Mesa Verde - November 7, 2008

Hi, everyone. I hope you're all doing well. My cartography job has been interesting - it's mostly just sitting in a cubicle making maps all day, but the map-making is fun, and I've learned a lot already. I went to Durango for Halloween with some friends, which was pretty entertaining, and I visited my sister at the Grand Canyon during the brief time that she was working there. We hiked across the canyon (about 24 miles), which is supposed to take around 10 hours, for people who are used to that sort of thing, but we dawdled a lot at the beginning, and it took us closer to 13. We got a late start, too, and we ended out not getting in to the South Rim until almost 11 at night (fortunately we had flashlights).

I also helped with a prescribed burn here, which was was a nice change from my usual routine. I'm hoping to help out the Fire Management division a little more before the end of my season in December.

Anyway, it's getting to be that time of year when I have to start thinking about what I want to do next. Last year, after the end of my season, I traveled a bit, and did some volunteer work before returning home, confident that I would have a job lined up by Christmas. Instead, I didn't get a job for almost three months, and spent most of that time worrying that I was going to be bumming around the house until June. This year I had my season extended by three months, which makes things a lot easier, but finding a seasonal natural resources in winter is extremely difficult, and I really wasn't looking forward to another winter job search.

So I decided to go to Japan instead. I'll be leaving at the beginning of January, and coming back at the end of March, and in between I'll be taking intensive Japanese language and culture classes with KCP International through Western Washington University (http://www.wwu-japan.com/). With any luck I'll have a job lined up by the time I get back - though the 7-10 hour time difference with the U.S. could make things a bit tricky. I'll keep you all posted on how my trip goes.

Best wishes,
Nathan