That Didn't Just Happen, Did It?

My little brother, Jacob, decided to visit us this week, and so of course we had to make the experience as epic as possible.  Somehow, I doubt he will ever forget his time spent in Gunnison, CO.

It all began Tuesday when we left to visit Peter at work.  His job takes him away from me for four days out of every week, so we thought camping out one night with him would be fun.  It took two hours to drive out to his camp, but it was worth it to see him.  The only disconcerting thing about the trip was that I began to hear a strange noise in my car towards the end of the drive.  I told Peter about it, and he thought it was the bushings going out.  I wasn't sure what this meant so I asked him, "My wheel's not gonna come off or anything, is it?"  He assured me that it wouldn't.

Oh, the irony.

We had a fun evening with Peter and his coworkers, and then got up bright and early the next morning to go home since everyone else would be off working any ways.  We had driven nearly nine miles down the road when my Jeep started to shake violently.  Knowing something was definitely wrong, I began to brake, but at that instant the front of my car pitched forward and I watched in shock as the entire front driver-side wheel went rolling down the hill...away from my vehicle, which had come to a complete stop at that point.  The next few moments are kind of a blur to me, but I clearly remember watching the wheel go bouncing and rolling away and thinking to myself, I can't believe that just happened.  My entire wheel just came off.  How does an entire wheel just come off?!

After I recovered from the shock and made sure both my little brother and my dog were okay, I climbed down the hill to retrieve my runaway wheel.  My brother came down after me and carried the wheel all the way back to my car.  The next step was to see if either one of us had any cell phone service, but of course, we were clear out in the middle of the woods; no signal.  I knew our best option was to hike back to Peter's camp.  So, I grabbed several bottles of Gatorade that we had thankfully brought with us, and we left the Jeep sitting three-legged in the middle of the road.  It took us three and a half hours to hike nearly nine miles back up to Peter's campsite.  We were all tired and hot when we got back.  Unfortunately, no one was there so we had to wait six hours for everyone to return.  Needless to say, Peter was pretty surprised to see me.  I explained everything that happened, and Peter and a coworker left to go survey the damage.  They managed to get a spare tire put on the Jeep by borrowing a lug and bolt from each remaining wheel, but the wheel well was damaged and it was rubbing against the spare, so it wasn't possible to drive far on it, but they did manage to get the Jeep moved off the forest and down to the highway.  Jacob and I ended up staying with Peter that night and then left with him and the rest of his Forest Service crew the next day when they broke camp for the week.

Thankfully I had recently opted to have roadside assistance with my car insurance because my car is getting older and less reliable.  When I got home I called my insurance company and they sent out a tow truck to bring my Jeep back.  Peter then spent a good chunk of Friday afternoon fixing the wheel.  It's now up and running and hopefully safe again.  The whole experience was rather freaky, but I can only be grateful for how everything turned out.  When I lost my wheel I was only going about 25 mph on a dirt road, and despite the fact that I was in the middle of nowhere without any cell phone service, I was still a reasonably close distance from people I knew who could help me.  No one was hurt, and my Jeep wasn't totalled.  My guardian angels must have been working overtime this week.  I was really impressed with how my brother handled the entire thing, too.  He was calm and cheerful the entire time.  He made the nearly nine-mile hike like a champ and hardly complained.  If he hadn't been with me, I probably would have panicked and done something stupid.  I'm sorry he had to waste his vacation time being stuck with me out in the woods, but I'm grateful he was with me.

Peter and Natasha both working hard on the Jeep

In other news, when I got home from my unexpected extended trip to the woods, I had a message on my cell phone.  I had recently interviewed for a receptionist position with a local veterinarian, and she had called to tell me that I had gotten the job! I start work on Monday.  I'm very excited because I really wanted this job, and I had actually applied for it over a month ago.  They had hired another girl instead of me, but it turned out that her school schedule wouldn't work with the job after all, so they called me up.  The very same day I got the call to interview for the receptionist position, I had just gotten back from another interview for a job I really didn't want but would have taken just because I needed something.  Jobs are really hard to find in this little town, so you don't turn down anything you might happen to get, even if it's bagging groceries.  I'm very happy that I got a job I wanted instead of a job I settled for.  In addition to working with animals, which I've always wanted to do, I get discounts on veterinary care for Natasha.  I have much to be grateful for today. :)

