How I'm Spending My Summer Vacation...

It's about time I blogged about where Peter and I are going to be this summer. I think I have told most people, but there may be a few out there who don't know what the plan is for us. Unfortunately, Peter didn't get the SCEP in the Shoshone National Forest, so we're going to be working for the Evanston district of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. This will be Peter's third summer working there, and my second. I'm actually very happy with this outcome. The SCEP would have been better for Peter's career in the long run, but I wouldn't have had a job up there, and I probably would have gone nuts. So instead I will be working here, at the Bear River Ranger Station...


It's a pretty cushy gig. I will be working as an information receptionist, and collection officer. Fancy words meaning I answer people's basic questions regarding the area and I take their money in exchange for a recreation pass which is mandatory if you're going to be in the area. Weekdays are generally slow and I get a lot of reading done, which is just fine by me. The area is beautiful and the higher altitude means that the temperature remains cooler during even the peak of summer. Generally no higher than 80 degrees. It's a really chill job and I can't wait to go back!

We will also not be living in Evanston like we did last summer. Instead, we will be living in the government supplied housing available at Bear River. We pulled a few strings and worked out a deal so that we could stay in one of the cabins instead of a trailer. It's going to be really nice! Especially because we won't have to commute 30 miles (one way) every day, so we'll save on gas (which is good for the environment and the wallet). I also won't have to get up at 5:00 a.m. to go to work with Peter who works from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. four days a week, but the ranger station doesn't open until 8:00 a.m. and closes at 4:00 p.m. Last summer I had a one hour block before and after work three days a week where I had nothing to do but bum around the ranger station. Since I will be living just directly back in the woods behind my "office" I can sleep in or go home instead of waiting for Peter.

The downside of this arrangement is that we will have no cell phone service or Internet access. We'll be really cut off from the world, which actually sounds kind of nice, to be honest. I will really miss raiding with my guild on World of Warcraft, but we have plans to meet up with the gang later this summer in Anaheim for the annual convention, BlizzCon. Yeah, I know...we're really nerdy. My friends and family will also be able to reach me at the ranger station. The lack of technological distractions will also provide us with more time to actually enjoy the area we will be living in. I was really bummed that I didn't take the opportunity to do more hiking/fishing/mountain biking last summer, so I'm hoping to make up for it this year. Peter and I are even going to try and hike up King's Peak which is the highest peak in all of Utah! I think it's somewhere around 13K feet above sea level. We may not be able to work out the time we need off to do it, but we're at least going to try.

We will be moving the second weekend in May. Peter has to report to work on May 11th, but I don't start work until May 22nd (tentatively because it's dependent upon the snow melting). I may actually stay in Logan for a week or two while Peter is working because I might as well stay at my job and earn some more money instead of sitting around twiddling my thumbs. It's really not fun to be seperated from my hubby but I managed to do it for a whole summer two years ago, so a week or two will be a breeze.

I'll try and blog about any fun things that happen (hopefully, there will be no incidents of me getting stuck in a Forest Service truck in the middle of nowhere, requiring me to radio for help again). I will have to go into town once a week for groceries any ways, so I will be able to check my e-mail and let people know we're still alive and that we didn't get eaten by any bears.

You are all more than welcome to pop in for a visit, too! :)

I Want to Ride My Bicycle!

"Bicycle! Bicycle! Bicycle! I want to ride my bicycle! I want to ride my bike!"

Oh Queen...you crazy, flamboyant band...but this is basically how I have felt for the last month. Most of April has been cold and snowy and I haven't been able to get out on my bike, but finally we had a break in the crappy weather this last week and I managed to get some good cycling in!

I've been biking to work every day this week...and boy am I sore! I haven't been on a bike for many months and I can really feel it. Not to mention that bicycle seats aren't very friendly things to be sitting on, so I've been walking rather funny for the last few days.

