Melanie Talks to Her Bosses

So, what epic thing did I do THIS weekend, you may ask? I went to a real-live rodeo. It was great. Big and small cow boys everywhere, and the announcer kept of saying "Kick the tire, light the fire - turn it on, turn it up, TURN IT LOOSE!!!" in his amazing accent. Wonderful. No blood, but some pretty close calls and hard falls. It was $8 to get in, and sent up in front of the west side of The Grande (the tallest of the Tetons), with the sun setting at our backs. Wow.



Then on Saturday I helped waitstaff a 90th birthday party for someone who is a board member at the Teton Science Schools. I can only hope my 90th birthday party will be that awesome. Made me a little sad that I'll be missing Grandma Pert's 90th birthday back home this summer. :(
There was also lots of left over white wine (my fave) and cool people to hang out with, so we had a classy evening, watching The Human Planet (Kind of like Blue Planet, but more anthropological) in the staff lounge. Roni and I slept there on the floor. In the morning we had breakfast and returned to Victor. After a run and a shower, we headed over to a free music festival in Linn Canyon Ranch. The music and the crowd were pretty cool, but it was kind of awkward not knowing anyone. Well, except for some of the 3 and 4 year olds! Ha ha. So we didn't stay too long.

This week has been pretty good. On Monday I finally got to check in with Erin, who is the instructor connected with TSS and TCVS. I asked her for some material about teaching techniques, child development, and expressed my frustration with running a day care. She told me to plan some lessons, and teach the kids, if that is what felt good for me. Find ways to challenge myself, and she would do whatever I wanted to support me. So that was good. I also got supremely burned. When Roni got back from a day in Jackson, we jumped on our bikes and went to the park, where there was supposed to be pick-up Ultimate Frisbee. There was! We actually met some people (sort of) our age! And I decided that I actually do like Ultimate! Kate, the woman in charge, was really awesome and supportive, and never made me feel bad about my mediocre skills, even though she is headed to Masters, or something like that, in a few weeks!

I warned them all that I was awful at it, but they wouldn't hear it, and taught me how to throw really well, and didn't avoid passing to me because I was bad, or anything! And my team was loosing sorely for a while, but then I laid out, and made the winning catch! Part of my leg immediately swelled up and got as big as a baseball, but Kate rubbed it so it wouldn't calcify, or something like that, and put arnica on it. Then she invited us to the brewery, just down the bike path, where she bought us beer, and introduced us to all her search-and-rescue friends. It was really fun. Everyone was probably at least 27 or 30, but it was nice to finally feel like we were making friends! After that, Roni and I biked down towards Driggs for a while, talking about what we're going to do after, and watching the sun set over the Big Hole Mountains.

The next day I had about 5 boys, ages 8 or so, and I taught them a little about bugs. I had made a lesson plan, and I didn't stick to it too much, but I think they had fun, and got excited about science a little bit! It was nice to hang out with older kids for a change, and not have to worry about crying so much (although that doesn't mean that it didn't happen). One of the boys really didn't want to leave his mom, and it reminded me of how that felt for me when I was little. How one day away from home can feel like an eternity.

That evening was the meeting in Jackson, so Roni and I drove over, and I got to talk to Julie, the woman at TSS who is in charge of AmeriCorps. I felt like we really communicated well, I told her I didn't want to be doing Play Team all summer, and that I could even work on the weekends in order to get experience with older kids. Then we went out to Blue Grass at the Wort Hotel in Jackson! It was really fun! I got to swing dance a little bit with Eddy, who works in the kitchen. The highlight way well have been driving back and blasting my Lion King cassette. Driving over the pass at 12 was not so fun, but it was nice to hang out with friends. Such a treat!

The next day a parent came in to tell me that the boys couldn't stop talking about how much fun they had at camp. According to her, it was the talk of the local pool. Awesome. All we did was catch bugs, look at them under hand lenses, and then look through a bug encyclopedia together, but that's awesome! I had fun, too! :)

I've been realizing that even though, to me, I still feel 13, and like I have no authority, I really do. I am stern with kids, and they get very serious and do what I say. Its great.

Today I found an old Honey Bee that couldn't fly, and held it on my hand while I pointed out the cool parts to kids. It was great. Tonight is Music On Main, a free music concert basically 500m from my house, in the local park. I hope it will be fun!

Man, writing makes my life sound so exciting, but it doesn't really feel that way! :D

What else? Want to see a few pics from my day-to-day life? I thought you would! :D



And a beautiful piece of artwork, my the painting master, Skyler.


Ha ha ha. I don't know what to say.

Things are looking up, as I knew they would. I could still use a few Victor friends, but ...
Love you all!
Mel

1st real week

Hey hey!
Time to act like a big-kid and start the first week of my post-grad internship!

But first - On Saturday I went rafting on the Snake River with a few friends. One of them is a rafting guide, so we did the whole day on $20 each, for renting the boat. It was tons of fun. I almost fell out, it was about 40 degrees and cloudy, and I got a wave in my face, I wore long johns and was still freezing, but it was well worth it. We plan on doing it again. Also, we didn't have the correct amount of cars, and didn't feel like driving a whole other car for one extra person, so the back seat was a little squished. Good for warming up on the way back.

