Recent Adventures

So basically I have been lucky enough to go to some really cool places lately.  

Nearly a month ago I went hiking and camping with my other education staff coworkers from Ogden Nature Center.  We went to Little Wild Horse Canyon and Goblin Valley.

Then a couple weeks ago, I was in Cedar City.  Hope and I stayed the week there at her parents house while we taught at schools in that area.  We got to do a little exploring while we were there. We went to Snow Canyon State Park (pretty close to Zion but perfect because there were not tons of people) and Cedar Breaks National Monument.  

I've been trying not to bombard social media with floods of pictures so I decided it was worth it to share it on this blog (if people wish to read and see).  

So here is my photo dump. 

Maybe in a little while you'll get a post about a few other recent not so picturesque "Adventures" I've had.

Enjoy!

(There are a lot)

LITTLE WILD HORSE CANYON
(8-mile hike and camping overnight nearby)

The drive was stunning in so many ways, but this was the first jaw dropper just a little ways outside the canyon.

A short way down the trail we came upon some large cottonwood trees perfect for climbing.  Lily wanted to join the fun!

I had never been through a slot canyon before and I was amazed at the intricate waves and patterns the water, wind, and sand had made in moving through this canyon.  It tells a rather dramatic and stunning story.  I kept wishing I were a geologist!

The crew stops for a break.  Hope is walking Bones, I have Lily, Alex is in the red sitting down, the two standing right next to each other are Daniel (my office mate) and his girlfriend Kate, the other two standing a little apart are Brent and his photographer wife Kirsti ("ker-sti") who is from England.  Her photography is brilliant. https://kirstygemma.com/shop/

There wasn't a ton of wildlife in the area but we did see several lizards!  (no idea what kind for sure)

A lot of the trail was narrow like the pictures above but there were times when it would open up into clearings (like the one we were all hanging out in).  Sometimes it would open up enough for several people to walk next to one another.  

Can you find the face that's cracking up?  Get it?  Because it's a rock...and it has...you know...cracks?  There's a face that looks like it's laughing ok?  I'm not a comedian. 

I eventually let the dogs off their leashes once the crowds of people thinned out.  Here they are blazing the trail for us with Daniel and Kate.

There was not a lot of vegetation either.  Juniper was the tree of the day and this giant, sprawling one was just breathtaking.  

Lily poses on a rock!

If you look close you can see Bones' eyes look a little glassy.  I had sedated him what I thought was a little bit for the 4 hour drive there.  He turned out to be more sedated than I thought!  Poor boy.  

The second half of the hike opened up quite a bit and was more of the kind of canyon you would expect and less slot like.  But the view were still beautiful.  

Bones was such a trooper for being a little sedated.  He was often the one at the head of the trail.  At this point the dogs and myself were pretty work out.  I'd never taken them 8 miles before and I hadn't hiked more than a few miles in years.  But I felt rather accomplished (and luckily there wasn't much gain in elevation).

On the way out.  Those cottonwoods.  I miss the red of maples but I do love the yellows of the fall here.  

The dogs were pooped!  So was I.

This is the view from our camp area (since you can't really call it a site.  It had a fire pit made by someone else but that was about it).  The was as the sun was setting.  I couldn't take good pics after the sun went down but it's been a long time since I've been somewhere with so little light contamination.  The stars were wonderful.  And our little camp of random collections of food made for a nice dinner.

It was cold though.

This was a lovely little succulent I found the following morning.

The night was rough as it was so cold and because of the temperature drop (and it's the desert) there was so much condensation that it got quite wet overnight.  I didn't sleep much and since I was exhausted from the day that was rather unfortunate.  BUT the rest of the day made up for it.  

The following are just some wonderful pics from Goblin Valley State Park (you know, where they filmed some of Galaxy Quest!).  It was so fun to climb and explore and be adventurous. I've missed that.  See if you see any goblins!

These rocks aren't really that pretty but check out that goblin face profile!

