Daybreak

I hope everyone had a great Monday! Some of my fellow student naturalists and I decided to wake up at 5 am, hike up Marshall Mountain, and watch the sunrise over Lake Superior. And as hard as it was, and as tired I was the rest of the day, it was completely worth it. The sky was just starting to lighten as we got to the top, and got to see the entire sunrise over the water. Check out some photos below...

From the same spot I took a couple pictures of Wolf Lake, one of the two lakes on Wolf Ridge property. The first shot is looking south, you'll notice  Lake Superior in the background. 

This is Wolf Lake again but looking west. One of the inside rock walls is supposed to be based on the cliffs on the left, and the far end is where I went swimming. The amazing lighting and colors is because the sun had risen about 5 minutes prior. 

And finally, this is Thistle, the resident porcupine. He is so adorable and I can't wait to get to know him better! Today for training we toured the main campus buildings, met a lot of staff, and talked about expectations and stories. We had a couple meals and lively games with staff included that really set the year off right with  lots of fun and I can't wait to have more. We students are continuing to have a great time bonding and establishing our community here. The rigorous training starts tomorrow, and we'll begin learning the classes we'll be teaching. 

A couple really good quotes from today:

Begin each story with an end in mind. 

Life will pass you by - make sure it's worth watching. 

I'm here! And it's amazing!

Hello again! I am officially all moved in to Wolf Ridge and about to spend my second night in my new home! It's been very exciting getting to see the place for the first time and meeting everyone. It all started with an exhausting drive of 575 miles (about 10 hours driving time). I did slightly break it up by staying with a wonderful friend in Madison the first night. The seven hours the next day went fairly quickly. A few raindrops around Duluth but stopped right when I got to the beach my family always stops at on our way to my Grandma's cabin (photo to the right). Dipped my feet in the freezing water, and later I found out most of the beaches around Duluth are still closed after e. coli contamination following the floods earlier this summer. But I did see a family swimming....
But in the end I arrived. The last hour was a scenic highway along the coast. And as I pulled into Wolf Ridge property, I could not be more amazed.

It's been really great meeting my fellow graduate naturalist the past two days. We've been doing all kinds of bonding and getting to know each other really fast. About half of us were here yesterday, and all but one moved into today. All together there are 12 girls and 4 boys, we all live on the same floor and share a big kitchen and living room areas. It's on the second floor of the building (photo), and kids will stay on the first floor soon enough! There is also a second dorm to house more kids. We are the only people that live on campus full time though, and currently the only ones here. Side note, I think I'm the only person here who has never worked at a camp before.


The first night a few of us checked out the organic farm next door, which has connections to Wolf Ridge (someone was house-sitting and we helped with chores). It was really neat, solar powered and completely off the grid. There were also adorable chickens and sheep. But we stole a ton of fresh vegetables and eggs, and took it back to the dorm and we had a feast together out on the deck. Someone even got fancy and used vegetables to decorate the table. After dinner we took our first night hike, which was way fun and trust exercise all of its own. Trust each other that we're actually on a trail, and trust our feet to see for us. We hiked to Wolf Lake (one of the two lakes on campus) and took a swim in the cold but refreshing water.


Today we've been settling in a little more. I'm kind of mostly unpacked but in serious need of decorations so picture of my room will come later. Wandered around campus a little more, met more  new people, etc. At one point our volleyball game was interrupted to search for a missing snake in one of the buildings. Sadly the snake was not found (it was small and rare) but I'm determined to start the legend of the missing snake.

Then we thought it was a good time to do a ceremonial dive into Lake Superior. The beach (photo) was no more than 10-15 minutes away and really amazing. I wish I could have swum to the caves in the photo, but I was not in the water for longer than 2 minutes. Those of you who have been in Lake Superior understand why.

Then for dinner we made a few dishes and hit up the Finland community potluck in town. The town has a population of 190 and has monthly potlucks. It was really great to see the community and meet some cool folks. I'm hoping we can be involved in the community even though we'll be a little secluded on the ridge. Then once it got dark, we took a walk out on the roof and did some stargazing. I wish I could have photographed for you,  but it never would have done it justice.

That's all for now! Training starts tomorrow and it will be very intense, so I might not post for awhile. A bunch of us are starting the day with a 5 am hike to watch the sunrise!

One Week Till I Move

Well hello there all. I've told so many people I would be starting a blog, so now I have to go through with it. In one week I will begin as a Graduate Naturalist at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in northern Minnesota. I've tried explaining what I'm about to do to so many people and maybe only a couple actually understand, whereas others I've tried to explain in multiple times. This blog is meant to clarify what I'm actually doing with my life and keep everyone in the loop. Hopefully I will have plenty of adventures, funny experiences with teaching, and more information about what I'm learning to share with you all. 

Some classes I'm looking forward to teaching - Stream Study, Superior View Hike, and Orienteering. 

A Class I'm intimidated by - Rock Climbing - Though I'm sure at least a couple good stories will come out of it!

I've been at my parents' house for the past three-ish weeks and I finally realized today I should probably be packing. My belongings are currently spread throughout three different  rooms in all states of organization. The picture is of my brother's room where we had to pick up the bed to give me space to sprawl. Mr Polar Bear is angry he's  been banished to this room. The only fun part of packing is Space Bags. You don't know how fun they are till you try them, so do it now!