Getting to work in the morning is easy because it's all downhill from where I live, but biking back at the end of the day is another story. There are some pretty killer hills, or at least they're tough for me. Oh, but how I love to be on a bike! To enjoy the fresh air and warm sunshine as well as get in some good exercise (it's especially great for us ladies because it targets some of the areas we tend to have issues with, like our butt and thighs). There are also several pastures on my route home where there are sheep and right now there are lots of little lambs so I can stop and watch them for a little while which makes me happy. It's not really safe to observe them from a moving vehicle. Peter jokes that one of these days I'm going to be so busy looking at the fluffy little babies that I'll just drive off the road and roll the Jeep into the ditch. That would be a fun one to explain to my insurance company.

I've also been going nuts about bike accessories. I spent a lot time online today just looking at cute outfits and reading up on technique. Peter and I really need to invest in a bike rack so that we can transport both of our bikes, too. Right now we can only squish one in the back of the car and it's not very convenient. There are some awesome bike racks by Yakima that are attached to your hitch receiver and hold up to 4 bikes. They're around $300 but I think it would be a worthwhile investment somewhere down the road.

So much cool stuff...so little money.

Any ways, I love spring and summer, and I especially love spending time outdoors after being cooped up inside all winter long! My father-in-law gave me a bike last year which I can't even begin to express how awesome that was! Now Peter and I can ride together, and I won't have to keep adjusting the seat on his.

I hope this summer is filled with many biking adventures...but hopefully not like the one I had two years ago when I went up a curb at a weird angle and I ended up eating it on the pavement right at a red light where everyone could stop and watch me hobble off sheepishly. That was embarrassing...and painful.

Wicked!

Today started out as a normal Saturday. I woke up around 11:00 a.m. and puttered around the apartment for a little while to try and work up the motivation to do some cleaning, but it quickly turned into an unforgettable day! Shortly after noon I received a phone call from Peter who was over at the university working on a service project with the forestry club. His first question to me was, "Are you dressed?" My response was, "Uh...kind of..." because I was just wearing my pajamas and bathrobe. My fear was that Peter had decided to have everyone in the forestry club stop by the apartment for lunch or something. Then he followed up his question by saying, "Well, would you like to go see Wicked?" I think my response was, "What?"

The official Broadway touring company of Wicked is currently in Salt Lake City at the Capital Theater and it has been the hot ticket this year. I have always wanted to see it, and going to New York was out of the picture, so I was excited when I heard about a year ago that it was coming to SLC. Well, unfortunately we couldn't afford tickets when they went on sale back in January, so you can imagine my confusion when Peter asked me if I wanted to see the musical. Apparently his aunt had an extra ticket and she had called him wondering whether he or I would like to go. Peter knew how much I really wanted to see it, so he gave me a call. He was so cute about it. I think he was just as excited for me as I was about going, and I could hardly believe it! I was going to see Wicked!

There was only one problem...I hadn't even showered yet. I also live in Logan and the play was in Salt Lake...and it started in two hours. So Peter drove home so that I could have the car and in the meantime I did whatever I could to make myself look remotely presentable. So in just a few minutes I was on the road and headed to Salt Lake to see Wicked. I have never driven so fast in my life. I normally don't like to speed because it's reckless and I can't afford to get any tickets. Besides, I have a perfect driving record and I'm not about to spoil that! Well, luck was on my side because I didn't encounter any cops on the road (and I'll admit, I thought about calling my brother-in-law who happens to be a cop about giving me a police escort) and I made it from Logan to Salt Lake in an hour and 30 minutes and I got there with ten minutes to spare! I rule! Turns out my mother and father-in-law were also there and had no clue I was going as well, so they were both shocked when they saw me. Unfortunately, my seat wasn't by any of my relatives which kind of sucked. Especially because the woman who was sitting next to me was texting throughout most of the production, and her bright, glowy cell phone screen was really distracting! I mean, come on! Can you not put your cell phone down for two hours? How inconsiderate can you be? Geez!

Well, despite the rude woman's efforts, I still had a great time! The production was fantastic! It was different from the book in many ways, but that was to be expected. The singing was incredible as well as the costumes and backdrop. My only complaint is that after the play I had to turn around and go home instead of hanging out with my family. I haven't been home on a weekend for several weeks and things have been getting out of control around the homefront and my parents are coming up on Sunday to celebrate my husband's birthday. So, I needed to get home. It was totally worth the trip, though! Now I just need to come up with an awesome way to thank Peter's aunt for the free ticket. It really made my day!

