26 March 2012

Mountain Getaway

A coworker of mine from Tuzigoot is on vacation in Turkey for the next month and asked me to water his plants while he's gone. The perk? I get to stay in their guestroom while they're gone! Yesterday morning I woke up and ate breakfast on the porch, watching the sunrise over the mountains. This place is beautiful - built on the side of the lower Black Hills, with plenty of scenic vistas all around. I'm taking my time for the next couple days: enjoying the scenery, riding my bike around, working on some projects, doing some reading, and just enjoying quiet time with God. I'm looking forward to it all, and I think it's about time to get my day really started here.

I'm sure there will be pictures to come...

19 March 2012

Snow!

That's right: it's the middle of March in Arizona, and it snowed for most of the afternoon. Granted, it's almost all gone this morning (and probably will be completely gone by this afternoon), but still. That's legit.

I gave my first couple official "talks" now. They are entitled "Freshly Foraged" and they tell all about the plant uses the Sinagua could have had for the local flora in the Verde Valley and how they were able to do more than just survive, but also utilize plants to enrich their lives. To introduce the idea, I tell a personal anecdote about mushroom hunting and how you need to know which ones are good and which are bad so that you don't poison yourself with your food. So far it's been getting pretty good reviews.

I went to Flagstaff on my days off last weekend and couchsurfed. It was pretty fun. The person I stayed with was a missionary kid whose parents had been Wycliffe Bible translators in southern Mexico for one of the indigenous groups down there. They took my to a caldera where the tallest Ponderosa Pine and Fir trees in the area grow, pointed out all the places where tornadoes of the years past had crossed the road and snapped trees like matchsticks, and showed me my first-ever-stopped-at roadside chapel. It was actually really cool - I don't know why I've never stopped at a roadside chapel before!
I took the Oak Creek Canyon road back home from Flagstaff, the one that twists and winds its way down the edge of the Mogollon Rim to Sedona, then flattens out in its descent to the highway, where I get back on and head home. The one where you never touch the gas, but often touch the brakes. Here, let me show you:
And that's just the top part. I think if you look closely you can see three of the switchbacks in this picture. Needless to say, it was very fun. But I don't think I would want to drive up it anytime ever. Not in my little car!

Well, I opened with snow, and I suppose I ought to close with snow, too. Here's a picture I took on my way out from work yesterday at Tuzigoot, looking out at the Black Hills, which could more appropriately have been called the "White Hills" yesterday! :)

07 March 2012

9 Days to my Birthday!!!

The countdown is officially on! I'm so excited! One of my roommates asked me today, "Are you one of those people who gets really excited about their birthday?" Yes, yes I am. Since going to college, I have made a point of celebrating my birthday in whichever way I see fit, whether that's hanging out downtown on St. Patrick's Day, searching for lake glass at Chicago's only sand dune beach, or going out for ribs and singing and dancing with choir friends over a delicious chocolate cake. This year, I intend to have more semi-spontaneous fun.

Sadly, I work on my birthday. But the last two days of my work week that week I'll be working at Tuzigoot, which means I'll already be in Cottonwood-area to do cool things over there. One of my coworkers suggested Jerome and, since they have the same days off as me, I suggested they show me around! Hopefully it's going to work out, but they've got to check their schedule. I was going to invite Sara, but it sounds like she's going to be with her Phoenix friend (the other Sara) that weekend. Perhaps I'll give a call to the other SCA - he lives in Cottonwood and might be able to hang out with us that side too. We'll see!

Other than that, I have very little planned, I'm just going to let the days take me where they will! I love the fresh joy of the Birthday Weekend: always something new, always something fun, always makes me feel awesome and totally in love with the vibrancy of life.

I can hardly wait...

04 March 2012

Birthday idea...

If anyone wants to be super-awesome, they should send me a box of those Jell-O Pudding single serving snack mixes (chocolate or vanilla) for my upcoming birthday (March 16th!!) because I just ate my last one and those have become the best quick, sweet snack ever for me out here. You know, the ones where you add 1/2 cup of milk to the packet, stir it up, put it in the fridge, and wait five minutes? Yeah, those tasty treats.

Hint. Hint.

;)

03 March 2012

Employed?

Great news: I've been in contact with folks at Bodie, and I'm about 95% sure that they offered me a job! I was a bit unsure if I wanted to go back there again, which is why I was so late in sending out my application, but when I got the message from them that they were real interested in hiring me... my heart started pounding and I started telling all my coworkers here all about Bodie, the stories, the locale, the people, the job. I (and my audience) realized how much I'm still in love with the place.

Granted, it's not the National Park Service. But it's a job, which is not an easy thing to come by in this economy. Plus, it's rather secure, so my chances of getting the job again next year would be pretty high because I'd be "on the books" and I would just have to reapply. I've gotten a half dozen referrals for the NPS, but I haven't actually heard back on any of them (even the ones I've called on). If there actually was an offer there, then I would have to do some serious thinking and weighing of things, but as it is, I don't have anything to keep me from saying 'yes' and losing myself in the heart of the Eastern Sierras once again. Maybe this time around, if they're still doing three-day weekends, I could drive out to Bodega Bay and visit my aunt and uncle, or my cousin halfway there. Perhaps on the drive out to Bodie I could stop and see some friends in the LA area.

Frankly, I've got a lot of unfinished business in the area as far as things to see, places to go, and hikes to hike... I wouldn't mind being back there again. :)