26 February 2013

Another week of EPIC

So a week ago I hiked the Dodson Trail. 12 miles. Perfect weather.

This week, I topped that.

On Saturday I patrolled the Marufo Vega Trail, including the river spur, for a total of 15 miles. It took 8 hours and 33 minutes in total, including breaks. It was mid-70s, but I still had to take one break for shade due to temporary overheating around 1 or 2 o'clock. I can't imagine how people due that hike when it's hotter outside - there's really only one shady section on the whole trail.
Of course, I still had to work on Sunday. So I hiked again! I joined some backcountry volunteers for a hike up Pine Canyon, a mere 4 miles round trip by comparison, but steep enough to make my calf muscles scream after the day before's hike!

But I wasn't ready to stop there. Because on Sunday night we decided it would be a great time to hike to the hot springs in the moonlight. It was a great hike out there, though my aching feet made me a bit of a pooper before we got started. But once we were on the trail, and especially once we got to the springs, I felt pretty great. The trick came when the 40mph winds that were predicted came up out of nowhere and we realized we had to hike back, into the wind, with sand blasting on our faces, suddenly finding it a bit more difficult to see the trail... by the time we got back, we all wanted a shower and were on an epic runner's high - that's right, we were actually jogging for parts of it. Me! Jogging! Perhaps I will start running again, but very slowly I think. We'll see.

Tonight I'm hosting the SCA interns for supper again, and then we're hiking to the hot springs by moonlight, as long as these clouds clear up. Otherwise it'll be by flashlight.

This week I'm taking a first aid course, and on Saturday I'll be giving my first presentation since I got here. Wish me luck!

19 February 2013

Hiking + Biking

What a power-filled weekend.

Monday I rocked the Burger Bike with my best time yet: 2 hours and 5 minutes. Every time I do that ride I feel more awesome, and there's stretches when I ride now that I'm just cruisin' along at 18/19/20mph, in the groove, just like back in the old days. I love it! Of course, it was very helpful that the headwind only lasted the first 15 miles instead of the whole 30 this time, but still. I shaved a full ten minutes off my time this week. That's awesome.
Today I hiked the Dodson Trail on a through hike with a few friends. It was a great hike - very varied terrain, with lots of gorgeous views. Not to mention that the weather was perfect: mid-60s, cloudy, with a light breeze. I couldn't have asked for anything better. It was a lot of fun, and I got to know people better, I think. Plus, as is always the case with long hikes (and long bikes), I was able to work a lot of things out in my brain, like how I'm definitely going to stay here at least through the end of April, and how legit my job is, despite it being totally illegit. (Alyssa called me out on "legit" being my favorite word today... maybe I have come to use that one too often....) At 12 miles, this is the longest hike to date for the year, and if my records are right it's the longest I've done in the last 2 years. And quite possibly the longest I've done since 2010? or maybe even 2009? I'm not really sure. Craziest bit of all: I did the whole thing in my Merrell Barefoot shoes, and am pleased to say that I didn't get any blisters! That little flexible part just above the heel but behind/below the ankle bone is a bit sore, but otherwise my feet actually don't feel all that bad post-soaking in the bath tub.
That being said: I found a wicked steal of a deal on some hiking boots online and they're hopefully shipping to me soon (and hopefully fitting as well) so I'll be able to hike without getting so many stones and pokers and whatnot in my shoes.

So just to give you a run-down on the numbers. I've been here just over a month now, and I've put in 184.5 miles on the bicycle, and roughly 39.05 miles of hiking. In January and February. How crazy is that!? And that's not even counting the many miles that I've put in just walking around RGV on my work days between the visitor center, the campgrounds, and my house. I'm gonna be super-fit! :)

15 February 2013

Prayer Request

So... there's no news on my job. No one can tell me when my duty station is going to open, and after emailing Marshall Gold Discovery SHP in California I've found that it's still viable for me to transfer to their park for March through May, as I had planned last fall. Now I've got a decision to make: should I stay or should I go? Please pray for guidance and clarity as I weigh the pros and cons of these options over the next few days. I'll probably have to make a final decision by the end of next week, and at the moment I really don't know what to do.

12 February 2013

Productivity:

At last: my home is complete.