But back to real life. My internship is, well, nit exactly what I expected. I did start out with a totally kick-ass trip to Yellowstone with some Instructors and a group of high schoolers from Ohio, but alas, right now it almost looks like that may be the highlight of the summer (in terms of work). For the past few days I have been working as a glorified day-care employee. Oh, minus the actually getting paid part. And plus goats, chickens, a garden, and the fact that I live upstairs in the school (not much privacy). I work with 12 year-olds who actually DO get paid. Is this what I went to Connecticut College for? I think not. I wipe tears, dispense Popsicles, and say "you need to go apologize to him/her" all day long.

Low-point of the week: Yesterday, my first day back from Yellowstone, I worked from 8 to 5:30. Towards the end of the day, I decided I would just read books to the kids, since usually they love it, and I like it, too. I was reading this one called All the Places to Love, about loving Home, and New England. Towards the end, when the little boy's sister is born, and he is thinking about all the great places he is going to show her, like the blueberry hill and the barn and the stream, Davis looks up at me and says "Why are you all spotty?" I said, "what do you mean?" He said, "Your face is all red and white." Then I said, "Oh, that's because I'm trying not to cry. This book reminds me of my home and my family, and I miss them a lot right now."
And then what book did they want me to read next? Owl Moon. It was rough.
Also, at the end of the day, Quinn decided it would be a brilliant idea to try to catch bees with his hands. Because he was interested in them, I tried to tell him all I could about how cool bees are. Inevitably, he got stung, and cried. It made me think of the song "I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee." Somehow he thought that honeybees didn't sting. Good thing he isn't allergic.

High Point of the week: (Besides Yellowstone - we saw a grizzly bear!) Sadly enough, it was today when we were baking pretzels with the older kids, and I got to explain to them that baking and cooking is different at higher elevations, because of the lower pressure. One kid asked if we were at sea level. Another said that we USED to be at sea level here. They were actually interested in what I was telling them, and it was great.

Anyway, its not so awesome over here, right now, but it is also just the first week. Things will improve, especially after I talk to my mentor about how this isn't really what I signed up for. Hope things are better for you all. :D

The Violet Hills

This weekend we did, indeed, end up going camping! It was great.
Saturday morning a few of us got up early to organize the Outfitting building. I basically set up tents for 4 hours, or something. I'm a pro now. It was a little bit tetious, but the end product was a very clean building. I was in charge of setting every single tent they owned up, and checking for holes, making sure all the parts were there, the tent was clean, and all the zippers worked. Other people organized the snowshoes, skis, camping stoves, and everything else. That place is so awesome, because it has everything you could ever want to go on an awesome adventure!!
After that, we all packed our bags, and got in two cars, and headed for the Gos Venture (pronounced GROW-vaunt) River, with Jacob, a guy that works in the kitchen, and really knows his way around. We drove along the river in to the Red Hills, and camped there. We had an awesome fire, and talked for a really long time, telling stories and reciting poetry. Corny, I know, but also pretty awesome.
In the morning it was really foggy and wet, and we drove out a bit, and found a trail head, and just walked up a canyon. The trail disappeared after a bit, and it got even cloudier and rainier, but we just bush waked uphill. We got into this really awesome area that had been burned by a really intense fire, maybe two years ago. The trees were all black, and the soil was too - and REALLY muddy and slippery. There was mud caked onto our boots, adding a few pounds. We just kept on going up, until we got to theses limestone cliffs. I found a way to walk around and climb up, but a bunch of the guys are really into rock climbing, so they climbed the front. It was only about 10 feet tall, or so.

On top it was really cool, because the fog was so dense you couldn't see anything. There could have been an ocean out there, or something, but all we could see was white. We sat there, facing the cloud and eating a snack, and the clouds slowly started to clear, and we could see some trees, and patches of snow, and then the mountains on the other side of the valley! It was really beautiful, and pretty much indescribable.
We found where we were on a map, and saw that they top of a ridge was only about 3000 feet higher, so we hiked to the top. It was really cold up there, and the whole other side of the ridge was solid snow - a few feet of it! There was bright orange lichen on all the rocks, and the view was amazing. It was like a scene out of Lord of the Rings, or something.
Well, we had forgotten to bring lunch, and I was getting super cold, so we headed back down the canyon, through the Lavender Hills, and back to the Red Hills, where our cars were parked. After de-caking our boots, and having another snack, we piled back in the cars, and got back to campus just in time for a delicious dinner!
It was a ton of fun.

This week is our last week of training, and then next weekend I think Ronnie, my roommate, and I will be moving over the pass, to Teton Valley. We'll be working mostly with 1st through 4h graders, it looks like, and we have most weekends off.

I'll upload some more pictures when I get the chance!

Jackson, Wyoming!