Soundtracks of Summer

The first summer I worked for the Forest Service was in 2008.  Peter and I rented an apartment in Evanston and commuted to the forest every day that year.  It was a thirty-minute drive and we didn't get much radio reception, so we listened to a lot of CDs.  That summer we listened to a lot of Led Zeppelin and the Red Hot Chili Peppers album Stadium Arcadium.  The next summer we lived on the forest (which was a MUCH better plan) and only commuted into town to get groceries.  The albums that dominated our stereo the summer of '09 were Coldplay's Viva La Vida and Bruce Springsteen with the Sessions Band: Live in Dublin.  This summer I don't have a job (which is kind of driving me batty) so I don't commute to work, and Peter and I walk or bike everywhere, so we really never drive much anymore.  I haven't listened to much music recently, except for what's on my iPod when I'm walking Natasha, and the local radio station plays mostly country, which isn't my favorite.  I haven't found an album that seems to encapsulate this summer, and I need to resolve that.  I need something new or an album or a music group I haven't explored yet.  Any suggestions?

Also, what album, song, or musician makes you think of summer?  Feel free to post your responses! :D

Masked Bandits

Last night, as I was taking Natasha out for a final potty break before we went to bed, I heard a funny noise coming from the dumpsters across the parking lot.  I ignored it at first, but I heard it again as I was returning to my apartment.  My curiosity overwhelmed me and I had to investigate.  I put Natasha inside and then head back out to see what was making the noise.  As I got closer to the dumpsters, I saw two sets of eyes looking at me.

I instantly recognized the source of the racket and rushed back inside to grab Peter and My camera.  I'm pretty sure you all have guessed who our nighttime visitors were that were feasting on a smorgasbord of refuse.  If not...here are some photos to help clear it up.

These little guys were just babies.  As I got closer their mommy got a little upset and made her presence known from within the dumpster.  I got a quick shot of her and then decided it was best to leave them alone.

They were pretty cute...even if they were possibly disease ridden.

Henry Lake

We've now had Natasha for nearly two weeks now and we're starting to get more of a feel for her personality.  She's VERY playful and loves to chase after EVERYTHING, but she's still a little jumpy around loud noises and strangers.  We're working on her socialization and separation anxiety issues and our efforts have started to pay off a little.  It's going to take a lot of work, time, and patience, but she's doing well.

As part of her socialization, we decided to join some new friends on a backpacking trip up to Henry Lake in the Fossil Ridge Wilderness of the Gunnison National Forest.  When we first introduced Natasha to our friends and their dog, she was a little nervous, but I gave her treats and plenty of praise whenever she acted calmly and pretty soon she was checking everyone out cautiously but with interest.  Once we knew she would be able to get along with everyone we set out on the trail.  The hike was only seven miles to the lake and the trail was fairly level, but the last mile was a killer.  We were already tired from hiking and carrying our gear on our backs, and it didn't help that the trail went practically vertical.  I was very grateful for the fact that Natasha loves to pull on her leash for once because she was able to drag me up the trail.  My favorite part about the whole hike were the pikas we could hear chirping back and forth to one another as we passed a talus covered slope.  They're just so cute!

Once we got to the lake and set up camp it immediately began to rain.  I don't know what the deal is, but the last few times I have gone camping it has rained on me.  I'm just glad the first thing we did was set up our tent because we definitely needed it sooner than we thought.  Natasha did pretty well most of the time, and because there was no one else up at the lake we decided to let her run off leash.  She always had to follow anyone who left camp, which was annoying if you needed to take care of your business off in the woods.  She would also whine if either Peter or I left her sight.  It was kind of annoying and definitely one of those separation anxiety things we're working on.  At one point she spotted a rock that was jutting out of the lake and she thought it was some vicious monster out to get us.  I have never heard her growl and bark like that.  She's never done that to other people or dogs, just a stupid rock!  What a goof!

The next day as we were hiking out she did something that really took me by surprise.  We came to a spot in the trail where we couldn't remember which way we had gone to get around a large tree that had fallen in the path.  Natasha kept wanting to go one way, but we decided to go another.  We soon realized that our way only ran us into more difficult obstacles so we decided to follow Natasha.  Sure enough she led us to a spot that allowed us to safely get around the tree, and had been the original way we had come.  She was tracking!  For the rest of the hike we followed her nose and she didn't steer us wrong!  It was awesome!