Hope and I in a little cave we found.

SNOW CANYON STATE PARK

(several weeks later.  Just a day trip while we were in Cedar City)

This state park has so much amazing and distinct geology!  Not only did there used to be sand dunes here but there also used to be volcanic activity!  It makes for some really cool rock formations. 

Hope my adventure companion looks out at the beauty of the landscape.

I'm silly but I got really excited at seeing all the unique plants that I've never seen in person before.  I'm a true nature nerd. 

Cactus!!!!! (I can't really convey to you how excited I was to see all the cactus)

So what makes these rock formations are PETRIFIED sand dunes.  So cool.

There were soft sandy areas here still and it made for some cool track finds.  How many kinds of tracks do you see? (I see at least three...one of them probably had a tail). 

Between some of the petrified dunes were some short slot canyon type areas.  Fun to explore. 

Not pictured is the random small sapling of a tree I saw which had leaves that looked like a redbud!  I was so surprised...I didn't know redbuds grew in this area.  After researching back home I discovered that there is such a thing as a desert redbud!  Again...nature nerd.  I thought it was cool.  

There was this amazingly colorful lichen splattered in random places.  Against the red rocks it was very striking.  I loved it. 

Another tracks find.  I have no idea what kind of tiny creature makes these!  It's got to be a mammal...maybe a mouse of some kind?  

Look at this crazy cool cactus!!!

CEDAR BREAKS NATIONAL MONUMENT

(we just drove up here to see it)

This was rather stunning and was up in the mountains a bit, a short way from a ski resort area.  

Off in the distance on a clear day you can see Nevada.  And also in the distance (not super visible in this picture) you can see Zion national park. 

Thanks for putting up with this photo dump!

I'll be better in the future not putting things like this off.  

Creatures of the Night and Why it's Been So Long

Hello again friends and family.  

I recently read a blog entry by my current favorite fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss.  He had reentered the blogosphere after months of absence and expressed exactly what I've felt for the past 3 years.

I feel like I used to love to come here to express myself.  Emotions good and bad. Life mundane and interesting. 

It was good practice for writing and a good brain exercise.  But for the past several years life has felt heavy.  Like I was dragging myself through the same mundane tasks over and over again.  Waiting tables, living in Columbia, same old same old.  I felt as if there was nothing interesting enough to put in an entry that people might read.  And any time I had a spark of inspiration I would start an entry and then the idea of completing that entry in the same state of inspiration it started in became exhausting and cumbersome.  I couldn't do it.

Then I moved to Utah.  Exciting, right?  So many new things to experience, so much beauty and variety to spark the imagination.  A new home, a new life, surely there would be so much to share!

But when I got here I found myself in the same drudgery that I had left back in Missouri.  I'd actually taken a step back. I was working at a PIZZA BUFFET. 

(Shakes head sadly)

Those were dark days. 

In any case to sum things up, life was tough when I first got here and the last thing I had mental energy for was writing a blog entry.

Fast forward almost a year to RIGHT NOW!

I have my dream job which builds me up rather than breaks me down.  On top of that for the first time in years I have a fairly regular work schedule giving me late afternoons, evenings, and most weekends off. I live in a good place.  Ogden is just waiting to be explored by me. The mountains are beautiful and inspirational.  I can't wait to build up my outdoorsey muscles.

More importantly I finally find myself in a head space where creativity is a things I strive for again. 

So here I am, starting small so I can work up those brain muscles. 

Below are a few photos I've taken recently of the mountains in Ogden and of a really fun Halloween event we held at Ogden Nature Center called Creatures of the Night.

It's a family friendly, no scare event for young children with a couple food trucks, hot cocoa, "carnival games" (in quotations because they resemble carnival games but are nature/Halloween themed and are all hand made by us), an evening hike called the crepuscular creep (where staff member dress up as creatures active at dusk and teach about those creatures), a few other really fun activities, and ME.  The fortune teller. I think my costume turned out well.  I had on owl puppet that I used sometimes.  I called him Bartholomew.

