Onion Farms!

I'm a little late sharing this picture, but we are surrounded by onion farms! Each row is lined with 50 lb bags of onions! This is just one small field, looking towards Yerington from the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area. There are tons of onion farms! Early October the higway is full of huge trucks full of onions. They're easy to spot because of the onion skins flying out of the back of the truck!

Each bag is loaded by hand and you can see lots of people in the fields picking onions and throwing them in the bags. Then the truck comes along, loads the onions and takes them to a dehydration facility at the Nightengale Hot Springs. The energy from the hot springs is used to freeze-dry the onions (or so I've heard). I also didn't know that onions are dehydrated before they reach the store to help keep them fresh. The few outer layers that you have to peel off are fresh when they get picked!

Jelly Belly Factory

About a month ago, Dave and I went over to Sacramento to get tires on his truck. We decided to go a little further and visit the Jelly Belly factory! I LOVE Jelly Belly Jelly Beans so I was more than a little excited. We weren't allowed to take pictures during the tour but we could take pictures in the main part of the building.

Their address...

Mr. Jelly Belly greeting visitors!

Yes, I am easily entertained...Dave didn't want to wear the hat. I wonder why?

Spreading the Ashes

September 12, 2011 the family finally all got together to spread my dad's ashes. We met in Glenwood, CO in the morning then headed out on dirt roads to a small lake under Mount Sopris, where my dad had wanted his ashes spread. I think we were supposed to hike up the mountain and do it there but not everyone was able to hike, so we met at the base of the mountain instead.

My dad had died on Sept. 11, 1995 so we were a little late in getting this done, but it was great to have the whole family together, minus our mom and my brother Paul.

So...we kinda have a large family! My dad was married before my mom and had four kids with her (Ruth, not present). Those are Bobby, Jimmy, Rose and Carolyn. I hadn't seen Bobby since my dad's funeral so it was great to see him. My niece and nephew were there along with their kids (I'm a great-aunt already!) Melissa (Caroln's daughter) and her kids: Dion and Kaylee. Then Jeremy (Rose's son) with Alorah. Then my mom (Laura, also not present) had four kids: Paul, John, me and Jen. Jen and I are on the far left. John's wife Debbie came and my sister brought her two kids.

Jen's daughters: Brianna and Emily. Aren't they cute!

My brother John playing with a dead snake.....

After the official "Spreading of the Ashes," we all just kind of went our separate ways. I went back to Moab, Judy and Norm (step-parents) headed to Vernal to stay a few days visiting Jen, and the Colorado group went back to Denver.



Peanut Butter Blossoms

These have always been my favorite cookies. I remember my grandma making them when we were little and I don't make them very often now but this year for Christmas I decided it was time!

Take peanut butter cookie dough, roll it into 1-inch balls, roll them in sugar and bake. I baked them most of the way, then added the Hershey's kisses. We used to add the chocolate kisses before we baked them, but most recipes I read said to add them after they were out of the oven...so I added them halfway through and it seems to be working. The chocolate melts but holds its shape and stays softer than the original candy.

Next recipe I'm trying is a peppermint pinwheel. I'll post pictures of those when/if it works!

Merry Christmas!

So Far So Good...

Just a short post to update on the new job:

Today my boss and I shoveled horse poop out of Scout Camp. The previous campers didn't take it to the drop-off site so we did it... I also set a bunch of mouse traps upstairs to control the mouse problem. Then I get to vacuum the rooms to make it safe from hantavirus.

I have started making flyers for Buckland Station, now that it's open more often and some flyers asking for volunteers to help us keep it open daily. That's the fun part for me--figuring out how to promote the park and get people in there. I also made us a Facebook page--Fort Churchill State Historic Park. I called Silver Springs Chamber of Commerce and the Senior Center to introduce myself and see if we can get some write-ups in their newsletters and I've been looking for grants and some things to add to the present programming--which right now only consists of self-guided tours and Living History Talks for reserved groups.

Later I'll post about the Carson River Snapshot Day and life at the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area (it's fun to be on the refuge for now--saw a flock of turkeys yesterday and some peregrines).

More later but for now I'm tired and it's my FRIDAY!

Ghosts?

