As you can see, my blog has had a makeover as well as my life (well..a lot has changed at least). I successfully completed the Tough Mudder in late September with Tommy. Dave was there supporting me so he was able to grab a couple pictures of us starting and of us at the last few obstacles. I've been talking about it the past few posts, telling you about my training and how close it was getting. Now it has come and past but man, what a ride it was! The course ended up being about 12-miles total (they added an additional mile in the last few days - so nice of them), had an elevation gain of 2,300 feet peaking at 9000' and I think there were 23 obstacles. They ranged from dodging giant (and by giant I mean big enough to knock you over) red balls being thrown at you to running through live wires with up to 10,000 volts. In that 12 mile stretch, we summited 3 different peaks, ran on surfaces varying from large boulders, single track trail, medium ankle-turning rocks, grass and of course mud, nearly froze and ate some apples. It took us about 5 hours to complete but it felt amazing to finish! But first, let me tell you about some of the obstacles.
The one that stands out in my mind the most when I think back was called the Chernobyl Jacuzzi. As you can see from this video, there are dumpsters filled with water and then completely filled with ice cubes! This was at about hour 2, or so, of running up a mountain side and making it through a few obstacles, so you're definitely out of breath by the time you hit this. They have you jump in one side, get to the middle, somehow catch your breath long enough to hold, while you swim under the plank in the middle, fight your way up through the 3 feet of ice cubes on the other side to get air and then attempt to walk through the ice shield to get your numb body out. It was insane and there is no way I can describe just how immensely cold it really was. My finger tips turned purple and for the next 20 minutes or so, I had to stick them in my armpits to warm them up and regain feeling.
It was a challenge to train and finish this race but I am so proud that I was able to complete it. It got me in excellent shape, too (although the altitude still kicked my butt a bit). Now I need to find some other race or challenge to keep me in shape and with winter coming - that will be a challenge in itself.
After the Tough Mudder, Dave and I departed for our road trip back to Madison, WI (which is the header picture above). We were going to stop at Lamoille Canyon to hike my trail but because Dave had to get back to WI for work by Thursday, we decided to skip it. Maybe one day. So, our first stop was Salt Lake City and since their beer is lame (3.2%) and we were both dead tired, we just crashed. The next day we got an early start and had a more exciting drive (not to say the desert and salt flats aren't exciting but I've been living in them for a year). We hit the mountains and boy were they beautiful!
Because our next stop was Vail, CO we took some back routes instead of just staying on I-80 and it was well worth it. Although those main interstates are so damn convenient and fast, you just don't experience the same drive as on back and/or less traveled routes. We made it to Vail, where we were staying with my friend Jackie, her boyfriend and their adorable dog Kaya. They took us up to Beaver Creek, where Jackie works and showed us the mountain. This is actually where the CO Tough Mudder took place which was cool to find out and compare terrains. :) They took us out to dinner and we enjoyed a few seasonal beers before we were all too tired to keep our eyes open anymore. It was a fun visit - Thanks again Jackie!!
We finished driving through the Rockies, where, unfortunately, I had to stop for gas at $4.39/gal!!!) We drove until I could drive no more and that landed us in Lincoln, NE. It was sad to leave the mountains and that part of the country and hit the flattest land I've ever seen in the mid-west. The one cool part of stopping in Lincoln was that is where my Nana was from - getting back to my roots. :) Our last and final stop was Madison, WI - where I now live.
Why in gods name would I move to Wisconsin, you ask? Excellent question. Well, you see, after my contract ended with AmeriCorps, I had no job or even a potential job and Dave and I have spent the past year apart going months at a time without seeing each other. It was tough and challenging but we made it through. We were both over doing the distance thing and since he has a job here and I had....well, a car full of my stuff, I decided to move here.
And that pretty much gets you up to date. I am still currently job-less and spend hours and hours each day scouring the internet for any potentials. I have even started just forcing my resume onto people who are not even hiring. Couldn't hurt. But if you're reading this and you know of anyone or anything that might help me get a job in the conservation field in the Madison area - PLEASE let me know (at this point I am not beyond groveling). Since this week has been beautiful (in the high 70's), I've been doing some hikes too, to keep up my sanity. You can see some fall pictures on Facebook!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Down time
For the past month or so, I've had a lot of downtime. Most of it has been spent training for the TM, pool lounging and reading (thrilling life, I know). When you don't have a job and very little money leftover from your previous volunteer job, you've got to get creative with the ways to entertain yourself for free. :)
One thing I found to keep me busy was an event being put on by the Nevada Humane Society. They have an annual rubber duck race here in Reno to raise money for the NHS and to adopt animals out called the Reno Duck Race. I got in contact with the NHS and let them know I was available to lend a hand. It was an all day event in downtown, so I showed up and was put to work at an Egg Count booth. It was in the kid area and they had a rabbit cage filled with plastic eggs. The kids had to guess how many were in there and depending how close they were to the actual number (888) the more points they got. They could then redeem these points for prizes once they went to all the booths. It was pretty entertaining - most of the kids were pretty young and hadn't learned to count yet so I got some guesses like 4 or eleven-teen. The cuter the kid was, the more points I gave them. ;)
I did a three hour shift at that booth then the actual duck race was getting closer. I was put on duck duty. I had to actually get into the river and make sure none of the rubber ducks got caught in the rocks or branches or got stranded on shore. It was fun and it was amazing to see so many little yellow ducks floating down the river. There were about 20,000 of them!
The finish line was a chain-link fence which was installed across the river so we could get all of the ducks out of the river. They ending up raising about $67,000 and adopted out 3 dogs and 5 cats! It was a great event and I am glad I was able to help out.
At the beginning of September, my mom came out to visit me and help me pack for a week. It's been a long time since we had some one-on-one mom/daughter time so it was a lot of fun! She did a lot to help me pack and keep my stress level down. She even joined me in the gym every morning! My mom was a great motivator, too, to get to the gym and then to the hill across the road at night. We made frequent trips to the animal shelter and Mom became very, very close to bringing one dog back to CT. He was an adorable Aussie that was injured and healing.
