There’s something about snail mail

A random box appears!

It’s the excitement of checking your mailbox (or in my case, my desk) every day to see if there’s an envelope addressed with your name waiting. Sealed carefully with prized contents, careful not to rip the whole thing apart, I turn the envelope over a few times.  My heart rate rises as I spy a new object that beckons for attention.

Outdated. Due for extinction. A thing of the past. The postal service has been fighting a losing battle since technology like cell phones and the internet became mainstream but I still check for mail daily. Usually in Washington the only mail I get are hospital bills courtesy of a rugby injury or items from the university. However receiving letters from friends this summer has been a blessing. Living in Blackduck has been tough at times with my social circle only amounting to a handful of people, mainly with the boys who live in the bunkhouse.

I’m terrible at responding to letters in a timely fashion.  I suppose that’s one of the reasons why people are straying from them- our society demands an instant reply to emails, text messages, and the like.   Another reason you might be on the losing end of being my pen-pal is that my thoughts are often in disarray.  If you’ve read any of these blog posts that’s evident.  I’m not eloquent and sometimes my letters are too long or sometimes they’re too short.  Writing was never my strong point but I like to think that these activities are helping.  Corresponding by mail even allows me to vote thanks to Washington’s absentee ballot system.

Do your civic duty. For reals.

Greetings from Coco in Canada!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most amazing things to receive are care packages.  My best friend Emily (we caused mayhem in NH/interned together for SCA) sent a birthday/care package that completely turned around a tick ruined day.

Emily managed to fit a t-shirt in there. Talk about magic.

Kadrina’s gifts

 

Last month Kadrina, a friend who I interned with at One Reel, surprised me with some gifts from Seattle.

 

 

 

 

 

Vienna’s surprise

Today I got back from the field to find a box from Amazon.  Vienna had some snacks and a tin of badger balm sent to me.  Talk about surprises!  The last thing I need in Minnesota is food though as I’m trying to eat what I have without letting any extras go to waste.

Letters are magical though because you never know when you’re going to get them, who you’re going to get them from, and when you just might get one.  However, if you’re not of the snail mail fan club stay in touch via more advanced technology – I lose track of people far too easily.

 

 

The wall’s totally behind…

An update on bunkhouse life- I’ll eventually write a more detailed post on what that’s like.

The fellas from the bunkhouse have been leaving one by one as summer comes to a close.  Jarrod left August 1st while my work partner Zack plans to leave either the evening of the 19th or morning of the 20th.  Zack”ll be heading back to Colorado for his last year of school and has been amazing to work with as well as hang out with in the evenings and weekends. Art and Ben (who were out West for fire duty the last 14+ days) both start school the week of the 25th which will leave just me and Lee in the bunkhouse.

My time in Minnesota is dwindling as I’ll spend about a week in Michigan visiting Emily and a couple of days in Wisconsin before wrapping up my time in the Midwest with one last weekend in Minneapolis.  A last long flight will see me in Seattle on September 22nd.

Fire snippet

It’s strange hearing about home from an outsider’s perspective.  On Thursdays the Blackduck Ranger District has a morning meeting that includes all the staff working out of our office.  During the meeting our fire coordinator announced that a crew from Minnesota was being sent out and that one of his boys would most likely be activated.  Partway through he left to answer a call and informed us that there are two hand crews from Minnesota being sent West to Oregon/Washington for assistance in fighting wildfires.  One of our seasonals will be going.  He’ll probably fly into Central Washington since the major fire is just north of Leavensworth. 

We have two other seasonals in our district as well as a crew boss who are all anxiously awaiting a national call.  The likelihood of a wildfire starting in Minnesota, especially this summer, is extremely slim since the state stays fairly wet all season.  Add out of place storms every other week and Minnesota can breathe easily.  For many folks who fight fire, a significant part of of their income for the season comes from responding to fires.  Those who can travel are placed on a national list and there’s a system involving factors like experience and pertinent skills that decides who gets sent out when the call is made.  I’ve got a few friends working fire in Washington and would be lying if I said I wasn’t anxious.  With over 800 firefighters already on scene I don’t doubt that they’re part of the action.  Central and Eastern Washington is on high alert now that summer is in full swing.

Dirt Don’t Hurt

Conservation is a huge part of my life- it’s both my passion and how I got to where I am today.  It would be an understatement to say that the conservation life is a large part of who I’ve become as well. 

It’s hard to say when it all began.  There isn’t a date or event where I could tell you when my obsession for the outdoors began.  Born to parents who are city folks, it’s a mystery to some that I would rather spend the summer outdoors and under the stars rather staying in Seattle.  An unknown force pulls at my heartstrings when I see evergreen trees and snow capped mountains, knowing that the most wonderful of days await me.  It goes without saying that those wild and free days are typically accompanied by the best people I’ll ever meet. 

Winter retreat YESC

Yellowstone with YESC 2009

In high school I was part of a club called Earthcorps.  We recycled cans and bottles within the school and had a partnership with the YMCA Earth Service Corps (YESC) who held monthly service projects around King County.  YESC was my gateway to the conservation world and exposed teenage me to all sorts of adventures that I never would’ve had otherwise.  With seasonal retreats, service projects, and summer trips I fell deeper in love with nature and the bounties it promised. 

 

 

 

Outward Bound 2007

Through YESC I was able to go on a multi-week Outward Bound white water rafting trip with a crew of other teens in the majestic brilliant Southwest.  We lost track of time, rising when the sun did and sleeping when night fell.  The desert sky held the most stars I have ever seen to this day.  Days were spent paddling and the meals we cooked each evening were out of this world.  Outward Bound might’ve been my first experience in meeting folks that I might never see again but would be happy to share a meal with any time. 