Since our trip, I have worked extensively on Natasha's separation anxiety.  I've made a lot of progress and she now hardly reacts when I leave, but Peter is another matter.  Although she was supposed to be more my dog, she has bonded very strongly to Peter, and she hates it when he's gone.  This week was rough because Peter got called out on a fire and was gone for a couple of days.  Natasha has an inner clock that lets her know it's time for Peter to be home and when it got to be past that time and he still hadn't returned she started getting nervous.  She actually started whining at his dirty clothes in the hamper!  It's cute in a way, but I need her to figure out that when Peter leaves he always comes back.  We'll have to work on that specifically with Peter this weekend.

Another thing I have discovered is that she's not afraid of my bike and I've been dragging her along on bike rides every morning.  It really works her out more than a walk and has become a great way to get exercise.  The only problem is that if she sees another dog or a person jogging she goes chasing after them.  She's nearly yanked me off my bike a couple of times.  I have to be really careful about that.

Any ways, here are some photos of our recent adventures.

On the trail.

Everyone taking a little break.

Natasha was so tired she laid down

right in the middle of the trail.

Natasha found a stick, but then Chester decided he

wanted it, and the two began a merry game of tug-of-war.

You could literally grab trout right

out of this stream with your bare hands.

Natasha was trying to score some free breakfast

the next morning.

Natasha running around the lake,

happy as a clam.

Welcome to Colorado!

The two partners in crime!

Me and Natasha both looking pretty tired.

Peter looking pretty tired and dirty

after fighting fires for two days.

Meet Natasha

Peter and I decided to make a big step last weekend; we adopted a dog.

Since the day Peter and I were married I have wanted a dog of my own, but because of our circumstances we were unable to have one.  Now that Peter is done with school and working in his field, we decided to finally get a dog.  We debated for a while whether it would be better to get a puppy or an adult and agreed that an adult would suit us better.  Although I do have the time to train a puppy, we just didn't want to deal with the mess since we are renting.  Plus, a puppy would be too young to go out camping and hiking with us this summer.  So, for the last two months I have been looking for an adult Siberian Husky to adopt.

I love Siberians.  I think they are absolutely gorgeous, but I also love their personalities and their energy.  We also wanted a dog that would be able to live in the climate we live in which is much colder than a lot of places, and we will probably never live anywhere that is terribly warm due to Peter's career choice.  So I began looking for a dog, and one day I happened to stumble upon an ad on KSL's website for a young Siberian that needed a new home.  Her family was giving her up because their lives had changed and they could no longer give her what she needed.  The dog in the photo they put up was beautiful, so I began communication with the owners.  After some e-mail communication and phone calls, we decided to make the trip out to Utah to see the dog and the family.  Father's Day was quickly approaching so we decided to drive out that weekend so we could kill two birds with one stone.

When we first met our dog we were struck with her beauty, but she barked at us until she calmed down.  Her bark was never aggressive, nor was her behavior.  She seemed more like a dog that didn't have a healthy outlet for her energy, in fact, within minutes of us meeting her she went into the "play bow" position.  The barking was our only concern, and it's something we can train her not to do, especially once we get her properly socialized with other people and dogs.  We spent a couple of hours interacting with the family and the dog, and eventually made the decision to adopt her.  It was hard for the owners because they loved their dog, but they were happy that she was going home with us.

We have decided to rename her since she is starting a new life and we have settled on the name Natasha.  Her previous owners said she was more wary of men than women, but she has actually taken quite rapidly to Peter.  I think it is his calm and confident demeanor.  The first night with her was difficult because we were staying at my in-laws and there were a lot of new people and things to explore.  They also have two cats and Natasha LOVES to chase cats, so we had to be careful about that.  Her previous owners said she slept in her crate and thought of it as her "comfort zone", but she would whine and moan whenever we put her in it at night.  She had a very difficult time calming down.  She didn't want to be in her crate. She wanted to be in the bed with us, but I think letting dogs sleep in your bed is a very bad idea.  She did better once we just let her roam around the room, but she paced back and forth for most of the night.

