Friday, September 30, 2011
Montana
Hey everyone I have made it to Montana. I am writing this from my touch at the coffee shop, so I got to go fast. It took two full days to get here and I am pooped. Today we had the day off, but we start tomorrow building a bridge. I'll soon begin training to fight fires and to chop down trees. We're camping just outside of Butte, at Fleecer forest service cabin. When I get back to STL I'll upload pictures. Yesterday was stipend day, aka payday. It's great, I can now go buy things I need such as fire boots. I'll be here in Butte building things and being trained for a few weeks until around October 15. That's when the elk hunting season starts and we will get out of here. But I got to go, the truck is leaving. Of by the way, my beard looks great, I'll take a picture and put it up later. Bye now.
Shamucas
Friday, September 23, 2011
Wild Cating
I just got back to my place in Soulard after a few days out and about in the wilderness. 3 hours ago I found out I'm leaving for Montana on Tuesday.
On Monday, my first service day, I got all my fire gear checked out. It consisted of a fire shirt, pants, jacket, fire blanket, helmet, backpack, and a utility backpack. I also met all the other program members. There are 30 ERT members, and about 40 education members. Tuesday, I signed my contract with AmeriCorps. It was 31 pages. I had to sign every page. We had to read it out loud, so it took 4 hours to read. Tuesday night, we went out to see Ali, from my earlier post, sing at open mic night. Bars in Soulard are really laid back, you don't get yelled out for bringing your own beer and dog. It was a good time with my roommates and other members who live in Soulard that came out.
Wednesday we left for Quest. It was in Southern Illinois about 2 or so hours from Soulard. We had to stop pretty early on when one of the trucks ran out of gas. In all, about 90 people went with all their personal backpacking gear, and AmeriCorps gave us a table full of food, cooking supplies, and tarps. Once we arrived at Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, we were split into teams of 12 and were dropped off in different areas all around two different lakes with each team getting 3 canoes and maps. We canoed for about 3 hours until we found where we needed to go. The lake was very nice, but I didn't pull out my camera because my gear was under everyone's gear. We then proceeded to wild cat, or bush whack all around the refuge trying to find the camp site where we were suppose to be. It got dark, but after about 4 hours of darkness, we got to our camp site around 11 or so. We ate dinner of red beans and rice and then made camp. We made a lean-to consisting of 2 trees, 2 tarps and some rope. We went to sleep, and then were awoken by another team at around 4 am trying to find a place to camp. Long story short, they were way lost I later found out.
Thursday, I remembered I had my camera, and took some pictures. Like the day before, we didn't follow trails, and did some more wild cating around the refuge. We found where the other team we met the night before slept. They slept in this shelter that was constructed by the CCC in the 50s. Then we did some more wild cating to a cliff with a cave. We then hiked to a cemetary which turned out to be the end of the road for all of our hiking. At the cemetery was a van that we drove back to where we had dinner. Turns out there were cabin available that we spent the night in. Friday we woke up, had breakfast, said bye to the education people and packed to go home.
On the way back, another car in our caravan hit a deer. It destroyed the front of the car. I'm tired and ready for bed. It may be 6, but it's bed time. See you in Montana.
Shamucas
On Monday, my first service day, I got all my fire gear checked out. It consisted of a fire shirt, pants, jacket, fire blanket, helmet, backpack, and a utility backpack. I also met all the other program members. There are 30 ERT members, and about 40 education members. Tuesday, I signed my contract with AmeriCorps. It was 31 pages. I had to sign every page. We had to read it out loud, so it took 4 hours to read. Tuesday night, we went out to see Ali, from my earlier post, sing at open mic night. Bars in Soulard are really laid back, you don't get yelled out for bringing your own beer and dog. It was a good time with my roommates and other members who live in Soulard that came out.
