Chilly Toes

Well first: I need to perfect the art of proof-reading: i re-read my original post and felt very sheepish as i notes the grammatical errors...
and second: our website is updated, so check our all our cute faces. seriously my co-students are lovely.
http://www.tetonscience.org/grad_students_faculty.shtml
as for the weekly drama: today i started my official "first week" of traditional classes. I guess that is a little of a lie, i actually think we will continue to spend much of our time outside. We have local folks coming in, and we will travel about and see more sights for personal knowledge and teaching help.
As for the non-scholastics: This weekend i fell asleep under the bright stars and woke to the sun warming my cold toes. I love that i can go camping in my "back yard" and feel like i am in the middle of no-where, oh, wait, i am in the middle of no-where. This weekend they opened a "bison hunt" and a group of us examined the remains of a HUGE bull body (head, legs, hide and meat gone):woh, they are huge creatures.
Last week i learned some new constellations, hiked to the top of a nearby "hill"(pictures included), listened to elk bugle, taught some fifth graders a thing or two about nature, visited our other campuses (we are part of a lager organization which included wildlife tours [so cool], a k-12 private school, an adult leadership school as well as a conservation research center) and managed to sneak a cool night hike in as well. We had a moose and a bison visit our cabins this week:awesome. For fun this weekend we played some intense twister and visited glorious art exhibits in town. I rode a bike through a herd of bison, and listened to woodpeckers argue through my back window. wondrous.

i find myself longing for home, and realize today it is right here.

New Beginings

Hello to all you wondrous family and friends from the least populated (by humans) state in the union.

When I moved to Kelly I had it in mind to keep in contact with those so far away, but alas, with sketchy cell service and long days in the woods I find myself slacking in the communication department. SO I have decided to succumb to the 21^st century pressures and begin a blog. Whoa!

So here is my first update.

The Valley is wondrous. Now when I say “the valley” I refer to the Jackson Hole Valley: where the Tetons hold us steady and the bison keep us on our toes. I am located about 20 minutes outside of Jackson proper. My address says “Kelly” although my physical location ins actually about 10 minutes outside of the small community of Kelly which brags 150 persons.

I live on campus with 12 other folks, we share a common area but sleep and chill alone in our adorable little cabins—all salvaged from random farms, ranches, and other random amenities from the area.

We have kept busy. Last week I hiked the Crest Trail (through a portion of the Teton Mountain Range) with a few of my fellow classmates last week. I was awed. We ended our hike in the Alaska Basin on the edge of Idaho and Wyoming: wow. I am in constant amazement at the beauty of the Natural World.

My fellow classmates come from a variety of backgrounds, mostly biology, geology or some other science tact. I find myself struggling to be confident in my minute knowledge of this field. I find solace and validity in the fact we all are learning together, in the fact we are all students now, and in the fact we are building respect for each other by listening to one another share our own personal experiences that resound outside of our degrees.

I find myself staring out my window, or standing for long spaces of time on porches, or sitting for hours on stoops: the scenery is such a joy and place of peace for me.

This past weekend I went hotspringing in The Grand Teton National Forest, and tried my hand at fly fishing on the Gros Ventres River.

My spirit soars.

I would love to hear from you.

Email is the most consistent form of communication, and I am still working to find a routine even with it. J

Many hugs to you all.

Check out our web site: soon our current photos and bios should be up.

www.tetonscience.org (follow links to grad program)