March 20, 2007

Wow, Last Weekend!

New Things I've Learned:

1) Aspen trees grow in groves; meaning that several trees can all be connected through a root system. One way to tell which trees in an aspen grove are all part of the same root system is by observing when their buds appear on the branches. Trees with the same root system (or trees that are all part of the same grove) will all bud at the same time whereas another aspen grove might bud a day or so later.

In my last post, I wrote about how I couldn't wait for the weekend. I was looking forward to day-light savings time and going on a dog sledding trip. I was not disappointed with my anticipation of the weekend, as I had an amazing experience! I could go on and on about the trip, but I thought I'd highlight it with pictures. Enjoy!









The group from last weekend's amazing trip!









The beautiful and mesmerizing Grand Tetons. We spent Saturday afternoon snowshoeing in Grand Teton National Park! (I think I was drooling a bit when I took this picture, I love this place!)










"The Grand" Teton Mountain (Can anyone believe I actually came back after this trip? I had a hard time leaving)









On the reins of dog sledding. It's hard to put into words just how amazing it is to go dog sledding. The dogs love what they do, it's an amazing feeling to be driving the sled and your surroundings are breath taking!









Puppy love! Me and the lead dogs of my team: Eske and Cree.





The view from the Grand Teton Science School in Kelly, Wyoming. Just think, this might be my new front yard for a year!

Like I said earlier, there are so many things I could go on and on about concerning last weekend. If anyone has any questions about my adventure, please don't hesitate to ask. I love talking about this and I could post my responses.

P.S. There were two highlights of the trip that cannot be explained in pictures. 1) I received a letter from one of the participants I was helping. I'm not going to write exactly what she said (that's something I want to keep for myself) but she just wanted to thank me for helping her have an amazing experience. I cannnot explain how much the letter meant to me, but I will always treasure it as, eventhough I love my job, it's hard sometimes and receiving a letter like this can really change one's perspective. 2) I had been praying for some kind of clarity on what I should do after I finish my year of AmeriCorps. Part of the trip last weekend included staying at the Grand Teton Science School and I gained an interest in going to Graduate school there to gain skills in nature interpertation. Not promising I'll go there, but it's something I'll be thinking about!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

dearest susie --

i am wickedly, wickedly jealous. i got your email and i'll write you soon but... you should tell us all about this science school and what the program you "might do" would be like.

more details, q!

love,
emily