St. George

Last weekend Peter and I, along with my sisters Sarah and Michelle, and their husbands, Grant and Randy, drove down to southern Utah. We were all in need of a little break so we drove about 5 hours to stay at the condo owned by Peter's grandmother in St. George. It was so much fun! I don't think we've ever gone on a trip before as couples, so it was definitely due.

We left Friday afternoon and made our way down to what we were hoping would be a warmer climate. Unfortunately a snowstorm decided to blow in that same day and about the time we reached Filmore we ran into it. It was pretty nasty and cold! Not what we were expecting. At one point Sarah looked out upon the vast expanse of nothing that is the middle-of-nowhere Utah and said, "Oh look! Sheep!" Unfortunately what she mistook for sheep were merely snow-covered sagebrush. We had a good laugh at her expense and teased her about it mercilessly. Eventually we made it through the snow and to our destination in St. George where we unpacked and watched the movie Marley and Me which made me and Sarah cry, which then gave our husbands plenty to tease us about. If there's anything I have learned about living with a man it is that they love to do anything that results in a big reaction. Just the other day I was walking towards my apartment after getting home from work and Peter saw me coming so he hid under the stairwell and then leaped out and grabbed me. I screamed loudly and Peter got a huge kick out of it.

Any ways, the next day we all got up and went to Zion National Park which is one of my favorite places in the world! It is an absolutely gorgeous area with plenty of hikes and incredible vistas! If you've never been you should! Unfortunately we didn't get much hiking done because not only was it very chilly due to the cold front that had blown through the day before, but we also had Michelle and Randy's baby, Riley, with us because they couldn't find anyone who would watch her over the weekend. I had no problems with the baby coming along but I felt badly for them because I'm sure they would have preferred a baby-free weekend for once. So we ended up just doing the Riverwalk hike along the Virgin River, while I looked longingly at Angel's Landing as we passed it in the shuttle. For all of you who have never done the Angel's Landing hike it is pretty intense. The hike itself is not difficult but at the end of the hike you have to walk along a narrow ledge with nothing but an iron chain to hang onto and a several thousand foot drop on both sides. Definitely not for those who are afraid of heights, but the view from the top is magnificent! I hiked up it for the first time on my honeymoon, and I've always wanted to do it again since. Any ways, our trip to Zion was relatively tame, but it was nice to be out nonetheless, and Riley had fun seeing all the squirrels along the path. The little critters were everywhere, and they were fearless! I watched as several people reached out and petted the darn things! Here is a picture of one of the adventurous squirrels as well as a group shot of the crew sans Michelle who was taking the photo.



On the way to Zion we passed an ostrich farm that was advertising ostrich eggs for sale. Grant kept talking about getting one on the way back, and I thought he was kidding...but on the way back to the condo he actually had us stop at this farm and get one. I could hardly believe it! There was a gate in front of the long driveway to the farm and you had to honk to get any service. I laughed as I watched this rather hick looking guy run up to the gate where Grant proceeded to purchase the egg. Sarah and I rolled our eyes at the foolishness and then we were back on the road again with the the egg in tow. Michelle and Randy were a ways behind us on the road and didn't know we were stopping to buy an egg. We saw them driving passed us and we waved at them but they didn't notice. Later Michelle said that she saw someone there buying an egg but didn't realize it was us and was thinking, "Who would be crazy enough to buy an ostrich egg?" Apparently Peter and Grant are. The next morning Grant made good on his promise to cook up the egg and the whole process actually turned me off from eating eggs for a good long while. You start by chiseling holes in both ends of the egg, then you stir up the yolk with a stick, and then blow it all out. It's pretty disgusting to watch. I was brave enough to try eating it, but I couldn't get passed the fact that it came from an ostrich. They tasted just like chicken eggs, though. My favorite quote was from Sarah who said, "Is this FDA approved?"






The whole trip was really fun, and I loved spending time with my family, especially my sisters. We made some great memories and I really hope that we can make this an annual thing. Except for the ostrich egg...we don't need to do that every year...or ever again for that matter.