summer adventure. road trip to exhaustion.

i am exhausted. completely exhausted. i'm physically drained with a sprained ankle (that i'm too stubborn and busy to slow down enough and let heal). i'm emotionally taxed with making new friends and visiting old. i'm mentally wiped from spending way too much time in my car.

but, it is all part of the glorious adventure of summer.

after my brief jaunt across the country, i spent nearly 2 weeks training for my summer job with SCA. i am  excited for the work, but i'm also feeling a little overwhelmed with all that needs to happen before i leave. i loved being back in new england. i met some fascinating people that i hope to build some friendships with as time goes on. oh, and i celebrated my 24th birthday! yay!

i woke up saturday morning slightly groggy from a rowdy evening of celebrating my birthday, said goodbye to many of my new cohorts and packed my car in with an additional 3 people (little leopold, my corolla, was bursting at the seams!) for a whirlwind trip from NH to boston and back to western massachusetts. i fought through my tiredness and even went contra dancing!

i left hawley early this morning, stopped in new jersey for lunch with my friend kevin, rescued my friend kt's bike in kutztown, pa and am now in reading, pa visiting a friend from high school. tomorrow i'm headed to pittsburgh to see molly! i just wish i didn't feel so much like a zombie...

new challenges. job transitions.

right now i'm at the old cummington creamery in western massachusetts, using some high speed internet and trying to catch up on everything. 

the last few weeks at work were fun with lots of smiles and adventures! here are some of the photo highlights...

a few of us celebrated our 12th birthdays with minigolf and beer.

a newt at camp sturtevant!

they had mules to bring in our food and gear.

there were lots of waterfalls.

and a big telescope on top of mt. wilson.

view of LA from mt. wilson!

rob and i on the way to camp sturtevant for contra.

i also managed to snap a few photos of students in my last field group.

romping along frog creek.

they loved this area.

my crazy group of boys.

ten essentials!

hanging out at one of my favorite spots.

climbing trees in the enchanted forest.

shelter building!

and a few of my coworkers...

karis and i on the last day (check out my awesome outfit).

melissa with clancy (the dophin) as the lorax.

my boss. yup. crazy british man.

with as much fun as there was, i have been rather stressed with the end of my job at high trails and the transition to my crew leading position with SCA. i realized a few days ago that there were things i probably should have been doing to be more organized and prepared, and now i feel like i'm a few steps behind where i should be. i know that it will all work out in the end, but right now i'm feeling overwhelmed.

i did have a nice trip across the country complete with delightful visits to good friends and family.

grand canyon!

jumping lizard in AZ.

lizard doing yoga?

4 corners!

rocky mountains.

mesa verde national park.

sunset coming out of the rockies.

i've managed to pack in a lot during my visit to massachusetts: the montague book mill, people's pint, contra dancing in greenfield, pancakes with former corps members, ice cream from the creamery, time with some older generation friends in plainfield (with delicious food!) and a day of lazying around hawley.

but with all of this excitement...i lost my voice! i'm hoping it returns before i go to crew leader training...

new challenges. this is my backyard.

while we were frolicking along frog creek, one of the students in my field group wistfully remarked, "i wish this was my backyard". when he said that, i thought to myself, this IS my backyard.

as my time winds down at high trails for the spring, i have been reflecting a lot on how i have enjoyed my time here. i've learned the predominant plants and animals of the forest, but there is still so much to learn. often my student ask me what a particular bush or wildflower is...however i haven't gotten into a habit of bringing my handy-dandy field guide along with me on hikes... i have made friendships that i hope will become lasting. i developed new hobbies like baking bread and cycling and have become more advanced in knitting and crocheting. i have been to several contra dance festivals (one of which i am avoiding packing for right now...). all in all, my time in california has been awesome, and i'm looking forward to returning.

this might be a short entry. life has been overwhelming, and i need some time to sort through things before i'm able to reflect in this space...