The weekend has been somewhat full, and yet I've had a lot of relaxation, too. I hitched an early-morning ride to Castolon and rode my bike from there to the main road, about 23.5 miles, and thoroughly pooped myself for the rest of my Monday. The rest of the day was spent grocery shopping, washing linens, visiting with friends, napping, and putting up the eye-hooks for my hammock. Last night I spent at least an hour star-gazing on my back patio, nestled in my hammock with a couple blankets on top. So cozy! Once it starts to get warmer at night I might try sleeping out here... we'll see.

Yesterday, in case you were wondering, marked one month since I moved into this house. Of course, that meant that today I had to clean it. I borrowed a broom and swept every room of the house. I cleaned the bathroom, dusted all the surfaces, tidied up my bedroom... you get the idea. I'm also hosting the SCA interns at my house for supper tonight, so I made the innards of a coconut cream pie this morning, and am preparing to get (my favorite!) orange chicken underway here pretty soon. Since I was in such a cooking craze, I decided to make scotch eggs that I can heat up for breakfast for the next five days. That'll be nice! Tonight, we're having supper and then playing Settlers of Catan (which I haven't played in ages!) - hopefully it'll be a good night.

No news yet on the crossing or the fate of my position. I don't know that I'm very good at waiting for things with no set deadline...

07 February 2013

Spring = Bugs, Summer = More

After another long and tiring day of "work", I come home, grab a glass of water and a homemade snack bar, sit down to check my email, and I see one of these on the wall:
(not my photo)
Luckily, my next door neighbor, Alyssa, showed up as I was frantically and frenetically trying to find a bug identifier website (without much luck, since I know almost nothing about how to properly identify bugs). She identified it right away as a young Wind Scorpion - something she informed me usually comes in pairs. I should expect to see another one within the next two days. I should also, now that it's starting to warm up outside, start wearing flip-flops in my house so that I don't get bit by a scorpion.

Hold up.

So scorpions are going to come into my house!?!?!? Okay, I kind of knew that coming in, but I have recently been operating under the (false?) assumption that my brand-spanking-new house would mean that I wouldn't have creepy crawlies sneaking in to take chunks out of my toes. Wind scorpions, luckily, are not poisonous, though they have been known to bite (and hard) a human from time to time. We carefully removed this one from my house and put it back outside. Also, the scorpions we have at Big Bend, while mildly poisonous, are not life-threatening to humans. Alyssa informed me that it was totally okay to squash any scorpion I found in my home - the crunching, cracking thought of which grossed me out far more than the fear of scorpions in my house ever did.

Have any of you seen "The Good Year"? I think I'm going to start putting lavender boxes on my windowsills. Eep!

05 February 2013

What time is it?

My back patio is lined with clothes, there are bike jerseys hanging in my entryway, and the guest room window is wide open with all my underclothes on a drying rack so my neighbors don't have to see them. That's right... it's laundry day!

I finally generated enough dirty clothes that I decided I could suck it up and pay the $1.50 to do a load of laundry. Miraculously I fit everything in with room to spare. Now it's all drying outside and inside and I'm preparing to go do something else with myself. It's a toss up right now between taking my watercolors down to Boquillas Canyon and playing Super Scrabble with my friend Jane. I'm kinda leaning towards super scrabble right now, since I already painted one picture this weekend. Maybe I'll do Boquillas Canyon next weekend. Of course, I already played super scrabble yesterday as well, but I think I'm going to find that game addicting. Not only does it take way longer to play, but it's got so much more going on, and Jane is one of those upper-level players who knows all the 2-letter words. Yeah, I'm gonna up my game some this year, I think. Better watch out Cecile! ;)

I did the Burger Bike yesterday with a couple friends and felt much more quick (in both senses of the word) than last week. We had a bit of a headwind, but it was nothing compared to last week.

Well, that's all for now. I think I'm going to leave you with some pictures of the many beautiful sunrises I get to see here:



02 February 2013

P.S.!!!

Hey my blog-reading friends:

Do take note of the "Settling and Setbacks" post. At the end I give you my address and my current phone number. Make sure you've got the right information and you just might be able to get a hold of me next time you try. Sorry if you've left a message on my cell phone and I haven't gotten back to you - I have been unable to check my phone missed calls/messages/etc. since I got here three weeks ago.

Thanks for continuing to read my blog - I love getting your comments!

~Jaclynn