Since our visits though, he has been adopted into a forever home! Yay! We did a lot of relaxing and even spent two nights in a hotel! I got to sleep in a real bed. Woohoo! We rented a movie one night in the hotel, too.
I wanted to show my Mom Lake Tahoe and all its beauty so we headed up there for a day on the beach. I brought her to Sand Harbor and we layed out and went swimming.
The water is very cold and my mom even got in three times!! 
It was a nice relaxing day on the water. That evening we met Tommy for dinner in Kings Beach, CA. 
As the sunset, we headed back over Mt. Rose back to Reno for the night just in time to catch a pretty colorful sunset over the lake. 
There is a brewery down the road a bit from my apartment called the Great Basin Brewery that I really enjoy so I decided we should eat there one night for dinner. This place recycles everything! They even recycle the used yeast and grains they use to brew their beer! It's a very 'green' restaurant with great food and delicious beer. We even got matching shirts (tye-dye of course!).
The week with my mom was awesome and I am so glad she came out to spend time with me and help me pack. She did a lot for me - helping packing, relieving my stress and keeping me laughing and smiling. Thanks Mom! Love you!
After she left, I kept packing and had to move out of my apartment. Still having a week left before my race, my previous supervisor, Amanda, is letting me stay at her house. I am so thankful because it's saving me money on a hotel or campground and keeping my stress level in check. :) I've been training a lot still too, even started the Insanity workout and running! Now, my race is tomorrow!! Ahhhh! I'm so nervous but yet so excited about it. It's going to be a challenge but a lot of fun.
Dave is flying in tonight and is going to watch and support me in my race tomorrow. Hopefully he'll catch some great pictures of me getting my butt kicked by this race. :) After the race, we're starting a road trip back to Madison, WI - where he lives and where I am moving. We're planning a stop in Vail, CO to see my friend Jackie, who went to school with my brother at Ithaca.
The next post you'll get will be after the Tough Mudder - hopefully I'll make it. Wish me luck!!!
One thing I found to keep me busy was an event being put on by the Nevada Humane Society. They have an annual rubber duck race here in Reno to raise money for the NHS and to adopt animals out called the Reno Duck Race. I got in contact with the NHS and let them know I was available to lend a hand. It was an all day event in downtown, so I showed up and was put to work at an Egg Count booth. It was in the kid area and they had a rabbit cage filled with plastic eggs. The kids had to guess how many were in there and depending how close they were to the actual number (888) the more points they got. They could then redeem these points for prizes once they went to all the booths. It was pretty entertaining - most of the kids were pretty young and hadn't learned to count yet so I got some guesses like 4 or eleven-teen. The cuter the kid was, the more points I gave them. ;)
I did a three hour shift at that booth then the actual duck race was getting closer. I was put on duck duty. I had to actually get into the river and make sure none of the rubber ducks got caught in the rocks or branches or got stranded on shore. It was fun and it was amazing to see so many little yellow ducks floating down the river. There were about 20,000 of them!
The finish line was a chain-link fence which was installed across the river so we could get all of the ducks out of the river. They ending up raising about $67,000 and adopted out 3 dogs and 5 cats! It was a great event and I am glad I was able to help out.
At the beginning of September, my mom came out to visit me and help me pack for a week. It's been a long time since we had some one-on-one mom/daughter time so it was a lot of fun! She did a lot to help me pack and keep my stress level down. She even joined me in the gym every morning! My mom was a great motivator, too, to get to the gym and then to the hill across the road at night. We made frequent trips to the animal shelter and Mom became very, very close to bringing one dog back to CT. He was an adorable Aussie that was injured and healing.
Since our visits though, he has been adopted into a forever home! Yay! We did a lot of relaxing and even spent two nights in a hotel! I got to sleep in a real bed. Woohoo! We rented a movie one night in the hotel, too.I wanted to show my Mom Lake Tahoe and all its beauty so we headed up there for a day on the beach. I brought her to Sand Harbor and we layed out and went swimming.
The water is very cold and my mom even got in three times!! 
It was a nice relaxing day on the water. That evening we met Tommy for dinner in Kings Beach, CA. 
As the sunset, we headed back over Mt. Rose back to Reno for the night just in time to catch a pretty colorful sunset over the lake. 
There is a brewery down the road a bit from my apartment called the Great Basin Brewery that I really enjoy so I decided we should eat there one night for dinner. This place recycles everything! They even recycle the used yeast and grains they use to brew their beer! It's a very 'green' restaurant with great food and delicious beer. We even got matching shirts (tye-dye of course!).
The week with my mom was awesome and I am so glad she came out to spend time with me and help me pack. She did a lot for me - helping packing, relieving my stress and keeping me laughing and smiling. Thanks Mom! Love you!
After she left, I kept packing and had to move out of my apartment. Still having a week left before my race, my previous supervisor, Amanda, is letting me stay at her house. I am so thankful because it's saving me money on a hotel or campground and keeping my stress level in check. :) I've been training a lot still too, even started the Insanity workout and running! Now, my race is tomorrow!! Ahhhh! I'm so nervous but yet so excited about it. It's going to be a challenge but a lot of fun.
Dave is flying in tonight and is going to watch and support me in my race tomorrow. Hopefully he'll catch some great pictures of me getting my butt kicked by this race. :) After the race, we're starting a road trip back to Madison, WI - where he lives and where I am moving. We're planning a stop in Vail, CO to see my friend Jackie, who went to school with my brother at Ithaca.
The next post you'll get will be after the Tough Mudder - hopefully I'll make it. Wish me luck!!!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Life After the NCC..
So it's almost been a month since my term with AmeriCorps ended, but I am still living in Reno. I am very happy I decided to make the move and sign up for this job. I don't regret one moment of it and I have learned SO much. Not only how to chainsaw (which is a favorite activity of mine now), but also a lot about life and people and how to deal with them. I loved being outside every day and physically working hard. I could have done without the 20 degree nights, but that just made my skin thicker. I have made some lasting friendships with people all over the country and world! I know I have grown a lot because of this job and it has done wonders for me physically and mentally. The NCC has a lot to work on, but overall, it was a great year!
