Saw a moose today!!!

Yeah, the highlight of my day was seeing a MOOSE! I'd never seen one before and I've always wanted to! It was SO COOL. My mom and I were up in Rocky Mountain National Park near Grand Lake and there was a big crowd of people on the side of the road...well they were all over the road really, blocking traffic and such so we knew it must be something good. And there it was, as if someone had paid it to stand there and pose, a moose! So naturally we pulled over and acted like all the other obnoxious tourists, blocking traffic and taking pictures. Fortunately none of the really stupid tourists were there to wander too close to it or make loud noises and scare it off. We all just kind of stood there in silence in the middle of the road watching it. Today we also saw lots of deer, elk, and an Osprey sitting in its nest. It was a good day for wildlife viewing!

Tomorrow I'm moving into my new apartment!!!! SO excited!

Also, my new favorite song is Eddie Vedder's version of "Hard Sun". It's from the Into The Wild soundtrack. It just makes me think of some epic journey... here's a link to listen to the song if you're interested! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvYLZ-aLSXE

*peace and love*

Travel!

I found "The 50 Most Inspiring Travel Quotes of All Time" compiled by Tim Patterson. Here are a few that I found particularly awesome:

“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” -Jack Kerouac

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” -Mark Twain

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” -Lin Yutang

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” -Henry Miller

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” -Mark Twain

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” -Martin Buber

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” -Jawaharial Nehru

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” -Bill Bryson

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” -Mark Twain

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” -Maya Angelou

“Adventure is a path. Real adventure - self-determined, self-motivated, often risky - forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind - and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.” -Mark Jenkins

Back in Boulder

My three weeks at Sonlight went by so fast! I'm back home in Boulder now, I drove home through many rain storms on Sunday afternoon. It seems to be rainy season in Colorado right now. We had a really intense thunderstorm yesterday evening, complete with an impressive rainbow afterward!

So I was on staff for the first two weeks that I was at camp and then last week I was a counselor for high school kids. SUCH a fun week!! Those kids are amazing. The weekend before last the whole staff went to the movie theater in Pagosa to see the new Harry Potter movie! I thought it was pretty good. It's been a while since I've read the book so I had forgotten what happened in this one. Some people who had just read the book were disappointed by the movie but I say it was good. Hah. Who knows. That was fun though! And for the past couple weekends I've been taking my longboard into town and learning to ride it! I've had it for a year now and I'm just now getting the hang of it. Last weekend we also convinced Nate to buy one so he and Dani and I all rode around Durango on our longboards, it was such a nice relaxing day off. I loved it!

So now I'm back in Boulder, trying to earn some money until I start back to work regularly at the end of August. I'm just working every once in a while at the parking garage when someone needs a day off and it's not getting me much money so it will be good when the semester starts to have regular paychecks again. At the end of this week Katie and I will be moving into our new apartment which I'm super excited about!! It's going to be awesome to have a home again after a summer of nomadic wandering and living out of suitcases, haha.

My last semester of college begins August 24. I can't believe it's almost over. Weird! I'm going to be taking three classes: Primate Behavior, School and Society, and Abnormal Psychology, and I've got an internship with Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice. Hopefully it won't be too stressful of a semester, I've only got 3 classes and they're only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'll be working a lot, trying to save up some money and pay bills, but I'm hoping to also have some relaxing time!!

"What are you doing after you graduate?" I am hearing this a lot lately, and the answer is "I have no idea!" I think I'll be a bum for a couple months, hopefully traveling if I can save up some money this fall, I'm hoping to go to Spain and visit some friends who will be studying abroad there sometime in the spring, maybe see more of Europe as well since I haven't been there at all yet, or maybe travel around North America for a little while, maybe keep working at the parking garage until I can find a better paying job. I don't intend to make cashiering my post-college career :-) I've thought about grad school in another country, just for the heck of it, to have an adventure! Or maybe just living and working in another country for a while...endless possibilities, really, which is kind of exciting to be at that point in my life where I can go and do literally anything I want without any responsibilities. I'll have college loans to start paying off next year but for now...I plan to embrace my freedom to have no plan! Who knows what the future holds. I'd like to do something involving photography, saving the world, traveling...any combination of those things. If anyone's got suggestions please send them my way!

