Happy Turtle

Living in the moment. That was what I wanted to do this year. Well, I'm doing it. I took this job as a cook at an outdoor expedition camp for boys with ADHD and other learning disabilities without even looking into it. The people that run the camp are really helping me live in the moment as well by not giving me any direction or instruction.

Day 1: I showed up later than the other staff members due to snow on the way from Jackson to Dubois and the fact that I had no idea how to get to camp. The people in charge had not given me directions, an address... anything. And there is absolutely no cell phone reception in Dubois. I drove into town with my family and was greeted by big buck horns, a drive-thru alcohol shop (they have drive-thru alcohol instead of drive-thru espresso, no joke) and big trucks lining the streets. It wasn't snowing yet, but the chillness of the air and the look of the clouds suggested a storm was on its way.

I found an address online and plugged it into Fiona, my GPS with the Scottish accent. After saying a quick goodbye to the family, I hopped in the car and Sweet Baby Sam, Fiona and I made our way to camp.

Jeremy greeted me on his 4-wheeler when I pulled up. He took me straight into the meeting where I met all of the course directors, including Ben's sister Sophie. I had debated making a new identity for myself when I got to camp; no one here knows me here so I could be anyone I wanted to be. Thoughts of an accent, dying my hair a random color, changing my name... those all crossed through my mind, but I decided I really like who I am and I wasn't going to let these people believe I was someone I wasn't.

We split into groups of four to come up with meal plans. I was in the breakfast group with Sophie, Nicole and Cooke. Immediately, I felt totally welcomed into the group. Cooke spent a lot of time working in Bend, Oregon, so we had a lot to talk about. Sophie, Nicole and I all know Ben, so mostly we exchanged stories about the kid (sorry, Benny Ben Ben!). Sophie is a nut. I absolutely adore her. She is just such a kook and has the most genuinely caring personality. She made me feel really welcomed and wanted, which is a big deal since I'm so shy. Her smile is contagious and I am so grateful that she is here.

When we finished making meal plans for the first week of camp, I was expected to make dinner right away. Sophie and Nicole hopped in my Subaru and we drove up up up the hill to the kitchen, aka my new home. The place was tiny, with a big oven and scattered food products. The girls helped me make the spaghetti and sauce, garlic bread and salad, though I think I failed on the meat sauce. You're supposed to drain the grease? Oops. So  much for meal #1. But everyone seemed to enjoy it.

I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do clean-up-wise, serving-wise, sleeping-wise. Not knowing if I was doing anything correctly, I stood around for a little while pretending to look busy. Afterwards, I went to my car and just sat there, not really sure what to do since it was dark outside and I was not given a designated sleeping area. My luggage was still in the back of my car. I had no idea where I was supposed to lay my head that night, a teepee, a cowboy tent, a cabin? Finally, I made my way to the group sitting outside around the campfire. After talking to Erica and Margo for a little while, Sophie invited me to sleep with her, Nicole and Anne. I grabbed one bag out of my car and went to set up camp. Dad had bought me a 15-40 degree sleeping bag and I brought a comforter, but Sophie suggested I use her extra 20 degree bag as well. So I bundled up and got into my bags. It was not warm at all. My whole body was frozen and I could not get comfortable. It was worse than being at Wildflower that night. Sophie asked if I was warm and I told her it was definitely cold, but I would be fine. She and Nicole scolded me, saying I should not be cold and if I was cold now, it was only going to get colder. They helped bundle me up, just like camp mothers. I slept from 12:30AM-2AM before waking up to a need to pee. There was no way I was going to walk in the dark to the restroom with all the bear sightings they've had at camp this year, so I fought the sensation and tried to sleep.

That morning, I went into the kitchen to cook breakfast. It was another day of learning. Johan and Margo helped me out, but I still felt totally worthless. This is all so new for me. I was starting to wonder why God had allowed me to come to Wyoming. Why was I stubbornly trying to prove Ben wrong and prove to him that I could do something adventurous? That was the real reason I chose to come here; how ridiculous am I?

We eat outdoors, so I quickly chowed down on the food then went inside to make sack lunches. From there, I was given a group of course directors to go to Walmart with, or Wally-world as they all call it. Sophie, Caroline, Margot, Tim and I piled into the car and made the hour-and-a-half-long drive to Riverton. I was excited to see Riverton; I thought it would be like Jackson with a lot of outdoorsy people and cool shops, but it was not what I expected at all. Since I am scared to run at camp due to all the bears and mountain lions, I thought I could run when I do my food buys in Riverton over the summer; unfortunately, it is nowhere near safe enough to be alone in that town. When I do my food buys, I will be running from my car into Walmart and sprinting back out. I probably won't even stop in town to get gas.