The first thing a few of my friends and I did was go tubing down the Truckee River. What better way to celebrate the end than by floating down a river in a tube with some friends and beer?! Our original plan was to tube down the river and then go to the BBQ the NCC was putting on for us. However, with some minor disasters on the river and an underestimation about how long it would take to get down the river, we missed the BBQ. The tubing trip was definitely worth it though.
The rest of the month has been pretty laid back, although, it's been full of sad good bye's. My two roommates have moved out so now I have the apartment to myself until Sept 12th. Those good bye's were probably the hardest because the three of us are the only three crew members that survived the entire year from my original crew of ten! Everyone is venturing in their own directions, either returning home or heading off to some new place for another adventure. There were even a few crazies that re-upped for another year!! It's kind of funny because for the year long crew members, we always knew exactly when our term was ending and almost none of us have jobs lined up for the end of the term. ;) Oops! Needless to say, most of us are now unemployed and desperately seeking a job. Which is exactly where I am.
What are you doing next in your life? *sigh* I hate that question and it's definitely one that's been around a lot lately. Well, as far as location, I am staying here in Reno until Sept 19th. My Tough Mudder race is Sept 18th and Dave is flying out to watch me. Based on my survival of the TM, we will then take a few day road trip to Madison, WI, where I'll be moving to be with Dave. We've done the long distance for the past year and it has been really difficult at times, but we made it and since I really have nothing going on in my life and he does, I decided I could move there. Yes, I know, it snows in Madison and it's awfully cold during the 8-month winter's they have, I know this. And I have taken this into consideration but after camping in a tent while it's been in the teens, I think I can handle it. I may still not enjoy the cold and snow, but I'll endure! One of Dave and my first goals is to possibly compete in this Triathlon. We'll see though!
From now until the TM, I don't have a lot planned. My mom is coming out to visit me, which I am very excited about! Besides that, there will be a lot of training and pool lounging (and yes, of course, job searching). I'll keep you posted, but I feel like there will be a lack of entertaining news to report on. :)
The first thing a few of my friends and I did was go tubing down the Truckee River. What better way to celebrate the end than by floating down a river in a tube with some friends and beer?! Our original plan was to tube down the river and then go to the BBQ the NCC was putting on for us. However, with some minor disasters on the river and an underestimation about how long it would take to get down the river, we missed the BBQ. The tubing trip was definitely worth it though.
The rest of the month has been pretty laid back, although, it's been full of sad good bye's. My two roommates have moved out so now I have the apartment to myself until Sept 12th. Those good bye's were probably the hardest because the three of us are the only three crew members that survived the entire year from my original crew of ten! Everyone is venturing in their own directions, either returning home or heading off to some new place for another adventure. There were even a few crazies that re-upped for another year!! It's kind of funny because for the year long crew members, we always knew exactly when our term was ending and almost none of us have jobs lined up for the end of the term. ;) Oops! Needless to say, most of us are now unemployed and desperately seeking a job. Which is exactly where I am.
What are you doing next in your life? *sigh* I hate that question and it's definitely one that's been around a lot lately. Well, as far as location, I am staying here in Reno until Sept 19th. My Tough Mudder race is Sept 18th and Dave is flying out to watch me. Based on my survival of the TM, we will then take a few day road trip to Madison, WI, where I'll be moving to be with Dave. We've done the long distance for the past year and it has been really difficult at times, but we made it and since I really have nothing going on in my life and he does, I decided I could move there. Yes, I know, it snows in Madison and it's awfully cold during the 8-month winter's they have, I know this. And I have taken this into consideration but after camping in a tent while it's been in the teens, I think I can handle it. I may still not enjoy the cold and snow, but I'll endure! One of Dave and my first goals is to possibly compete in this Triathlon. We'll see though!
From now until the TM, I don't have a lot planned. My mom is coming out to visit me, which I am very excited about! Besides that, there will be a lot of training and pool lounging (and yes, of course, job searching). I'll keep you posted, but I feel like there will be a lack of entertaining news to report on. :)
Monday, August 22, 2011
Lamoille - Week 6
Week 6 of my summer crew finally came around. My last week of tour after an entire year of camping, hiking, chainsawing, trail building and questionable hygiene. Of course, since it was our last tour (for some of us it's been a year, for the newbies it's only been 3 months) motivation was hard to come by. Amanda and Ruby (the two supervisors) did a pretty good job of keeping us working yet still having fun though.
The main goal of our project sponsor for us was to get the timber walls installed and finished by the end of the summer. Because of all the setbacks we hit, it came down to the last day, but we accomplished our goal. Here are some fun (at least I consider them fun) statistics about what my crew did this summer. We added about 1.5 miles of new established and sustainable trail, making the total length of trail now 3.5 miles. We installed 3 different timber walls on switchbacks which, combined, measured a total of 252 feet of timber. All those timber's, which we had to haul up the mountain side, weighed about 1 ton. And I wish I had the number, but it's hard to calculate how many tons of rock we had to remove from the trail. A reporter from the Elko Daily Free Press came out one day and wrote an article about the trail!
It was definitely a summer of hard, hot work but it was a lot of fun. When else am I going to be able to hike 6-7 miles a day as my commute to work? Have my work day be a total body workout? Take a dump with a view like this?
Not have to shower for 8-days at a time? Have 6-day weekends? There are definitely going to be a lot things I'll miss but also some things I won't mind leaving behind. One example, would be the dreaded ride in the van to and from Elko. 
We had no AC so it would get unbelievably hot in there, driving through the desert mid-day. The cool kids always sat in the back. :) 
This last tour I tried to take some more pictures of us actually working and around our camp so here are some: Switchback #10 - before and after
Some trail - before and after
Quintin and Tyler working on a re-route.
Hugo chipping away at some rock to put in the deadman.