Ever since I got here everyone's been telling me Buckland Station is haunted. There have been a few groups doing paranormal investigations and didn't find anything too conclusive, but there are some pictures of "orbs" and I guess they got a few EVPs, or "ghost talk." I've been really nervous about going over to my new office because of that, and even avoided it for the first few days (which was easy because of the training and reading policies, etc) but finally a few days ago I had to go over and arrange my office and bookshelf and get it stocked with office "stuff."

I've been over there for a few days now and today I did a lot of cleaning--dusting, sweeping and just spent a lot of time looking around. I even took a few pictures, hoping (or not hoping...) to capture some "orbs" of my own. I've never seen anything the least bit supernatural or even weird/unexplainable so I don't know if I even will. My boss told me I'm guarenteed to meet some ghosts while I'm over there, I guess because that's where I'll be spending most of my time--giving tours and sitting in my office. I even sat and read the binder (not all of it) given to the park by the paranormal investigation team, "Thin Veil Investigations." I did get a little creeped out sitting there alone in a 3-story building with no music or noise, other than cars passing on the highway, but still didn't see anything or feel that uncomfortable.

We'll see what happens! Any ghost enthusiasts out there? I'm interested in your stories!

Last Day at Dead Horse Point

Well, my last day at Dead Horse Point State Park was September 20, last Tuesday. I went in at 8:30 a.m. and waited for my field trip to start with the Moab Charter School. I was working with 5th and 6th grade students, doing environmental education inside their classroom once a week, then I had planned two field trips per trimester for them to come up to the park. Tuesday, the 20th was their first field trip and my last day, so I was thinking that would make it easier and keep my mind off the fact that I wouldn't be seeing them again.

They showed up at 9:20 a.m. I met them at the bus, let them use the restrooms and then ushered them into the amphitheater outside the visitor center so I could give them their nametags. For name tags, I've been using old postcards with blank labels on them. I punch two holes, one on each side, into the top and make a loop with a piece of yarn. I passed out sharpies for them to write their names, then we went over the rules for the day. We went into the theater (art gallery) and watched the park video. It was funny--I'm actually in the park video talking about plant adaptations to the desert, and they all turned around to look at me and laughed.

I did a short program on biological soil crust, then we made some of our own by taking pieces of thread, pulling them through a drop of glue and then covering them with sand. The sand sticks to the thread, and there's your very own piece of biological soil crust! (haha)

After that activity we walked along the park's nature trail, then I had them make their own field guides to the plants and animals of Dead Horse Point State Park.

Next, we went up to the Point to see the view and had lunch in the picnic area. After lunch we hiked out to the potholes north of the visitor center and did some activities and they got to use their drawing boards to sketch something they learned about at the park. We had to try hard to keep them out of the pothole water. Of course, lots of things got dropped into the potholes: an apple, feet and lots of pieces of paper. Oops!

One more visit to the restroom and they were ready to get back on the bus and go back to school! Then I had to say goodbye to everyone, talk a lot about where I'm going and then turn in my keys and uniform.

It all felt weird, like I wasn't really leaving, but by the time we packed up the "cottage" and got on the road it suddenly seemed very real! After three days with little sleep and lots of packing, carrying and driving, I finally crashed last night and slept in until 9:30 p.m.

The drunken cat story:

I know my cat hates traveling so I called the vet and asked if they could help make a 12-hour drive easier for both of us. They sold me a little bottle of tranquilizer pills and I was to give her 1/2 a pill every 6-8 hours. I started in the morning before we were ready to leave. I knew she was drugged when she didn't fight me when I put her in the cat carrier. She did fight sleep and freaked out for about two hours before finally relaxing and falling asleep. During that time I got a lot of "how could you?" meows and stares.

When we got to the wildlife refuge where we're staying for a couple months, I let her out of the carrier and thought she'd head straight for the litter box. She immediately started running around the house, exploring and purring. She was totally drunk still though; she tried jumping up on the kitchen counter, the bathroom counter and a dresser and fell off all three. Lots of attention later, she stuck with staying on the floor and couches. She was soooo excited to be out of the carrier! When she did discover her food and water dish, she gulped it down and kept exploring. She slept all the next day (and I thought she must be hungover) and came out again at night with the same excitement. I think she's just as excited as I am to be in a new place!

I am, however, looking forward to being able to tell people I just moved here from Utah without wanting to cry!