Monday, April 18, 2016

#46 "Keep close to nature's heart... and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."

     This past weekend was so incredibly fun! Saturday we left around 6:45 and met up with bob and Joanie (who were our tour guides for the weekend) at the forest ranger station. We packed all our gear in waterproof bags and headed out to the beginning of the rapids. As they were finishing up putting the gear in the second boat they were also going over the safety instructions (just in case you or someone else fell in). After the bags were all strapped down the first half of the group went in the boat and were practicing the different paddle strokes while Maddie, Emily, Molly and I drove to the start of the hiking trail to hike down to where our campsite was. before we hiked down we decided to have lunch. The hike down was a little difficult since the trail was fairly steep and there were a lot of rocks along the trail. Once we got there we waited for the rest of the team to get there. Once they did they faired us across to the campsite. Right away we set up camp and got ready to make dinner. I got to start the fire for boiling the water which was pretty fun. While the food was cooking we sat around and listened to bob talk about the rules of the camp, what the game plan was for the next day and some advice about life haha. Once dinner was ready we ate then I laid down in my sleeping bag and wrote a little bit. By the time that I was done writing I was super tired. As I was beginning to drift of to sleep I looked up at the stars and was amazed by them all. I absolutely love when I'm in an area that has no light pollution so I'm able to see them all. And another thing is it is so nice to disconnect from electronics so your able to reconnect with your senses and just enjoy the peacefulness. Falling asleep was so nice, just listening to the rolling rapids, fire crackling and crickets. Surprisingly I didn't get bit very much at night and I didn't get very cold. This morning was very relaxing. There were only a few of us awake in the morning so I had some tea, kiwis, yogurt and a couple handfuls of cereal for breakfast. Once everyone was up we got everything packed up and then we picked invasive weeds for a while. When we got done the four of us who didn't raft yesterday got suited up to head out. Once bob rowed the other group to the other side he came back and got us so we could start practicing. Once we started going it was so much fun! Going down the rapids wasn't hard at all as I thought it would be even though it was a class 4. There were a few times where it got pretty crazy and thankfully one of my team mates bought a go-pro and I was able to get some cool footage. When we got to the end we unloaded the gear and had to carry it up a pretty steep hill to get to the road. after about 3 trips up and down the hill the other group showed up and helped carry things up. The last things that we got were the boats and wow it was a struggle to get those things up. When we finally got them we loaded everything up and headed to the forest ranger station to unpack everything. When we got done we thanked bob and Joanie for the wonderful time then we headed back home. By the time we got home it was time for dinner which was grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. After dinner I took a shower and then helped complete the WPR for campus. Tomorrow is technically our day off but I plan on working around camp since 1.It is the busiest week for camp and 2.I'm getting in hours! 

Here is the video that my team mate made out of the clips from our rafting trip!
https://youtu.be/HTGcmTjj4c8
                                                                                                                                      ~Savannah


with the rafts


The first group getting ready to leave

some of the sights we saw on the hike down



the first group coming in



My bed for the night!

The kitchen area in the back

everyone's sleeping spot for the night.



a little lizard friend I made



the bathroom. Like my dad said "better than the Hilton" haha

our source of water! We'd fill up the blue bag full of river water then it would filter it out only a drip at a time. (I became so thankful for faucets while waiting for it to fill up my water bottles).

We felt like superman with out "A's"

the four amigos all ready to take on the rapids

notice the little go-pro on my head??

all geared up!

Saturday, April 16, 2016

#45 "Everyday is an Adventure!"