Wildfire in the distance
Irish Mike and Will chilling at camp after work.
Tyler doing some dishes.
Our "kitchen." Irish Mike and Ming Xuan getting some grub.
Tent City!
A brave little visitor.
Sometimes we got bored and came up with games we could play, such as this one. Oreo plinko! (put an Oreo on your forehead and using your face muscles, try to get it down into your mouth)
It was a good summer and we got a lot of work done. It was bitter sweet saying g'bye to the NCC and my summer crew, but mostly sweet. :) My last day was August 8th and now it is August 23rd. What have I been doing since and why am I still here? Good questions..
The main goal of our project sponsor for us was to get the timber walls installed and finished by the end of the summer. Because of all the setbacks we hit, it came down to the last day, but we accomplished our goal. Here are some fun (at least I consider them fun) statistics about what my crew did this summer. We added about 1.5 miles of new established and sustainable trail, making the total length of trail now 3.5 miles. We installed 3 different timber walls on switchbacks which, combined, measured a total of 252 feet of timber. All those timber's, which we had to haul up the mountain side, weighed about 1 ton. And I wish I had the number, but it's hard to calculate how many tons of rock we had to remove from the trail. A reporter from the Elko Daily Free Press came out one day and wrote an article about the trail!
It was definitely a summer of hard, hot work but it was a lot of fun. When else am I going to be able to hike 6-7 miles a day as my commute to work? Have my work day be a total body workout? Take a dump with a view like this?
Not have to shower for 8-days at a time? Have 6-day weekends? There are definitely going to be a lot things I'll miss but also some things I won't mind leaving behind. One example, would be the dreaded ride in the van to and from Elko. 
We had no AC so it would get unbelievably hot in there, driving through the desert mid-day. The cool kids always sat in the back. :) 
This last tour I tried to take some more pictures of us actually working and around our camp so here are some: Switchback #10 - before and after
Some trail - before and after
Quintin and Tyler working on a re-route.
Hugo chipping away at some rock to put in the deadman.
Wildfire in the distance
Irish Mike and Will chilling at camp after work.
Tyler doing some dishes.
Our "kitchen." Irish Mike and Ming Xuan getting some grub.
Tent City!
A brave little visitor.
Sometimes we got bored and came up with games we could play, such as this one. Oreo plinko! (put an Oreo on your forehead and using your face muscles, try to get it down into your mouth)
It was a good summer and we got a lot of work done. It was bitter sweet saying g'bye to the NCC and my summer crew, but mostly sweet. :) My last day was August 8th and now it is August 23rd. What have I been doing since and why am I still here? Good questions..
Thursday, August 18, 2011
You Know You Were in the NCC When...
I know I have a post to write about my last tour and how I'm done and how it feels and what I am going to do next, and I will. Eventually. But in the meantime, here is a post I find highly entertaining, although some of you may find it frightening, disgusting, worrisome, crude and unruly or, perhaps, funny as well. Enjoy. This is a list my fellow NCC'ers and I put together.
You know you were in the NCC when...
You know you were in the NCC when...
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Home Sweet Home
I returned from my trip back to the East coast and what a wonderful trip it was! Dave and I both flew into Logan late Tuesday night and my wonderful brother and sister-in-law picked us up since I refused to take the T. :) I finally got to see their ADORABLE condo they just purchased in Roslindale. It's so awesome and I am so happy for them. They're all grown up now! Wednesday morning Chef Todd made us a delicious breakfast before we headed into the city. Since my Dad is in Sweden and flew out of Boston he, so graciously, left his car for Dave and I to use so we wouldn't have to rent one. Thanks again Dad, we really appreciated that!!
Dave has never been to Boston so it was a lot of fun showing him around and pointing out parts of the city that have been such a big part of my life. First we walked through the lovely North End and eventually over to Faneuil Hall to meet my friend Brian at a restaurant for lunch. It was great to see him again and for Dave to meet him. Of course we had to stop and pay our respects to the great, late Sam Adams, bless his heart. ;)
After that, I showed him where my school was and some frequented watering holes. We walked through the Common to the Public Garden's where we found a nice spot in the shade to take a cat nap.
Andi had to work until 3:30 so we met up with her and Kim to grab some beers before the Red Sox game. We went to the Pourhouse for their cheap 22 oz'ers. :) Around game time, we headed down to Fenway, which was cool for Dave since he's such a big baseball fan and Fenway is so awesome. :)
We all met up with my brother and his friend Josh and had a great time at the game.
They played Kansas City, so obviously they won! :) No matter how hard I tried, Dave wouldn't take off his Cubs hat. ;)
Although, those Cubs fans are die hard - I mean, it's been 120 years...that's some serious dedication. I can't say too much about his hat because when we go to Wrigley, I'm definitely flying my Red Sox hat with pride!
After the game, Dave and I hit the road and headed to my lake house (we call it The Camp). I've missed it so dearly all summer long so I couldn't wait to get there. Especially to see my Mom and Nova! It was everything I had hoped it would be. Sunny, beautiful, warm water, delicious crab cakes and coffee bread made by my mom, hot coffee in the morning, early kayaking, relaxing, hanging out with Dave, Mom, Todd and Nova and beer drinking.
It was so wonderful to see my Mom and get those awesome motherly hugs you just can't get anywhere else! Only one additional thing would have made the camp visit perfect and that would be if my Dad was there. Next time though! Growing up, Dave had a similar place to escape to, so I think he really enjoyed being there. We stayed there until Friday afternoon before we had to keep moving on.
We headed down to Monroe, CT where my high school friend, Rob was getting married. It was a beautiful wedding and the reception was so much fun. Congrats to Rob and Melissa!
It was so good to see my friends from high school, too, whom I haven't seen since December! Of course, me, Cassie and Vanessa just danced the night away!
Ginger sandwich!
