GIS is my new volunteering outlet...

Okay, so I wrote the last post just the other day and posted it today, so their just now both going up.  

Anyway, just a few more pictures...  I'm currently having a margarita down at Dornan's uploading this stuff and then I'm back to the cabin.  Last night we had a potluck out at the ranch and i think about fifteen people ended up coming....  Amazing food was brought by all.  I made gumbo (I didn't fall asleep this time while cooking it, and it turned out much better), eggplant vegetable lasagna, curried korma beef tips, and a ton of other things...  including some awesome Duvall cookies from John.  

So, other very cool things going on with the internship... I'm volunteering on my friday's off with the GIS department.  Very fun work out in the field.  My roommate's in that department and the other day we headed out to Elk Ranch to record the locations of the historic irrigation system out in the fields.   

Anna and David and Steve and I went for a hike today in Targhee National Forest.  Tons of gorgeous flowers....  And time for me to get in better shape, we've been hiking a few times a week now, time to up the ante so I'll be ready to do Grand Teton in July.

Anyway, I miss everyone so much and I hope that all of my girls' & Chris'! internships are starting out well....  Again, please send me your number and addresses so I can give you a call and say hello! (and send postcards!)

I peeled a log!

So, finally a little bit about my internship!  So, I’m up here living in this crazy little wood cabin in the middle of nowhere in Grand Teton…. 

At work we’ve been working a lot on getting caught up on the 106 Compliance Reports that have to be done for almost all of the preservation projects within the park.  The major ones have to go through the state SHPO office while regular maintenance gets to skip that process through the Programmatic Agreement among the National Park Service, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the National Conference on State Historic Preservation Officers for Compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.  I’ve also been writing some completion reports that have to be done when projects are completed.  So, tons of paperwork…  but it’s not that bad.

Now, fun stuff…  the center is rehabilitating an old dude ranch to use as their training center in the future and right now they are in the process of stabilizing the main cabin, Hammond Cabin.  Today, Lauren, the other intern from last year, and I stripped a log that was then installed at the base of the wall where the previous one had deteriorated too much to be saved.  Very cool, but my back’s going to kill me tomorrow.  I did the whole left hand side of the log!

Anyway, miss you all…  This weekend is potluck night at Sky and I’m making gumbo.  Should be about twenty of us sitting around drinking beer, listening to people play music  and watching the elk graze….

My internet access is as scarce as the bears...

So, my internet is extremely limited....  right now, though I'm sitting down at Dornan's, the local waterhole in Moose, and using their free internet.  And no bears yet, but I did go out with my roommate Anna (who is awesome) who works in the GIS department (also awesome, I want to volunteer with them to learn GIS) and we saw bear prints.  (The third photo is also of bison that we saw that day while out taking GIS coordinates.

So far everything is pretty amazing...  I live in an amazing cabin in the woods.  It's super secluded and has an incredible view of the mountains.  Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the cabin.  I have been so busy that I haven't been able to keep up with the photo taking.  I have gone hiking a few times with some people that we've met. (The second and fourth photos.) There's been too much snow to really do any camping yet.  Sorry this is so short but I don't have every much time.  I MISS ALL OF YOU SOOOOO much.  I'm really hoping that a few of you MSHP girls could pass on a message for me to people that might not see the blog.  --  I had to get ANOTHER new phone after I got a new phone, so could someone maybe copy and email me the phone numbers of everyone.  I have wanted to call so many times, but the only numbers I managed to write done were Becky's and Bridget's before the first one died.  I've started to paint postcards too so please keep on sending the address!!

Miss you all!

Okay, so if I happen to make it out of Moose at the end of the summer, there's a possibility I won't make it past Denver...

Denver is definitely one of my new favorite places.  There are SO many things to do in this city. 

This morning I got up early and drove out to the Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs.  Very impressive....  the rocks and the guys climbing them.  Colorado Springs was also very pretty.  Imagine being able to wake up and look out your window to see a snowy Pike's Peak. 

 Awesome.  

I also reallly wanted to stop and take a tour of the Air Force Academy Chapel, but I left my cell phone in Denver and was worried that the people from the internship would call.  

I'm moving in tomorrow at the ranch...   Cross your fingers that all goes well!  I have a long drive tomorrow before I get there too.  

SO, as for super cool things about Denver:

First, the REI store is incredible.  I may be biased, but it's definitely one of my favorite adaptive reuse projects ever.  The interior is just INCREDIBLE.  Sadly, I didn't get to take any pictures inside, but I will be back.  No doubt about that.  This is from the architect's website:

"REI’s Denver Flagship store responds to the historical industrial nature of its building and site –for more than 50 years, furnaces in the building burned coal to generate electricity for Denver’s streetcar system. Much of the landmark’s structure was left intact, requiring restoration of nearly 75,000 square feet of the building’s brick walls, and utilizing its steel structure to support floors inserted within the building shell. Existing interior elements were kept as artifacts. The design team restored original wood windows and created historic replicas for pieces that had deteriorated. A landscaped courtyard and store entry extends a public park system, creating adjacencies to major bike routes and a whitewater kayak course where shoppers can test paddling products."

Read morehttp://mithun.com/projects/project_detail/rei_denver/#ixzz0FdyYZNmj&B

Second, I have fallen in love with a part of town here called Highlands.  Very cute, very tiny homes.  Many of them brick and in Craftsman style.  Google "Highlands Denver Real Estate."  

Third, I have managed to somewhat figure out my way around the city.  We all know that my sense of direction is not the greatest.  

Well, last night in Denver and I'm off to bed.  Having breakfast with a family friend in Laramie, WY and then on to the ranch!!

So hello to everyone back home and please send me addresses!!!  I just got some watercolor postcards to paint, so if I get an address you get a mini painting!  Miss you all so much!

Addresses!!

I really want to write some post cards to all of my friends while out here.  Could everyone send me your addresses?  I promise if I get an address there will be a postcard!  I miss everyone so much!  

there goes a tumbleweed...

Finally.  in.  Denver.    Ride took FOREVER.  Don't believe mapquest on trips out west and always allow for extra time.  My mom and I left Pensacola on Tuesday at 7:30 in the morning only to arrive in St. Louis at nine thirty...  somehow a little shy of the 10.5 hours the estimates gave.  Today the trip to Denver was slightly better, but definitely long.  Kansas is NOT a place I think I could live for any extended period of time.  I think we saw a total of two towns over a hundred people, those being Topeka, and wait, well, make that one.  The entire state is incredibly flat with a few rolling hills, some tumbleweeds,  and multiple interesting highway attractions.  The billboards touting these very tempting side shows included wonders such as the live 6-legged steer, the world's largest prairie dog, rattlesnake jewelry and Dorothy's house from the Wizard of Oz.  My mom was quite upset that we didn't stop at any of them.  The prairie dog was hard to resist...

One nifty thing we did see was a windfarm - crazy how large those things are.. but with all of the land out there , you wonder why we don't have more.  

So on to architecture and preservation....  :-(  Becky told me about this cute little town called Independence that we would pass through in Kansas, so we went.  It has this cute little downtown with a bowling alley and a movie theater and delis and shops.  Oh, and this huge gorgeous courthouse in the middle of town square that has grass and benches and trees all around it.  Oh WAIT, no....  they ripped out all of the grass and benches and trees up to the edge of the building and are adding seventy more parking spaces.  :-(  Made me want to cry a little.  

Other than that, I'm hanging out in Denver for a few days here with my friend Robyn from college.  I think so far I my want to move here one day.  So many cool things to do.

Now I'm off to the REI store...  4 stories of camping goodness!!  :-D