actually backed up our trailers to one another and basically made one big kitchen and put a huge tarp over it to block some wind. It was a tight squeeze when everyone was under there, but still a great bonding experience! This was also another project with no toilets, but lots of great bushes and rocks!


The work we were doing in Prescott this week was just building a lot of check steps. Check steps and water bars prevent water from carrying sediment further down the trail, and the sediment will be deposited before the check step and help build up the tread on the trail. The first 2 days I was working with a girl named Nora on a particularly large check step that was incredibly frustrating. It was a lot of chiseling and adjusting with rock bars to make sure the rocks had good points of contact.


The hike out to the work site was a couple miles and took about an hour, and after Nora and I finished I was moved further down the trail, basically to the ending point which was 3 miles out. Myself and a few others worked for a couple days doing a couple more check steps. This location was sweet though because we were right by the little stream. If you walked down the hill and up the steam (which was just damp sand) you reached an area that actually had some nice little pools, so I would spend my lunch breaks with my feet in the water! Finding a place to pee in Prescott was also pretty cool because you would go on an adventure climbing up this boulders and then have a view of Granite Mountain, which was very cool looking! Going to the bathroom is definitely a great excuse for going on mini adventures during the work day!


Although the work we were doing was the same (check steps) Prescott looked super cool with all the boulders balancing on each other like someone just dumped them out of a bag. Some big boulders looked like you could just tap them and they'd tip! We were also in an area that had burned and it reminded me of the Lion King lol. It was a pretty open looking area with lots of creepy dead trees, but really pretty, purple flowers, and awesome rocks! The hike was difficult in a couple areas, but probably the prettiest hike I have done so far. You could also see Humphrey's Peak (Flagstaff) from our trail!

Tonto #3- Pleasant Valley

This was my 3rd project in Tonto National Forest, and it was another 5 day fencing project. The area looked a lot like the Tonto Payson area I was in 2 weeks before. There are a lot of Ponderosa pines (which smell like vanilla!) and it was a little chilly at night. My crew leader was a guy named Matt who greeted us with donuts when he picked us up! I was also working with Lissy, Mike, and Ryan who I had previously worked with. Our campsite was actually very close to our work site again (you could see our tents and it was actually faster to walk lol). We would drive to work everyday because a few people used the van to transport logs to the worksite (to be used as a brace). This was also my first project that did not have any facilities at all (meaning no toilets). You get used to peeing outside real quick though, and eventually it just becomes preferable to a toilet anyways haha!


The purpose of our project this week was to construct and repair a fence around a plot of land being used to study cattle grazing. This plot had been set aside since the 30's, but when we arrived the fence was down, and the land looked a lot like the land that had not been fenced in at all. It was just a square plot about a 1/4 mile long and it was all basically flat.


The first day of work we just started to take down the old fence and any posts that were bent. Because we were only working for 5 days, the days were hours long. We would get up at 7:00 (instead of 6:00) and work until 4:30 (instead of 3:30). So each afternoon we had some time to just chill and hang out and there was no rush to get dinner started. Ryan actually brought a chess set and baseball gloves that we used a couple times.


Each day at work we would basically wrap up the old wire, lay out new wire, and stretch the wire tight. Before we could actually start rolling out wires we needed to get a couple braces in. We used juniper logs that some people cut down to create an "H" brace. The posts were dug deep into the ground, and then a post was placed between 2 others (making the "H" shape) and we then took wire and wrapped it in an "X" fashion around the posts. When that is finished you have to take fencing pliers and twist the wires in the middle to make sure there is a lot of tension and they stay tight. That process can get difficult because it was start getting tough to twist the wires! We made 3 "H" braces total and used a large ponderosa as another brace at the corner of the fence. After the wire is stretched and clipped in, we put in stays, which are like long, twisted bobby pins that make sure the fence moves as one unit, and not 4 separate wires. There were also a few points a long the fence that were not on flat ground, so to ensure that the posts didn't pop out of the ground when the wires were stretched, we placed "dead men" at the low points. A dead man is a rock or log that is tied with wire to the fence and hangs just off the ground. This is so some of the tension is placed downward as opposed to pulling up on the fence (and pulling the posts out of the ground).


We were actually able to finish our work by Wednesday (we got there Monday). So our project manager had us make a couple more "H" braces at another location to prepare for a fence to be put up. Our project manager was named Gary and came to visit us a couple time with eggs from his own chickens! It was pretty convenient actually because one of our meals for the week didn't get packed, so we were able find some random food to cook with the eggs Gary gave us!