It was a late night and a lot of laughing was had. Saturday was dedicated to recovery. O:-) The girls and Dave and I decided, what better way to recover from a wonderful wedding than heading to the beach and ocean. The cure-all! We drove to Silver Sands State Park and slept and swam and relaxed until we got hungry. Where did we eat you ask? Well, why of course, Taco Bell! Poor Dave had to witness this tradition, but we ordered with pride.
After dinner, we split ways and Dave and I started on our 3 hour drive back to Boston to spend one more night at my brother and sister-in-law's. Unfortunately, we had flights out of Logan at 6:00AM on Sunday morning so Todd had to wake up at 4:00AM to get us to the airport on time. Thanks again Todd!! Love you!
Overall, it was an incredible trip and I am so happy I could manage to get back there for a bit. I loved showing Dave these other parts of my life too. It was wonderful to see all my friends and the family I got to see. I miss and love all you guys so dearly! I apologize to the family and friends I didn't get to see, but as you can tell, time was short.
Tomorrow, I leave for my LAST tour with the Nevada Conservation Corps. I can't believe it's been a year already from when I dropped everything in my life in Boston and moved to Nevada. Who moves to Nevada?! It'll be a bitter-sweet tour, I think, but I'll let you know for sure when I get back on Monday!
Dave has never been to Boston so it was a lot of fun showing him around and pointing out parts of the city that have been such a big part of my life. First we walked through the lovely North End and eventually over to Faneuil Hall to meet my friend Brian at a restaurant for lunch. It was great to see him again and for Dave to meet him. Of course we had to stop and pay our respects to the great, late Sam Adams, bless his heart. ;)
After that, I showed him where my school was and some frequented watering holes. We walked through the Common to the Public Garden's where we found a nice spot in the shade to take a cat nap.
Andi had to work until 3:30 so we met up with her and Kim to grab some beers before the Red Sox game. We went to the Pourhouse for their cheap 22 oz'ers. :) Around game time, we headed down to Fenway, which was cool for Dave since he's such a big baseball fan and Fenway is so awesome. :) 
We all met up with my brother and his friend Josh and had a great time at the game. 
They played Kansas City, so obviously they won! :) No matter how hard I tried, Dave wouldn't take off his Cubs hat. ;)
Although, those Cubs fans are die hard - I mean, it's been 120 years...that's some serious dedication. I can't say too much about his hat because when we go to Wrigley, I'm definitely flying my Red Sox hat with pride!After the game, Dave and I hit the road and headed to my lake house (we call it The Camp). I've missed it so dearly all summer long so I couldn't wait to get there. Especially to see my Mom and Nova! It was everything I had hoped it would be. Sunny, beautiful, warm water, delicious crab cakes and coffee bread made by my mom, hot coffee in the morning, early kayaking, relaxing, hanging out with Dave, Mom, Todd and Nova and beer drinking.
It was so wonderful to see my Mom and get those awesome motherly hugs you just can't get anywhere else! Only one additional thing would have made the camp visit perfect and that would be if my Dad was there. Next time though! Growing up, Dave had a similar place to escape to, so I think he really enjoyed being there. We stayed there until Friday afternoon before we had to keep moving on.We headed down to Monroe, CT where my high school friend, Rob was getting married. It was a beautiful wedding and the reception was so much fun. Congrats to Rob and Melissa!
It was so good to see my friends from high school, too, whom I haven't seen since December! Of course, me, Cassie and Vanessa just danced the night away!
Ginger sandwich!
It was a late night and a lot of laughing was had. Saturday was dedicated to recovery. O:-) The girls and Dave and I decided, what better way to recover from a wonderful wedding than heading to the beach and ocean. The cure-all! We drove to Silver Sands State Park and slept and swam and relaxed until we got hungry. Where did we eat you ask? Well, why of course, Taco Bell! Poor Dave had to witness this tradition, but we ordered with pride.After dinner, we split ways and Dave and I started on our 3 hour drive back to Boston to spend one more night at my brother and sister-in-law's. Unfortunately, we had flights out of Logan at 6:00AM on Sunday morning so Todd had to wake up at 4:00AM to get us to the airport on time. Thanks again Todd!! Love you!
Overall, it was an incredible trip and I am so happy I could manage to get back there for a bit. I loved showing Dave these other parts of my life too. It was wonderful to see all my friends and the family I got to see. I miss and love all you guys so dearly! I apologize to the family and friends I didn't get to see, but as you can tell, time was short.
Tomorrow, I leave for my LAST tour with the Nevada Conservation Corps. I can't believe it's been a year already from when I dropped everything in my life in Boston and moved to Nevada. Who moves to Nevada?! It'll be a bitter-sweet tour, I think, but I'll let you know for sure when I get back on Monday!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Lamoille - Week 5
Due to my trip to the ER and my early departure from tour because of Bronchitis, I ended up having 9 days off to do.....nothing. It was utterly frustrating to be sick and forbidden to do anything remotely physical for 9 days straight. Needless to say, my week off was extremely uneventful. However, with a combination of drugs and rest, I did manage to get better rather quickly and was reared up and ready to go come Monday morning.
Week 5 - my second to LAST week of my NCC career. Very exciting! This week working in Lamoille Canyon was hot. The temperatures got up into the upper 80's and low 90's most of the week and when you're in a long sleeved shirt with Carhartts and chaps while chainsawing, it feels a lot warmer than that. It took a toll on us and we immediately sought shade and a nap during our breaks.
One of the sections of trail that I had to cut this week was an Aspen grove in a wash that was unbelievably thick. I couldn't even walk into it to see where I needed to cut. It was hot and tedious and rather tricky, but I managed to get through it.
Aspen's are beautiful trees and I am a big fan of them and do feel badly when I need to cut them down. The cool thing about them, though, is that they grow in clonal colonies. This means that generally in an Aspen grove, all the trees are genetically identical, stemming from a single seed. New stems (trees) can spring up at a distance of up for 30-40 meters away from the parent tree. Because they grow in this fashion, cutting a single tree down is only like trimming off a branch that will inevitably spring up elsewhere in the future.