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| June and Annika at the Shanti |
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| 3 of 5 roommates |
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| All ERT guys |
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| Some member brought this dog to the bar |
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| Too many snacks makes for one sick dog. |
Wednesday we left for Quest. It was in Southern Illinois about 2 or so hours from Soulard. We had to stop pretty early on when one of the trucks ran out of gas. In all, about 90 people went with all their personal backpacking gear, and AmeriCorps gave us a table full of food, cooking supplies, and tarps. Once we arrived at Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, we were split into teams of 12 and were dropped off in different areas all around two different lakes with each team getting 3 canoes and maps. We canoed for about 3 hours until we found where we needed to go. The lake was very nice, but I didn't pull out my camera because my gear was under everyone's gear. We then proceeded to wild cat, or bush whack all around the refuge trying to find the camp site where we were suppose to be. It got dark, but after about 4 hours of darkness, we got to our camp site around 11 or so. We ate dinner of red beans and rice and then made camp. We made a lean-to consisting of 2 trees, 2 tarps and some rope. We went to sleep, and then were awoken by another team at around 4 am trying to find a place to camp. Long story short, they were way lost I later found out.
Thursday, I remembered I had my camera, and took some pictures. Like the day before, we didn't follow trails, and did some more wild cating around the refuge. We found where the other team we met the night before slept. They slept in this shelter that was constructed by the CCC in the 50s. Then we did some more wild cating to a cliff with a cave. We then hiked to a cemetary which turned out to be the end of the road for all of our hiking. At the cemetery was a van that we drove back to where we had dinner. Turns out there were cabin available that we spent the night in. Friday we woke up, had breakfast, said bye to the education people and packed to go home.
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| Inside the cabin made by the CCC |
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| Outside the CCC |
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| Trying to figure out where the Cemetery was |
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| In the cave |
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| Forest we spent a large majority of 2 days hiking through. |
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| Following our bearing |
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| The cemetery should be over that hill to the left |
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| I like this picture. Reminded me of a Forest Gump when they drop out of a helicopter |
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| Cemetery and the van! |
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| Look at the dates, now that was strange |
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| Getting ready to leave |
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| Map of where we were. Started top right, then canoed down to the bottom of the lake, hiked around, and ended bottom right. |
Shamucas
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Stoop Life
Stoop life is the title of this blog. I spend a lot of time on the stoop. I'm actually writing this on the stoop because it's the only place where I can get an internet connection. Everyone hangs out on the stoop. With ten people making up the two adjacent apartments and another 10 coming from around the neighborhood, the stoop is where everyone hangs out. There's a very nice older woman who lives three doors down and walks her dog around the park I live across from. She is the most vulgar older woman I have run into, but boy, does she love the AmeriCorps kids. She has a dog named Frosty which is pretty much the coolest, smallest, oldest dog I have seen. It rains quite a bit here, which pretty much is every day.
Week two in Soulard was just about as much fun as week one. There were plenty of unofficial activities planned throughout the week such as cleaning up a historic cemetery, going to Grants Farm, and going to the farmers' market. I didn't end up going to the cemetery because it was pouring buckets and it was cancelled. So instead, my roommate Marty, June, and I went on the Budweiser Brewery Tour. The plant is about 5 blocks from my house so we just decided to go there.
Thursday we went to Grants Farm, which I am told is a zoo for adults. It's a free zoo that serves free beer. But it wasn't opened for some reason, so we went home. Friday was a nice day with no rain. I spent a lot of time at the farmer's market. I went with fellow member Allie and listened to her play her guitar for people. We left and came back later with all the members to stroll up and down the two blocks of fresh vegetables, fruits, and other random items. June bought the largest watermelon ever that I carried to the pot luck AmeriCorps was having. This watermelon must have weighed 30 pounds.
Saturday there was a party at my house for everyone in the program. My room was turned into Club Lucas with music, dancing, and Frosty the dog. I don't know how he came into my room, but he was a huge hit.
And then finally, Sunday the rain came back. That didn't stop people from playing Crumpets, which is a game of field hockey with padded sticks and a dodge ball. I sat on the stoop and watched them, I had just woken up and didn't want to go play in the rain.
Tomorrow I actually start work with orientation in the afternoon. Wednesday I leave St. Louis for Quest, which is in southern Missouri where everyone goes before the education team and the emergency response team split. When we do split, ERT will be heading to Montana for about a month. I'll hopefully be able to update this from my iTouch and add photos later, but I never know. Thanks for reading and I'll be updating everyone later from Montana!