The eight-hour drive home went better than expected.  She stayed calm in the car, but she didn't like the twisty turns of the canyons we drove through, but who could blame her.  When we drove on straight stretches of road, Natasha would lay her head down on the armrest between me and Peter and sleep.  Once we got her home, she adjusted better than we thought.  We let her explore her new home and let her settle down a little and then we took her for a nice long walk to help her burn any excess energy.  She did better that night than the night before.  We made a bed for her down on the floor next to our bed and then went to sleep.  She paced a little bit, but quickly settled down on her bed.  Every now and then if she heard something outside she would get up and look out the window, but then she'd settle back down again.  The next night she paced a little more and kept wanting to jump up into bed with us, but last night was better.  She settled right down and only woke us up once at 4:00 in the morning.  She loves to pull on her leash, but that is because of her breed.  We ordered a dog backpack that we can put weights in to help get her more exercise and a job to do, plus she'll be able to carry her own food and water when we go hiking.  We also want to get what is called a Pawtrekker.  It's kind of like a cross between a scooter and a mountain bike but they're designed to be safely pulled by a dog.  That would really help Natasha get some exercise.

Natasha needs some good consistent discipline and socializing, but she is sweet tempered, loving, and not the least bit aggressive.  She'll bark at people but it's never the "I'm gonna bite your face off" kind of bark.  She also always wants to go bounding after other dogs, but I'm not sure if it's because she wants to check them out and play with them or get into a tussle, but her body language makes me think the former.  She does need to lose some weight, but that will come off with exercise.  Once we get her the proper exercise and training she needs, she will make a wonderful pet.

Here are a few things we love about Natasha:
* Her ears.  They're so big and expressive.
* She's very curious, but not destructive.
* She always has to circle a spot three or four times before she will lie down.
*When she hears something at the front door she'll put her head down near it and cock her head back and forth so that each ear gets a chance to listen.

Moving: Part Deux

We knew that our stay in the Forest Service house up in Crested Butte was only temporary, so I immediately began looking for a permanent place to stay almost immediately after we moved to Colorado. After looking around for a while we settled on a two-bedroom apartment in Gunnison. Peter wanted to rent a house that we had found, but I talked him out of it because it cost about $150 more a month which equates to nearly $2,000 a year. The lady who owned the house was also just renting it until she could find someone to buy it. The prospect of having to move again was not something I was willing to deal with. So, the weekend before my 27th birthday, we packed up everything again and moved. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I hate moving right now.


In fact, it's more than hate.

I loathe moving.

I have done it twice in the last month, and I am physically and mentally exhausted from it. The day after, I slept for ten hours and still had a difficult time forcing myself to get out of bed in the morning. When we first moved to Colorado we packed everything up the day before and then drove eight hours the next day and unpacked.  Although we didn't have to drive much this time, we had to pack up and unload everything in one day.  I'm not sure which was worse.  At least when we first moved to Colorado we had help, but this time it was just me and Peter.  It seems I actually managed to impress him with all of the heavy lifting I did.  I guess I’m stronger than I look.

Despite the fact that we are exhausted from moving again, it’s nice to actually be in our own place, and I can finally unpack everything. Living out of boxes is really annoying. Unfortunately, we can’t get too settled here. Gunnison is just a temporary stop. In a year and a half to two years from now, we will be doing this all over again. The thought of moving again just makes me want to cry. Hopefully the next time we move it will be easier because Peter will get a transfer of station where the Forest Service will pay for the move…and you better believe I’ll be hiring movers. I’ve broken my back enough this go around. I’m not doing it again...at least not anytime soon.

It's Not a Chipmunk

It certainly looks like one though, doesn't it?

 (click to enlarge)

No, this cute little critter is a golden-mantled ground squirrel.  How can I tell the difference?  Well, for one, it's much bigger than a chipmunk, and the coloring is a little different.  Identifying wildlife is one of my favorite things to do, and I'm lucky enough to live in places where I can see a lot of wildlife.

I spotted this little guy tonight while he was romping around in my backyard.  There is a huge window above my kitchen sink that overlooks the backyard, and I was doing the dishes this evening when I saw him.  Recently the weather here has been absolutely divine with temperatures in the upper 70s.  Apparently this guy decided it was nice enough to come out and sample the tasty spring vegetation.

I haven't seen much wildlife yet this season.  Just a few hawks, some deer, a coyote, a yellow-bellied marmot, and a fox, but I have been told that Crested Butte has a huge bear problem.  In fact, there is a story that one actually got into the house I'm living in once.  Everyone here has bear-proof garbage cans.  I'd really like to see a bear, but only if I'm inside my house...and it's not.