Besides my sawing, most of the tour was spent working on timber walls on the lower portion of the trail. It was a lot of fun and a nice switch up from constantly digging new tread or sawing. I learned a little bit more about how to build these walls. For the initial tier of the wall, you need to use a rock drill and drill down into the bedrock. 4-holes per timber. These holes are used for rebar which is pounded into the timbers and into the bedrock to secure them.
As you stack the tiers, the timbers need to be staggered so the breaks are not all in the same place, which would severely weaken the structure. Each timber on each tier needs to be rebarred into the lower tiers as far as it will go. On the second tier, you place a deadman or two, which is a 5 ft timber that goes perpendicular to the wall, back into the mountain as a sort of anchor. When all is said and done, you get a nice, neat, stable switchback such as this:
This is obviously a different wall and switchback, but the same idea none the less. The last day of our tour when we were working on the above switchback, all of our tools started dying. The rock drill died, the Cobra Combi died, the Poinjar died and even our little power drill started smoking. This is our luck with power tools..
The tour ended with my awesomely amazing supervisor, Amanda, treating us to Dairy Queen! And so ends my 5th of 6 tours at Lamoille. I only have one single tour left, then I'll be homeless and jobless. Good thing I have a college degree........
I am very excited about this 6-day break though. I am heading home to Boston and CT with Dave. One of my good high school friends is getting married on Friday! Dave and I are making a trip out of it! We're stopping in Boston to see my brother and Amanda and catch a Red Sox game at Fenway with some friends, heading to the lake house for some much needed dock lounging with my Mom and Nova, seeing all of my high school friends as we celebrate Rob's marriage to Melissa and then hitting the beach for a recovery day with my bestest friends Cassie and Vanessa! It would be a perfect trip if only my Dad was in town, however, he's on his own awesome adventure in Sweden!
I am looking forward to this trip home and will hopefully keep you updated!
Week 5 - my second to LAST week of my NCC career. Very exciting! This week working in Lamoille Canyon was hot. The temperatures got up into the upper 80's and low 90's most of the week and when you're in a long sleeved shirt with Carhartts and chaps while chainsawing, it feels a lot warmer than that. It took a toll on us and we immediately sought shade and a nap during our breaks.
One of the sections of trail that I had to cut this week was an Aspen grove in a wash that was unbelievably thick. I couldn't even walk into it to see where I needed to cut. It was hot and tedious and rather tricky, but I managed to get through it.
Aspen's are beautiful trees and I am a big fan of them and do feel badly when I need to cut them down. The cool thing about them, though, is that they grow in clonal colonies. This means that generally in an Aspen grove, all the trees are genetically identical, stemming from a single seed. New stems (trees) can spring up at a distance of up for 30-40 meters away from the parent tree. Because they grow in this fashion, cutting a single tree down is only like trimming off a branch that will inevitably spring up elsewhere in the future.
Besides my sawing, most of the tour was spent working on timber walls on the lower portion of the trail. It was a lot of fun and a nice switch up from constantly digging new tread or sawing. I learned a little bit more about how to build these walls. For the initial tier of the wall, you need to use a rock drill and drill down into the bedrock. 4-holes per timber. These holes are used for rebar which is pounded into the timbers and into the bedrock to secure them.
As you stack the tiers, the timbers need to be staggered so the breaks are not all in the same place, which would severely weaken the structure. Each timber on each tier needs to be rebarred into the lower tiers as far as it will go. On the second tier, you place a deadman or two, which is a 5 ft timber that goes perpendicular to the wall, back into the mountain as a sort of anchor. When all is said and done, you get a nice, neat, stable switchback such as this:
This is obviously a different wall and switchback, but the same idea none the less. The last day of our tour when we were working on the above switchback, all of our tools started dying. The rock drill died, the Cobra Combi died, the Poinjar died and even our little power drill started smoking. This is our luck with power tools..The tour ended with my awesomely amazing supervisor, Amanda, treating us to Dairy Queen! And so ends my 5th of 6 tours at Lamoille. I only have one single tour left, then I'll be homeless and jobless. Good thing I have a college degree........
I am very excited about this 6-day break though. I am heading home to Boston and CT with Dave. One of my good high school friends is getting married on Friday! Dave and I are making a trip out of it! We're stopping in Boston to see my brother and Amanda and catch a Red Sox game at Fenway with some friends, heading to the lake house for some much needed dock lounging with my Mom and Nova, seeing all of my high school friends as we celebrate Rob's marriage to Melissa and then hitting the beach for a recovery day with my bestest friends Cassie and Vanessa! It would be a perfect trip if only my Dad was in town, however, he's on his own awesome adventure in Sweden!
I am looking forward to this trip home and will hopefully keep you updated!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Lamoille - Week 4
So my fourth week at Lamoille ended early because of my bronchitis but prior to that I did manage to get some work done. The infamous timbers that I mentioned before finally showed up. We had been told week after week that we'd be seeing them soon and this week was it. Initially, there were supposed to be about 50 of them and I'd say half showed up this week on the trailer. 
They were all cut in half and carried up the trail to various switch backs that needed to be fixed. I was excited to carry some of these monsters, however, I seemed to have missed my opportunity, though after hearing stories, I'm kind of glad! I heard they were heavy but it was more of an uncomfortable thing on your shoulder more than anything.
While most of the crew was hauling timbers, I was busting rocks! I got to use an 80lb rock hammer, which is kind of like a jackhammer. It was awesome! It was a lot of work and I definitely got a workout using it, but it was worth it. We had to hike up the trail with it and bust up any rocks that were in the path of the trail.
Later in the week, I was put on another rock project. This one was a little....bigger. In an attempt to save some timbers and prevent more hauling, our project sponsor thought it'd be easier to move this big boulder on the left down to the right corner of the picture.
Now it might be hard to see, but that rock is enormous. We estimated it at about 6 tons. And it was like an iceberg, there was a whole belly of the rock under ground. We used a device called a griphoist, which is just a system of pulleys, wire cables and nylon straps. By rigging this rock up and using the base of a pine tree as an anchor, we were able to move this rock. Of course, it was inches at a time and a very slow and time consuming process but it was really cool to see this monster of a rock move.