When we finished our work on Thursday doing the extra braces for Gary, we tried to drive to Valentine canyon just to see it. We hit a road block though in the form of a large ponderosa blocking the road. This of course was no problem for a crew that had chainsaws already, so one of the girls, Rachel, got all her gear on and chopped up the tree. Once we cleared the road of the stumps we kept driving. However, we reached a gate a little ways down that was locked and decided to cut our losses and go back to camp.


Around the fire at night we would play 20 questions, even though it always ended up being a lot more than 20 questions lol. Matt also brought a speaker and it was really nice having music to listen to during dinner and dishes and hanging around the fire.

Tonto #2: Cave Creek Ranger District

For my next project I was in Tonto again, but in the Cave Creek Ranger District which is in the Sonoran Desert. Instead of pines and forest we had prickly pears and sand. The work we were doing this week was actually fencing, which I was really excited to learn about. My crew leader was an older gentleman named John Donovan (or just John Don). He's been a back country ranger and other things of the like in Arizona for quite some time, so he was super knowledgeable! It was fun working with him because he was very much a teacher and liked to explain the tasks or talk about the wildlife around us (which we saw a lot of!) I also worked with Lissy and Kerri, who were on my crew the week before, and a few new people named Cassey, Ryan, Roland, and Jirius.


Traveling to our project location was also kind of interesting because it turns out that the town of Cave Creek is basically a rich retirement community. We were seeing Porsches and Mercedes and Maseratis all over the place (and we were in out 1990's suburban lol). The drive from Cave Creek to our campsite ended up being about an hour of driving on a dirt road though the mountains. At one point we started to hear some funky noises, which was making us nervous, but it ended up being nothing!


When we reached our campsite we found that it was actually an old ranger station that was no longer in use. There were 2 buildings, one being a house and the other was more like a large shed. The house was locked so we couldn't sleep in it. There was a bit of a yard that was over grown and had a fire pit and a picnic table, where we put our kitchen. Some of us put our tents near the "driveway" of the house, while a few of the boys that were with us camped in the wash which was right next to the house. The wash was mostly dry, but there was some water that was flowing close to camp and we used it to put our fires out at night.


The first day of actual work we woke up and could hear cattle and yelling in the distance. John Don suggested that we run up the road to watch the cowboys and cattle, so we did! It was probably about a quarter mile up the road that we ran into the cowboys and watched them gather up their cattle. I think that the ranch nearby had a broken fence so the cattle often got away. After watching the little show we did out safety circle and stretching, then headed back to camp to start our day.


Our work site was actually really close to our campsite- just up a short but steep hill. The fence we were working on was going to be a quarter mile long total. We had to take out the fence that was there which was burned because the posts were logs. We were using all new barbed and smooth wire, so that meant that we had to roll up the old barbed wire into circles so we could transport it back down the hill (4 lines of barbed wire, each a 1/4 mile long, meant A LOT of spools of rusty barbed wire to move). Carrying the spools of barbed wire down the hill was a lot more tricky than it sounds. Some of the wire would come loose and attach itself to your pant legs- which happened to me a couple time and it wasn't fun. 


When we began to put up the new fence we had to carry all our supplies to the work site. There were several roles of barbed and smooth wire that one guy carried up with a cache hauler (each spool weighs about 80 lbs I think). We also had to bring up 3 large metal posts (to create a brace so we can stretch wire), and 30 bundles of metal T-posts (5 posts in a bundle, not sure how much they weighed, but they were uncomfortable to carry and a tad heavy). Bringing the T-posts to the work site was definitely the biggest challenge of the hitch. The hill we had to walk up wasn't long, but it was steep and a bit slippery with all the dirt. Once we got up the hill though we had to start placing the bundles near the fence line. We would put our bundle about 50 feet ahead of the previous bundle, which meant each trip we made we had farther and farther to walk with these posts. We had to do it this way as well because of the way we needed to lay out the posts (in accordance with the brace which was at the beginning of the fence line). It wasn't exactly motivating to know that the job was getting longer each time, but it was only a quarter mile, and although it was hilly, it could have been a lot worse!


Putting up a fence itself is actually pretty simple. It basically involves lining up T-posts (metal posts with notches), pounding them into the ground, then stretching the wire across the posts and clipping it in, then putting in metal stays. Before any of the posts can go in though we had to create an "A" brace with the larger posts we brought up the hill. These were placed into hold about 3 feet deep and 3 feet wide. We began to dig with a pick and shovel but very quickly hit bedrock. In order to speed up the process we brought a pionjar up the hill to get through the rock. A pionjar is a lot like a jack hammer. It was cool to use, but was also like 80 lbs so it took a lot out of you when you used it! When the holes were dug though we were able to put the posts in and fill them with concrete so we could start attaching wire to the posts.The tricky part of this project that was that we were in a hilly spot, which meant when you stretched the wire it would be on the ground at the tops of the hills, and way over our heads at the bottom of the hills. It just took a little maneuvering and we were able to figure it out.


