Timmmber!

Location: La Junta, CO

Greetings from Picketwire Canyon's McDonalds! Sorry I have been out of touch for a while. Anthony, who is the one guy on the team who has the internet, told us that we couldn't use it for a few days due to the fact that we accidentaly went over last month... ALSO we are currently in the middle of an adventure in Picketwire Canyon, CO. A little little part of the Comanche National Grassland in southern CO. We are here till Friday and have been since last Monday. Russ, our supervisor told us that there would be no phone service except for if you climb a huge hill behind out house and stand on your tip toes on a pile of rocks with your arm in the air... you think I'm joking? I will post pictures later.... pretty amusing. Though AT&T still had no service down there. So we have made frequent trips to La Junta, a town that is 45 miles away from where we are located in order to do some work. So instead of working on my team leader application, like I should be, I am updating my life for you all!

Lake George was filled with not doing a whole lot, and our sponsors trying to find busy work for us to do. I am now a pro at shortening blinds, sharpening tools, and cleaning the kitchen... Amazing isn't it? We started our real project this Monday with a trip to Picketwire. We are here for 10 days working on cutting down an invasive species... which is a lot more brutal than the honey suckle was back in Gray Summit. This stuff actually fights back... and I have the bruises and cuts to prove it. But I have become a lot more comfortable with a chainsaw and am now able to carry it/use it easily for a full tank of gas (which is about an hour or so). At first I was barely able to hold it long enough to cut down a tree, now I am demolishing them all over the place! Picketwire is absolutely beautiful. We are in the middle of a canyon and everywhere you turn there are picturesque landscapes. And what is even better? It is 50 degrees outside!!!! Feb 13th, and its 50 degrees. We went from -30 in Lake George to 50... it is like Heaven outside. I'm not even  minding running at 8 AM since the weather isn't below freezing. I will be very sad to leave, but I am excited for the next part of our adventure in Lake George. 

Shuffle round is approaching! For our third round, we get to choose our projects! This means our team will be split up and we will be mixed up with everyone, and even have a new TL. Which I am very excited about. I love my team, but it will be very nice to have a break for a few months. Our unit got projects that I am actually really excited about, though not everyone is... My top two are Boys and Girls clubs in both New Mexico and Houston. There is also a habitat project in Oklahoma City (Which sorry my Tulsa friends.. I didn't rank that number one), rebuilding a city in Kansas, and two other trail type projects... one in Arizona and one in southern Texas. I wanted to try to escape the outdoors for a project round before we start our firefighting in May. I will let you all know as soon as I find out my project!

We got to go camping and hiking this weekend! Which was so much fun... freezing at night, but amazing. We set up camp up on the top of one of the canyons and had the most beautiful view. It was great bonding with the team, and I am becoming relatively good at gracefully falling down mountains and avoiding cactus :).

I think that is all for now! I will be without phone service for another 5 days, but I will try to update once I get back to civilization :)

I hope you all are doing well! I miss you!

Love,

Kris