      On Saturday Molly, Emily and I woke up around 6:30 to leave for white water rafting. When we got to the ranger station the guy that was in charge told us that it would have to be canceled since it was raining so much that day. We got back in time for breakfast being served then I decided to get some more work hours so I worked after breakfast. We didn't have to do much since it also started to rain a bit and most of the work we had to do was outside. We did take out a lot of tables and chairs out of the rec room though and through them out.
      Sunday I slept in (the first time in a while), and hung out around camp all day. It was nice to have a good day off after a couple weeks full of excitement. I did clean my room and did a good load of laundry though.
     Monday was a pretty fun day. We first started off at this fairly large hill tree planting, then around noon we headed to Mountain Sage to meet Director Carpenter and have a short meeting over the round thus far. She had a lot of good things to say and we all really enjoyed being listening to all of her wise words. After the meeting we stayed at M.S. and did some work. Joe and I had to dig down to expose a broken pipe that ran water down to their garden. After we found it we sawed the broken part off and replaced it with new PVC pipe.
    Tuesday was one of my days to stay back at camp. I had to go around and check the tents and fix the tarps on them (after all of the rain that went through). After that we had lunch then went to where the washer and dryer are (their outside) and spread woodchips all around the ground since there is a broken pipe near it and the ground has been getting extremely muddy. We were done with work after that so I decided to work on a few things for the team. Once everyone got back we had PT, dinner and my peer helper meeting.
      Wednesday was our official last day of tree planting! (WOOHOO!) We headed to the ranger station to pick up the boxes of trees and headed back to the steep hill. As we were planting we noticed that almost all the trees had these small webs  and black dots on them so we called the ranger station and headed over there during lunch to make sure it wasn't mold. We ended up finding out that they were just mites on the trees and they said that the trees should survive just fine. For the second half of the day I was just working with Emily and she kept talking about ice cream so we convinced Amanda to let us get ice cream after work since we got done a little earlier that usual and because it was our last tree planting day (it was really easy to convince her haha). We arrived back home just in time for dinner which was chicken fettuccini alfredo.
       Yesterday (Thursday) was the last day for the week that I was assigned to stay back at camp. After washing the dishes Morgan and I power washed all the bathrooms on the camp. We had to spray down all the mirrors, sinks, toilets; then power washed the floors. Not the most exciting day but its always a fun time when we work at camp. During and after lunch Morgan and I watched a documentary that we have to watch for an SLI event. When I was done I walked outside and saw Seth (our sponsor for the round) shooting some hoops. Not long after I said hi to him, the team van showed up. Once everyone got out and changed we played two games of volleyball for PT and surprisingly I was the MVP for the team. I also found out that next Wednesday I will be trained to drive the van! I'm not going to lie I'm a little nervous since its a 15 passenger van but I know I'll get the hang of it.
       Personally I thought today (Friday) was one of the best days thus far. The morning was a little ruff since the power went out in the middle of the night last night, thus the room heater turned off and I woke up with frozen feet. Not only that but we also had PT at 6:45. Thankfully we just played basketball so it was a fun activity to do which got the blood moving. After work we had breakfast and then left to head to Sonora for work. The work that we were doing didn't actually count as work hours, but did count as ISP hours. We worked with a non profit called "Vets helping Vets" which is a nonprofit organization that offers a few different services and programs. One is a thrift store that they operate and take in donations daily, which are directly used by veterans or sold to help them. They also offer some fresh new programs that bring some healing to the Veterans in the area, one being Mountain Marches which is a relaxing adventure through hiking trails in the Sierra Nevada Foothills. Another is Soldier Sounds which is a Audio Recording and Music Therapy for soldiers. During the Soldier Sound Program Vet’s or Soldiers can  record music for free, which they will work together to help them put their heart and soul into the music that the create together. The last thing that is new is the Veteran’s Center (That's what the team was working on today) which will allow Vets to come and socialize as well as have a civilian free zone to tell old stories from the service, and kick back for a movie night.
       The first thing we did when we got there was meet Russell Carpenter (The founder of Vets helping Vets) and Trent, who is starting the Mountain Marches. Our first task was to organize and sweep out one large area that will be used as a work out area. I moved a couple book shelves around and other workout equipment and also helped unload some couches that were being donated. After lunch we started on painting the floors in the office area and bathrooms. By the end of the day the rooms looked really nice. After leaving we went to Walmart since we were already in Sonora and then to Taco bell for dinner. When we got home I took a shower and started to prepare for tomorrow!
     Tomorrow the team will be going on a overnight white water rafting trip! Myself and 4 other team members will be hiking 3 miles into the sight for the first day and will meet up with everyone that is rafting, then we will be pulling a bunch of weeds, setting up tents and on Sunday the people that hiked in will white water raft while the people that did the first day will hike out. I'm pretty nervous since the rapids that we are going down is a level 4 and the water is ice cold. Thankfully we will have an expert as our guide! All I ask is that you definitely pray for my team and I as we endure on this little adventure and I'll be sure to write all about it on Monday!







