The Rest of June

On Monday (6/18), it was back to work for us! I had a very long day in the office with the saw crew, or, sawyers. We were getting trained to spray pesticide. In order to handle the chemicals for our upcoming job, we had to become verified applicators. This training involved 8 hours of reading legal documents, and that was just the first day! On Tuesday we embarked on our epic journey to Trinidad, Co! A very exotic name, for a not very exotic place.  Ben was able to get up nice and early with me to drop me off at the office, which allowed him to use the car for the ten days I was going to be gone. And it was great to have some extra time together before my long hitch. I then hopped in the van with the 10 sawyers and we had a two and a half hour drive down to Trinidad Lake state park where our work site was. At midday we got to our campsite, which was VERY hot and sunny, rather small, but it was least near a lake!

Our campsite

 We set up our tents, and then drove to our work site, which was in a more remote area of the park. Finally, we could begin our task of cutting down and spraying herbicide on tamarisk! Tamarisk, also known as salt cedar, is an invasive species that is very prevalent here. The main problem with tamarisk is that it grows very well here, and loves to drink lots of water! The larger plants can drink up to 300 gallons of water a day, which is a very big deal here, where water is a more scarce resource (especially in this drought we are having!). I had the pleasure of being one of the primary applicators. I had wear one of the sprayer backpacks filled with 3 gallons of chemicals, whoo! After an hour I was ready to take that thing off- it was so heavy and uncomfortable! We made it through the first (half) day, and had to head back to camp and finish up our oh so exciting pesticide training. After another couple hours we were finally done!

Every day we got up at 5 am (or 430 for the breakfast/wake-up crew rotation: we all took turns doing camp chores such as wake-up, tool maintenance, cooking dinner, and doing dishes.), ate breakfast/packed lunches, and then headed to the park maintenance building to pick up some more habitat- our lovely blue liquid chemical we were working with! Then we would drive our to our work site, wade across the river, and  then hike a mile or so to where we were working. We then spent our day cutting tamarisk with loppers (and very rarely, chainsaws), collecting and piling up the branches, and then spray the stumps with the habitat herbicide. The days were very long, tedious, and hot (usually between 95-105 each day and we had to wear long pants and sleeves)! Luckily, we started early enough that we got off a little earlier to beat the heat! And, the saw crew is a great group of people, so we were able to keep each other entertained throughout the long days!
We also saw some cool wildlife, including horny toad lizards and a rattlesnake that was outside out leader's tent!

In the evenings/afternoons we had time to nap, play cards, spend time near the lake, and do lots of reading! One night, we even had a girls'night and watched Pride and Prejudice on someone's iPad! Most of the crew was very interested in reading- especially the Game of Thrones book series. I also took part in the reading parties and read the first Game of Thrones book on my nook! I learned a few new card games, including one called Rook that I really liked and hope to get a deck of my own soon! I also had a lot of fun at the lake! The two girls of the crew and I had a nice time sunbathing and wading in the lake, and we all had fun jumping in and swimming around a bit to cool off a few times (although we weren't supposed to!). Another lake activity I enjoyed  was fishing! I bought a pole and some tackle and went out several afternoons with some other crew members and got very sunburned! We did catch a few fish and eat them, but most were too small to keep. We were catching rainbow trout and large mouth bass. 
The crew consists of 8 great goofy guys and two girls! I think they were happy to have me around this hitch! Sometimes, it was like being back with all my guy friends in college. I even gave a few much needed haircuts!
On Saturday of our hitch we took a half day to have a little weekend! We went  swimming in a (very shallow and muddy) river near our work site, a few of us drove over to another campsite to take showers, and in the evening we went into the town of Pueblo to have pizza and go see the Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter movie! It made for a very fun and much needed break! 


Finally, on Thursday, our 10th day, we drove back to the office! We were very surprised to see lots of smoke as we drove up- several wildfires had started in the area while we were away. We had heard they were happening, but it was totally different to see it in person. Sadly, one of the crew members' houses burned down. Her roommates were able to grab some of her things before they were evacuated, but she still lost a lot. I've never felt so close to a natural disaster before- it was a very powerful experience. 
I got a ride home with a coworker who was headed up to the airport, and she stayed with us over night. It was so wonderful to be home, see Ben, and get clean! And Ben got me flowers to welcome me home! It was very sweet and they were very beautiful.

The weekend after I got back, on the 30th of June, we got to see Ben's family! They were on their family vacation out west, and we were able to meet up for a night. We went to Cold Springs National forest campground near Blackhawk, Colorado and camped with them for a night. We played some games and were able to spend lots of time together and get caught up! We also went on a lovely hike!

Picture stolen from Tonyia!

That Sunday was our one year wedding anniversary! The year has gone by so fast! We voted for a quieter evening to celebrate, and went to one of our favorite restaurants- The Bent Noodle for dinner and went to see the new Wes Anderson movie, Moonrise Kingdom afterwards. It was a very lovely and relaxing date night.

