Spongebob and Coyotes

So today was what I like to call "Ahh save me!!" day. We had training for CPR/AED and First Aid all day. Our instructor was amazing, and made some great jokes. When working on timing the chest compressions for CPR he starting singing "Another One Bites the Dust" in order to keep us in time. Realizing how morbid that song is when you're trying to do CPR he switched to "Stayin' Alive". It was all around really informative and really fun.

For part of the First Aid training we had to use training Epi Pens, get drawn on with pen to simulate a wound our partner had to bandage, and at one point I had to hold a coworkers head/neck in traction for a good five minutes.

In our training we learned a lot about how to handle environmental concerns. There are quite a few things I didn't know:

- Rattlesnakes: there are six species of rattlesnakes in the Grand Canyon, though they are mainly found down in the canyon itself, not on the rim.

- Scorpions: The most poisonous of these are the little bitty ones, though unless you are allergic to scorpion venom, typically it just hurts and doesn't do any permanent damage.

- hyponatremia: When you drink too much water without food causing there to be too little sodium in your system. People will be hot, disoriented, and have delayed reaction time in speech. It's kinda crazy!

- Killer Bees: These buggers will chase you for about a .5 mile before they give up, so just keep running!!


In other news, today I saw a female elk just lounging out by the road chewing at some grasses!! Very cool!! On the walk home from work this afternoon I came across these two really distinct smells: authentic Mexican cooking and spices, and cedar chips. This is just to help you fully experience what I am every day.

Speaking of food, on the first day here my cousin suggested I pick up some of these local flour tortillas. My goodness gracious they are the best tasting tortillas I have ever tasted!! I'm going to try and pick up some to bring home. Seriously I don't know if I'll be able to switch back to the kind they sell at Wegmans (sorry Danny).

One of my cousin's friends left his guitar at the house so I could play a little before he came back to visit. People are incredibly kind here, and I am always amazed. I couldn't bring my guitar here, so instead I get to play on this one for a bit. It's a gorgeous classical guitar (nylon strings) with a really warm and deep tone.

As part of the job I have to wear an NPS uniform. Due to a snafu, I wasn't able to order my uniforms before I came to work here, and as I need one when I start doing my regular duties, today I was able to explore the "Uniform Cache". Thankfully I found two pair of pants that fit along with two shirts. Thanks to some generosity and ingenuity on the part of my boss I also have a pair of boots and an NPS belt to nearly complete the uniform! Wow!!

Okay, the last two stories of the night. This evening as part of our training we were asked to attend an evening program. This one was rather hilarious. The park ranger giving the talk was dynamic, and moved about the stage with the excitement and enthusiasm usually reserved for four year olds on a trampoline. He told the funniest jokes and just said the oddest things at times. At one point he used a stuffed version of Spongebob Squarepants to illustrate a point. Later he put on an odd had with a white crest on a green ski cap and talked about the "White-crested Green-capped" tree, that obviously didn't grow around the Grand Canyon, but instead in Michigan. It was just a blast to watch.

Oh, I nearly forgot!! Prior to the talk I headed down to the rim a bit early to perhaps catch some photos of the sunset. I wasn't able to get a ton of great ones due to the angle I was at, but I got some really nice ones. I will post those shortly.

Finally, after the evening program I had to walk home. It's about a 2 mile hike home, through the woods. I make this trip every day, so I know the path rather well. Since I didn't start the hike until about 9:30pm, I was wearing my handy-dandy head lamp. It was working really well.

When I had made it most of the way back to the house I caught something in the beam of my headlamp. Suddenly I noticed two glowing orbs moving across the path ahead. As the rest of the body caught the light I realized it was a coyote walking along not too far ahead of me. I was scared! I've not dealt with coyotes before, and I had no idea what to do. Deciding I didn't feel comfortable hiking the rest of the way through the woods I called my cousin who kindly woke up and came to pick me up. On our way home we crossed paths with yet another coyote. Safely home, I feel a lot better about the whole scary animal in the woods, but let me tell you, I was not comfortable in the least!!

Pictures will be up shortly!!