Some other stuff we did during this project was brushing the fence line, which meant that we were getting rid of bushes or cacti that were near the fence. Kerri and I took turns destroying this huge prickly pear cactus with a pick. It's always fun taking some aggression out, but this time it kind of stunk because little needles would fly everywhere and get stuck in our gloves. We did find a ton of lizards as we were doing this, and a few horny toads. I also ran into a fat, black widow, and Lissy saw a diamond back as well!


This project was pretty cool and fun, and it was nice to do something other than trail work, which was all I had done so far. So if anyone needs a barbed wire fence put up, just give me a call!

Tonto #1: Payson Ranger District

For the second part of my second hitch I was moved to a different crew that was placed in Tonto. Originally I was supposed to spend 4 days in Sedona, have 2 off days in Flagstaff, then go back to Sedona for 4 more days. On Saturday after my first 4 days I found out that I had to leave for Tonto the next day to join the other crew. I was picked up at 7:00 am on Sunday by a guy named Joe and we made our way to Payson. During the ride I actually found out that Joe was a math teacher in New York before he decided to come to ACE, and he's been here for about a year. It was pretty nice to talk about teacher things with someone again!


The drive to Payson isn't long at all, but this particular day the weather wasn't quite ideal, so it took a little longer than it normally would. There was a ton of fog and some snow that we ran into, which definitely caused some problems once we actually got to the camp site. We were in a suburban so I wasn't too concerned about the road we were driving on to the campsite. It was all uphill and the mud was already like the consistency of clay because it had snowed the night before! We were just outside the campsite when the suburban started to slide off to the side and eventually straight into the ditch on the side of the road. We were lucky that we were close to the camp so we didn't have to walk much farther!


We decided that we were going to meet the crew who were already at work on the trail, and wait until the end of the day to try and get the car out. We got some snacks and water together and started to hike to meet everyone. It was about an hour long hike with a long, muddy, uphill section right in the beginning. Needless to say the pounds of mud caked onto our boots did nothing to make the hike easier. Once we were on the actual trail though there was no more of the clay mud, and it turned into regular mud and a lot of snow!


Tonto National Forest actually spans a huge part of Arizona, and is one of the largest national forests in the country. This just basically means that the landscape can change dramatically depending where in the forest you are. The Payson Ranger District actually looks like a forest and is full of pines (some places are called forests but don't quite resemble them haha). Last week I was in Coconino National Forest in Sedona, so making the transition from sunny, red, Sedona to snowy, cold, forest was interesting.


When we finally met up with the crew I found that I was working with a couple guys that were on my first crew, Ryan and Loren. My crew leader was named Marlon, and the other people on the crew were Kerri, who lives in my house with me, Amy, Sam, Mike, and Lissy. This was originally an 8 person crew, but I made it 9, which meant just a little less food to go around.


After a long, cold, wet, first day of work we hiked back to camp to try and get the suburban out of the ditch it was in. We tried to collect rocks and branches to place behind and in front of the suburban to see if it could be driven out either way. We basically succeeded in getting the suburban even more stuck in the ditch to the point where getting in the driver side door wasn't an option because it was right up against the side of the ditch. We gave up trying to get the suburban out and instead called Jordan, who works in the office of ACE. He said he was going to come out first thing in the morning to assist us.


The next morning we waited around for Jordan for a bit before we went to work. He showed up a little after 7:00 and we began work trying get the car out. He drove a diesel Ford Excursion up, but the road was so messy that he didn't bother making it all the way up to us. Instead he had brought a grip hoist which is used to moving big rocks. Depending on the size, grip hoists can be used to move up to 5,000 pounds, maybe more. What we did was find a large tree to use as a brace and attached the grip hoist to the tree, and attached the rope to the car. There's a lever on the grip hoist that you use that is supposed to slowly move whatever object its hooked up to forward. As you can imagine it becomes a difficult task regardless of levers, to move such a large object :). A few guys were doing it and really had to get their bodies into it. Unfortunately the shear pins on the device broke. The shear pins are the fail safe mechanism that prevents the user from actually hoisting anything that nearing the maximum that the device is made for. This meant that the grip hoist was useless now, until we got new shear pins.


