Colette is retiring

Home > From ‘bear jams’ to hugging presidents, retiring ranger has seen it all
From ‘bear jams’ to hugging presidents, retiring ranger has seen it all


Enterprise photo by Aaric Bryan
National Park Service Ranger Colette Daigle-Berg stands

in front a grove of aspen trees at the Tower Station, recently.

By Liz Kearney - Enterprise Staff Writer
TOWER, Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. — In a couple of months, Colette Daigle-Berg has to leave a job she loves.
Daigle-Berg, 57, has been a law enforcement ranger at various national parks, including Yellowstone, since 1979. She’s been the year-round supervisory park ranger at Tower, located in the park’s northeast, since 1989.
But federal law dictates that law enforcement rangers face mandatory retirement at age 57, no matter their vigor or fitness level.
Daigle-Berg, fit and trim in her Park Service uniform, says age is just a number these days.
“Some 30-year-olds are not in shape,” she said in an interview at her Tower office earlier this month.
And some 57-year-olds, like Daigle-Berg, still run a seven-minute mile.

The highlights
In her 30-plus years in the Park Service, Daigle-Berg can cite a lot of highlights — the fires of 1988, the reintroduction of wolves in 1995 and receiving a hug from President Jimmy Carter.
“He asked if it was okay to hug a ranger,” Daigle-Berg, recalled, laughing. “I said it was.”
In 1988 — the year of the Yellowstone Park fires — she was stationed at Grant Village, in the southern part of the park near the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake. The fires burned for weeks in the area, necessitating nearly daily temporary road closures.
She said she spent a lot of time telling visitors about the closures. She had learned throughout the summer that the fires cooled off overnight and became more active in the afternoon, often necessitating temporary road closures. She learned that if she gave people enough information to make their own decisions, they were happier about dealing with inconveniences.
She said her goal earlier in the fire season was to give people the information they needed. Later, when the fires were more intense and she just needed people to leave the area, she changed her goal to keeping people safe.
In 1995, she stood outside her Park Service housing and watched the “entourage” reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone drive by on their way toward Lamar Valley.
The following year, she got to help carry a crated wolf to the Soda Butte pen site.
“When I got home, the dogs sniffed me all up and down,” she laughed.

The ‘Bear-muda Triangle’
Daigle-Berg credits a seasonal volunteer with coining the phrase, “the Bear-muda Triangle,” to describe the Tower area.
Each Yellowstone ranger district has its “signature workload,” Daigle-Berg explained. At Old Faithful, for example, the rangers do a lot of “medicals” due to the large number of elderly visitors who arrive on bus tours.
At Tower, the signature workload is “bear jams” caused by tourists piling up to observe bears. From May through July, bears forage for food along the roadside in the area. It’s a dangerous place for bear jams because the roads are narrow and full of curves, with few pullouts and narrow shoulders.
“My first priority is keeping people and bears safe,” Daigle-Berg said.
There’s always a Tower black bear, usually a sow with cubs, who comes to be called “Rosie,” after the nearby Roosevelt Lodge. Daigle-Berg said there’s been a “Rosie” since the 1940s.
Over the years, Daigle-Berg and her staff have come to learn the bears’ habits. They know where the bears are going to show up and when. They are often able to pre-empt the worst bear jams by getting out on patrol before the bears are out.
Daigle-Berg said park bear biologists explained why more bears are visible along the Tower roads these days.
The bear population is up, and bears are territorial. The larger, more assertive bears stake their claims on the desirable feeding grounds away from the roads. The younger, smaller and less dominant bears get pushed into less desirable feeding areas, such as along roadsides.
Then, when a massive bear jam breaks out, people get excited about seeing the bears. People who hop out of their cars and get too close to the bears don’t understand that what they are doing is harmful, she said.
She explains to visitors that when bears are pushed away from the roadside, they are “pushing them into the bigger bears.”
And the proof this theory is accurate is that, come July, when the whitebark pine cone seeds — an important food source for bears — are ripe in the high country, the larger bears head up in elevation. Then the roadside bears move into the recently vacated turfs, away from the roads and the crowds.

Law enforcement
Daigle-Berg’s job is also about law enforcement. Even though it’s Yellowstone, park rangers are also cops. Daigle-Berg said in all her years of rangering, she can count on one hand the number of times she’s pulled her gun.
“You never know who’s out there,” she said.
And in recent years, a new law was passed allowing individuals to bring firearms into the national parks. And many people do, she said, because they are “terrified” of bears.
But Daigle-Berg, over the years, has learned to defuse potentially stressful incidents by making sure they don’t escalate.
She said one thing she learned — and always taught to her staff — was how to handle a routine traffic stop. You know how the cops always ask, “Do you know why I pulled you over?” Daigle-Berg said she doesn’t do that. She tells the driver right away, “I pulled you over because you have a broken tail light,” for example.
And during one traffic stop, this policy may have saved her life. She recalled pulling a vehicle over for a broken tail light, then called in the license plate to be checked. The information came back that the driver was wanted for several felonies and was considered armed and dangerous. Daigle-Berg called for backup and the rangers were able to arrest him without incident. The felony suspect told her later that he assumed she stopped him for his felonies, and he was preparing to shoot if necessary. Hearing about the broken tail light calmed him down, Daigle-Berg recalled.

Deputy coroner
Another of Daigle-Berg’s duties is that of deputy coroner. With her medical experience — she said she’s more than an EMT, but not a full-fledged paramedic — and law enforcement background, coroner was a natural fit.
“I represent the deceased,” she said.
She’s had to inform families of the death of their loved ones. It’s hard, she said, her eyes tearing up.
In 2010, an Iraq war veteran killed himself on Garnet Hill, a backcountry area not far from Tower. His rental car was reported missing in May. His body was discovered by park researchers working nearby, in July.
Daigle-Berg took a photo of the view from where Peter Kastner, 25, of Oklahoma City, spent his last moments. She sent the photo to his family.

Handling stress
Rangering in Yellowstone in summer, racing from call to call and managing bear jams produce stressful moments. Daigle-Berg said she manages stress by making sure she gets enough sleep. Other rangers exercise, she said.
“My mantra has been eat, sleep, pee, drink — because you never know what’s going to happen next,” she laughed.

What she’ll miss most
Daigle-Berg’s position at Tower, where she is deputy district ranger for Lamar River District, has involved all the possible duties of a Yellowstone ranger. The Tower area rangers are responsible not only for law enforcement but also provide medical assistance in emergencies, fire protection, search and rescue, horse patrol, road patrol, campground patrol and bear jam control.
Daigle-Berg has led her staff — usually 12 to 15 rangers — in training for all these skills. She said what she has enjoyed most is working with the ranger crew, providing the training opportunities for them to master all different skills.
“It was really satisfying,” she said.
Asked what she’d miss the most about her job, Daigle-Berg didn’t hesitate.
“Not working with this talented, tightknit group of people,” she said, adding, “When it hits the fan, we all pull together to get the job done, and I will miss that.”
And there’s another thing she’ll miss.
“The view out my kitchen window,” Daigle-Berg laughed.
She said she’s seen every park animal there is to see on the ridge behind her house at Tower, including bears, wolves and once, even a mountain lion.
“One of the really neat things about living here is hearing the wolves howl.” Daigle-Berg said. “It’s phenomenal.”
And her dogs’ reaction?
“They go ballistic,” she laughed.

The early years
Daigle-Berg’s first job in Yellowstone was with Yellowstone Park Service Stations in 1974. She was one of the first female “pumpers” — the employees who pumped the gas and checked the oil — ever hired. She had pumped gas after school in her hometown of Seattle. She pumped gas during the long lines of gas rationing that occurred during the Arab oil embargo of the early 1970s. She said she learned then that a smile goes a long way in providing customer service.
She found the YPSS application at a job placement office on the campus of the University of Washington. There was a space on the application for a personal statement.
Daigle-Berg thought it might be a good idea to explain why they should hire a woman to pump gas.
“I said if they hired a woman, a woman has to work harder to prove to the men she can do the job, and the men work harder so the women don’t surpass them,” she laughed.
She got the job. She worked several summers at YPSS around the park, including a summer at Lake. The gas station there still stands, but is no longer operational.
“We called it ‘gas with a view,’” Daigle-Berg said.
After attending law enforcement training academy in California, she worked seasonal ranger jobs in Yellowstone, gaining a foothold in the Park Service.
Ironically, she did not meet her husband, Bill Berg, at YPSS, despite his long career there.
Rather, she met him during a winter season at Old Faithful. She was working as a ranger, Bill as a winterkeeper. Bill had heard that Colette offered haircuts. In the remote living of Yellowstone, there’s always someone on site who turns out to be pretty good at cutting hair. Colette joked she charged “one dollar or one drink” to give a haircut.

"And I still cut Bill's hair," she laughed.
She liked Bill because he liked to do the same things she did, like cross-country ski.
“And he’s a genuinely nice person without a hint of ego,” she said.
Throughout their marriage, Bill and Colette have managed separate households — Colette at Tower since 1989, and Bill in Gardiner, where he was a year-round manager with YPSS and later founded CoolWorks, a website that links up seasonal employers with workers.
Colette and Bill will soon be busy consolidating two households into one.
Daigle-Berg isn’t sure what she’s going to do after she hangs up her gun belt for the last time. She hopes to stay “engaged” in some sort of position in Yellowstone.
“It’s been my whole life,” she said.

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An online store to avoid - "The Great Hardware Store" - a serious rant

First of all, I would like to say that I'm a pretty easy person to please. When I get good service, I tip well. I also give good ratings.

This is not one of those times.

I placed an order with The Great Hardware Store http://www.thegreathardwarestore.com/ for a window heating unit on 11 October. I received no communication from them. I called. Left messages. Sent emails. No response.

So I sicked my sister on them (nothing like a lawyer to scare the crap out of someone). By selecting EVERY option on their phone menu, she finally got a call back from a person in the Commercial Sales division. Apparently since that's where most of their business is centered, they do not care about consumers who visit their website. He assured her the heater would ship that week (3 weeks after it was supposed to). So we waited another week. Nothing. Sent another email to their "customer service" email. No response.

Finally frustrated (and freezing in the house) I called and left a message for them to "cancel the f***ing order." (I believe those were my exact words.)

And they did. Quickly. Within an hour the order was off my account. And they got my money refunded in a week. If only their customer service were so speedy...

So we ordered from Northern Tool. Same item, $150 more expensive. I called their customer service to make sure they could figure out the convoluted shipping into the park, and spoke with a live human being within 30 seconds. I told her my story of woe, AND SHE MATCHED THEIR PRICE. Yup, great customer service, shipped when it was supposed to (with tracking info) and they gave us a good price.

Caveat emptor

I will never buy from The "Great" Hardware store again.

Northern Tool has my business. And my respect.

let it...blow?

seems we've had more wind than snow this year

Another fine day of a few inches and 50+ gusts. Yipee!

Now that's more like it!

Hazardous weather condition(s):

Winter Storm Warning
Hazardous Weather Outlook

Today: Snow. High near 16. Wind chill values as low as -15. Windy, with a west southwest wind between 29 and 33 mph, with gusts as high as 50 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.

Tonight: Snow. Low around 8. Wind chill values as low as -15. Windy, with a west southwest wind between 30 and 34 mph, with gusts as high as 50 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.

Thursday: Snow. High near 25. Wind chill values as low as -15. Windy, with a southwest wind between 26 and 32 mph, with gusts as high as 45 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible.

Thursday Night: Snow. Low around 13. Wind chill values as low as -5. Windy, with a west southwest wind 30 to 33 mph decreasing to between 17 and 20 mph. Winds could gust as high as 47 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.

Friday: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 25. West southwest wind between 10 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Friday Night: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 13. West southwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Saturday: Snow likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 26. West southwest wind between 10 and 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Saturday Night: Snow likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 8. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Sunday: A 50 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 21.

Sunday Night: A 50 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 3.

Monday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 21.

Monday Night: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 2.

Tuesday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 19.

C'mon baby!

Feel like I'm rolling the dice in craps here, but even this looks like a good thing to me.

SNOW DAMN YOU!!!

/cry

Southwest Montana snowpack 80 percent below average


Posted: Monday, January 9, 2012 12:15 am
JOLENE KELLER, Chronicle Staff Writer | 0 comments
Looking outside, it may be hard to believe it’s January. Where snow banks usually accumulate in Bozeman, there are piles of dirt. Kids are sledding on grass and plows are parked. And for the first time in 20 years, the annual Bohart Ranch Nordic Fest was canceled on Sunday.
It’s been a weird, dry winter, and state water specialists are reporting that the snowpack in the mountains is, not surprisingly, well below average.
Kat Hickman, Bohart Ranch ski school director, said that nearly 200 people signed up take part in the free lessons and rentals at Bohart Sunday. They were told when they registered, however, that barring a snow miracle, there was a good chance the event would be canceled.
“It was a hard decision, but where we have our beginning section for lessons is firm and icy — difficult conditions to learn on,” Hickman said. “We don’t want our lessons to be a bad experience. Hopefully this Nordic Fest cancellation will be the first and last.”
Conditions were similar just up the road at Bridger Bowl, which was still reporting a measly 24-inch base on Sunday.
According to a recent report issued by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Montana statewide mountain snowpack is well below average and even further below last year, which was 70 percent above average.
The report states that so far this season southwest Montana snowpack has fared the worst in the state, 80 percent below average. On the other end of the snowfall spectrum, the Yellowstone River Basin has several sub-basins, most particularly in the lower Yellowstone River basins, which are above 100 percent of average.
“Although La Nina-like temperatures exist in the Pacific Ocean, weather patterns indicative of La Nina, which are typically wetter and colder than average, have been rare,” said Brian Domonkos, a NRCS snow water supply specialist.
According to NRCS data, Montana’s current overall conditions compare closely with the start of 2010, which remained dry across the region until early spring when wetter than average conditions prevailed.
Generally, precipitation in Montana started off well in October 2011, predominately in the form of rain, yielding to drier conditions in November and even drier during December. Still, not all is lost, Domonkos said.
“In order to recover from the current snowpack deficit, winter precipitation would need to be near 120 percent of average prior to spring runoff,” he said.
Stream flow prospects are slightly more optimistic with more than half of the snowpack accumulation season remaining. Domonkos, though, said that stream flow forecasts are projected to be below average and, thus, water managers need to pay particular attention to their local area and plan for possible low flows in the event that mountain precipitation continues to be poor.

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/environment/article_d2a994f6-3a85-11e1-897f-0019bb2963f4.html

A tiny bit of good news

Been a few bad weeks. Nice to hear a good story.


Ole's ordeal: Corgi survives 4 days after owner dies in avalanche

Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/ole-s-ordeal-corgi-survives-days-after-owner-dies-in/article_4e52f6ba-8bd7-5148-acd1-575e43bb9868.html#ixzz1icK8gtb5

Assumed to have died in an avalanche that killed one of his owners on Saturday, an exhausted and hungry Welsh Corgi dog lay down Wednesday by the door of the Cooke City hotel room that the family had occupied four days earlier.
“The family is super excited,” said Mark Staples, of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, which investigated the incident. “It’s one bright spot for them.”
Robert Weinstein, owner of the Alpine Motel at Cooke City, spotted the dog around noon Wednesday.
“I just saw it outside sitting by the room, which is pretty amazing,” he said.
He fed it and began calling around to make sure that the dog was the one he thought it was.
“I wasn’t 100 percent sure because I’d only seen it once or twice,” he said.
The dog, named Ole, was with Dave Gaillard, 44, of Bozeman, who was buried by an avalanche while skiing with his wife, Kerry, on Saturday. They were skiing along Hayden Creek, southeast of town, at an elevation of about 9,200 feet and just below Index Peak.
When the avalanche broke high atop the mountain, most of the snow was funneled into the narrow creek drainage where Gaillard was skiing, filling it 12 to 14 feet deep with tightly packed snow. Kerry Gaillard was on the edge of the avalanche, hanging onto a tree to avoid being swept away.
She told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle that her husband’s last thoughts were for her safety.
“His last words to me were, ‘Retreat to the trees.’ I think he saw what was coming from above, that I did not see. That reflects Dave’s amazing quality — thinking of others,” she said.
Search and rescue personnel saw no sign of Ole at the site, and it was thought he had been buried in the slide. But if Ole was buried, he managed to dig his way out and then walk four miles on stubby legs back to Cooke City in temperatures that dipped into the teens at night.
Cooke City businessman Bill Whittle, who volunteered to drive the dog back to his family on Wednesday, said Ole appeared to be in good condition despite his ordeal.
“It’s a miracle,” Whittle said.
When he first approached, Whittle said, Ole was nervous and scared. But when he called the dog’s name, Ole came right over.
“He was real hungry and thirsty,” Whittle said. “We fed him twice.”
Whittle is a member of the search and rescue crew that helped retrieve Gaillard’s body. He called the area a “bad spot” in difficult terrain.
Ole’s survival and return are all the more amazing because Corgis are not large dogs. They were bred short to avoid being kicked as they herded livestock. On average, males stand a foot and a half tall and weigh around 27 pounds.
“How in the world he made it, I don’t know,” said Kay Whittle, Bill’s wife. “If he could just talk — who knows what he did from the day of the avalanche until today?”
Sidney resident Jody Ray Verhasselt, 46, also died Saturday in an avalanche in the Cooke City area. Verhasselt was snowmobiling on a northeast-facing slope in Fisher Creek north of Cooke.
Kay Whittle said the two New Year’s Eve avalanche deaths took a toll on the small mountain community. Many residents respond in emergencies such as avalanches.
“It’s been real rough,” she said.
“We needed this,” Bill Whittle said of Ole’s survival. “It kind of cheered everyone up.”
Copyright 2012 The Billings Gazette. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Posted in Montana on Thursday, January 5, 2012 12:00 am Updated: 10:40 am. | Tags: Ole The Welsh Corgi, Avalanche, Cooke City, Dave Gaillard, Kerry Gaillard



Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/ole-s-ordeal-corgi-survives-days-after-owner-dies-in/article_4e52f6ba-8bd7-5148-acd1-575e43bb9868.html#ixzz1icKdHEpO

Rest in Peace, Ranger Anderson

Ranger Margaret Anderson, 34, was shot and killed on the road to Paradise at Mount Rainier National Park on New Year’s Day morning. The body of her assailant, Benjamin Barnes, who fled into the backcountry, was found by searchers yesterday afternoon.

The intensive manhunt for Barnes came to an end when searchers in an aircraft spotted a body lying face down and partially submerged in the Paradise River in the vicinity of Narada Falls. Searchers on the ground traversed challenging terrain to reach the spot and confirmed that it was Barnes and that he was dead.

An investigation into the incident is being led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with park rangers and Pierce County Sheriff’s Department officers assisting. The Western Incident Management Team (Denny Ziemann, IC) is en route to the park to assist with planning a memorial service for Anderson and with ongoing park needs. Information on the service will be posted on InsideNPS once it becomes available.

The park will remain closed to the public through today to let staff begin to work through their grief.

On the morning of January 1st, Anderson set up a traffic block to intercept a vehicle that had failed to stop at a chain-up checkpoint. The driver, Benjamin Barnes, opened fire on Anderson, killing her, and then fled on foot into the woods. Anderson had worked at Mount Rainier for three years. She is survived by her husband, Eric, also a ranger in the park, and by two young children.

Mount Rainier National Park closed during the hunt for the gunman, with the park evacuating park visitors to get them out of potential danger. There were 125 visitors in lockdown at the Paradise Visitor Center from Sunday noon until 3:30 a.m. on Monday. They were escorted out of the park in small groups of five vehicles, accompanied by law enforcement officers. There were also 25 visitors at the National Park Inn at Longmire who were evacuated out of the park. Visitors had been held at these locations for their own safety.

Approximately 200 personnel were involved in search operations on Monday, January 2nd. Agencies participating in the search effort included the National Park Service, Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tacoma Police Department, Washington State Patrol, Customs & Border Patrol, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Forest Service, Pierce County Fire Districts, Lewis County Sheriff’s Department, Enumclaw PD, Portland PD, Seattle PD, Snohomish PD, and law enforcement officers from other jurisdictions as well. Resources included K-9 units, armored vehicles, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

Director Jarvis issued this statement early on Monday morning:

“Yesterday morning, Park Ranger Margaret Anderson was shot and killed while making a traffic stop at Mount Rainier National Park. As I write this late Sunday night, the murderer is still at large in the park, which has been closed. We are working closely with the FBI and local law enforcement to protect visitors and staff and to track down Margaret’s killer and bring him to justice.

“This is a heartbreaking, senseless tragedy. Margaret was just 34 years old. She and her husband Eric, who is also a park ranger at Mount Rainier, have two young children. Margaret was killed while doing her job – protecting the visiting public on one of the park’s busiest days of the year.

“Last week, we mourned the death of U.S. Park Police Officer Mike Boehm, who suffered a heart attack while responding to a serious incident in Washington, DC. Mike left behind a wife and a son.

“Our hearts go out to both families, and I ask you to keep them in your thoughts and prayers in the hard days ahead.

“As updates from Rainier are available we will share them with all employees through InsideNPS. These losses are painful reminders of the risks faced by National Park Service employees every day. Please be careful out there and watch out for each other.”

Busy Weekend

Avalanche victims had taken precautions

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/region/article_cb136726-35c1-11e1-a5e6-001871e3ce6c.html

I was able to go out on one of these calls and "help" with the post-incident. Great experience, but a very sad day in Cooke City.

Returning home

Arizona was fine. Enjoyed visiting with the family. Being in a house that was being shown for sale was crazy, but otherwise had a nice time.

Back home again to an empty house (Aims and Tuck stayed later in AZ) it was nice for a few hours, but was just too quiet without the Tuck man whistling or singing, watching TV, and playing on the computer - all of which he accomplishes simultaneously. No, the only noises in the house were the crazed mewing of Mr. Kitty. He was pissed we left him here and proceeded to take it all out on me. Bit my hand, woke me up every 2 hours the first night (and at 4 am each subsequent morning) and was generally just a giant pain in the rear.

Hunter-Eddie returned from the "spa" treatment of a week at Auntie Jessi's and rolled back into the routine. Man am I lucky to have such a great friend!

Anyway, the week sucked 'cause I have tons of work to do at work, and managed to fall into a migraine on Tuesday night. Finally subsided Thursday afternoon. Don't have a clue what the trigger was. Usually stress, but who knows.

Aims and Tuck are back now, the house is chaos, and I'm surviving. Need to get back into the groove of things and get out skiing even though the snow isn't the best.

Greatest news - my nephew Mitch proposed to his girlfriend of 5 years on New Year's day at midnight! They are such a sweet couple it honestly is sickening! I love them both and wish them well. They are still in Shreveport, but I'm sure wedding plans will be forthcoming.

Just another holiday season drawing to a close :)

day 4 of 8

Mom: "this is my slinky dress and here are the heels I got to go with it. Sandy and I want to go dancing"
Pops: "Well you guys should go"
Mom: "I meant with you and Michael!"
Pops: "I don't think so"
Mom: "What, do I need to get a new husband who likes dancing?"
Pops: "Don't worry, you will be a widow soon enough..."

The holidays are just getting started, folks.

an Arizona Christmas

It seemed like such a good idea at the time.

My parents have two houses. "The Mausoleum" in Spokane (17 rooms, 5 bedrooms) and the "Casita" in Mesa (9 rooms, 3 bedrooms). The pic above is out the back yard - gorgeous view of the Superstition Mtns. When asked where we wanted to spend Christmas this year I let Aims decide. She went for the better weather and selected Arizona. Months ago.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago. The 'rents decide they are going to sell the house in Spokane, sell the house in Mesa, and get a bigger house in Mesa. Sounds great, right? Well, until they decide to put the Casita on the market WHILE WE ARE VISITING FOR CHRISTMAS.

Now if you/ve never been in this situation, your life is dictated by your real estate agent, the house must be impeccably clean, and you could have to vacate the house at any time. Perfect conditions for a vacation. Particularly when you have a 12 year old boy along. And me.

Needless to say, it's day 2 and not very relaxing.

Thanks to Nick Bonzey for this one

http://nonamerah.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/869/

Want to know what your co-workers are making?

Well, if you work for the feds, there's an easy place to find out:

http://www.fedsdatacenter.com

I was surprised to find that my "official" title is, wait for it:

'Social Sciences Student Trainee'

huh?

The current photo

The photo above was taken while I was hunting - it's a shot of the Bridger Mountains looking across the Shields River.

It was a happy time even though I had no luck at hunting.

"Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length"

Robert Frost, Witness Tree, 1942

I, for one, would prefer a bit more length and a bit less height.

Just once.

Sad

Steve & Kate are gone.

And I'm sad.

They are headed back to NC, away from the savage beauty and craziness of Yellowstone.

It's a hard place, is this, and not everyone is cut out for life here.

I wish them both nothing but the best.

Stress, Performance, and Situational Awareness

Yep, I will be teaching those subjects tomorrow.

For today, though, I have a ton of stress, low performance, and no situational awareness.

I think it's coffee time...

Bloody cold

High of zero today.

And it was -35 at West Yellowstone this morning.

The snow has turned into sand.

Restless

Been busy, no doubt about that.

Work is busy, EMS is busy (in that we're working on ambulances, not too many calls), and things are always busy at the house.

With hunting season over and park roads closing, I'm finding myself eager to get out. Get out of the GYA. Just drive. Drive for no reason other than the rush of driving fast with the music loud. To sing loudly. See the country. Feel free.

I've got 63 hours between now and work Monday morning.

Off I go.

As the great poet Jagger once said,

"You can't always get what you want."

Good times.

'Hunting' Adventures

View south from the Anderson Place - Crazy Mtns on the left, Absarokas/Gallatins straight ahead.

Successful hunting tip:

If you want to find game, go with me. Then when I make a decision and pick a direction in which to hike, turn 180 degrees and walk the other way.

Needless to say, I did not have any luck yesterday either. Went up the Shields Valley on the recommendation of a couple friends. Saw plenty of deer (no elk), but they were all secure behind POSTED signs.

I have come to the ultimate conclusion that I suck at hunting. I can shoot. I just can't hunt.

So I took my rifle for some long walks yesterday. It was a gorgeous day and a long one.

And I loved every minute of it.

Fun weather

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY

1048 AM MST THU NOV 17 2011

..SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL AND WIND POSSIBLE FOR WESTERN WYOMING

TODAY AND FRIDAY...AND THE NORTH FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...

A PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM BRINGING SNOW TO THE WEST THIS MORNING WILL

CONTINUE TO INTENSIFY THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE TONIGHT AND FRIDAY

ACROSS THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS. THE SNOW AND WIND IS

THEN EXPECTED TO SPREAD INTO THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS FRIDAY AND

CONTINUE THROUGH MID DAY SATURDAY. SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL WITH

BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IS EXPECTED...ESPECIALLY ON THE

MOUNTAIN PASSES.

..WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM MST FRIDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RIVERTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER

STORM WARNING FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5

PM MST FRIDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* SUMMARY AND TIMING...SNOW WILL CONTINUE TODAY...INCREASING

OVERNIGHT. SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY FRIDAY.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...6 TO 12 INCHES POSSIBLE IN THE NORTH WITH

10 TO 20 INCHES IN THE WEST AND SOUTH PORTIONS OF THE PARK.

* WIND AND VISIBILITY...SOUTHWEST 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS

NEARING 50 MPH AT PASS AND PEAK LEVEL. VISIBILITY MAY BE

REDUCED BELOW ONE-QUARTER MILE AT TIMES IN BLOWING SNOW.

* IMPACTS...OUTDOOR ACTIVITY MAY BECOME SEVERELY IMPACTED TONIGHT INTO

FRIDAY WHEN MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW COMBINES WITH STRONG WINDS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER

CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF

SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN

AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL...KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT...

FOOD...AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

THE LATEST ROAD CONDITIONS PROVIDED BY THE WYOMING DEPARTMENT OF

TRANSPORTATION ARE AVAILABLE BY CALLING 5-1-1 OR ON THE INTERNET

AT WYOROAD.INFO.

be warned! the end is near...

The Mayan calendar ends in a year or so.

Prophetic?

Kevin Schneider Selected to be Deputy Superintendent at Grand Teton National Park

http://www.nps.gov/grte/parknews/news-release-11-103.htm

a couple quick photos

The new Gardiner Ambulance - a.k.a "The Beast" and it's pretty dang sweet. Other than being about 2 years late for delivery and having multiple issues requiring a trip back to the dealer...

Needs to be outfitted and made battle-ready! Beth and Joe are working on that, but I sure would like to assist in the setup process.

Removing the non-functional solar panels off our roof to get ready for work (hopefully next week). Look at the pitch on that roof! I mean, who does that in a snowy area?

They are going to scrape off the old roof, put up new trusses, add a new roof with a more realistic pitch, and BLOW INSULATION INTO THE CAVITY!

Thank goodness. Love the house, but it's impossible to stay warm with no insulation in the walls or roof. Aims and I have taped thick plastic over as many inside windows as possible, added weatherstripping kits to two outside doors, and blocked off one door with plastic and insulation for the winter. And it's still cold.

Looks like new windows will be coming in the spring as well, so we are looking forward to the changes.

EMT Class week 5 - Second exam and stress

EMT Class is harder than I thought. I say that because I have met people who have been through it (the watch saleswoman at Walmart who said she 'used to be an EMT' etc.)

Call me pompous, but I figured I could handle it with ease. I'm a GIS Specialist with 2.9 Bachelor's degrees, Masters candidate, I figure I'm pretty smart, so EMT class should be a breeze, right?

Wrong.

Time is my enemy.

These next two weeks, for instance, I'm doing the following: taking care of my 12 year old nephew, (attending a parent-teacher conference, not to mention keeping a snarly pre-teen alive for 14 days), reading and studying for airway theoretical exams (Monday night), prepping to teach two modules of the Operational Leadership course on Wednesday, spending 8 hours watching a video for my instructor-level CPR class next Tuesday, reading and studying patient assessment for Wednesday, finishing my term paper for GIS Implementation, trying to sneak in a few hours to hunt for deer and elk, work 8 hours a day, and try not to lose my mind.

Yep, I'm whining.

OK. Gotta bust this up and try to manage my time.

Actually had to bust out the hour-by-hour calendar for this one.

Made it through Monday - scored a 92% on the airway exam (more stupid mistakes on the test, should have aced it...). Kept the kid alive for another day.

Tuesday - managed to wake Tuck up in time for school, make a nice breakfast, send him off with a check for lunch money, get to Operational Leadership class in time for prepping the classroom and Doug's intro. Back to work for the day. Downloading Op. Leadership materials for tomorrow, dealing with GIS BS issues, trying to come up with a good presentation tomorrow...and have a parent-teacher conference at 1815.

Wednesday - will be at the class from 0800, my first presentation starts at 1030. Then lunch. Then second presentation, class ends at 1630. After that, run home, feed Tucker, get him ready for scouts, drag him with me to the Mammoth Community Center, attempt to finish reading chapters 10-12, make sure Tuck gets picked up for scouts while trying to pay attention in class.

Then I collapse.

Is this how regular parents live?

'Cause I don't think I could handle that.

Healing

Hunter-Eddie the galloping bulldog, post-surgery

EMT Class week #4 - First Exam Down

Holy crap.

At first I wrote "week 3" above, but it's actually week #4 folks. Hard to believe time has flown by so fast.

Our class meets twice a week, on Monday and Wednesday nights from 1800-2030. We meet 15 minutes early (optional) to study the government protocol book. Since I will be working for 2 services (government and village volunteer) I get to bone up on two sets of protocols. Eventually. Can't bring myself to even crack open the Montana state protocol book yet.

At this point I'm studying for my life. I feel woefully unprepared for class and never seem to have enough time to absorb one chapter before reading the next. How the hell can I feel like this when we're only 9 chapters and 240 pages in?

The first test was bad. Really bad. After taking the EMR class last winter I thought I was prepared for the insane wording and trickiness of the exams. Not so much. In my defense, I set aside three hours on Monday to study before the test (took the day off). Went to town in the morning, got my snow tires mounted, bought myself a new bike, and drove home. Grabbed a shower, got dressed, decided to spend an hour at the house doing the test questions on the web, then spend 2 hours in the classroom re-reading the chapters...

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

No way. We haven't had a call in...how long?

"Paging ALS, paging ALS. Crew requested for ALS transfer of 64 year old male from the Clinic, complaining of chest pain."

Shit.

So much for my study plans.

I pull on socks, shove on shoes, and call en route to the clinic.

Uneventful call, really. A quick 3-hour turnaround and we hit the classroom 15 minutes late for the exam, which I'm sure didn't help my score.

47 questions and I missed 7. Two of them were sheer stupidity on my part - not reading the questions carefully enough - and the rest I don't know. Mixed up sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems for sure...we will be going through the test tonight. I'm bummed, but I guess I'll just have to settle for 86% on this one.

Only 32 chapters and 1,000 pages to go...

HELP!

EMT Class week #4 - First Exam Down

Holy crap.

At first I wrote "week 3" above, but it's actually week #4 folks. Hard to believe time has flown by so fast.

Our class meets twice a week, on Monday and Wednesday nights from 1800-2030. We meet 15 minutes early (optional) to study the government protocol book. Since I will be working for 2 services (government and village volunteer) I get to bone up on two sets of protocols. Eventually. Can't bring myself to even crack open the Montana state protocol book yet.

At this point I'm studying for my life. I feel woefully unprepared for class and never seem to have enough time to absorb one chapter before reading the next. How the hell can I feel like this when we're only 9 chapters and 240 pages in?

The first test was bad. Really bad. After taking the EMR class last winter I thought I was prepared for the insane wording and trickiness of the exams. Not so much. In my defense, I set aside three hours on Monday to study before the test (took the day off). Went to town in the morning, got my snow tires mounted, bought myself a new bike, and drove home. Grabbed a shower, got dressed, decided to spend an hour at the house doing the test questions on the web, then spend 2 hours in the classroom re-reading the chapters...

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

No way. We haven't had a call in...how long?

"Paging ALS, paging ALS. Crew requested for ALS transfer of 64 year old male from the Clinic, complaining of chest pain."

Shit.

So much for my study plans.

I pull on socks, shove on shoes, and call en route to the clinic.

Uneventful call, really. A quick 3-hour turnaround and we hit the classroom 15 minutes late for the exam, which I'm sure didn't help my score.

47 questions and I missed 7. Two of them were sheer stupidity on my part - not reading the questions carefully enough - and the rest I don't know. Mixed up sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems for sure...we will be going through the test tonight. I'm bummed, but I guess I'll just have to settle for 86% on this one.

Only 32 chapters and 1,000 pages to go...

HELP!

On mapping

When I finally realized that making maps was actually something one could get paid for (and following the disastrous results of attempting to play pool for a living) I decided that I would one day make maps for National Geographic. I would be a Cartographer. For National Geographic. The only real dream of a job I ever had, other than the childhood fixation with being a vet and raising sled dogs (which I'd like to again as well, coincidentally).

I mentioned my fixation to my professor, who encouraged me to apply for a cartographic internship with NG. So I did. I waited. And failed. They didn't want me. Not even as an unpaid intern. I was crushed.

It was too late to get an internship for the summer.

Then random trust-afarian kid shows up at our department pimping the SCA (which I thought stood for the Society for Creative Anachronism). I flipped through the catalog, disinterested. Then I hit one. Sat up straight on my stool in the manual cartography lab. "Field Assistant needed to GPS thermal features, Yellowstone National Park" Started in July. Could one really get paid for such a thing? I LOVE hot springs.

Applied

Interviewed (with Kendra - bless her heart and no, I'm not a geyser gazer!)

Accepted

Moved

Fast forward ten or so years.

Got a meeting with David from National Geographic maps. We give them the data, they make the maps. I'm sitting in a meeting with this guy and realize, in a strictly vicarious way, my wish actually came true. I'm helping make maps for National Geographic. Dang.

Now just need to get a couple more sled dogs...

[as a side note, I met someone a few years back who was accepted and interned at NG and he said it sucked - they worked them like slaves and they just smoked pot in the office all the time. Guess I dodged a bullet there after all.]

Today I need music

Many thanks to some old friends

Clapton (Derek and the Dominos)

Dave Matthews

Bowie

Paul Simon

Mary Chapin Carpenter

Styx

Bill Withers

I'll get by.

Elk are EVIL

Yep. It's true. They are not cute. They are pure evil.

How do I know this? Well, they hide from me all day long, then mock me from the front yard after dark. Yep. They are evil.

Eddie is fine

Thanks for asking.

He made it through surgery just fine and they removed a quarter-sized melanoma. Other than looking like frankendog, he's doing pretty well. (I'll post a pic when I can)

Life at the house goes on as usual. Aims is learning about the seasonality of Yellowstone - how we bust ass all summer then breathe in the fall (and wax our skis for winter).

I'm headed out to hunting district 314 in the morning so I can be ready to pull the trigger at 0716 - the official start of deer & elk rifle season in MT. Wish me luck!

updates

EMT class is going pretty well - people are still not loosening up (might be that the Chief's wife is in the class?) but at least a few of us laugh at the instructors' jokes.

Eddie goes in to get a bump taken off his withers tomorrow. Vet thinks it's an adenoma (benign). Eddster doesn't handle anesthesia very well, so I'm worried. Bulldogs have short trachea and tend to be hard to intubate. I'm going to chat with the vet to see if we have other options. (maybe a sedative and a local?)

Anyway, other than that, things are pretty much just crazy 'round here. Getting ready for winter.

Trying to get my term paper finished, due the end of next week.

Only the third EMT course and I'm already behind in my reading.

Rifle season starts Saturday (still haven't decided where I'm going).

Tens of elk rutting around the house every night [why can't I just bulldog one into the garage, and, you know, dispatch it there?]

:)

And so on.

Need to get a couple good coats of wax on the ambulance before winter (and my car, too). Would like to take the time to paint the fall colors, but just haven't the time at present. Days are getting shorter, and there's so much to do!

Here we go!

I was intent on moving past being an EMT-FR (First Responder) and getting my EMT certification. Unsure if I want to go on to Paramedic school, but most schools require you to practice as an EMT for a year before applying anyway, so EMT class was a logical next step. The course I was looking at was a self-study online course, with a two-week boot camp in North Idaho (might be a front for the Aryan Nations?). And it cost several thousand dollars. I mentioned this to Joe, and he told me to hold off. Apparently they were planning to give an EMT course last year, but switched to FR due to time and complexity. He would broach the subject again and see if we could do a full EMT course this winter. I didn't hold out much hope, but decided to wait it out.

All the work by my colleagues has paid off. We are going to have an EMT-B (or just 'EMT' in the new standard scope of practice) course. It starts tonight. Runs 2.5 hours twice a week, some Saturday skills days. October through April. Minimum of 110 hours required, plus clinicals with an ambulance company or Emergency Department. Looks like I will be spending time in Livingston or Bozeman this winter.

We all had to write a letter of intent in order to be considered for the class (There were far more interested than slots available), so here's mine:

******************************************************************

Why do I want to be an EMT?

Do you want the real, full story about how an aging GIS professional falls in love with EMS after years of dabbling in WFA, WFR, and CPR courses? I didn’t think so.

The truth of the matter is, I don’t know if I will be a good EMT.

There. I said it.

I am struggling as a First Responder/EMR to provide solid patient care. After every run I find something I could have done better or differently. My lack of knowledge frustrates me. I am constantly looking up terminology or reviewing protocols to try and fill in the gaps.

If I’m having this much trouble as an EMR, why go on to EMT?

It is because I’m struggling that I want to continue with my EMS education. I want to be able to do more, to help more, both with the NPS EMS crew and with the Gardiner Gateway Hose Co. EMS. To do that, I need more education and experience and I believe the course offered this winter/spring will help.

So, take a chance on this wannabe-EMT/mapping geek.

Thank you for considering my application

******************************************************************

What kind of a knucklehead would accept that letter?

Apparently our EMS director would.

Me and 13 others will be working together for the next 7 months to become better practicioners and frankly, well, I'm freaking out a bit. It's a ton of work (textbook alone is 1300+ pages of reading, plus lectures, assignments, practicals...)

Oh, and I'm still working on my course work for graduate school.

Have I gone completely round the bend?

I guess you will all have to get used to those type posts for the next 7 months.

Tones

Enjoying the luxury of beautiful fall days in Yellowstone. Just enough crisp to the night air to snuggle deeper into the down comforter, yet not enough to close the windows entirely. The rut is on. Elk bugles echo off every surface, sometimes near, some far away. Friday night. All morning to sleep in and a lovely brunch of eggy wonderful to cook up.

Bliss

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

I commando-roll out of bed and hit the wood floor on hands and knees. Ow. Knock the radio charger down as I grab for the 'on' knob. Grabbing for the action adventure gear and a hat to slap on as the dispatcher drones, "...(garble garble) year old female, syncopal episode, incontinent at the hotel. Please acknowledge page."

"EMR acknowledging page. On the way to ambulance bay."

"Copy, 0307"

I'm still not awake. At least the dogs are quiet. Cinch up the belt, squeeze into uncomfortable shoes, mental inventory: watch, pager, radio, phone, wallet, gum, trauma shears, pen, car keys. Good to go.

Sprint up the hill in my trusty Honda. Don't really remember the drive. Code entered, door up, unplug, check around ambulance, heart monitor on board, fire it up!

"Ambulance on scene"

"On scene, copy, 0315"

Load and go.

Two medics in the back. I'm driving the hour to the hospital.

Can't hear much from the back, concentrate on not hitting, elk, deer...

...damn - nailed that skunk squarely.

Unload, up the ramp, handoff.

Pile back in the rig. Grab a drink at the stop-and-go.

Driving for home.

Drop off the medics, head up to the garage to refuel and pressure-wash skunk off the rig. Tried the orange oil degreaser, but it just barely masks the smell.

Sun's up.

Rig back to the bay, fueled, somewhat clean, plugged in, and stocked.

Back in the Honda.

Back to bed.

A perfect Saturday morning.

CANCER IS BAD!

Get your manly bits tested!

Feel like giving some money? Hit the links to the right and donate! (you will get a receipt for your taxes, folks)

We gals luv you all and want you around for a long time!

Arrrr! It be international Talk Like a Pirate Day, matey!

Here be sum ports o' call fer the interwebs.

The guys that started it all

http://www.talklikeapirate.com/

Google, pirate version

http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-pirate

Mango Languages, Pirate lessons

http://www.mangolanguages.com/try-it.php?course_id=224_

And if you are a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (a.k.a. a Pastafarian), take the day off!

"Bring me one noggin of rum, now, won't you, matey."

Getting ready for Bechler

Leaving at 0'dark 30 tomorrow for 3 days in Bechler, mapping features with GPS.

Does life get better?

(don't have ANYTHING packed yet...)

I think Vegas made me sick

Too many germs rolling around that place.

Been sick for a couple days. Feeling much better, but seriously tired though I've done nothing but sleep and drink fluids for a day and a half. Back at work, plugging away valiantly. My down comforter is calling, though. I need a nap.

EMSWorld Expo - the photos

OK, I suck at taking pictures with my iPod Touch - 'cause it can't be the technology, right?

Here are a few of the decent ones from our Vegas EMS Foray

Jessi, Lloyd, and "The Pit Boss", day 1 in Vegas (still fresh-faced...)

The long walk to the Vegas Convention Center - it was darn hot!

Jessi & Lloyd doing a bit of ambulance shopping

OOOHHHH! SHINY!
Jessi modeling the latest in outside compartment storage

Very pretty - center-mount stretcher in a big Type 1 ambulance. The little stretcher ramp thingy just seemed more of a nuisance than anything else.

Mass Casualty Incident in the Convention Center Parking lot - staged for our enjoyment and local units' preparedness. Did not have a very good view from the ground so we decided to check it out from the monorail:


Joe & Lloyd take in the Bellagio fountain show on their last night.

The Las Vegas catch-up episode

A retrospective look at the trip to Vegas.

Enjoy!

MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 2011

Off to Vegas!

http://emsworldexpo.com/

One more hour of work, then it's in the car to the airport!

I will hopefully be blogging from the site (if I can find my dang air card...)

Too much to see and do in 3 days, but I'm gonna try!

TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2011

vegas day one

After a LONG day of travel (our flight was 5.5 hours late) we

finally arrived in the sparkly city in the desert - the one that

really shouldn't be here. I love it. I love Vegas BECAUSE it's so

wrong.Maybe it's the geographer in me, but this place is just too

much to absorb.

Anyway, just spent the evening (ahem...morning...) with fruity

drinks, too much tequila, slot machines, and chatting with a guy

named Bill from Wenatchee. Long story short, I got to sleep around

0500 and up around 0900 for breakfast - still a bit tipsy. God I

luv Vegas.

Our EMS director met us for breakfast and we decided to go check

out the conference site. one monorail stop later we emerged into

the opressive heat (it is August in the desert, after all) and

walked to the convention center. The site is huge. We got a quick

peek into the vendor area - we could spend the entire three days

there, I think.

We toured around a bit more - mostly along the monorail line - and

saw the MGM lions sleeping, a baby lion being burped, poked around

NY NY a bit, and split up for the afternoon. Lloyd and Jessi went

to a Cirque show, the "Pit Boss" (our EMS director) and Joe went to

meet up with an old friend who works down here, and I headed back

to the hotel - ostensibly for a nap. Instead I spent the afternoon

and evening going through the conference schedule and watching some

network TV. Sushi for dinner, lost some cash on the craps table,

and now hitting the hay - 0815 start tomorrow!

I'm getting stoked. It's just after midnight and I can't wait to

see the action. Funny, I've never been as excited about a GIS

conference...

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2011

EMS World Expo - day 1

I slept thru the alarm this morning - I blame it on last night's

awesome sushi. And no, we were good and made it to bed relatively

early. Jessi and I are sitting in the food court area and I'm

attempting to touch-type on this tiny keyboard, so please forgive

the typos. The place is awash in EMS peeps - it's awesome! We're

attempting to connect to any wireless network that doesn't charge

$5 per hour for access and we are just hoping the social network

lounge will be free. Could not for the life of me find my stupid

air card before I left home, so we're at the mercy of public

networks...

Keeping an eye out for our bloggers in kilts - HappyMedic, AD, EMS

Newbie, etc. but with the bagpipers floating around there's a lot

of sporrin action on the convention floor. The rest of our guys

(Joe, the Pit Boss, and Lloyd) are at the keynote - the place was

so packed we couldn't even approach. Bummer.

So we're holding down a table and doing some serious people-

watching. Strange just being in such a large group of folks, not

really knowing any of them. The social network revolution, or

evolution has made us more friendly but also more anonymous. Its

hard for me to not want to go talk to some of my favorite bloggers

- I feel I know some of them pretty dang well, but we've never met!

Just ten more minutes until the vendor area opens - I have definite

goals (check out a ton of ambulances, meet with the Brady textbook

rep, spend a ton of time in the social media lounge, find the

person selling "RipShears", play with a lot of equipment, gather

the swag...) that AND I actually have somewhat of a schedule for

this afternon triage, ECG's, Trauma and emergency driving. It's

gonna be a great afternoon.

(LATER)

Bryan Bledsoe's talk is starting off well. Supposed to be pretty

controversial, but loving it so far. OK, a bit dry with the

statistical analyses, but hey - evidence-based EMS is where we are,

right?

Tried to get into another class but settled on the one on my list

with the least line (yup, you get to line up for each session and

get your badge scanned.) Stupidly slow, really.

Anyway, I'm in EKG's Made Easy by Larry Macy (from Rock Springs,

WY) and scored my good seat with a table from the last session, so

I'm OK. Apparently we "become" the heart in this session...and it

was great! Kept hte energy and interest level of the audience up

really well and gave us a great visual cue for 12+ of the rythms.

Really nice.

Dang netbook battery is down to 30% so I will have to charge up

soon - somewhere.

(LATER)

Confessions of an EMS Newbie podcast live in 20 mins, so I'm

literally blogging from the floor of the conference at the Pysio

Control Social Media Lounge (there's power here) Mass Casualty

Incident at 1815, so I should have a few minutes to hit the vendor

area again. Glad I get to stay through the entire conference

(Friday). I think it will be much less busy then. (?)

(LATER)

Finally found a chair in the Social Media Lounge - standing next to

the EMS Newbie and AD. Pretty kewl stuff. Podcast is running a

bit late, but have no idea where the rest of our crew is (she says

just as everyone walks up behind us) and we became the ersatz

audience for the "Confessions" micro podcast - weird.

Not many folks at the podcast - probably 'cause everyone was

jockying for position at the mass casualty. All good though. Got

to meet the kilted twins - Ron & Kelly and was on the front row for

their intro of the EMS Newbie essay contest winner.

The mass casualty went well, for what I could see from the ground

level. They really needed more bleachers so more of us could get

up high to see the action.

Dinner was lovely - went to The Sea at Bally's - the Thai was

excellent and I enjoyed myself despite the price. Lloyd, Ssej,

and I ordered an appetizer and entree each. They were awesome.

Joe and the Pit Boss joined us late and we had a great re-hash of

the day. Apparently I need to visit the SAM splint booth as well as

the Stryker booth tomorrow. And we're going ambulance shopping.

Lots of difficult choices as far as sessions go, but I'll probably

use the same logic as today - go to one of the ones I'm interested

in, but go for the shortest line.

Not even midnight and I'm back in the room. Dang I'm being a good

person this week!

Jessi is leaving in the morning 'cause she's gotta work on Friday,

so I'm losing my 'wing man' and I'm bummed. Oh well. Still have a

couple days of conference to enjoy!

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

EMSWorld Expo Day 2!

Day Two - Whew!

Spent the morning in sessions - then met Joe and the Pit Boss for

some ambulance shopping.Two guys and a gal out shopping for a

couple Type 1's and a very special Type 2 - one that is light

enough to have tracks attached in place of the wheels to travel

over groomed snow. Of the four salesmen who we spoke with, two

basically ignored me (one called me "hun") and only one seemed to

realize that I had input into our agency's decision with which

ambulance to go for. I hate that crap. I am not an idiot who is

scared away from the modern combustion engine and distracted by

pink, sparkly items. Please just treat me the same as another

potential customer. Okay?

I am sold on the Sprinter (which I just found out Dodge is no

longer a part of - just Mercedes and Freightliner now) I love the

way it looks, drives, feels after hard hours in the seat. It's

thoughtfully designed and a great rig. One small problem.

Apparently, they don't have an all-wheel drive version for sale

here in North America. Europe? You betcha. They've got them

going on over there. But apparently they are not certified for the

US and Canada. Lame.

Regardless, I have a lot to say about ambulances. I detest smarmy

salespeople who treat the ladies like morons. STOP IT!

OK, I'm done ranting now.

I have a few knocks for this place (Las Vegas Covention Center) - a

few technical difficulties in sessions, bad internet (either

extremely expensive or low quality), and no nap rooms :)

Can you tell I'm tired?

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2011

EMSWorld Expo Day 3 - the roundup

Fewer folks today, which was nice. Not such long lines to get into

sessions. The end of conferences are quite often like the end of

camp - new and old friends hug, promise to keep in touch. This one

was a bit different for me. As a GIS professional at a GIS

conference, I am 100% integrated. I know most of the stuff that's

going on and can really get into it.

This was very different. I am very new to the EMS camp and pretty

much everything is a mystery to me. As an EMR, I'm probably the

least qualified and least experienced person here. That's a

strange feeling for me. I didn't integrate well into this group.

Now that I think about it, I suppose it was the same for me in GIS.

The first few conferences I felt out of sync - like everyone else

knew each other and had some sort of inside track. They were

meeting for drinks, chatting, having intellectual debates over

dinner, the whole social aspect. Once Jessi left I really didn't

have anyone to talk to. Our guys are great, but they are guys and

this is Vegas.

The guys left this morning, so I am the only one still at the

conference. Guess thats a weird feeling as well. Hundreds of

people I don't know who are at least acquainted, or speak the same

language, and I don't fit in.

I don't know, maybe I'm just feeling melancholy because this whole

EMS thing is a strange new group for me. Or maybe because I'm such

a late-comer to this field. I'm 37 years old for crying out loud.

I'm great at making maps, doing spatial data analysis, so why do I

do this EMS thing? It's certainly not for the money. I guess

that's a question to answer another day

So I have a few hours until my flight leaves. My grandfather died

so I changed my ticket this week to fly back to my ancestral

homeland in Washington State for the funeral service. It will be

nice to visit with my family for the day. Maybe that's having an

effect on my mood as well. Who knows?

Hard to believe, but I'm at a loss for what to do at this point.

My bags are back at the hotel bell desk, I'm checked out of my

room, and I still have 6 hours to kill before my flight. Not

interested in gambling away more money, or sitting at the airport

for hours in an uncomfortable spot. But I'm ready to leave Vegas

now. Seriously ready.

Left my ECG and A&P books (ahem, and my nintendo) in my bags, have

no internet here, and it's emptying out. Guess I will bust out of

the convention center and head south. Pick up my bags, give away

my monorail pass, and get a taxi to the airport. Hopefully I can

find a semi-comfortable spot to settle in, plug in, and waste a few

hours. Wish me luck.

(LATER)

Gambled some more? Check

Picked up bags? Check

Gave away monorail pass with 2 more days on it? Check

Taxi to airport? Check

Lost my mini leatherman to McCarran security? (with teeny scissors & tweezers in it) Check

Still 3.5 hours early for my flight? Yup

Sigh

Can't wait to get out of this town.

Vegas, baby!

So I'm off to the EMSWorld Expo - honking big EMS conference in Vegas!

Jessi is meeting us there, Boone is on his way, and Joe, Lloyd, and I are catching a flight this afternoon. I'm getting really stoked about the whole thing.

Oh, and I will be blogging from the convention, so stay tuned for more about EMS than you can handle!

Get Kilted!!

http://www.kiltedtokickcancer.org/
C'mon boys - it's time to get checked!

Prostate Cancer Facts:

• About 240,890 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in 2011.
• About 33,720 men will die of prostate cancer in 2011.
• About 1 man in 6 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime.
• More than 2 million men in the United States who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point are still alive today.
• Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men, behind only lung cancer.
• About 1 man in 36 will die of prostate cancer.

Testicular Cancer Facts:

• It most often affects men between ages 20 and 39.
• It affects 8,000 men a year, and kills 390 of them.
• It is the most common form of cancer in men ages 15-34.
• 95% of cases can be cured if detected early.

Lyle L. Guiles, 1917 - 2011

Rest in peace, grandpa. We will miss you.

I tried to find a picture to post, but with moving and such I haven't found one yet. The one I will always hold in my memory (and one I hope I can get) was a snapshot of him building a runway on a nameless Pacific Island as a member of the Navy's "Seabees" (CB = Construction Battalion). He was standing tall during WWII, and that's how I would like to remember him.

He suffered a stroke 6 weeks ago and passed away at home under hospice care.

I am glad I got to spend so much time with him growing up, and wish I had spent more as an adult. He was a great man and will be sorely missed.

Berry Pickin'

Aims, Tuck, the dogs, and I headed out for some berry picking on Saturday. The huckleberries in Jardine are still very green, but Aims had heard about some good raspberries up Tom Miner basin so that was the plan for the day. We checked out some currants in Cinnibar briefly before going up to Tom Miner.

Let me just say, TM is gorgeous! It is also, unfortunately, mostly privately owned so there are a ton of "do not leave roadway, next 4 miles crosses private land" signs. We found a few good patches of raspberries and black currants, and the hucks up there are green or in flower as well. We should have an excellent crop if the frost doesn't get them.

Good day for us, dogs got to run crazy, and I think even Tuck had fun in the end.

Aims is going to make more jam, I think...

I'm a sucker for puppies

http://www.nps.gov/dena/photosmultimedia/webcams-pups.htm

Denali's sled dogs. Dang cool.

Pingo had 3 pups this year, and they have their own webcam.

Makes me want to run up to AK and snuggle them, or at least adopt a few throwaway alaskan huskies at the pound. Guess that wouldn't go over too well in a house that's only allowed 2 pets...

I need to get back in to mushing. I miss it.

Why must time be so elastic?

So I'm lying in bed this morning, relishing a few extra moments of sleep. Each time I open my eyes the clock has gone into fast-forward overdrive.

Now, though, I'm sitting at my computer at work. It's 1:23 pm. I work on a task, print out a map, deliver it, and return to my desk. Now it's 1:26 pm. Really?

At this point I'm convinced that clocks run more slowly between 1 and 6 every day.