Back From the San Juans

Hey All,
So as the title indicates, our crew just spent the last week or so in the San Juans. Vaughn, John, and I flew up on Tuesday, which was cool, and we spent Tuesday and Wednesday laying out 20x30 meter plots for a reserch project. On Thursday, the crew (who had come up the night before) burned some of the plots. Since John and I, the interns, aren't red carded, we couldn't be near the fire. So I spent all afternoon down below it talking to any visitors who came by (since we were in a park) about the project and its benefits and stuff. That was cool. It is neat because once people understand why we are burning or cutting down trees and how it actually helps the native plants and trees, they are usually very receptive.

Anyway, we were camping at American Camp on the island and it was a little nuts because we flew over in this little 5 person plane and didn't have room for food. That was fine becaus the lady who was running the project was providing dinner and utensils, and we bought brekfast and lunch stuff on the island. Well, she left Thurs. and we left Mon. And that left a problem- namely that we needed dinner and utensils. So, I had a fork and spoon, and bought a bowl. Dinner, though, was Hot dogs and Ramen for the week. Lol. I actually like hot dogs roasted over a fire, so that was good. And Sunday we went out for dinner as a crew, which was fun. But, next time I will be better prepared.

On that note, a little about the camping situation: we all were in our own tents and we had a fire and camp stove to cook over. We also had port-a-potties, which was nice. I have a gov. issued sleeping bag, and it is surprisingly warm. So, that's all good. Now, I apologize for the next part because, not being there, it sounds pretty gross, but it's really not that bad. We didn't have showers. And we wear the same uniform everyday. Good times. Lol. Honestly, though, it's not that bad. It is kind of nice not to feel like there are all of these social obligations because the whole crew is in the same boat. If that makes sense. Anyway, I did thoroughly enjoy my shower on Sunday- that was amazing. So, yeah, just FYI ;-)

So, I figured I would take the time to give you a quick run own of the crew. Lakota is our Supervisor (Sup) and it totally chill. He did smoke jumping for several years and is pretty much living the dream right now. Vaughn is the Assistant Sup. and is pretty cool. It was good to spend some time working with him this tour because he was the only one I really didn't feel like I "knew" very well. He did ROTC and destroys us on abs. Jesse is one of the squad leaders and she has been in fire for 6 or 7 years. She is quiet, serious, and patient. I really appreciate her knowledge and willingness to teach (which is true of all of them, but her especially). Paul has been on the crew 5 years, is married, and is a brother in Christ. It's good having him around. It would be a lot harder to resist temptation if he wasn't there doing the same. Tim is crazy. He is a lot of fun to be around and has some crazy stories. He spent the winter in Hawaii- bought a one way ticket, brought his bike and just rode around doing work in exchange for room and board. How sweet is that? I have worked with him a lot on the saw projects (since I can't run saws yet, I am a permanent swamper, which means I pic up limbs and stuff the sawer cuts. Fun.....) He is also really good at explaining stuff. One time, out in the pouring rain, he saved my rear because I was so cold and wet I couldn't hardly move, and it wasn't even lunch yet. He had a rain coat, but he offered me this wool shirt he had in his pack. Seriously, I appreciated that more than anything. Anyway, moving on. Taryn is also crazy and a lot of fun. She has a lot of spunk, and has a pretty contagious laugh. And she puts up with me, lol. They all do, but she is the one who can take the teasing especially well. Wilson is our antagonist, though he is still a great guy. He is incredibly sarcastic most of the time, and you have to take most of what he says with a grain of salt. (He was the one who told me we had to take the Pack Test in our boots and I believed him until Taryn was like, "you most certainly do not." Lol, good thing she told me or that would have sucked.) But, he also is the one who constantly asks if I or John know how to do _____ yet and is good about showing us different things, which I appreciate. Finally, John is the other SCA. We came on the same day, and it's been great because we're in it together, as it were. As far as work goes, we're both the newbies and it's great to be like "dude, are you as confused as I am, or is it just me? Yes? Oh, okay, we're good then." Yup, that's how it goes. He just graduated college and is enjoying the freedom, kind of bumming around for a while. Today we met the third intern, Kayla, who seems nice, but I don't know much about her yet. Eventually, we will also be joined by Sandy, Katy, and Mikey. So, more to come in that department.

