Running to the Whimsy Fire.

After braving an onslaught of snow in Oakhurst, Silver 5 has finally made it back into sunny Sacramento.  Though I enjoyed my time in the Yosemite area so much, I have really missed being on base.  It is nice to be able to look out windows without being faced with walls of snow.

Being back on McClellan also means being able to run again which was something I never had the chance to do at Sugar Pine.  Due to the snow we had to do a lot of strength training indoors.  Even though I haven't run in over a month I managed to pull off a six mile go today at a really good pace.  I was pretty proud of myself to say the least.  All the physical training that we do in the Corps really makes me want to do even more to stay fit in my personal time.  It helps when you have so many friends who are willing to join you in such sometimes painful endeavors.

Things don't tend to slow down even when you're not on spike however.  Just yesterday the team worked at a local high school in a revitalization project.  We did everything from cleaning out their greenhouse areas to painting their bathrooms.  We had the opportunity to work alongside some really great students there and we were all able to look back and see visual results coming from our elbow grease.

The rest of my week will be spent going to meetings regarding our upcoming project while also completing paperwork that archives our time at Sugar Pine.  Sometime this week we have a celebration ceremony with the rest of Silver unit.  Last time we dazzled them with a whimsy show where our team dressed up in costumes and dabbled in a bit of performance art.  No doubt we will turn their heads with whimsy again this time.  I need to help come up with some ideas for it though, I am afterall the Whimsy Coordinator for the team. 

Speaking of whimsy, I threw a really great Tea Party for the team in Oakhurst before we left.  It was pretty amazing.  Check it out!

Us at Oakhurst's main attraction "The Talking Bear'.  I got to choose everyone's costumes!

Tea Time!

The food spread.  This was all thanks to the Cool Bean Coffee Shop in Oakhurst.

The owners even got in on it!

The two edibles.

My personal favorite.

Even the team mascot, Swaggermonkey, came along as we confused many streetside citizens.

The button says it all.

The team eating a nice dinner out.

Caitlin (the most amazing and whimsical person at Sugar Pine who helped me put this together) and I shared escargot!

They love the whimsy I force upon them.

Our time in Oakhurst wasn't all about tea parties though.  Kaitlin got these great shots of me working the fuel pump at the burn pile.

Snow was my main enemy.

Burnin' Up.

I have so many burn holes in my hoodie.

Whimsy, burning things.  It's a good life.  It is even better now that I have another job with Americorps lined up after NCCC.  I will be working as the Water Quality Assistant for the Town of Farragut, Tennessee.  It is a job I am really excited about and I will be sure to tell you more as the information trickles in!

Until next time....

All My Troubles on the Burning Pile.

How are things on the West Coast?  I guess you'll never find out if I don't keep this little blog of mine updated.  I could blame my lack of cyber-voice on my own laziness but I can honestly say that my biggest obstacle has been finding a reliable source of internet.  I could moan about it all I want but I think I'd rather just post a blog right now while I can.

In the long run it is so much easier to post blogs frequently as opposed to blogging just a couple of times a month.  This way it is easier to keep track of what I have already covered in previous posts and what new things I should share.  As I sit looking at this white text entry area I am having a hard time finding where to begin as so much has happened since my first post of February.

First and foremost I have been anxious to tell you about my most recent trip to the valley portion of Yosemite.  Though I knew it was going to be beautiful, no pictures I could have googled could've prepared me for the sights I saw with my own eye.  The sheer enormity of the place is overwhelming.  I will have to push my trip to Multnomah Falls to the number two spot in regards to being the most beautiful place I have ever been.  Never had I needed a working camera more.  Unfortunately though my camera is still on the fritz so the photos I do have were taken without the aid of a viewfinder.

This valley view was my favorite part of the trip.  The terrain seemed like it belonged on another world.



Kaitlin at the valley.

One of the many, many waterfalls.

Our mascot, the Swaggermonkey, by El Capitan (Thanks to Ellen for this one).

This photo is actually from our first trip to Yosemite, but I liked it so much I had to post it here.

Ellen and Andrea snapped these great photos of us watching the sunset over the valley.



The perfect ending for the day.

 Our trips to Yosemite alone were enough to make all of our time spent chopping wood and running chainsaws at Sugar Pine worth it.  Speaking of those two activities, I've done plenty of both in the past few weeks.  It has been quite the experience pulling down hazard trees with ropes while standing up to my knees in snow.  As of late we have been doing a lot of trail clearing which I enjoy a lot second only to running burn piles.  I wish I had some photos of us working in the deep snow but I just have these older ones I'm afraid.



