Like I said before, My Job Rocks!!!

New Findings:

1) The Navajo describe rain fall as being either male or female. Male rain is the thunderous down pours; testosterone giving off energy. Female rain is a gentle rain that the Earth can soak-up and use to nuture new growth.

So, some of you that know me know that I work at an amazing organization called SPLORE. SPLORE is a non-profit that provides outdoor recreation to folks with disabilities. The Story below is from a local news station doing a story on us. This is just a tiny example of what we do. We've been around for 30 years this summer and there are several other stories that can be told, but I wanted to show an example to all of you. My job rocks and I'm soooo happy that the news finally put a positive story out to the public instead of all of the negative "stuff" we hear all the time!

The direct link to the story is:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=1149049
(Watch the video!)

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!

My Job Rocks!

Things I've Learned:

1) About 100 inches of snow has fallen in Utah during the month of February...amazing!

Wow, so my job rocks! My job is a lot of work, long hours, little pay and all worth it. Working at SPLORE is perhaps the hardest job I ever have (or ever will) love. There are so many reasons why I can explain that I love my job; so many experiences that I have been a part of and will always cherish. One such memory happened last week. I was taking a group of elementary kids (both with and without disabilities) indoor rockclimbing. These kids were amazing and they taught me so many lessons.

So often it's hard to find people without disabilities wanting to hang out with people with disabilities, let alone kids! However, this group all became friends and all shared each other's successes, creating great commaradie. If one kid was climbing, all of his peers would chant his name, cheering him on. Sometimes a kid would get scared to climb higher, or didn't think he could make it to the top, that was when his classmates would yell back, "you can do it, you can do it, keep going...THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CAN'T."

Wow, the insight of a 1st grader. I often wonder, "who gets the most out of a SPLORE trip? The participants or the staff and volunteers?"