When Jordan tried to move the excursion up to try out a different method, the Excursion he was in also slipped into the ditch on the side of the road. This made for a comical morning because everything that could go wrong was definitely going wrong. Luckily the ditch that Jordan was in wasn't as deep as the one that Joe got stuck in. We went back to our original plan of placing a ton of rocks in the ditch so Jordan could reverse out of the ditch and back onto the road. We were able to do this successfully, and at which point called it a day for the suburban and just began our hike to work. When we got back at the end of the day we found the suburban was gone, so Jordan and Joe were able to get some shear pins and successfully use the grip hoist. Not, of course, without leaving the muddy road in total shambles.


The work we were doing in Tonto was basically just making drains, which I did a lot of in Coronado. There is really nothing exciting to say about it because it's just moving a lot of dirt around to allow water to easily run off the side of the trail and prevent erosion. Other work we did was brushing, which meant getting rid of branches and such that were kind of protruding into the trail. We worked our way all the way up the trail and to the rim. The "rim" is actually Mogollon Rim, which is HUGE! Here's a little information about it:


http://paysonrimcountry.com/Mountain-Recreation/Natural-Landmarks/Mogollon-Rim


It's actually pretty cool, but the spot we were at didn't have particularly awesome views or anything, but it was still neat to work there.


The last night that we were camping we decided to try and get the van out because the road was still muddy, and we didn't want to be stuck in the morning. The van was parked on an angle already, so we knew it was going to be a challenge. Just as we suspected, we were not able to drive our van out. We had several people trying to push the van up the hill, but it only started to slide sideways. It was at that moment that we realized we really should have tried to get the van out when we had the grip hoist the other day. We started to brainstorm how we were going to accomplish this task because no one wanted to stay an extra day.


The campground we were at was actually a boy scout camp and we found large sheets of plywood like wood that we "borrowed" to put under the van. It took 6 sheets of this wood to place strategically around the van so that it would drive over them. Unlike the first attempt, this method worked wonderfully, and there was no problem at all getting van to drive up the little incline it was on. The one issue that did arise was that one sheet of wood we used splintered. So in order to hide the evidence we broke it to pieces and used it as fire wood. Our fire was MASSIVE that night! It was also really funny watching the boys go crazy jumping on the wood to break it into smaller pieces.

My week among the Red Rocks- Sedona

I known it's been awhile and I've already been to 2 other places since Sedona, but I'll do my best filling in the details! I was only there 4 days so it shouldn't be too bad of a review.


Because Sedona is so close to Flagstaff, when we left on Tuesday we arrived in Sedona with enough time to get some work done. We set up our camp which was located at the trail head of where we were working. It was not actually a camping spot, but we were obviously given permission to be camping there. We were also near a wash, which is kind of like a creek. As it turns out some local wildlife enjoy washes so we had to be extra careful about leaving things with a scent in our tents or around camps. One of the biggest animal concerns were javelinas, which look like pigs. They're a lot like raccoons and have become like scavengers, and would love to rip through tents if they smelled something. We saw one while on the trail, but thankfully didn't have any problems in camp!.


I was working with a small crew this week of 6 people. There was Jenny, Neil, Lionel, the crew leader Ally, and another crew leader type supervisor named Mark. Jenny is from Florida and actually just finished an internship as a marine mammal trainer. Neil is from a suburb of Chicago as well, so we are both enjoying our time in Arizona! Lionel is Loren's brother, from my last project. It was pretty funny to be on a crew with both of them and hear them make fun of each other. Ally is from New England and has been with ACE for about a year. Mark is the head trail guy in ACE and also knows a lot about rock work, which is why he was with us. He stayed for a few days and then another guy named Adam came in to help us finish the rest of the work.


The purpose of this hitch was to armor the trail with rocks. This protects the trail from the constant use of bikes, hikers, and water that can wear down the tread of the trail. We were also on an S curve type section, so there were two parts that were banked with large, flat rocks. This was for the enjoyment of the mountain bikers who can coast along the banks without slowing down.


In order to armor the trail we needed A LOT of rocks. This meant that most of the first day we were there was gathering rocks of all sizes. This was actually difficult because this project had already been started by a volunteer group the week before. It was also something I helped out with on one of my off days the week before. We basically got all the best rocks already, so when I went back there with a crew we were forced to extend our search a little bit further to find some good rocks.


