The Nizhoni Life: August 2013

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

On the Corner of Peace Pipe Lane and Warbonnet Way

So again you may ask, what is going on with that Erica Nelson now?

I have decided to make another last minute crazy life decision while on my final days at the Warming Hut. I have declared I am not ready to leave the Sierra Nevada. It's incredible scenery, abundant activity, community, oh and the smell, I am not ready to be rushed out the door quite yet. I came here to meet people and have experiences in which turns out I have discovered a home all along waiting for me to stumble on it. I need more time so time I shall have.

Since April I have been living at the toss of a coin of what to do next and things have been lining up beautifully. I have seen gone where the wind has blown me, peed in gorgeous places - by this I have experienced the wonderful backcountry of the Sierras while backpacking and hiking. I met amazing people, learned new things and fell in love. I'm finally at a fork where I need to make a decision to remember all these great things and continue to Colorado, stick around to experience Bear Valley for a winter and work at their ski resort, go back to Coloma to get rafting experience and miles for the rest of the summer, or try to get a last minute application for a school nearby.

With lots of things up in the air as I am cleaning out my cabin, I have that same feeling I had when I left Portland - nothing final, no money, just hoping it all works out. As I enjoy my morning coffee while I can on this gorgeous deck, I look at the mug my mom gave me that reads, "Crazy just might work". I feel a little bit better that they support and encourage me whatever I get excited about. Their support means a lot to me no matter how old I get. They have always been there for me when I get stuck and I know leaving stability behind while knowing my father's background of hard work, retirement, and doing a job to 30+ years, I know it's hard for them to understand the way I want to live.

I look back at times I stressed out while trying to get rid of all my possessions - which thinking back on now, I really am glad I sorted that all out eventually and am traveling light these days - everything seems too good to be true but fell together wonderfully. It's another reminder of getting out and making things happen instead of sitting around praying about them. I have been extremely motivated to get back into school to further my education, I really hate working for people and want to love my job. I also don't want to get back into that corporate hotel management whirl wind again so it seems like the only option to continue doing what I love and follow my passions.

While working in Bear Valley, I got to meet and work with some Mountain Adventure Seminar guides that had gone through an Outdoor Adventure Leadership program at Lake Tahoe. I sort of spaced this right after I met them but as I was looking for jobs to stick around the Sierra's, the program popped up through another biography of a guide. I saw this on a Thursday and went camping to Highland Lakes, I sat and thought about this the entire time and decided that this is more like a direction I want to head in. I researched the Naropa program back in Colorado and it was a bit too hippie for me, yeah I know, "too hippie for me." It seemed like a full year waste of time doing their core classes where as this Sierra Nevada program would be able to get me started in what I wanted to do and I already knew people that had jobs from it. I applied Friday morning, received an email that afternoon and a phone call on Saturday from admissions saying I would have a strong chance on getting in but classes start that Monday.

Monday came and I was surprised how well everyone communicated with me and fast. They accepted me and I had made the decision Tuesday night to move to Incline Village, NV (Lake Tahoe). I started to email people on apartments and places to live and got a call from a man named Tony. Tony was a chatty guy looking for someone like me, we hit it off on the phone and he didn't mind me coming in late Tuesday night to check out the place.

I packed up the Warming Hut, went to visit my mountain man friend in Sonora and moved to Incline Village. I got to drive through the beautiful Sonora Pass during a thunderstorm, which was a lovely reminder of why I want to stay. I got to Lake Tahoe around 8pm and called Tony, he said to come on over. So after Googling him I see that he was in Real Estate and appeared to be trustworthy to check out a condo at 8pm. I walk into the condo off Warbonnet Way and he's a very charismatic with a strand of New Age-y vibe and super active. He loves this area and we had lots to talk about and even hit levels on philosophical conversation. He offered if I was still looking for a place I was more than welcome to crash there at the condo. After a vodka tonic and good conversation we decided we should definitely do this and I need to move in. He understood my circumstance of my spontaneity and let me know to fill out a lease and pay me whenever I could.

It's Wednesday, I woke up to a cup of coffee already made for me and went to class at noon. I already know I live in a quirky neighborhood when a woman came over with her laundry to use ours but after Tony said it didn't work and closed the door he explained she owns the block of condos and breaks everyone's washers because she overloads them. The neighbors are my age, fun, outgoing, hippies that love this area. I think this is going to work out well. I just need to find a freaking job now! I'm super excited yet nervous, hoping this works out, financially. I'm totally living by faith in humanity right now.