Children entered my tent and I sat at a table, welcoming them to Madame Greentree's tent of fortune.  There were some lights strung up for effect.  I would ask them some easy, cute question like "what is your favorite thing about Halloween" or "what is your favorite candy".  After they answer I tell them to reach in the cauldron and draw out a creature (there was an assortment of small, mostly African critters made of rubber.  The kind you can buy in bulk.).  I see what they pulled out and then tell them I must consult the spirit of the creature they drew.  I close my eyes and maybe put my hands to my head or something-then I tell them a scripted "fortune" based on the creature they drew.  All the fortunes were based on what that creatures represents as a spiritual totem.  This information I just looked up online.  But it was fun and cute.  I wasn't telling specific futures per say but I would say things like "The spirit of the bear tells me you have great strength" and throw in something silly like  "and that you like to sleep all winter long..., wait...that's not right.  The spirits must be confused".  The I go into something like "the spirits tell me your are mindful and that in your future it will be important to save your energy for when it is most needed."  Something silly like that.  I might tell them a few other traits they have or will have based on the bear.  If they are older I can give more specific fortunes.  Then at the end I would task each child with a quest.  Their quest was to use the power of their animal (the bear, the giraffe, the tiger, etc.) for good and not for evil.  To use it to help their friends and family.  And if they accepted they would receive good luck, good fortune, and much candy in their future. They get to keep their little animal figurine.

It was cute.  It was fun.  I loved it!  (Except when I had a string of 6 teenagers come through...it felt weird giving them childish fortunes they had to know were fake.  One kid asked me if he would be a businessman...I said I couldn't tell future specifics.  All I could do was read auras.

Below are some pics.

I hope you enjoyed this little window into my life.  Look forward to more in the future.  Madame Greentree foresees it. 

My tent made up of carefully clothes pinned sheets and blankets.  It did little to protect from the cold of those two nights.

My cauldron set up.  I really wanted to add dry ice but no one else seemed excited about that idea so I let it go. 

I really wish this owl puppet looked more real.  It would have been more fun that way. He looks very muppety. 

Apparently I have the perfect face (and face shape) for this role.  At least that's what someone told me.  Clearly I am in the wrong profession and should be making my money conning people as I tell them their fortunes.  

There's been some snow on the mountain tops as a little moisture arrived.

Blogs may not be what they used to be, but I'm still here.

Hello again world!  

Family, friends, random person who accidentally finds themselves here, I come to you after 3 years of silence (and another sporadic 3 years of on and off before that) to once again share with you my world.

Such as it is.

Not for popularity or recognition.  Not for validation.

For connection. 

Also because I'm a little rusty in the writing department and I figured dusting off the old blog might be good practice.  

The clacking of the keyboard has a sense of familiarity.  But the flow is slow and sluggish.  

Maybe a quicker wit, a larger vocabulary, and awesome extended metaphors will come back to me again.  For now, I just wanted to take some time to say just how thankful I am for my life right now.

What a blessing it is to even be able to say that.  To recognize all the good.  Because let me tell you...

...Things leading up to this were tough. 

But lets save the toughness for an different reflecting period.  

Today, let me tell you about my job.

(skipping the journey of getting there for now).

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think a high percentage of people would say that working for a non-profit, making next to nothing, having to be a jack of all trades, and wrangling children is their idea of a dream job.

Well.

Let me tell ya. 

It's been mine since 2011.  

Working for a nature center has been my goal since my first taste of it working in Maine at Merryspring Nature Center.  

And if I had any doubts that this job would be just as amazing, they have been since quieted. 

This job at Ogden Nature Center is literally my dream.  

I get to go to a 152 acre nature preserve every day, work with a bunch of other kooky naturalists who love the outdoors, and EDUCATE!