I just remembered exactly why I came back out West. I might have been confused before, but here’s the reason right here:



Man, where to even start?
Well, for one thing, using the scientific method:
Hypothesis – The United States is BIG.
Prior research – Other people have told me so, it looks big on maps.
Experimental Design – I’m gonna drive from Connecticut to Wyoming.
Test – I DID drive from Connecticut to Wyoming.
Data -- It took a long time, and added about 2,800 miles to my car.
Conclusions – Yes, the United States IS big.

It was kind of cool to see how the country changed. The drive really made me appreciate geology in a whole new way!
Let’s see, first we went through Pennsylvania (which was actually kind of nice), and then booked it up to Chicago! We stopped at the Indiana Dunes Sate Park, and with the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado in mind, I was very disappointed. Plus, it was Memorial Day, and very hot, so it was jam-packed. It was a nice little swim, though. That night we went up to Evanston, and stayed in a cooperative house with my friend Alice, whom I met in Woods Hole. The next day we drive across Illinois, Wisconsin, and the Mississippi River! We got to Laura and Morgan’s house maybe around 3? It was so nice to see them all, and have real food, a real shower, sleep in a real bed, and to play with Greta! She wrote me a card (I had to help her spell), that said “I LOVE YOU GRETA WANTS YOU TO STAY”. The cutest thing ever! We walked her to her bus stop in the morning, and then hit the road again. SOMEHOW we made it all the way to the Bad Lands National Park in South Dakota, by nighttime. Once during the day we needed gas real bad, and stopped at this station that was in an absolutely barren town. The station was closed, all the houses were falling down, and we didn’t see a single person. It was pretty funny. There were approximately 5 houses at this exit, and it was surrounded by ranch land as far as we could see.
The Bad Lands were AMAZING. So beautiful. We could see them coming across the plains! I can’t even describe it. I’m STILL not 100% sure I know what is going on, geologically, around there, but then again, from what I understand – neither do the scientists. We went to the visitor center in the morning to learn about them some – basically the Black Hills (to the west) eroded into an inland sea, and formed a sediment delta, kind of like the Mississippi. Then the sea drained, though, and the delta, now all sandstone and mudstone, started to be eroded, leaving tall spires where igneous rock (lava) had filled in deep cracks in the sandstone.




From there we went to Jewel Cave National Monument, which is basically a cave that was formed like a geode. The limestone rock was dissolved by water with CO2 in it, and then evaporated, and the calcite formed crystals on the cave walls. It is the 2nd largest cave in the world! The walls are all covered in crystals and these weird things called draperies that look kind of like jellyfish, but made from rock. My favorite part was when the tour guide turned off all the lights. Cave Dark is so awesome. He was the best ranger I met the whole trip, I was actually kind of disappointed by all the others.
From there we drove west into Wyoming. We stopped on the boarder and went to a diner for dinner in a tiny town. Everyone there was local and knew each other, and there was an awkward 1st date going on in the corner between a cowboy and this girl. I started noticing much more mustaches.
That night we stayed at a campground in Gillette, WY, next to this giant parking garage. From there we drove up an over the Big Horn Mountains. They were SOOOOO beautiful, COVERD in snow! Drifts next to the road were probably up to 7 feet tall! It was very cold and windy on top. I wished I had remembered my snow shoes. On the other side we stopped for lunch, and saw bison tracks, a lizard, and more cool geology.



That night we got into Yellowstone not too late, and went up to Mammoth Hot Springs. Very cool also, but my favorite thing was hiking in the woods and seeing a Mule Deer (I think). Also going to the Giant Prismatic Hot Spring the next day. So many colors!! We also saw tons of buffalo, elk, and an elk chasing a coyote across a marsh! Also an osprey. I think that’s it?






The next day we drove down to the Tetons, and Jackson Hole! I was very nervous, but also excited for something new! I dropped Dad off at the airport, and got a tour of the campus.
That night I was hanging out on the porch, trying to be more outgoing than I usually am, and three guys asked if I wanted to go on a hike they were all going on. We drove into the Tetons, and went hiking and slipping and sliding over 2 feet of snow, to this BEAUTIFUL lake, I think called Leigh. I wanted to swim so much, but I would have died of the cold. When we got back at 10, we all ate dinner out of the Silver Fridge in the dim dining hall, and then went to sleep.

Training so far is awesome. Everyone seems really nice, and so much like me! There’s talk of a group camping trip into the Tetons this weekend, and later camping in the Wind River Range! Everyone here has had the most awesome jobs, been to the most beautiful National Parks, and lots of them actually know people I know from Woods Hole, or Science Camp, way back 4 years ago. One Instructor worked for ACES a few years ago! Man, that’s all I can really handle writing about right now, I hope that your curiosity is satisfied. And that you’re not bored.
I had forgotten how much I love the West. Or maybe it’s just doing new things in new places. People here love my science jokes, and ASK me about plants, instead of getting annoyed. They love Garrison Keillor. They buy clothes from Goodwill. They’re looking into awesome masters programs in science and teaching. They’ve done programs that I though sounded cool. I love it.

I love you all, too, and miss you!

Oh, here’s a treat for STILL being reading:

I don’t really have cell reception at all, but my computer is working again! And my mailing address is:
Melanie Poole
Teton Science Schools
700 Coyote Canyon Road, Jackson, WY 83001