Once we got the rocks we started to put them in the trail. They didn't need to go that deeply into the trail, and we also needed to make sure there was good texture and the rocks weren't perfectly even, like a patio. The texture and unevenness of the rocks prevents slipping because of the fine, loose dirt and water. We still needed to make sure the rocks were getting good contact with the other rocks around it, and also staying in line with the larger anchor rocks. It was a lot like putting together a puzzle with lots of different shapes and sizes. You would place a rock and make sure it was solid- that meant that there wasn't a wobble. If there was a wobble then you could chisel the rock and/or try and shape the hole to fit the rock better. Once that rock was placed you'd get another rock that had nice contact and try and fit it with the rock you just placed. Good rock contact basically means that you have relatively matched sides, as opposed to a pointy rock and a flat sided rock. When one section was finished we would then take a bunch of smaller rocks and fill the holes and cracks with crush, which is just the crushed rock. This helps to further stabilize and support the rocks in the trail.


One of the tasks we had during our 4 days was breaking up a huge boulder to get more rocks to use since we needed so many. This consisted of using a double jack, which is like a sledgehammer, and another tool that looks like a sledgehammer with a bit of a wedge. You place the wedge on the rock where you want a crack to form, and you hit the wedge with the double jack. Slowly but surely a crack forms, and eventually large pieces of rock break off! There is definitely something satisfying about hitting the crap out of a huge boulder for a few hours and getting it to break exactly the way you want!


So in order to get to the spot on the trail we were working on, we ended up taking a bit of a short cut on the trail. The regular trail we first took was about a mile long I believe. I'm unsure how much shorter the short cut was, but it only took us about a half hour or so to hike to the work site. It was also A TON more fun! We hiked up through a wash and there were a few spots with large rocks that we had to climb up a bit. There was also was section where we had to hike up a steep part of slick rock to get to the trail. It was definitely a great start to each day! We took a different short cut after work as well that was pretty steep. This was another fun trail though because it gave us some great views through the cliffs as we were walking!


On Friday, the last day of our hitch, we found out that one of us was needed to help out in Kofa, which is in southern Arizona. We were told that we would be contacted if we were going to be switching projects. As it turns out, Saturday night I was told that I would be heading to a different crew, but in Tonto National Forest instead of Kofa. I left for this project on Sunday morning, which was the beginning of my next interesting adventure!

Coconino National Forest

I leave for my next project tomorrow morning. We will be going to Coconino National Forest, the Red Rocks Ranger District, in Sedona.


Here is our project description- "Welcome to beautiful Sedona! The mission of this crew will be to complete armored, banked, climbing turns which were started by a volunteer event in Sedona the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd. This will involve building a retaining wall and setting rocks in the tread surface and angle them upward to meet the top of the wall and form a banked climbing turn that will improve sustainability of the trail and improve user enjoyment. Once this project is finished, the crew will be doing a variety of tasks including re-building retaining walls, brushing, re-routing unsustainable sections of trail, putting in drainage features, and closing down illegally built trails. The crew will be hiking 1+ miles to the worksite each day, and could be more the following week. The crew will camp at the trailhead where there will be a porta potty and no running water."


And here is a link to the forest itself-
http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recarea/?recid=54892


Myself and a few others helped start this project on Friday. ACE was looking for a few people to volunteer one of their off days to get everything going. We spent the day basically collecting rocks and using a grip hoist to move and place the larger ones. It was a beautiful area, and the trail is actually an advanced mountain bike trail, and we encountered a few people while we were working. I was definitely impressed with their skill level because that trail looked scary for a bike!


We are going to spend 4 days on the trail doing work, then have 2 days off, then work for 4 more days. I expect to be a light shade of red by the time I am done with this project!

My week in Coronado

Coronado National Forest is in Sierra Vista, AZ, which is just south of Tucson. It was about a 6 hour drive down and we stopped at the In-N-Out Burger for lunch (yay!). Our crew (8 people) met our project manager and park ranger, Chris, and he led us up the mountain (7000 ft) to our campsite. This was a front country project, which meant that we were staying at an established camp ground and our work site wasn't too far away, and we even had toilets! Anyways, the drive up the mountain probably took about 45 minutes. In a big van with a trailer on the back, it was a little shaky! But we made it just fine with the van only over heating a little bit.