Friday, April 8, 2016

#44 "Collect moments, not things."

        Monday we went to Yosemite again and were able to do our own thing. While most of my team mates went hiking, Maddie and I went back to the Native American museum to read a little more of the history. I loved the museum and I ended up learning a lot. When you go out the back of the museum there is a replica of a Native American village where they have posts up telling you different information regarding how they lived, what they ate, how they made different things.  One thing that I found really interesting was that, the hunters in the village would go into these undergrown little houses, called steam houses, and they would have a fire going, and would stay there for 1-3 hours. After the 1-3 hours the would go out to the river and rub dogwood leaves on them or other plants that would "mask" their human smell. They would do this process one or two times, then they would put these deer heads on so that when they would hunt, the deer couldn't smell them and basically go right up to them. After that Maddie and I hiked to mirror lake which was absolutely beautiful. When we got there we saw Morgan so spent the rest of the day there. At mirror lake there's a rock that is towards the center of the lake and your able to walk on the smaller rocks to get out there. When we were getting ready to leave, Amanda walked over to us, after her peaceful afternoon lying in her hammock and hiked back to the van with us.
       On Tuesday we didn't do the regular tree planting events like usual, we instead got to help out at a schools "earth day" event. The event had about 10 different stations where the kids in 3rd-5th grade were able to learn and engage in different "earth" activities. I was in charge of the land animals; which was just different skins (furs) and animal sculls from around the area and would talk about the animal itself and how important it is to protect them so they don't go endangered. After the program we headed to another school to do the same thing for a STEM fair which stand for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. They have the program to have students broaden their mind in different career paths. While we were there we were able to visit other booths. One booth that I went to was the NASA area which had a blow up "observatory" which you went in and they had a 360 degree  projector that showed different space images. After the fair, we ended up going out for pizza with our sponsor, Seth.
       Wednesday Maddie and had to stay and work at the camp. We cleaned out some of the supply sheds, moved some of the benches in the dinning area and went around the cabin making sure that all the cabins had everything that they needed in them. Once everyone got back we played basketball for PT then had Amanda's meeting, had dinner and went to bed.
       On Thursday I ended up taking a sick day because my lower back was really hurting (I'm thinking it was from playing basketball). I ended up looking up a lot of different activities for Peer Helper meetings and stretching out. When everyone got back from work we had dinner, cleaned the van then had my peer helper meeting which was a lot of fun. I had everyone tell any kind of story whether it was a time when they were happy or surprised, one from their childhood (really any story). most of the team ended up telling story's of their first pet or a story of when they were younger. I told one of when the whole family went out to the lake during the summer and playing in the water with all the cousins, the fire we had for roasting hot dogs and marshmallows and then at night there was a nice warm breeze and you could see every star in the sky that night; even saw a few shooting stars.
       Today (Friday) Maddie and I were in charge of washing dishes which automatically means were staying back to work on camp. We had to go throughout all the tents and used the leaf blower to get all the pine needles and leafs off the decks. When I got done and went back into the tent I looked up and there were about 3-5 bats flying around inside so I quickly went back out on the deck. I stood there for a few minutes just watching the bats fly around the tent and then into the trees. After the coast was clear I darted out through the tent. Other than that we are also on kitchen duty (helping make dinner). Tonight were supposed to have PT and possibly another meeting. Tomorrow Emily, Anthony and are supposed to be going white water rafting for work (with an expert as our guide). I'm really excited but a little nervous! I'll be sure to write about my whole experience tomorrow!