YESC introduced me to one of my favourite activities: trail work.  It’s the building and maintaining of trails and one summer they teamed up with the Washington Trails Association (WTA, check them out at www.wta.org !) for a youth volunteer vacation.  A crew of capable young women, YESC/YMCA staff, and a couple of WTA leaders equated to a fantastic week in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.  We worked just North of Mount St. Helens, brushing and restoring tread on a trail that hadn’t received much love in years.  Although I’ve used various hand tools before I met the Pulaski for the first time as well was the McLeod (the value of which I would learn years later).  The work we got done was incredibly empowering.  And again the meals were always solid- there’s something about dinners after a day of doing work outside, knowing that you had a cozy tent waiting.  I’ve yet to had a terrible meal when camping. 

WTA camp 2009

WTA with YESC 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grand Canyon, SCA ASB 2010

Satellite Nursery, SCA ASB 2010

 Time passed and I was on my way to wrapping up my associates degree fall 2010 without much direction.  The only thing for certain was that I didn’t want to transfer to a university right away.  It was summer of 2010 and previously in March I had gone on an alternative spring break trip with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) to the Grand Canyon where 30 college students from around the United States did service projects instead of partying in the tropics.  There’s nothing like sleeping below the sky, frozen by the yipping howl of coyotes and the knowledge that cougars circled the campgrounds at night.  Fact because you went to a presentation by a ranger who had solid data from a tracking collar.  This was yet another instance in which friends that you might only ever see once came about. 

 

SCA NH: Learning what it means to actually snow

Murder mystery in the lodge; photo credit to Emily Lord

My friend Lauren gave me the obvious answer to my question of what to do post community college.  “Why don’t you get an internship with SCA?” and so I ended up in New Hampshire for 10 months in the middle of a state park with 30 or so other folks in their 20s (two of us were 19 at the start).  SCA New Hampshire Corps has been an a major player in the decisions I’ve made the last few years.  About four months of environmental education in local elementary schools with six months of down and dirty conservation work and I was as happy as could be.  

 

SCA NH: Jeremy Burns taking inventory of tools

 I’ve been lucky enough to see some of the folks I befriended in New Hampshire again, some several times.  Others I’ve yet to meet up in the three years since we split but I’m positive we’ll meet up one day.  SCA NH has also introduced me to many other people in the conservation world and likewise I’ve met people who have been impacted by the corps life.  Corps life is one that can never be fully explained because it is happiness, madness, and so much more. This year two of my fellow corps members from NH Corps have started their own corps in Tennessee.  The Great Smoky Mountains to be precise!  Sean and Heather are living the dream and continuing SCA’s legacy on youth and could really use some help in making their first season a success.  Check out Smoky Mountain Corps to support what is already a great endeavour.  You can also learn more about them on their Facebook page and read about how they’ll be impacting crews of young folks and the communities that they are connected to.

 

 

 

SCA NH: Sill bridge built in the White Mountains NF; photo credit to Emily Cook

Where’s Home?

The question is asked of me more often than not.  Living in areas where the population tends to be a homogenous group usually prompts people to wonder about origin.  My automatic answer is Washington.  However I’m of the belief that home can be more than one place.

Home is without a doubt the mountain rich lands of the Northwest with its evergreen forests and enchanting rivers.  It’s also the idyllic woods of New Hampshire in a restored CCC camp, a house right by a Rhode Island pond, and currently the Chippewa National Forest in Minnesota.  My work leads me to new places and so I am uprooted, only to leave part of myself when the time comes to leave yet again.  In the fall it’ll be Bellingham for the third time.   

Memories ranging in emotions and feelings are created in all these places.  They are forever etched into my heart.  At times I’ve both lost myself and found who I am, forever building on my identity.  I meet amazing folks and our paths go separate ways but it’s when I least expect it that they might just cross again.  Life is a constant adventure filled with surprises. 

Flying into Minneapolis

With every bagged packed, flight flown, and road trip taken the phrase ‘home is where the heart is’ becomes even more true.  Although I automatically think of the bunkhouse when I hear the word ‘home’ while living in Minnesota I know that one day when the seasonal/nomadic life becomes tiresome (a possibility I have a hard time considering), in the end Washington is where I belong.  I can’t fathom not being surrounded by the Cascades and the Olympics with the Salish Sea always within walking or biking distance.  Western red cedars rise majestically while Douglas fir makes up much of our forests.  The steppes, deserts, and grasslands East of the Cascades are gorgeous in their own rights.  The weather is temperate and the summers are beyond spectacular.  These are a few of the many reasons why my heart belongs in Washington. 

Three and a half weeks in the Land of 10,000 Lakes and I’m feeling fairly settled in.  My pal E. Cook even hooked me up with a sweet birthday gift to help with the transition. 

Care package makes my (birth)day

Minnesota nice is an accurate term as the people here are good and kind.  Everyone in the office and bunkhouse has been grand to work or live with. 

Spectacular sunsets

The Bunkhouse!

While I call Minnesota home I’ll be sporadically blogging about working for the US Forest Service as a pathways intern (timber).  Writing’s never been my strong suit so expect more pictures than words once I figure that out.  I also really enjoy snail mail shoot me a message if you would like my address.  Additionally this is my first summer not with the SCA in three years.  If you’re looking for a road trip take note- 4 out of 6 folks will be leaving the bunkhouse mid-August and I’ll be here until mid-September so it’ll be pretty quiet.  Feel free to visit!