Tibbs adding some fuel to the burn pile



Tuck and Tibbs looking good on one of our firewood piles.

I'll use an axe over a chainsaw any day.

Collecting the endless bounty of fire wood.




The whimsy master and the entrance to the wooden fortress of doom.



And everybody's still working on the weekend.

So yeah, we're getting work done.  But what's more important than work?  You guessed it.  Square Dancing.  Last week Silver 5 got to go to the Oakhurst's Gold Dust Dancers Valentines Ball!  We had a blast.

Getting a little practice in before the big dance!



The whole crew plus the most whimsical person in Oakhurst, Caitlin.





Yum, Yum!

 

Me and my date, Andrea.



Andrea seems a little more confident than I.

Ellen doing her thing.

Okay, I think that just about covers everything I needed to cover.  If not, oh well. 

Now on to new business.

Silver 5 finally knows where they are going for round 3.  We will be working at the El Dorado National Forest preparing for fire season.  You may remember me mentioning El Dorado before as that was where I did my FMT field day training.  When I first heard that this was where we would be spending our next round I was crestfallen.  When I heard it was also going to be where we were going to spend our final round as well, I fell even lower.  You see I didn't really care for the El Dorado staff or the organization itself when we went for field day.  I did not enjoy working with them at that time and I don't foresee enjoying working with them in the near future.  But what choice do I have?  Though I try to keep my blog focused on the upbeat things, I must admit that these past few weeks have been the hardest I've experience in Americorps.  Though I will do my best to choose a good attitude for the next round, I am expecting more turbulence ahead.

Not everything is panic inducing however.  I have taken another position with Americorps starting in August.  I am a little weary about posting details about the position but I can tell you that I am very excited about it.  I will let you know more when I can.

Again I apologize for the waning quality of my blog posts.  Things will get better when I go back to Sac next week.  It's so much easier to post while sitting on my bed than when I'm here sitting outside in the cold trying to get signal.

Wish me luck over the next few weeks.

Sawing, Dancing, and Hiking.

It is a night of cooperative technology and strong WiFi signal...so I shall blog!

Last time I sat down at my keyboard I was so frustrated at my laptop that I just stroked a few keys, uploaded the five pictures accessible on my photobucket, and logged off.  Now I can spend a little more time savoring my internet experience and enjoying what it is worth now that it is being my friend.

Life is good here at Sugar Pine.  The snow has stopped falling but is still making itself very present in our everyday lives.  Not a workday goes by where I don't complete some crazy fall that leaves me flat on my back.  Just today I was on the side of a slope trying to gain enough traction in the snow to lasso trees so that we could pull them down into the road for bucking with a chainsaw.  That kind of work is typical for this place.  Though being on a chainsaw is not my favorite job in the world, I cherish all of the time we get to spend outdoors. 




The view from the lodge.


Sugar Pine isn't all about work though.  As I mentioned in my previous blogs, Silver 5 has taken up line dancing at the community center of Oakhurst.  Though we only have a little experience under our belts we will be attending the dance group's Sweetheart Ball in one week.  Tomorrow is our last day of practice so wish us luck.  Also tomorrow is the day that I muster up the courage to have the most famous of the line dance group members, Grace Lee Whitney, autograph my book I just received in the mail today.  So far The Longest Trek has made for a compelling read.  Here's a little of what our Oakhurst dance nights look like:

Yeah, we're pros.

Kaitlin is making a big whimsy face!

In more old but worth posting again news, we took a trip to Yosemite!  Though we only saw the Mariposa Grove portion of the park, we got to experience some amazing things there.  To name one I got to experience what it feels like to be knee deep in snow for the first time in my life. 

The beginning of a long hike.

The camera doesn't do their size justice.

The view from the bottom.

Walking between fallen trees.

The Grizzly Tree.

I chewed through this with my teeth.

Tibbs in snow attire.

Did I mention they were big trees?

Jeff in Telescope Tree.

Finally at the top.

Tucker enjoying the scenery.

The bird's eye view.

The eye's view of the bird.

The Valley.

Looking over.

I love this picture.

Ah, it feels good to have y'all updated on the goings-ons around here.  Unfortunately however my next few blogs will only be text as the cold has taken a toll on the viewfinder of my camera.

Until next time....

P.S.  If you're more into moving pictures check out my videos from line dancing and Yosemite!