September 27, 2009

Grand Geyser

I waited forever for this freakin thing to go off! Yellowstone has a prediction board for all the geysers in the Old Faithful basin that go off on a semi-regular basis. Some are very predictable while others have a 12 hour window of when it may go off. Grand has a window of about four hours. People start lining the boardwalk hours before as Grand is supposed to be one of the best to see. I managed to find a spot in the shade but so many people ended up coming that I didn't want to lose my spot so I waited for an hour and a half. The water in the pools is constantly filling up and overflowing and people would get excited when a splash of water would pop up. That trick got me the first few times but after awhile I just turned around and said "don't get excited, it's done that 5 times already" It was pretty awesome though and I'm glad I waited. It went off in a big jet, spewed for a while and then went off in a big jet again.

September 25, 2009

Jackson Lake Dam

This was my first (and only) day in Grand Teton National Park. I was up at 6am in a mad rush to see everything because I'd only gotten a glimpse of the Tetons from my campsite in Kelly, WY. Therefore, I had made it through most of the park by the time I filmed this. I ended up going on a three mile hike afterward to really get out and see the park. The bugs were insane (as you can tell in the video)

Day One-Bitchin Out

I got up at 6am, said good bye to Max, cried all the way to the Wyoming border, stopped in Rock Springs to mail the rest of my stuff (which took an hour), and that's when I decided to film this. I was tired, hungry, thirsty, and hot and I was sick of the monotony. This was taken just north of Rock Springs. The good news is that I made it to Grand Teton National Park by 3pm and it was gorgeous!!

September 15, 2009

Life In New York

Well it’s been a while since I posted. After a week at home, I was ready to move into RIT and my own apartment. After my many disasters of renting in Colorado, I was so excited to have a space to myself again. There’s a baby that lives above me so it’s kind of incongruous to hear a baby crying while there’s a party going on in the frat houses behind me. I am working as a Community Advocate in the apartments and during training I actually got the chance to go back to my alma mater as we did a day at the Ropes Course at Keuka. It’s still the same old Keuka even though the cafeteria is now an odd green color. We got the opportunity to do high ropes which I never got to do while at Keuka and I loved it.
After training we got a week off although I had three days of MBA orientation. American woman are in the minority of the MBA class. It’s kind of intimidating to be surrounded by people who all aspire to be CFO’s, CEO’s, CIO’s, CPA’s, and other such prestigious acronyms. Meanwhile, I just want to run off to Alaska, be a bush pilot, deal in gold and live in a log cabin (or something to that effect). I prided myself on being one of those kids in college who never changed my major and knew exactly what I wanted to do but after moving to Colorado (and moving back by way of 16 states) I now question exactly what I do want. It’s quite an adjustment to be responsible to my job, my family, and my schoolwork when previously I only had to keep track of myself.

After moving into RIT and doing two weeks of training and orientation, I was ready for a break. After an entire summer doing whatever the hell I wanted and being by myself for six weeks, I now find it hard to deal with schedules and being indoors. I decided to head to Durand Eastman beach on an afternoon off. I'd only heard of that beach as the place kids drowned so I thought it would be a wild and dangerous place but apparently that was before they started staffing it with lifeguards. It was gorgeous! I spent most of the day in the water. It was so relaxing to be on a beach again.

My favorite place in the Greater Rochester Area is the Genesee Country Village and Museum. I went there all the time as a kid and it was where I had my first job scooping ice cream. Our family donated the Pioneer Cabin there so I feel a connection and a kinship with the place. It makes me really proud to see my family's cabin being used as an example of pioneer life in the Genesee Valley. I love wandering around and seeing the village bustling with action and smelling the fire from the open hearth. I make sure to go there every chance I get.
Speaking of family, what I love about going to school in Rochester is being with my family again. I loved being out West but being all alone for three years really started to wear on me, especially with all the crap I went through. Luckily, my fellow nomad Jess has the same attitude about traveling and exploring as I do. We never had the time or money but that didn't stop us from striking out a couple times a month and seeing most of CO, KS, and NM. I never settled down in Colorado (which wasn't necessarily a bad thing) but being back in a small town where I have connections and a history is very comforting. Mom, Dad, Don and I went to a party at the gravel pits and I had an amazing time. Don took me out on the Jetski and the party barge and Dad and I went canoeing. I also got to meet up with a lot of people I hadn't seen in years. We all went out to Lake Ontario the Sunday before Labor Day because that used to be our tradition. We went to Browns Berry Patch and got ice cream and checked out the petting zoo. We went to the dam and over to Point Breeze and walked out on the breakwall. It was so much fun.