Because the drive was so long, we didn't work on the first day. We got to camp around 3:00 pm, and went over safety rules and set up our tents . A few of my crew members decided to sleep with no tent at all. We hung out for the rest of the evening, made hamburgers for dinner, and just chatted by the fire. Chris camped with us all week, and he even brought his dog Squeaky! She was found near death at the border and Chris took her in and trained her. She's an awesome dog who looks just like the Mexican dogs my sister Steph has! She is trained in search and rescue, finding drugs, doing doggy tricks, and sniffing out smugglers and illegal immigrants (she'll freeze with her ears down). She will also carry packs up the mountain. She only barks when something is wrong, and she even scouted our campsite and peed around it to prevent other animals from joining us. She LOVED to be cuddled and pet, and would just jump in your lap if you let her, and could also sense emotional stress. She was definitely awesome to have!


The first night Chris filled us in on some important details of the mountain we were on. Just on the other side was basically the border to Mexico. That meant that there is a lot of illegal immigration traffic, including smugglers. We were warned to first report any trash we found with Spanish writing to him. He also mentioned that if we found trash with Arabic writing then it was ESPECIALLY important to report it to him (and then we'd see the place flooded with feds, YIKES!) Chris warned us that if we saw anyone on the trail with burlap sacks or anything like that, to act stupid and not panic, wait until they were long gone and immediately call him. He stressed the same in case we ran into some AK-47's as well...


Our campfire discussion the first night was definitely colorful. Here's the run down:
- Chris saved an immigrant who was near death once. Has also found a corpse...
- Loren (crew member, from Arizona) is part Navajo and grew up on a reservation. He talked about finding human remains and how he can't touch them (evil spirits, ya know?)
- Belinda (crew member, from California) is a botanist and we bonded over our interest in photography. Both of us were already taking a bunch of pictures.
- Keean (crew leader, from Pennsylvania) brought out his guitar and played some tunes.
- Mike (crew member, from California) talk about some spooky experiences at a camp that was at an old tuberculosis hospital.
-Erin (crew member, Illinois) rode her bike the length of the Pacific coast.
- Other crew members, Ryan-Florida, and Mariah-Idaho
- Chris heard a single engine plane that was flying too high (would have needed oxygen). But he concluded it was probably a drone (smuggling, ya know?)
- Talked about Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead!
- Bed time at 10:00 pm, although that was the latest we stayed up all week!


Day 2:
I basically didn't sleep well the whole week I kept having dreams I was digging, or my arms kept falling asleep, so it was annoying! I was never too tired during the day though, which was good. We woke up each day at 6:00 am to Keean playing a wooden flute or guitar and singing. It was almost too soothing some days! Right before heading to work we would do our safety circle, which consists of each of us saying a safety rule to remember, then we do a question of the day that each person answers and picks a stretch for.


The first day we started by hiking up to our trail with our tools (picks, rock bars, rock hammers, shovels, loppers) which took about 30 minutes, with one really steep, rocky, slope at the beginning. We began by clearing some small brush and shrubs form the trail. Then we worked on widening it slightly and creating an out slope. An out slope basically means that the outside edge of the trail is lower than the inside so that water can run off of it. A lot of what we did dealt with water flow, making it easier for the water to flow so it doesn't destroy the trail. We built a couple drains which would catch the water coming from higher ground, and prevent it from continuing down the trail. A birm is a dirt structure that helps block the waters path and will lead it off the mountain in the drain. We also wanted to make sure that while we were working on the trail we avoided making false critical edges, which basically means what looks like the edge of the trail is actually a loose pile of dirt. This is a hazard to hikers and horses who could step on the false edge and fall.


Spaghetti and meatballs for dinner!


Day 3:
Valentines Day! Not that I remembered, I had already lost track of time at this point. I usually had cereal for breakfast each day, and Keean would even heat up water to put in our hand washing station since it would be chilly in the morning (we had no running water).


On this day we finished up some drains, and then Mike and I began work on what is called a check dam or check step. These structures are rocks that are placed in the ground that water will flow over and deposit sediment to avoid sediment build up farther down the trail. We took 4 decent sized rock and dug holes in the trail to place the rocks up right. The holes were about a foot or so deep, and pretty narrow because the rocks needed to fit in snug. To insure that the rocks stayed in place, we filled any gaps with crush, which is pieces of smaller rocks you smash in to help the rocks stabilize. We then covered it with some dirt so only the top few inches of the rocks were showing.


Quesadilla night! Chris got us some awesome roasted peppers to use as well, and some great salsa verde.


Day 4:
Built more check dams, and also began moving back down the trail doing our work, which meant our hike gets shorter each day. Saw 2 horseback riders (one guy was packing heat!), and a scorpion (tiny little thing). One idea that we had to keep in mind all week while we were doing this work was to make sure it looked like we were never there. That meant not leaving piles of dirt or rocks on the side of the trail, and getting them farther up or down the mountain. It wasn't a difficult concept, but it was something I had not thought of before.