My work week over the first week of July was much more quiet than previous ones! On Monday I was helping around the office and we drove down to Pueblo to check on the crew and drop off some paperwork. On Tuesday I worked from home to do research for educational resources. Wednesday I had off for the 4th of July. Thursday and Friday I worked in the Denver office doing more education research. It was a slow week to get through, but it was made much better by my family coming to visit!
On Tuesday night my family came into town and stayed over night. On Wednesday we went to the zoo for the 4th! That night, we drove to Broomfield and met up with Justin and Ashley to watch the fireworks. It was a very big day and a very late night for a work night! The next couple days my family went camping in Rocky Mountain National Park while we all finished up our work weeks. We were supposed to camp with them on Friday and Saturday night, but it was very stormy! We've been in a drought and haven't seen rain in months, but as soon as my family visits it starts storming all day and night! It was much needed rain, but it was a little disappointing because it wrecked their trip plans a bit. And, I was sad because the smoke from all the fires around was blocking our normally crystal clear mountain views, and on top of that our usual all- day  sunshine was nowhere to be found. At least the temperature went down some with the rain! This past weekend they ended up cutting their trip short and coming back to our house. We played lots of games and still had lots of fun- just inside! We did try to take a hike in Cherry Creek State park, but the clear skies turned very dark unexpectedly and we ended up getting soaked while we were trying to get back to our apartment!
Ben left for Montana early this morning for work, and my family left to go home this morning as well. Bill and I did some errands today (he got a very fancy new car stereo!) and I packed up for my hitch I'm leaving for tomorrow morning!

Phew! This month has been jam packed and went by so quickly! And, I'm leaving the house tomorrow (7/9) at 5 am to leave for my 5 day hitch with the Hayman crew again!
Hopefully I'll be able to find a spare minute to write again this month!

February Fun

February has been full of adventures!
We have been settling in here even more now. There still hasn't been much (lasting) snow, so we haven't gone snowshoeing or skiing again yet :(
We have, however, found a way to get outside more often and to get things done! We have been walking to Target about once a week. There are lots of stores there such as Target, Kohl's, game stop, grocery store, and a frozen yogurt shop! The walk is about 2.75 miles one way. So we walk, do what we need to do, and then head home.  It takes several hours but we don't usually mind because none of us stay particularly active. The frozen yogurt shop is called Menchie's and it is incredible and delicious! If you ever visit us (please do!) it is very likely that we will take you there (but we won't force you to walk. maybe.)! You just walk in, take a giant cup, and fill it with any flavors and toppings you like. Then you pay for it by weight. There are always new flavors every time we go, so it is always a new experience. Also, they have mini cups out so you can get samples of any kind you want to make sure you like it!

The grocery store there is called Sprouts farmer's market. It is like a Trader Joe's or other chain health/co-op type stores you may have seen. I like getting our fruit and veggies there and sometimes we get extra delicious cheese there too! I tried to apply for a job there but they did not have any positions open. Typical.

Over the last week of February we had some fun visitors! Ben's cousins and their significant others took a road trip to Colorado. Nic, Megan, Chris, and Manda were in town for about a week and we spent some great time with them. First they had some adventures on their own, but then we got to spend time with them exploring downtown Denver, and later, the Rocky Mountains! I was lucky that they were so generous to offer me a place in the cabin they rented just outside Rocky Mountain National park. The visitors' center was right across the street from where we stayed. We stayed in the cabin for several days and spent lots of time playing games, making and eating delicious food, hanging out in the hot tub, looking at the stars, and of course exploring the mountains. Ben was able to drive out twice around his work schedule, which was really great! In the mountains, we saw lots of deer, snow, and elk! We saw a few groups of male elk and we saw some fights which were really cool! The clack of their antlers coming together bounced off the mountains. We also saw a huge group of young and female elk. There were about 200 of them and we had to wait for them to cross the road in front of us in a single-file line! It was very cool to see and I hope we can go up there again soon! You can see some of the pictures I took on facebook.

Only a few days after they left I got a message from my family that my youngest sister was in the hospital. She had been sick for a while and they finally were figuring out what was wrong with her! She needed a few minor surgeries and procedures done, so I decided to fly back to Wisconsin to take care of her during her recovery. Little did I know, my sister is a super-human and healed exceptionally fast and well! I was with my family for almost a week and I got to spend lots of great time with my family and all the pets! I also got to see some great friends that I haven't seen in a while! And, over the weekend my brother was able to fly out to visit as well- it was a nice reunion. Meanwhile, Ben was in Denver working 12 hour shifts! He worked enough so he didn't get too lonely, but it was a tough week! He finished it up by going on a ski/snowboard trip with some coworkers, which was fun, but he did get a little banged up!

They day after Bill and I got back it was Valentine's day. We were all pretty worn out, so we didn't have any big plans. We stayed in and had our traditional dinner of fetuccini alfredo and caesar salad. We were thinking about watching a romantic movie to complete the night, but then we just ended up watching a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother, our standby show lately.

In addition to seeing the cousins, we've had another guest lately as well. My college friend Nathan visited recently as well! He was also visiting other friends, but we did have time to go out to a few meals and take a trip to the zoo! That was the second trip to the zoo I took this month, and it was very worth it! The Denver Zoo totally rocks- I see new things every time I go. If you come and visit (please?) I will take you there too! (If only they would call me back about the job I applied for...)

We also have had fun with local friends lately too! Last weekend we went to Justin and Ashley's apartment for a game day! We played lots of board, card, and video games and had a great time! We also got to meet their very friendly foster dog- a black lab/weimeriner mix named Wyett who loves to play and cuddle! Our next date is to bake and eat some apple pie- yum!

Things in our apartment have been pretty calm. We got some new shelves for our game collection- it looks much nicer than a big pile on the floor! We also put up two wall shelves for our movies (and perhaps a projector in the future). It looks pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself!
Our big activities lately has been doing taxes, sorting paperwork, paying bills, and working on eating the 9 boxes of girl scout cookies we bought!