Here's the Googling I found on my new roommate, feel free to be a creep:

http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20100729/NEWS/100729884

http://www.sothebysrealty.com/eng/associate/180-a-2243-4025076/tony-graeber

First day back to school

Lake Tahoe, it's a bit stormy

Hi Sierra

I found a book while in Oregon about Northern California “An Explorer’s Guide” I always kept it for some weird reason knowing I never wanted to ever move to California. Sean Murray went on a road trip down the California coast and asked to borrow it. Once I decided to make the decision to be a raft guide and come down to California, I packed it on top. I went through living in Northern California without ever cracking it open until I stumbled upon Bear Valley.

After working in Bear Valley I was packing up the Warming Hut for who knows what next and there I found 50 pages of Bear Valley and surrounding areas of the High Sierra. This was the into:

“To fully experience the landscape that captured the heart of John Muir, inspired the photographs of Ansel Adams, and evokes the same sort of grand contemplation and revelation in its visitors, you need to stay a while. In fact, you can’t know Yosemite, Bass, and Mono Lakes, or even the heights of Tuolumne and Calaveras Counties without returning throughout the seasons. How can you fully appreciate the pinkish hue over the valley, the tons of water rushing over the granite peaks, the sudden thunder storms, the deer silently sipping water by a lake, the bear cub playing with a piece of bark, the hush of snow, the fields of poppies and lupine, the sudden chill after the sun sets, the echo that bounces off the spires, the burnt orange, red and yellow of the fall foliage, the swimming holes, the unbelievable heights of sequoias, unless you sit in a field and inhale it all in.”

It goes on and on about the landscapes, trails, mountain bike trails, backpacking, skiing, mountains, flowers, trees, seasons, wildlife, places to see and do, etc. I discovered this while living in the area and there were many times when I first got there how I really wish to share this experience with others that are trapped in a city or caught up in their daily lives of working the 9 – 5. I began to get a little angry at the fact people would “say” they would come visit and I would get excited to share these amazing sunrises and sets, express my passion for the area and show off my knowledge of the plants and trees, then they never showed. I will recognize my buddy Nick for coming out. I had such a blast with this guy! It was refreshing to have this very thing I have been wanting to share with someone.

Buddy Nick from Portland visit me as he said he would when I left.

At first when I arrived, I felt lonely. I was in a new community and away from my lovely St. Clair apartment, away from friends, lovers and family. However I was left there with nothing to do, nowhere to be but sit on a deck and look at the open sky and mountains surrounding me. So besides the beauty of the area, another corner I’d like to shine the light on is the Bear Valley community. You cannot spend 8 hours in the Valley without recognizing it’s tight knit family. People that live there know and respect their land; they are there for the same reasons I didn’t want to leave. They bond on this and in a sense become family, you can even include the Joe Dirt’s in the family but all in all it wouldn’t be the same without them. I remember Joel’s 50^th birthday bash where the whole town was there, buying Orvis steaks and having Denise at the General Store get excited about how local and grass fed it was – it was Denise that told me I was eating my neighbors, I loved Matley Meadow’s music, the Bear Valley music fest, overhearing everyone at the gas station/adventure company talk to visitors about hikes and kayaking around the area – you could hear the enthusiasm in their voices of why they are here, there were no churches around, a time I got super sick with a fever my debit card wasn’t working (due to an unknown cancellation) and Denise at the store gave me the meds with ice cream and told me to feel better.

What really took me by surprise is the disc golf family. I thought when I left Portland I was also leaving behind my hobby but found a wonderful group of [old] men that had the same passion as I did when I played. The thing I loved about playing disc golf in Bear Valley was not only was there nobody there but the locals, we could play in one giant group for hours without having the pressures of other people behind or in front of us. We had some rad weekly bag tag games that always included food and loads of shit talking. I am very happy I got to be a part of this family.

With all the beauty of the natural landscapes, all the effort I put into learning the history, land and geology, and the community accepting me as family, how could I not stay?! I am sad that I am not able to stay in Bear Valley officially however; my goal and passion lay within furthering my education. So I am trying to get into where I can that is close! We’ll see what happens, I just sent an email to Naropa University withdrawing my registration.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

8 Week Grind

The weeks flew by quickly as I just completed my 8 weeks working with the Bear Valley Summer Camp. What an interesting time it was with a lot of firsts: I had the opportunity to develop my own personal skills in outdoor education and recreation, my first time working fully with children, work with younger people (co-workers), and stepped away from a corporate environment that left plenty of room for unprofessionalism.