Keean and I began work on a different rock structure that acted as a path across the trail because the tread was deep and uneven from a pipe that was put in the ground. We placed 3 decent sized rocks in a line on one side of the pipe, and 2 larger ones on the other side. We then took out part of a tree to widen the trail so that people would use the structure we just built. Because Arizona is so dry, you can't just fill hold with dirt because it won't stay in place. The pipe that was placed in the ground was probably covered up with dirt at one point, but the dirt has since been washed away. The pipe was originally meant to bring water down the mountain, but that can't be done anyway because there is arsenic in the mountain water (due to the old mines I think).


Jambalaya night!


Day 5:
More check dams. More trail clearing


Potatoes with corn and "sad" brisket night! The "brisket" was actually canned cubed beef, which when cooked and made with BBQ sauce is kinda like brisket. Still pretty good though!


Day 6:
More check dams. Clearing trail of rocks (there are SO MANY ROCKS). Chris found a really cool crystal and gave it to me because we were talking about them the other day. Found an empty gallon jug of water with SPANISH WRITING ON IT! Chris thought it was probably fairly recent, and most likely a "scout". Keean sang more songs at the camp fire with his guitar.


Burrito night!


Day 7:
We finished our work!!! We got everything done around 2:00 pm. We spent the rest of the afternoon hiking to the top of the mountain we were on, Carr Peak. Elevation-9200 ft (our campsite was at 7000 ft), 2.1 or so mile trail, 1.5 hours to hike it. AWESOME view! Definitely a hard hike though. We hung out at the top for a bit, then made our way back down the mountain in about an hour. When we got back to camp we started packing up our things!


West Indies beans and rice for dinner!


Day 8:
Pack up our tent, pack up the food and supplies and tools, left at 7:00 am! Squeaky was sad to see us leave and hopped in our van while we were trying to leave :(. We got back to Flagstaff around 3:00 pm and de-rigged, which means putting the tools back, putting away food, cleaning dishes, cleaning the cars, things like that. There were about 4 other crews who were also back and doing the same things, so it was a little crowded at the office.


When we were done we went back to our houses, cleaned up, then met up for a crew dinner at a Thai place in town. After Thai we went to The Green Room, which is a cool bar in town. Wednesday nights (the day most crews get back from a hitch) is 25 cent night from 8-9 pm, so that's where you can find most ACEr's ;). We also went to a hotel/bar called the Monte Vista, which had some character and was fun as well.


Final Thoughts:
Over all it was a super AWESOME first hitch. The crew got along great and we had a lot of fun working together. So many people in ACE are so intelligent and cool to talk to, and at times makes me feel like I have some studying to do! But you know what they say, if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room! Our project manager was thorough and made sure we had everything we needed (he also brought the dog, so yeah). Our crew leader was a great teacher and really patient the whole time.


The only part of my body that was really sore were my fingers from holding the tools so much. It was difficult to find places to pee on the trail sometimes because the area was a little sparse lol. Taking wipe "showers" isn't that bad either, and I found that bringing more than one pair of pants and more than one shirt to work in is pointless. Dirt is dirt and it gets EVERY WHERE! Being dirty and smelly here is definitely widely accepted and I am going to embrace it as much as possible when on a project. Working with rocks is difficult, but rewarding at the same time. It's very satisfying when you finally get the rock to do what you want, but it is also very frustrating when the rock breaks in half on you and you have to go find a new one. The work we did on this trail will probably last about 20 years, which is really cool to think about! Being in the mountains for a week and doing this kind of hard labor was exciting, and even spiritual at times. When it was quiet I could close my eyes and feel like I was the only person around for miles. That makes a person feel very small! But I loved it!

Just Some Stuff

So yesterday was orientation day 2. We went into more detail about pesticide use and protocols, as well as brush cutter use. I got to test out the brush cutter too, which was pretty cool, although we didn't actually cut anything. We also talked a lot about Leave No Trace and what it means for us and camping. It was interesting stuff which covered things like staying on a trail (to prevent widening the trail), and setting up camps in back country areas (spreading the tents out to avoid creating new "camp sites"). We were also issued our own tents, which we are free to use whenever we want during our time here. Mine had some zipper issues, but they were fixed! My cooperating teachers, Mr. Wensel & Mr. Noonan, and student teacher supervisor, Mrs. Sandstrom, will all be happy to hear that I am already coming up with ideas about ways I can incorporate Leave No Trace concepts into a PE lesson!