Anyway, after setting up plots on Tues/Wed, w,e burned thurday, cut Friday, and hauled logs Sat until our truck broke (fun stuff, not. We lost our F-550, which was our main transport for gear, so we had to ferry our stuff in the 150 and have a 15-passenger van brought out, but it worked out in the end, though our 550 is still on the island...). SUnday we split up because of the truck issue. I went with Vaughn and we cut Snowberry bushes for 8 or so hours with weed whackers that had saw blades. That was tough, but it beat using a chainsaw, I have been told.
Monday, today, we got up a 4:30, packed the vehicles and left for PA. We ended up catching the 8:45 ferry instead of the noon one, which was awesome as it gave us plently of time to rehab the tools and debreif for the week. NOw I am looking at another week off. That's nice.

Now that all of that is over, there are a couple of pretty funny stories I wanted to share. The first happened at the BBQ on Memorial day. One of Tim's friends, Alena, was saying that this one slug she handled a lot excreted something cyanide. She was all like, "that can't be good." We were all like, well, maybe you are building up immunity to it, which is good. That sparked the quoting of Princess Bride. "what you do not smell is iocain powder..." However, we couldn't remember "iocain" and Taryn said "novocain". So, we just about died imagining Wesley poisoning the Cecilian with novocain powder. Buttercup "Is he dead?" Wesley "No, just very, very numb." Cecilian "nevahmeshwishaseshiwianwhendeashishondaline." Honestly, it was truly comical.

The second one was the funniest, though. There are a couple of things you need to know. A) Paul had a BBQ Friday at which none of us ate the corn, so he brought it to the island. B) John has this laugh that kind of reminds me of trying to start a car and the engine not turning over. It's hilarious. A lot of time I don't know what is so funny, but his laugh is so amusing that I laugh anyway. C) Tim has a very different laugh with the same effect. His is more of a chuckle that kind of quietly explodes, like he is trying not to laugh and then gives up. D) When John and Tim get going laughing, it is one of the funniest, most pleasant sounds I have ever heard. So, all of that established, here is what happened. We had eaten dinner and we were standing around the campfire when all of the sudden, John starts laughing from in front of the out house. By laughing, I mean doubled over, full out belly-busting laugh. Across the clearing, Tim is also doubled over, which is rare for him as far as laughing goes, trying to brush his teeth. All of us around the fire are going, "what the heck?" We stood there for a good 3 minutes while they laughed, laughing our selves because it was funny watching/listening to them, and trying to figure out what had happened. By this point, John is rolling (I kid you not, rolling) around in front of the out house, still laughing hysterically. Finally Taryn grabs the camera and takes pictures of John while we go over and talk to Tim. Between gasps, he finally explains that John had walked into the out house and came stumbling right back out, laughing and exclaiming, "Man, there is a lot of corn in there." At that point, we all doubled over. It was the highlight/quote of the tour, I kid you not.

So, those were my stories from the last couple of weeks. In closing, I just ask you to continue praying. First off, be praying I would stay close to God and trust Him through everything and depend on Him constantly. More specifically, be praying that I could gaurd my mouth, as it were. Everyone here swears, and while it is not the worst of my worries, I have no desire to follow suit. So be praying I would have control in that area and be a light through that (and other similar situations). Pray also about my future and for guidance. I am falling in love with this job and with this freedom. It begs the question, what next? At this point, I am honestly clueless. I can give you the run down if you want to hear it, but there are so many options all of the sudden, and so many different things I want. Pray I would discern God's best. Finally, continue praying for strength. When I was training for the Pack test, I was like, "it's okay, get through the test, and that'll be the worst of it. People don't do this pace with this wait was this distance in 'real life'". Yeah, I was wrong. The pack test will probably be one of the easier things I do this summer. So, pray for that.

Anyway, that is about it from my end. Thanks for reading and praying. I hope to hear from you all soon. And I hope it was entertaining ;-)

Later,

Amanda