                                                                                                                                ~Savannah


(Sorry the photos aren't in order, this is the way they came up on my laptop)

This is an example of what the Native Americans looked like while hunting 

`Sitting on the rock in mirror lake

Picture from mirror lake

still learning how to flip the pictures! So for now just turn your head a little

No secret on why they call it mirror lake haha



Another Beautiful waterfall





Absolutely LOVE this picture

This is the Steam house replica at the museum




 

Had to get a picture with the peeks reflection behind me




Sunday, April 3, 2016

#43 I see trees of green,red roses too, I see them bloom for me and you, and I think to myself. What a wonderful world."

      I'd like to say a quick apology for being behind on my blogs so now I'm just trying to catch up!
 This past Monday I worked with a bunch of volunteers, Tuesday we worked with volunteers in the same area but we got done rather early so we walked a short ways to the evergreen lodge. We sat outside of the lodge and had lunch. There was a small path around the lodge that was used for weddings in the meadow which we had to clear of fallen sticks. It wasn't long at all to clear it all out so after that we waited for five hours for the van to be done and for Amanda to get back from her doctors appointment. Wednesday I stayed back and worked around camp. I had to help set up cots, and rake/ leaf blow pine needles and leaves. After work we had PT and actually made it to rainbow pool and we sat around the waterfall. After that we walked back to camp, had dinner and then I had my peer helper meeting which went really well.
     Thursday we worked with volunteers again but got done early again so we went to Mountain sage and spread around mulch for the remaining time.
     Friday was another volunteer day; we worked with a leadership school that (go figure) focuses on leadership skills. The kids were so fast and efficient at planting trees it was crazy! We ended up getting done around 1ish so helped the forest rangers pack up, then we had lunch and headed over to mountain sage again for work. When we got there we just had to spread more mulch and pull a bunch of weeds. When we got home we officially started the weekend!
     Saturday was our day off but because we are behind on hours so much I decided to work around camp. I helped finish setting up all the cots and mattresses in the cabins and helped load up piles of leaves, pine needles and pine cones into a truck and helped dump it. I racked up a full 7 hours and 15 minutes on my day off!
      Today (Sunday) I went to Yosemite National Park with Amanda, Maddie, molly, morgan, and carlos. It was absolutely breath taking!! The different sights we saw was astonishing! We visited two different waterfalls, including Yosemite Falls (The tallest waterfall in North America), the Native American Museum and got to see some of the well known peeks in the area including half dome and El Capitan. When we were by Yosemite falls we didn't just want to see it from a bridge, we wanted the full experience so we climbed the rocks to as close to the bottom as we could get and it was experience was amazing. To feel the mist against your face from something so powerful and to know that not everyone gets that close to the bottom of the waterfall, left a smile on my face the rest of the day. At the end of the day our last sight was El Capitan and we hiked in to the bottom and even climbed about 20 feet up.
        Tomorrow we have another day off and plan on going back to Yosemite to hike wherever we want. I believe I'm going to try to hike to mirror lake and check out the Native American museum again since I wasn't able to go through and read all the artifacts.


                                                                                                                            ~Savannah

This beautiful bird got so close to us while we were eating lunch outside of the lodge 
Rainbow pools
First sight in Yosemite 

Me and some of the girls
First waterfall!


Everyone that went


Half dome


Maddie and I had to recreate the lion king movie 



Yosemite falls (tallest waterfall in North America)


The beginning of the Native American museum (found myself a new house)

El Capitan!



I hiked (20feet) up El Capitan! haha