I didn't do much last night besides hang out and watch some VHS tapes (yes, we have a large collection of VHS movies and a working VCR). I did go to the store with this French girl, Ana (she's been very interesting to talk to!). We went to an all natural grocery store (think Trader Joes x10). You could actually grind your own almond and peanut butter! So that was exciting.


Today I went out with a group of other volunteers and we went to hike at Buffalo Park, which is fairly close to the house I'm at. The park has a lot of trails that lead up to the mountain. We had a great hike and it was beautiful! Hopefully I get the camera cord soon (I'm looking at your mom ;)), so I can upload some of the best pictures. We didn't make it all the way up the mountain (its a loooong way!) but we were hiking for a good 2 hours. Some of us decided to turn around because we were running out of water and getting a little tired, but a group of guys kept going. They had cameras also, so if I see that they took any awesome pictures I'll be sure to upload those as well!


Tonight I basically finished packing for my first trip tomorrow. I'll be going to Coronado National Forest to do some trail work. This is the description- "The Old Sawmill Trail is short hiking trail in the Sierra Vista Ranger District of Coronado National Forest. The crew will have two objectives in their week long project. The first is to construct erosion control structures, including check steps and water bars, and repairing damaged tread. The second is to brush the corridor of the trail to ensure that it is accessible to both hikers and horseback riders. The team will be camping at the Reef Townsite campground, which has limited facilities, and no running water. Be ready for warm days, with cooler nights." 


Here's a link for the park itself:
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Coronado


I'll be there from Wednesday to Wednesday, working about 8 hour days (starting at 7:00 am). Again, a little nervous to start, but there's no turning back now!


See you in a week!

Orientation Day 1

Boring day today. Went through some orientation about basic rules to follow and filled out paperwork. Took a tour around the organization head quarters. I would post some pictures, but it turns out the memory card from the camera I have is too small for my computer and I didn't think to check before I left! So I'm hoping I can get the cord sent to me from home so I can start getting some pictures up!


Tonight I also went to some bars with a few other people in the house. One place as called Brews & Cues, and the other was the Lumberyard. The Lumberyard is one of the microbreweries in Flagstaff and they make pretty good beer!


Tomorrow is day 2 of orientation, and then it will be off to the first project either Tuesday or Wednesday!

Flagstaff

After two wonderful days in Phoenix I'm finally in Flagstaff. I had such a great time with my Uncle Joe and Aunt Laura. We went to some pretty cool bars and restaurants- they have good taste! I know they are obligated to be nice to me because we're family, but they entertained me for two days and treated me so well, and I am so appreciative and grateful for them. Being so far from home but feeling so welcome helps ease some nerves about my upcoming project. It also just reminds me how special family is, and how lucky I am to have so many people who care about me. It sounds cheesy, but it's really not. To know I have people supporting me through all this, and I have people I love to come home to when this is all done comforts me.

But all emotions aside, I'm in Flagstaff! First of all, the entire group is comprised of people from Germany, Denmark, Sweden, UK, Korea, and Finland, along with some of us from the good old USA. We're split up in 3 different houses in Flagstaff. I'm in an old house right in the middle of town with about 24 other people. My room is on the second floor and has 3 bunk beds in it, and there's another room just a few steps across the hall with a couple more beds, and one bathroom we share. Boys rooms are downstairs, as well as the kitchen, living room, and laundry. It's a tight squeeze, but once I get into a routine then it won't be a problem! 

Tomorrow morning we'll get up at 9 to go over some house rules. Then around 11 we'll begin orientation for work on our projects. Monday is also an orientation day, and then Tuesday or Wednesday we'll head to our first project! Then the real fun begins! 

DELAYED

I'm glad I decided to leave a few days early in case something like this happened. Something about a window being off its track. Well now I'm in Detroit and its 12:15 pm Illinois time. Next available plane isn't until 3:30 pm, Detroit time. Could be worse I guess. Definitely bummed I'll be missing out on some quality time in Phoenix with one of my top 5 favorite uncles ;). I think I'll be getting a voucher for the delay though, which is nice. I also decided to cash in on my 2nd free trial of Netflix. You lose some, you win some. :)

Here we go...

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about what's in store for the next 3 months. A large part of my time will be spent away from any comfort of home (bed, shower, walls...). I think the hardest part is not knowing exactly what it will be like and what I will think of it. But it's one of those things that you just need to experience first hand and just do it! Deep down I know it will work out and I'll be able to handle it, but the unknown is still pretty intimidating. I'm ready for the challenge though- as ready as I can be at least.