Unfortunately, since I got sick, I was unable to finish moving the rock into the spot it needed to be. I've heard it looks great though and maybe this next tour I'll have some after pictures for you to see.
Another cool thing I did this week was save a baby robin from Satan's spawns. Where we are camping is, unfortunately, next to a very white trash trailer. I'm talking beers cans in the lawn, confederate flag on the car, and at least 6 or 7 kids that live there with, from what I can tell, only the mother. Well, one day after work we were all sitting around waiting for dinner and I hear these three demon children laughing and cheering along with high pitched chirping. I look over and this little boy has a baby robin in his hands and is about to swing at it as if it were a baseball. I go over to the fence and ask him what he is doing and his two little sisters respond for him with huge devilish grins on their faces, "He's going to kill it!" In total shock, I am almost rendered speechless by the lack of concern in their voices while at the same time, simply perplexed by the joy they are receiving from this but I do manage to get out, "Absolutely not! Give me that bird!"
It took a little convincing and a promise on my part to give the bird back but I eventually got it away from the hellions and released it far away from their house and murderous little hands. As I was walking away I heard, "I hate you! I'm going to find that baby bird, rip it's head off and throw it at you!" Oh, the youth of America. Think these kids have some violent video games in that trailer of theirs? Once I released the bird and the spawns retreated back into their cave, I saw the mother robin freaking out and looking for her baby. I then realized that maybe they wouldn't be able to find each other again. Frantically, I looked for the baby robin where I released him but with no luck. For the rest of the night, I had the mother robin chirping in my ear reminding me that I possibly split these two up for good. :(
The next day, while I was sick and laying in the hammock half dead to the world, I awoke from one of my many naps. What woke me up? A baby robin had landed on the edge of the hammock near my shins and was looking at me and chirping. It flew down to the ground where it joined it's mother, they both chirped and flew away. It was as if he was saying thank you. I had a huge grin on my face and I felt so much better knowing that they had, indeed found one another again.
They were all cut in half and carried up the trail to various switch backs that needed to be fixed. I was excited to carry some of these monsters, however, I seemed to have missed my opportunity, though after hearing stories, I'm kind of glad! I heard they were heavy but it was more of an uncomfortable thing on your shoulder more than anything.
While most of the crew was hauling timbers, I was busting rocks! I got to use an 80lb rock hammer, which is kind of like a jackhammer. It was awesome! It was a lot of work and I definitely got a workout using it, but it was worth it. We had to hike up the trail with it and bust up any rocks that were in the path of the trail.
Later in the week, I was put on another rock project. This one was a little....bigger. In an attempt to save some timbers and prevent more hauling, our project sponsor thought it'd be easier to move this big boulder on the left down to the right corner of the picture.
Now it might be hard to see, but that rock is enormous. We estimated it at about 6 tons. And it was like an iceberg, there was a whole belly of the rock under ground. We used a device called a griphoist, which is just a system of pulleys, wire cables and nylon straps. By rigging this rock up and using the base of a pine tree as an anchor, we were able to move this rock. Of course, it was inches at a time and a very slow and time consuming process but it was really cool to see this monster of a rock move.
Unfortunately, since I got sick, I was unable to finish moving the rock into the spot it needed to be. I've heard it looks great though and maybe this next tour I'll have some after pictures for you to see.
Another cool thing I did this week was save a baby robin from Satan's spawns. Where we are camping is, unfortunately, next to a very white trash trailer. I'm talking beers cans in the lawn, confederate flag on the car, and at least 6 or 7 kids that live there with, from what I can tell, only the mother. Well, one day after work we were all sitting around waiting for dinner and I hear these three demon children laughing and cheering along with high pitched chirping. I look over and this little boy has a baby robin in his hands and is about to swing at it as if it were a baseball. I go over to the fence and ask him what he is doing and his two little sisters respond for him with huge devilish grins on their faces, "He's going to kill it!" In total shock, I am almost rendered speechless by the lack of concern in their voices while at the same time, simply perplexed by the joy they are receiving from this but I do manage to get out, "Absolutely not! Give me that bird!"
It took a little convincing and a promise on my part to give the bird back but I eventually got it away from the hellions and released it far away from their house and murderous little hands. As I was walking away I heard, "I hate you! I'm going to find that baby bird, rip it's head off and throw it at you!" Oh, the youth of America. Think these kids have some violent video games in that trailer of theirs? Once I released the bird and the spawns retreated back into their cave, I saw the mother robin freaking out and looking for her baby. I then realized that maybe they wouldn't be able to find each other again. Frantically, I looked for the baby robin where I released him but with no luck. For the rest of the night, I had the mother robin chirping in my ear reminding me that I possibly split these two up for good. :(
The next day, while I was sick and laying in the hammock half dead to the world, I awoke from one of my many naps. What woke me up? A baby robin had landed on the edge of the hammock near my shins and was looking at me and chirping. It flew down to the ground where it joined it's mother, they both chirped and flew away. It was as if he was saying thank you. I had a huge grin on my face and I felt so much better knowing that they had, indeed found one another again.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
4th of July with Dave
For as long as Dave and I have been together, this 4th of July is the first holiday we've actually been able to spend together! It was wonderful. I actually had that Monday, the 4th, off so I flew out to Madison on Tuesday and spent all week with him until Monday when I had to fly back for work. He had to work a little bit while I was there, but that gave me time to keep training for the Tough Mudder! He found a park by his place that has a Frisbee golf course and also a pretty long, steep hill - perfect for training! So while he was working, I went to the park and ran that hill, over and over and over again. It felt great (minus the humidity, which I don't miss at all).