Riverton. We drove into the desolate town around 1PM and drove straight to the park to eat lunch. Sophie stayed with the food while the rest of us walked over to the restrooms. As we walked up, Tim knocked on the door and 6 people came out of the restroom, drunk and wreaking of pot. One woman told him she just cleaned the seat for him. We looked at them funny and they sat down on a bench outside of the bathroom, waiting for us to finish so they could resume their business. I ignored them, but Margo spoke with them when they started conversation. They wanted to touch us and hug us and be near us. I got out of there as soon as I could, but Tim stayed with Margo until she was finished. When we sat down to eat, a Native American man with his pants half down walked over to our table. He mumbled and slurred his speech so we didn't know what he was asking, but we were all wearing really nice gear and had lots of food out. Tim assumed he was asking for food, so he told the man we were going to eat first and we would see what was leftover. The man kept trying to converse, but finally gave up and walked away.

Tim said he didn't think we were safe, so we ate quickly, packed up the car and drove to the store. Five grocery carts. Over $700 in food for 13 people for one week. That's how much we spent. How am I going to push 5 carts around Walmart by myself? It was definitely a learning experience. There are some weird people at Walmart. Honestly, I don't think Wyoming is where I am going to find my future husband. Haha.

Tim needed new tires, so we strapped some new tires on the roof and made our way back to Dubois, only to be slowed down by a large snowfall. We decided to play games while we crept our way back to camp. I'm going to camp and I'm bringing caused a lot of laughs. It's a game where you alphabetically have to recite everything you are bringing camping. My squeak came out from hiding and gave everyone a shock. Caroline almost swerved off the road. We  made it though. Right in time for me to make dinner. I made a chicken pot pie that took three hours to bake. I started the oven at 6 and dinner wasn't ready until 9. I felt bad for the staff, but they were very patient with me and everyone was super helpful in the kitchen.

After dinner, Sophie and I decided to prep for breakfast, so we chopped up onions, mushrooms and bell peppers while goofing off. Somehow we ended up shoving each other around. I was trying to block her from getting to the trash can and it worked. "Dang it," she cried! "Cyclist's legs, cyclist's legs, cyclist's legs!" All she could do the rest of the night was talk about how strong my thighs are and how I'm going to be the champion of leg wrestling. Tim just shook his head at us. Later, he heard me sneeze. "Gosh," he exclaimed. "Everything about you is like a little mouse! You're squeaking, your tiny sneeze, it's insane!"

Snow layered the ground as Sophie and I tried to make our way back to our campground in the dark, only the light of the snow lighting out pathway. I crawled into bed and texted for a little while, despite the fact that I'm using extended service. It took me over three hours to finally fall asleep, probably because it was even colder than the previous night and the girls were chatting. Plus, I just wasn't tired.

5AM today: Woke up and showered. I got on breakfast immediately and it was the first time I felt confident in the kitchen. Johan came into help, but I already had everything covered, so he brewed coffee for me and we got to know each other a little. An hour later, Cooke came in to help with the food. He was disappointed to see I had everything under control because he had woken up early to surprise me and help out. Instead, he poured himself a cup of coffee, we made a toast to the day and clanked mugs then talked about Oregon, gardening, the outdoors and everything in between as we sipped on the gook in our cups.

Breakfast was on time and I was proud of that. I didn't eat any of it so I don't know if it was good. To be honest, yesterday was full of really unhealthy food and I can't eat that way every day, so I ate a zucchini muffin that Anne had made last week and a banana with peanut butter. After cleaning, I got my laptop together and walked down the hill by myself. I was terrified that I would see one of the bears that hangs out at our camp, but it was snowing so hard, I couldn't see anything. To keep the bears away, I sang to myself to let them know I was there, Richard's gift of bear spray in hand, just in case.

Here I am in the classroom at the bottom of the hill, looking out at the blanket of thick snow plummeting down from the heavens. This is going to be a long summer. This is going to be a huge challenge. So far I love the people, but when I have 60  plus people that I'm cooking for? Alone? Oh eff. I miss home. One thing I've learned from this trip though is how much I appreciate my jobs back at home. I'm excited to return and get back to work. I'm also very excited to get home and be active again since I cannot do that here easily.

So there is my update. No pictures due to the fact I forgot my cord at the top of the hill. Hopefully I can post some fun training things soon. I'll put up a workout now for those of you who I promised I would do so.

CYCLE 60:

5:00 Warm-up
6:00 Zone 2, 90 CAD, alternating 1:00 each leg
5:00 Start Zone 3, build to Zone 4 by the end
6:00 Alternating 1:00 sitting Zone 1, standing Zone 4 (x3)
2:00 Zone 1
5:00 Start Zone 3, build to Zone 4 by the end
6:00 Alternating 1:00 sitting Zone 1, standing Zone 4 (x3)
2:00 Zone 1
2:00 Alternating :10 Zone 5, :10 Zone 1
2:00 Alternating :20 Zone 4, :20 Zone 1
2:00 Alternating :30 Zone 3, :30 Zone 1
2:00 Zone 1
5:00 Zone 2
2:00 Zone 3
2:00 Alternating :10 Zone 5, :10 Zone 1
3:00 Zone 1 Cool-down
3:00 Stretch

CORE (1:00 each x3)

Deadbugs
Lion Kings
Balance Push-ups
Burpees
Hop knees to elbows in plank
Brazilian Butt Lifts on Steroids
Side Plank right
Side Plank left