As I've said before I'm hoping to take a little drive out to Albuquerque next month if I can get enough money scraped together. I've got lots of friends out there and I'd love to visit them for a few days!

Well that's all for now. I'm back in Boulder, like I said, so if you're in the area let me know and we'll hang out because I've got a lot of time and nothing to do until school starts back up! Or if you know a way for me to earn a little money, also let me know.

*Peace*

Me, and high school campers on their first day!

Messy games with high schoolers: getting attacked with water balloons! :-) Luckily I had a hard hat, haha

Me learning to ride my longboard in the Malt Shop parking lot, with Nate and Lindsey watching

Nate riding my longboard, with his short shorts and sombrero...haha

Rainbow yesterday evening after a huge thunder/rain storm!

Tractor!

Highlight of my day: I got to learn how to drive a tractor!!! :-)

Siesta time

Currently at camp:
-it is very hot!
-I am listening to: Love Song of the Buzzard by Iron & Wine
-I am drinking: a Cherry Coke
-I am in: the staff room
-I just: took a shower for the first time in several days, yay!!!

It's Monday afternoon, the kids are doing teams' course right now and since I'm on staff, and worked my ass off all morning and part of the afternoon, Brett has rewarded me and the other (like 3) staff members with a little siesta time! :-) I'm working on staff this week which is a really great chance to see all the kids but have some time to relax in the evenings and prepare for next week when I'll be a counselor for high school kids! On staff I've been washing tons of dishes, doing camp laundry, building campfires (with the help of Lindsey and Todd, because I'm not much of a fire builder on my own BUT I'm learning!) and all sorts of random other things. It's pretty much nonstop work all day and then a few hours in the evening to relax/play games with kids.

Last Saturday was our day off from camp so a bunch of us headed to Durango and had a great time! We went shopping, wandered around town, and hung out in the park longboarding and playing frisbee and such, and then went out for dinner, buying Andrew a birthday drink, as he just turned 21! It was a really fun day off and I also got to catch up on my sleep. This week we have 7th and 8th graders at camp and they're awesome! And I can't wait for high schoolers next week!

Tonight we're having a burger cookout with the campers, which means veggie burgers for me! Yum!

Amber and I enjoying our chai at the Steaming Bean in Durango!

Liesl, Lindsey, Andrea, Natalie, Amber at Steaming Bean!

Lindsey, Andrew, Andrea having a "gangsta" moment in the park hahaha

Busy!!!!

A view along my drive from Boulder to Pagosa!

WHAT a busy week!! I drove up to Sonlight on Sunday morning to get here by 2 and be ready to help out when the rental group gets here. So I'm here at camp now, working on support staff which means lots of dishes, cleaning, cutting and hauling wood for the winter, helping out in the kitchen and other exciting things! I've also acquired a cough and cold in addition to my seasonal allergies so I've been sort of a useless bum for a couple days while trying to survive that. Today I'm starting to feel better though so I got to do some hard work this morning before breakfast. I helped move wood and bales of hay. I just had the best shower of my life after all that dirty and dusty work! Hah.

I've also really gotten to know more people on the staff here. What an amazing group of people. I was afraid it would be hard to come and go this summer instead of being here the whole time, both for my to fit in as well as a fear that I would disturb pre-existing community already built among the staff but they make me feel like part of the family and I'm so grateful! I'm having a great time being behind the scenes this week with our rental group, who is from Texas so that's been pretty hilarious :-) Ohhhh Texas. Lots of accents, "yall"s and country music. But they're really fun so it's great. Next week I think I'll be on staff again which will be a great opportunity to rest up and get myself ready to be a counselor for high school kids the week after that! Then I head home for the rest of the summer.

I can't believe how fast this summer has gone by. Aaagh! Ridiculous. It's been full of super fun things though!

Well I've kind of failed at taking pictures and posting blogs this week so hopefully I can get better at that and keep up. I really want to be taking more photos.