Shamucas
Week two in Soulard was just about as much fun as week one. There were plenty of unofficial activities planned throughout the week such as cleaning up a historic cemetery, going to Grants Farm, and going to the farmers' market. I didn't end up going to the cemetery because it was pouring buckets and it was cancelled. So instead, my roommate Marty, June, and I went on the Budweiser Brewery Tour. The plant is about 5 blocks from my house so we just decided to go there.
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| I forgot to mention, this was an outdoor walking tour. |
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| Inside the main lobby |
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| Now that is one cute dog. |
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| All their beers in a nice display case |
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| Marty getting his two free beers plus a few more free ones. |
Thursday we went to Grants Farm, which I am told is a zoo for adults. It's a free zoo that serves free beer. But it wasn't opened for some reason, so we went home. Friday was a nice day with no rain. I spent a lot of time at the farmer's market. I went with fellow member Allie and listened to her play her guitar for people. We left and came back later with all the members to stroll up and down the two blocks of fresh vegetables, fruits, and other random items. June bought the largest watermelon ever that I carried to the pot luck AmeriCorps was having. This watermelon must have weighed 30 pounds.
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| Allie singing and having a good time |
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| Wasn't ready for my picture to be taken. |
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| Frosty getting all the attention. |
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| Frosty and I. |
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| Sitting on the Stoop in Soulard watching Crumpets and the rain. |
Tomorrow I actually start work with orientation in the afternoon. Wednesday I leave St. Louis for Quest, which is in southern Missouri where everyone goes before the education team and the emergency response team split. When we do split, ERT will be heading to Montana for about a month. I'll hopefully be able to update this from my iTouch and add photos later, but I never know. Thanks for reading and I'll be updating everyone later from Montana!
Shamucas
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Chicago and back
This last weekend I rode the Amtrak train to Chicago to visit Kelsey and her parents. After a 6 hour train ride, Kelsey took me to Oak Park for the night. If you never been to the Chicago area, you got to have 312 from Goose Island. Some of the best beer I have ever had. Also, we had some pumpkin beer that was much better than one would think. All I got to say about it is you must try it.
Saturday was a great day even though every team I was interested in lost. We went and watched Kelsey coach field hockey at the high school she went to which was just down the street. Kelsey's team stayed in the game for the most part, before falling behind towards the end. I've never watched a game before, and boy was I super confused. They have weird rules about not touching the ball with you feet, using the backside of the stick, and some other things I don't even really even know. After her game ended, we went to a local Oak Park bar which was just down the street to watch the CU game. Kelsey and I were the only few people in the bar in the beginning, but soon filled up. Good thing the Buffs were somewhat competitive so people were semi-interested in watching it and they didn't change the channel. Long story short, they lost, and we were both sad about that and about not being in Boulder to see the Flatirons.
We then walked back to her house and then her dad took us downtown to some area I can't quite remember, but we had dinner with her co-workers at a nice pizza place. We had a few drinks there and then took the subway to the loop to this Karaoke bar. My perceptions of Karoke changed, this bar was fantastic. I met a guy named Doctor Love, he really wanted me to sing, and the next thing I knew, I was singing away. I'm a pretty bad singer, but no one noticed. We also ran into a couple who went to CU and both Kelsey and I were so happy we just started yelling Buffs! They had no idea what were yelling, but then they just loved us. The Karaoke bar closed, kicked us to the curb, and we had to take the subway home. Usually we hear that's a bad idea, but I guess most bars close at 3 so the subway was packed.
Sunday funday consisted mostly of sleeping and watching the Bears game. Kelsey and I took the subway down to Navy Pier just to see the sights. It was beautiful down there. Shout out to Lindsey, you could have been tannin' it was so nice. Sunday night, Annette and Bill made another great meal. They served me a huge steak! It couldn't even fit on my plate because it was so large. I then proceeded to have some more 312 and pumpkin beer and watched the Cowboys choke on a big game.
