Lookouts, Communication, Escape Routes, and Scabies Zones.

My room is cluttered with wildland safety books, fire gear, plastic bags full of bedding and clothes, and unsteady columns of paperwork balancing on my dresser.  Hopefully that is some indication as to why I haven't been the best blogger as of late.  These transition times between projects are generally crazy but this one takes the cake.

I figure I should dissect my week in reverse chronology as the more recent (and disturbing) events our fresh on my mind.  Once when we were waiting in the lobby of the urgent care of Gresham, Oregon waiting to get check for lice I said, "What next for round two? Scabies?".  We all had a good laugh and eventually left there with all but one of us lice free.  Well guess what the majority of our team (and others) have now?  Scabies.  Yes these horrible little bugs have me putting all my belongings in plastic bags, washing everything I own, and putting on medicated cream every time I turn around.  Luckily I do not currently have them but a lot of people living in the dorms do and they are pretty contagious in dorm type living spaces.  Let's hope we can get this all cleared up before we leave for our next project on Tuesday.

To help ease the pain I made my team some scabies related whimsy awards (as I am the team's whimsy coordinator).  I got a pretty great reaction from them.  After a weekend spent in the laundry room washing clothes I figured that we needed the pick-me-up. 
Scabies aside it's been a busy week.  We have spent the last week in the classroom earning our wildland firefighting certifications.  It's been a really interesting course with our teachers being from some really cool forests such as Tahoe and Plumas.  There is a pretty good chance that Silver 5 will have a round 3 at one of those two locations.

Come tomorrow I have the field day for the course where we do everything from cutting fire line to practicing using our fire shelters.  It's going to be a long day but totally worth it.  I look forward to having a little more knowledge to put behind my fire helmet.

Now to step back in time a little more.  Silver 5 has done two more mini-projects since I last blogged.  We spent MLK day leading community volunteers at a local elementary school performing some grounds clean-up.  It was kind of neat being a bit of a director and not just a laborer.  My volunteer team cleaned off a huge portion of fencing that had become overgrown.  Before the MLK day project we worked at a historical cemetery and rose garden of Sacramento.  Our team helped beautify the cemetery by moving some rose bushes and cleaning of grave markers.  It was a strange little project but nonetheless we enjoyed being in such a beautiful garden space.  I plan to go back when the roses are in bloom.

I don't spend all my time lurking in cemeteries and putting on scabies cream though.  The other night Kaitlin, Andrea, Ellen, Tucker, and I went to go see the Sacramento Kings square off against the Portland Trail Blazers.  Portland won which was fine with us because I believe we all feel just as attached to Portland as we do Sac.

I hope to blog before I head off to the Yosemite area on Tuesday but if I don't then plan on not hearing from me in a while.  Internet won't be readily available where I am going but I'll do my best to keep you all updated somehow!