The Goings-On's of Living in the Woods 8-days at a Time.

I am back from another tour out in eastern Nevada. The project was the same with the BLM and the Sage Grouse Habitat Restoration. We encountered a few technical issues with our saws but the last few days we got a lot of work done. I do want to tell you a little bit about the actual experience of being out in the wilderness for 8-days at a time, however.

First things first. When one is out in the woods with no electricity, plumbing or shelter besides a tent and with 8 men (this past tour I was the only female) things can get a bit crude. You get a little rough around the edges. I mean, we're not in public so things are said that wouldn't normally be said and things are done in places things wouldn't normally be done. With those rare trips into town or with our return to civilization, we have to constantly remind ourselves we're back in public simply by saying, "public!" It takes some time to re-adjust.

Another thing I've learned to live with while out on tour, is what my crew has nicknamed the "Nevada Spice" which inevitably gets into EVERYTHING. Don't get me wrong, this isn't really a complaint, but when Ely, NV gets an average of about 4 inches of rain a year things tend to get a little dry and that lack of rain (again, not a complaint) creates a lot of DUST. Dust gets in your food, gets in your water, gets in your mouth, your hair, your tent, your sleeping bag, your "clean clothes," there is no avoiding it. You work in the dust, you go to sleep in the dust and you wake up in the dust. Ah, that Nevada Spice.

I am really enjoying this job a lot. I love being outdoors all the time, living in the woods, camping, the hard labor. I honestly am having a blast. BUT there is one thing I could live without. The WORST part of this job is climbing out of your warm sleeping bag at 6:30AM and getting into your very cold, very stiff, very unforgiving Carhartts. It is awful. I get so angry and cranky for about 2 minutes until they warm up (thankfully they're quick to warm up) then I have my coffee and all is right in the world. :)

For those of you who have questioned me and this whole "conservation by cutting down trees" thing, I'll have you know that guilt did accompany me on this tour. There was this beautiful Juniper that was relatively old compared to the rest of the ones we were taking down. It was gnarley and twisted and just beautiful. I did not want to take it down and I tried my very best to just leave that one, but what the project partner wants, the project partner gets. Ultimately, the tree had to be cut down (I didn't do it) but there was guilt and I gave it a good hug before hand.


This past tour has been our third trip near Ely, NV and there is this radio station, 92.7 KDSS, that has become part of our morning routine. Every weekday morning, while we're in our crew trucks heading to our work site, we put this station on and we begin our day with a CNN news update. This keeps us connected to the rest of the world (I thought this was a good idea at first but it gradually became more and more depressing :-/ ). We also get a weather update for this week, which for me, is an emotional roller coaster because during the day is gets up to about 80-85 but at night drops down to the low 30's. After that update, there is a commercial break followed by some version of the National Anthem. So patriotic. :) Then comes Karen. Oh Kare. She is this DJ that is amazing and now a standard for the NCC Saw Crew.

When we were leaving Ely last tour we requested a song and she immediately played it and gave us a shout out saying she appreciated what we're doing. It was pretty cool. This last tour we did the same thing - requested a Taylor Swift song for our supervisor Dan. Haha. After that we stopped by the studio and asked if we could meet her and we were able to! It was great to put a face to the DJ. She gave us some free stuff and we went on our way. When we were leaving, we were stopped at a stop light right outside the studio and she waved out the window. On the radio, she mentioned that she had a great group of people stop by from the NCC and dedicated "On The Road Again" by Willie Nelson because we told her we were heading back to Reno (which is a 7 hr drive). It was a great way to end the tour!

7-Day Weekend

So most of this week has been spent relaxing and settling into my apartment, running errands and such. I did manage to travel a little bit, however.

Tuesday I went to this little old western town called Virginia City, which is said to be a "Step Back in Time." And it really was. It was cool to see a bunch of old saloons (some were haunted!) and we even saw a shootout! We walked around, pet some donkeys, got some amazing pizza and fudge and stopped in a saloon to listen to this guy play some guitar. It was a fun day and good to see a little more of how the ol' West once was..


Thursday I ventured to the otherside of Mt. Rose to Lake Tahoe. First I went to Kings Beach, which charged $5 to park. Fail. Then I went to Sand Harbor which charged $12 to park. Fail. So I kept driving and came across two or three cars parked on the side of the road and a random trail head sign. Free parking and a trail that leads down to the lake. Success! I started hiking down a steep trail for about 20 mins. I was surrounded by tall pines! (sorry, don't know how to rotate pictures yet, haha)


I finally came down to this little secluded beach. It was gorgeous and much to my surprise, it was a nude beach! Woah! That was a shock, but you know what they say; When in Rome. ;) Pretty liberating, not going to lie. I had my first conversation with a naked man, too. Awkward!



After I left the beach, I was able to meet up with my long-time friend and neighbor from CT, Tommy. He is actually also doing an AmeriCorps term in Nevada, however, he is stationed in Lake Tahoe for the whole year. It was great to catch up with him, see a familiar face and hear about his program. G'luck Tommy! I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other.

Today I drove North to Pyramid Lake, which is located on the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation, inhabitated by the Paiute tribe. It was incredibly beautiful! I was driving through the dry, desolate desert for about 45 minutes then out of no where comes this beautiful blue lake! After finding the correct dirt road turn off, I drove for about 8 miles and finally found Pyramid Rock.


My friend gave me his inner tube to use, so I floated around and explored Pyramid Rock for most of the day. It was completely relaxing and stunningly beautiful. I'd recommend stopping here if you're traveling on I-80. It's only about 30 mins off the highway, though you'd never know it once you're there.

So those were the highlights of my week off. I go back to work on Tuesday for another 8-day tour on the Eastern side of Nevada. I'm actually excited to get back out there. :)