Monday morning, Annette drove me to the Amtrak station, and I took the train back. It took over 7 hours because we got "stuck" in a cornfield. I don't really know what that means, but we didn't move and I was bored. Got back in the STL and found a bar where the Broncos game would be on. Again, my team lost, but my roommate and I had a good time.
Tuesday I went to Arch. Man, the Arch is way cool, but dang, that thing is a bank. Ten bucks a person, and it was packed. The view from the top was amazing. You could see everything.
That's about it. I may be not on here for a while because supposedly I'm moving up to Montana for about a month starting the 19th. But until then, I'll be around and taking way too many pictures trying to find that one really good picture. Catch everyone later.
Shamucas
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| Jumping on the train. It's not the California Zephyr, but its close. |
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| Leaving STL on the train. Busch Stadium and the arch. |
Saturday was a great day even though every team I was interested in lost. We went and watched Kelsey coach field hockey at the high school she went to which was just down the street. Kelsey's team stayed in the game for the most part, before falling behind towards the end. I've never watched a game before, and boy was I super confused. They have weird rules about not touching the ball with you feet, using the backside of the stick, and some other things I don't even really even know. After her game ended, we went to a local Oak Park bar which was just down the street to watch the CU game. Kelsey and I were the only few people in the bar in the beginning, but soon filled up. Good thing the Buffs were somewhat competitive so people were semi-interested in watching it and they didn't change the channel. Long story short, they lost, and we were both sad about that and about not being in Boulder to see the Flatirons.
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| Kelsey giving a great pep talk at the game. The girls almost won. |
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| At the bar. Man I miss those mountains. |
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| I love this dog, I want it. Please |
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| The bar. |
We then walked back to her house and then her dad took us downtown to some area I can't quite remember, but we had dinner with her co-workers at a nice pizza place. We had a few drinks there and then took the subway to the loop to this Karaoke bar. My perceptions of Karoke changed, this bar was fantastic. I met a guy named Doctor Love, he really wanted me to sing, and the next thing I knew, I was singing away. I'm a pretty bad singer, but no one noticed. We also ran into a couple who went to CU and both Kelsey and I were so happy we just started yelling Buffs! They had no idea what were yelling, but then they just loved us. The Karaoke bar closed, kicked us to the curb, and we had to take the subway home. Usually we hear that's a bad idea, but I guess most bars close at 3 so the subway was packed.
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| Dr. Love. He made me sing in front of everybody. |
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| Dr. Love was making moves and taking names. |
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| Buffs fan! Woot! |
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| All of us singing |
Sunday funday consisted mostly of sleeping and watching the Bears game. Kelsey and I took the subway down to Navy Pier just to see the sights. It was beautiful down there. Shout out to Lindsey, you could have been tannin' it was so nice. Sunday night, Annette and Bill made another great meal. They served me a huge steak! It couldn't even fit on my plate because it was so large. I then proceeded to have some more 312 and pumpkin beer and watched the Cowboys choke on a big game.
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| I found a beach. It was much nicer than that last time I was at the beach |
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| I found the Pier. |
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| American Express had a viewing party on the pier. Too bad it was so sunny, we couldn't see anything. |
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| Look at all the sail boats. |
Monday morning, Annette drove me to the Amtrak station, and I took the train back. It took over 7 hours because we got "stuck" in a cornfield. I don't really know what that means, but we didn't move and I was bored. Got back in the STL and found a bar where the Broncos game would be on. Again, my team lost, but my roommate and I had a good time.
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| This was the corn field I was stuck in. Spent an hour here. Couldn't do anything. |
Tuesday I went to Arch. Man, the Arch is way cool, but dang, that thing is a bank. Ten bucks a person, and it was packed. The view from the top was amazing. You could see everything.
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| I just love clouds. |
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| Looking for the arch, I can't find it. |
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| I love this picture. |
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| And this one. Maybe this one more. |
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| From the top. |
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| Busch Stadium |
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| Hi guys, I'm on top of the Arch. |
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| My house is where the highway goes to the right and about 6 blocks down the road. |
That's about it. I may be not on here for a while because supposedly I'm moving up to Montana for about a month starting the 19th. But until then, I'll be around and taking way too many pictures trying to find that one really good picture. Catch everyone later.
Shamucas
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