The camp was centered around skills to help children develop knowledge and safety, get them excited about learning and built “levels” to keep them trying. Part of my days were spent in the morning playing disc golf, making sure kids didn’t shoot each other or kill me at archery, hiking while teaching outdoor living skills, fishing, creating scavenger hunts, field games then afternoons were spent rock climbing – mostly belaying, hikes or bike ride up to Bear Lake to sail, kayak, swim, stand up paddle board or stare a windsurf. I was fortunate to be able to check out new places while getting paid, awesome places include Stanislaus Campground River area for the rock slides and hiking, Utica for kayaking through the lily pads and checking out granite islands, rock climbing at Stanislaus Meadow, and many lake days at Alpine. I had the opportunity to take a teenage group out to Moaning Caverns for some spelunking, repelling and zip lining. Funniest conversations I’ve ever heard were from the 12 – 16 year olds. One that had my chuckling for a while was a girl asked a guy, “What do you think girls talk about in the bathroom?” His response was, “Uh I don’t know, peeing while standing up.”

One of my favorite trips was kayaking Utica for an overnighter on the sandy island to watch the Perseid meteor shower. I think for one it was an awesome idea and two we ran into some pirates. The 3 girls I was with were stoked for camping on the one big Sandy island because every where else was rocky and they didn’t want to haul everything for a long distance, remember they are 12 – 14 and just want to lay on the beach as soon as possible. As we pull up to the beautiful sunny sandy island we are greeted by a 50 year-old man wearing a t-shirt with a pirate on it that says, “Give me the booty,” real clever. He tells me in a very unintimidating yet rude manner I can’t stay there and he is going to be there for 12 days and has a party of 25 people that will be smoking pot and has 2 kegs, also has 2 vicious dogs that eat children. After much harassment I gather my ladies and assess the situation, they were not afraid and could see right through the old people they were just being rude and mean and they were determined to camp there. So after being “greeted” by several people and their children eating dogs playing fetch with the girls, Steve their main pirate approaches me for a final time. I let him know there is nothing to say to one another and he needs to have fun with his own party as we will ours. He commends me on my campsite, as it’s the best but tell me we’ll be sorry for staying. I finally look at him as I am setting up a tent, “You know these girls have been through a lot and what if this was their last wish as cancer patients to camp on this very island to watch the meteor shower? We don’t want you here just as you don’t want us and if you wanted to reserve a camp space there is plenty at the camp group on shore, if you’re here for 12 days you won’t mind us here for one.” He asks if I was serious, my response was “I don’t know, am I? Thank you for remaining mature and reasonable in front of the ladies.” He then grabs a tent pole and assists us with our tent set up. After he left my point was to the girls, no matter how old you get you will still deal with assholes that act like children, also you don’t know who you are dealing with we are all human and should be respected. I would like to mention they were not rowdy and went to bed earlier than the kids. I ended up a camp legend when we returned.

Another new experience in which I haven’t had too much of in my past is working with people younger than me and in a place with no HR. Working hotels in Portland majority was a few my age but definitely much older; knowing this was going to be a new experience because as I have mentioned before this is something I should have done when I was their age but I am glad I did not. I think through my work experience to come out here to work in the High Sierra the small stuff doesn’t matter. I was so relieved (at the beginning) to be working in a highly unorganized environment with harassment calls left and right. I think I out of everyone had a huge tolerance for it because I was looking for something completely opposite of the stuffy Marriott on 5^th and Oak and The luxury boutique Nine’s off Morrison - especially when my boss was a ferocious bull dyke of a micromanager, our camp director was definitely opposite of what I have ever been used to and in a sick way it was refreshing; you know, small stuff.

Aside from the interesting leadership, clicks, drama and gossip the young co-workers went through I am happy I got to be in the Sierras to observe and learn from their behavior while “on stage.” They worked so well with kids and as first timer for me I was a total creep and stared at them to see how to responded to horrendous kids. Jumping in, playing, having fun and being direct seem like simple things to know but I had no knowledge of this. We each had different unique personalities and skills to contribute to our team; I really wish some could recognize this early on to eliminate drama. Nevertheless, things came to an end and we continue integrating our lives in new environments and experiences as we get older. I love getting older.

Again I will say working with children and different people is surprisingly awesome and rewarding, I feel a lot better like I did something meaningful with my day. It’s refreshing working with actual children rather than adults that act like children. I am hoping to continue this path on getting kids excited about recreation and wilderness skills. I have increased my knowledge heavily on the Sierra Nevada area. There is so much more to learn about the land, history, floral, fauna, geology, etc. I feel comforted while hiking that I can identify plants and trees - this is exactly why I came to this area. Expressing passion for something wins, I have not had a day I regretted or felt bad about.

Here are some highlights from my 8 weeks: