Off to the Absarokas!

I won't be posting anything new for at least a month. I realize this is somewhat normal, unfortunately...

But this time I have a good reason. I'm heading out on a backpacking course tomorrow morning with NOLS, and I'm so excited! There are 8 students on my course, and we have two instructors. I've had a chance now to meet everyone, and honestly, everyone seems pretty great so far. I think we're going to have a great time!

Technically, I'll be working during this time, seeing what NOLS courses are all about, I guess we could say I'll be drinking the Cool-Aid... I've been working here for a year and half, and I now finally get to see what our courses are all about on a personal level and experience the curriculum firsthand. I'll even get to teach some of it since it's a course designed for people who have a potential interest in working in the outdoors.

Here's a link to the NOLS course description online: http://bit.ly/VFLHx

And the new 2010 NOLS catalogs arrive in Lander tomorrow morning! Feel free to request a copy from the website (www.nols.edu) or head to the same place to check out the virtual edition (basically the same thing, you can flip through the pages, see pictures, read text, and click on a variety of links). Designing the catalog, and coordinating the printing of it are tasks that have consumed the majority of my working (waking?) hours these last... 5 months. I'm ready for a break!

I'll be out until September 22, so if you're the praying type, pray for safety and good community among my coursemates, for leadership development all around, for good attitudes, healthy people, lots of wildlife sightings, but no bear attacks! NOLS has only ever had one bear attack in 45 years of operation (something like 3 million student days!).

We're heading up to the Absaroka (ubs-or-kah) range, just east of Yellowstone National Park here in Wyoming. It's filled with high plateaus and valleys with rivers and streams where I hope to catch my first fish! My good friend Nadine was just up there instructing a course and said they could see hundreds of elk on a regular basis. The birds should be heading south, and we may get to see some leaves starting to turn colors too! We may also get to see wolves, elk (bugeling!), and moose. Mooses? Meece?

I'll be sure to post good stories when I get back!