More to come soon!
*Peace and Love*

Some Random Thoughts and Poetry for the Day:

I was reminded this morning of the awesomeness of the poetry by Robert Service (thanks Scott!)

My grandpa used to recite Service's poems all the time when I was growing up. His favorite was "The Cremation of Sam McGee" and it always made me laugh. Here's a little portion of Sam McGee:

...I do not know how long in the snow
I wrestled with grisly fear;
But the stars came out and they danced about
Ere again I ventured near;
I was sick with dread, but I bravely said:
"I'll just take a peep inside.
I guess he's cooked, and it's time I looked"; . . .
Then the door I opened wide.

And there sat Sam, looking cool and calm,
In the heart of the furnace roar;
And he wore a smile you could see a mile,
And he said: "Please close that door.
It's fine in here, but I greatly fear
You'll let in the cold and storm --
Since I left Plumtree, down in Tennessee,
It's the first time I've been warm."

There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.

I'm not normally much for poetry, but I revisited some of Service's poems and not only did it bring back great memories of my grandpa but it also led me to the conclusion that Service has really good descriptions of nature and slightly "quirky" people, both of which reminds me of some places and people I know! My grandpa's favorite was probably The Cremation of Sam McGee, but I love "Men of the High North" because I always figured it was written about my grandpa! :-)

...Men of the High North, fierce mountains love you;
Proud rivers leap when you ride on their breast.
See, the austere sky, pensive above you,
Dons all her jewels to smile on your rest.
Children of Freedom, scornful of frontiers,
We who are weaklings honor your worth.
Lords of the wilderness, Princes of Pioneers,
Let's have a rouse that will ring round the earth.

My Grandpa, on a mountain above Sitka, Alaska

P.S.

Also you can see my pictures from my visit to Boston and everything else I've done so far this summer here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2396601&id=10220358&l=9c10e32651

The Way Life Should Be

Congratulations Jess and Ben!!!!!

Sunday was Jess and Ben's wedding! WHAT a fun day! The weather held out long enough to have the ceremony outside as planned without rain. It was perfect!
Check out my photos from the wedding: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2413665&id=10220358&l=13407f0ccc

I was only out east for 10 days but SO much happened in that time! I spent the first four days in Maine, visiting with J&B and their family and friends, then I took a train to Boston where I got to visit with Roy, Kristene, and Bethany - friends from Semester at Sea! The weather in Boston was terrible, it was "misting" all day which was a whole new weather experience for me. But despite the weather we got to do and see all kinds of awesome things! I got to see campuses of Babson, Harvard, and MIT. I got to see the Charles River, we ate A LOT of food! I had my first bowl of clam chowder (pretty tasty!), visited the Holocaust memorial downtown, Mike's Bakery, the waterfront, saw an improv comedy show, Fenway Park, the Cheers bar, Boston Common, Faneuil Hall Market...it was a great couple of days.

Then I met my mom at the Boston airport when she flew in and we rented a car and drove back to Maine for more wedding fun! Rehearsal ceremony and dinner with Jess and Ben's family and friends, then spent that night with all of us in the wedding party and a couple other of J&B's friends going out for drinks and hanging out at their house. A really fun night! Then the next day all us girls got manicures and pedicures - my first time! - then the next day was the wedding! We got up early to get our hair done, then went back to Jess' dad's house to get ready and then a limo picked us up to take us to the ceremony. Ceremony, reception, send-off...it was all great! I'd never been in a wedding before but I had SUCH a great time and I was so glad to get to be part of it all! I was sad to leave the next morning although a little relieved to get back to Colorado out of the endless rain that Maine seems to have been bestowed.

The next part of my summer begins this Sunday, I'm heading back to Southern Colorado to work at Sonlight camp for three weeks. So I've got just enough time to unpack and do laundry from Maine and then repack for camp! It's a busy summer but I'm enjoying every minute of it so far!

As I said before, I had forgotten how much I totally love Maine. It's gorgeous, even when it's raining, and even more so when the sun comes out! As my mom and I were driving from Boston to Maine the sign welcoming us into Maine said: "The Way Life Should Be" - Indeed! I had such a great time and made some great new friends and I can't wait to visit again.