Now if you had asked young Sarah if she had any plans of teaching, like...at ALL, she would have laughed in your face.  She was going to work with animals and own 100 brown puppies and 100 white puppies, dang it!  She was going to be an animal trainer for movies.  Or a Zoologist.  (Or maybe a special effects artist...that was a random one).  

Sarah Lambson an educator?  Nah.

Funnily enough, pretty much everyone in my family has done some educating of some kind or another (formal or informal) and the fact that it runs in my blood is rather encouraging.  

And when I realized I loved it, I ran with it.

And so here I am.  

For anyone interested I'm gonna outline my job below (feel free to skip if you bore easily).

I would try to outline a day in the life for me but the fact is, every day is different.  

For clarity's sake I will say that I was hired because of a grant through iSEE (Informal Science Education Enhancement).  The grant qualifications were that we created a curriculum for first graders that followed along with Utah testing and curriculum standards, teaches science of some kind, and that we attempt to reach every first grade classroom in the state of Utah in three years.

So that's a big part of my job.  Maybe about half.  This half of the time is spent driving all over Utah, going to schools, and teaching the same program about classifying animals into birds, mammals, and reptiles to all first grade classes. We use animal artifacts (pelts, feathers, skulls, etc.) to help teach about the traits different animals have.  And we always bring a live animal (usually a snake). So far we've gone to Park City and Logan.  And let me tell you: The drives are stunning. 

Driving in canyons is my new favorite thing. 

Another 25% of my job is helping with field trips.  These are for schools that want to bring their classes (K-5) to the nature center for a seasonal program.  Right now the have the option of a program called Field Ecology (where we collect bugs, learn about the food web, and explore predator/prey relations).  The second is called Living Close to the Land and teaches about the indigenous peoples of Utah (we built a giant teepee, we show them how to make corn cakes over a real fire, it's cool).  There can have up to 100 kids and we split them into groups and several of us take them around to the different activities around the nature center.  It's exhausting work but it's outside and it's a ton of fun.  

I would say about 10% of my job is other various outreach.  This usually means going off site with various activities to interact with the community.  I've helped out at the farmers market, gone to a block party at Weber state, taken paper making to a middle school, and taught veterans about aquatic macro invertebrates.  Some time in October I'll be helping out with an owl themed outreach and I'm really excited. 

What are we up to, 85%?  

Another 10% is helping out with events.  As a non-profit we do a lot of community fund raising events.  Some are fancy, some are more relaxed.  The one we have coming up that I've been doing a lot of prep for is called Creatures of the Night.  A non-scary, nature/Halloween themed weekend of fun times for kids.  I've helped put together several carnival games (pumpkin golf, skunk tail ring-toss, Bat/Moth), and put together a fortune teller costume for myself at the fortune telling station.  This event seems like a lot of fun and I'm excited for it.  The others I've helped host have been strictly 21+ and have been geared at the big money types around Ogden.  I mean...we don't make money here so we want wealthy people to give it to us, right?  So we throw fancy fundraisers.  I get it, I just wish I didn't have to dress all fancy and be there for it.  

The last 5% of my job is (hopefully) helping the nature center come up with more programming ideas and way to reach out to more and more people so we can continue to expand.  My goal is going to be to create programming for the middle school and high school ages.  My director isn't a huge fan of that age group so I'm not sure she'll be on board.  But I love the chance to reach out to that age and really connect with them on a more in depth level.  I think we could do a lot of good here in Ogden with that age group.  Working with kids that age begins the next generation of environmental stewards and that's kinda the point of a place like this.  

So there you have it. It may sound boring at times (heck, it IS boring at times all those phone calls and writing/re-writing curriculum).  But essentially I get to play games with kids, do arts and crafts, and watch magical connections happen all day.  It's a blast.   

For those of you who weren't sure what I do for a living these days, this is it.  I wouldn't have it any other way right now.  I hope to be here for several more years. 

Stay tuned for more little updates coming soon (like moving into my new place!)

Friends and family, I love you all and I wouldn't have made it here without all your help and support.