We have a little tradition of going to the Hubbard Avenue Diner for breakfast or lunch. It's a cute little diner in Middleton with delicious food, great people watching and excellent Slug Bug opportunities. We play slug bug (I'm the reigning champion, by the way) something fierce every time we're together. It's a no holds barred type of competition that can often lead to bruises, trash talking and sometimes grudges. :) The rules we play by are: new bugs are 1 point, old school ones are 2 points and dune buggies are 3 points! Out west here, you see more old school ones and dune buggies, so it's easier to rack up points.
Once Dave was done with work we headed northeast to Sheboygan (which is fun to say, btw) to go camping on massive Lake Michigan. We parked and walked around taking in the views of the water and the boats. We found a board walk and a cool surf shop. We camped at the Kohler-Andrae State Park which is right on the lake. It was a lot of fun and reminded me that camping can be fun when you're not doing it for work!
We set up our camp, a tent and hammock and then headed down to the lake to take in the views. The lake is amazing and I forgot how big it really is. The last time I saw it I was 8-years old. It really does look like an ocean with the beaches, waves and no land in site across the way.
For some reason there were a lot of little dead fish on the beach - we never found out why. For dinner we had some Pad Thai. It was actually really good for coming out of a "just add water" bag.
As the sun went down, we broke out our head lamps and made a camp fire, had some beers and just hung out and laughed and laughed and laughed. I loved it!
The next day was a lazy relaxing day. We took our time waking up, had some fruit and laid in the hammock. We made some lasagna for lunch (same as the Pad Thai) then got back in the hammock. We didn't have to be out of the campsite until 3pm so we took our sweet time, enjoying the woods. We headed back into Sheboygan and watched some surfers (in full wetsuits) catching some waves, walked along the piers and got a little fishing in.
Before we headed out back to Madison, we got some food at a restaurant called the Mucky Duck Shanty. Dave said the food was good and I wish I could agree, but a seagull stole my sandwich! Can you believe that?! We drove back to Madison and had a wonderful movie night in, popcorn and ice cream and everything! It's those little, simple things that mean so much when I only get to see my boyfriend about once every month and a half. Those little things that normal couples get to enjoy whenever they want. I've learned to cherish them.
Because of the holiday, we had a few get-together's to attend. First we headed down to Crystal Lake, IL, which is where Dave grew up and went to his brother Tim's house. He was having a BBQ with some friends, family and dogs! It was a lot of fun and the dogs were awesome. There was Annie, which is Tim's yellow lab, another yellow lab named Wally, a bull dog named Sally and a massive Bernese mountain dog named Putty. They were all so cute and got along so well with each other.
After that we went to his twin sister Heather's house. We spent the night there and went out for brunch the next day at a restaurant where Dave used to cut school! Tisk tisk. Who does that?! ;) We had another picnic to go to at his other sister, Tracy's house. It was nice and there was a lot of delicious food, not to mention two black labs! :) Before it got dark we headed back to the lake to catch the fireworks. We got to cuddle on the back of a pontoon boat and watch the show on the water. It was perfect. I loved being able to actually spend a holiday with him, it meant a lot to me that I was able to do that.
We have a little tradition of going to the Hubbard Avenue Diner for breakfast or lunch. It's a cute little diner in Middleton with delicious food, great people watching and excellent Slug Bug opportunities. We play slug bug (I'm the reigning champion, by the way) something fierce every time we're together. It's a no holds barred type of competition that can often lead to bruises, trash talking and sometimes grudges. :) The rules we play by are: new bugs are 1 point, old school ones are 2 points and dune buggies are 3 points! Out west here, you see more old school ones and dune buggies, so it's easier to rack up points.
Once Dave was done with work we headed northeast to Sheboygan (which is fun to say, btw) to go camping on massive Lake Michigan. We parked and walked around taking in the views of the water and the boats. We found a board walk and a cool surf shop. We camped at the Kohler-Andrae State Park which is right on the lake. It was a lot of fun and reminded me that camping can be fun when you're not doing it for work!
We set up our camp, a tent and hammock and then headed down to the lake to take in the views. The lake is amazing and I forgot how big it really is. The last time I saw it I was 8-years old. It really does look like an ocean with the beaches, waves and no land in site across the way. 
For some reason there were a lot of little dead fish on the beach - we never found out why. For dinner we had some Pad Thai. It was actually really good for coming out of a "just add water" bag. 
As the sun went down, we broke out our head lamps and made a camp fire, had some beers and just hung out and laughed and laughed and laughed. I loved it!
The next day was a lazy relaxing day. We took our time waking up, had some fruit and laid in the hammock. We made some lasagna for lunch (same as the Pad Thai) then got back in the hammock. We didn't have to be out of the campsite until 3pm so we took our sweet time, enjoying the woods. We headed back into Sheboygan and watched some surfers (in full wetsuits) catching some waves, walked along the piers and got a little fishing in.
Before we headed out back to Madison, we got some food at a restaurant called the Mucky Duck Shanty. Dave said the food was good and I wish I could agree, but a seagull stole my sandwich! Can you believe that?! We drove back to Madison and had a wonderful movie night in, popcorn and ice cream and everything! It's those little, simple things that mean so much when I only get to see my boyfriend about once every month and a half. Those little things that normal couples get to enjoy whenever they want. I've learned to cherish them.Because of the holiday, we had a few get-together's to attend. First we headed down to Crystal Lake, IL, which is where Dave grew up and went to his brother Tim's house. He was having a BBQ with some friends, family and dogs! It was a lot of fun and the dogs were awesome. There was Annie, which is Tim's yellow lab, another yellow lab named Wally, a bull dog named Sally and a massive Bernese mountain dog named Putty. They were all so cute and got along so well with each other.
After that we went to his twin sister Heather's house. We spent the night there and went out for brunch the next day at a restaurant where Dave used to cut school! Tisk tisk. Who does that?! ;) We had another picnic to go to at his other sister, Tracy's house. It was nice and there was a lot of delicious food, not to mention two black labs! :) Before it got dark we headed back to the lake to catch the fireworks. We got to cuddle on the back of a pontoon boat and watch the show on the water. It was perfect. I loved being able to actually spend a holiday with him, it meant a lot to me that I was able to do that.
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