BUGS

          My favorite part of Kansas was... the BUGS! I found so many fascinating creatures in the forests of Kansas that I decided to dedicate and entire blog post to it sooooo, hope your not squeamish!

The Countdown Begins.

          Twenty five days. That's how many days until I walk across the stage and become an AmeriCorps alum. Crazy huh? I'm excited, scared, and sad that this chapter of my life is so close to completion. I have a lot more to talk to you about on the subject, but I'm sure you all want to here what I've been doing for the past two months! Yup, its been that long since my last post!

KANSAS
          Well, let me just begin with something Ive learned, Kansas is a fabulous state. Really! From May 7th to June 14th I lived in Junction City, Kansas, on the banks of Milford Lake. Our project sponsor was the town of Junction City who asked us to help them build a brand new city park. Longtime residents of Junction City, the Hellands, donated 54 acres of their land to the the city so the city chose to build a new park to be known as Helland Park. It was up to us, AmeriCorps Team Sun 5, to build all the trails in the park, as well as clear and 'beautify' the land for use. While working in the city, the local Milford Lake State Park allowed us to use one of their campsites to live. Our campsite was beautifully perched lakeside with modern day amenities in short driving distance; a perfect place to disconnect from society and immerse oneself in the landscape. I'll let my photographs tell the rest of the story:

Our lakeside campsite; also known as home

Erica Smith helps clear brush for a new trail

Carissa Hanson chainsaws as the morning sun peers through the trees

The team stands proud as a new trail is named after them!

a completed section of trail that winds along rivers edge

The city thanks us with a great party and free steak dinner!

Puppies, and kittens, and kids, Oh My!

          Our first week in Fort Davis has been quite exciting! Grand Companions Humane Society is absolutely fabulous for us and the animals. This forward-thinking shelter is all about loving every single animal and getting them ready for home life. The animals are not kept in cages, but in the offices of the staff, with the ability to run free throughout the facility; how cool! The Grand Companions staff is also super welcoming of our team and really eager to teach us as much as they can about animal training, psychology, and interactions. This past Saturday me and two other team members went to the park for our weekly adoption outings. Here are some pictures of the puppies, kittens, and cute kids who came by to adopt them!

Goodbye Already?

           Our five weeks in Big Bend National Park have been some of the most beautiful and peaceful weeks of my life. I didn’t know I could, but I have fallen in love with the desert. I have found myself curiously awestruck by the thriving life in a place that appears so dead and empty. Every bug and plant seems to have a story of epic survival. Whether it a beetle who has built an armor of cactus thorns for protection or a flower blooming beautifully in a hole in a rock the size of my pinky, a day in the desert never went without a fascinating moment.

          I am incredibly sad to be leaving this place but now understand how important it is to make the effort to see those places in the world that are less traveled. That still untouched by human hands has greater beauty that anything mankind can ever create.

          My final thoughts on this project are the things I have learned to appreciate here in Big Bend:

1.       Water

2.       The night sky

3.       The will of survival

4.       Cell phone service (I have none in the state of Texas apparently)

5.       The therapeutic effects of family game nights

The whole team on our first day in the park

Working at a new border crossing, thats Mexico right behind us!

On the new Lone Mountain trail.

Where to next? We are on our way to Fort Davis, TX to work with the Grand Companions Humane Society.

Hard Workers

                So what exactly are we doing in Big Bend every day? Well, our biggest and most important project is beginning the construction of the new Lone Mountain Trail. Not only is this trail the first accessible trail straight out of the park’s main visitor center, it is also the first mountain biking trail in a national park, an issue that has been highly debated for several years. Being the first people to ever work on the trail, we get to experience the rawness and beauty of the untouched desert. Throughout our work we have observed a multitude of wildlife including thumb-sized beetles, scorpions, black tail rattle snakes, banded racer snakes, rabbits, javelinas, deer, and many more.

                A regular work day begins at 7:30am with a team ‘stretch circle’ which includes 15 minutes of exercises and 15 minutes of stretches. Leaving at 8am, the team takes the 20 minute drive to the trail head. There each of use grab a pick-mattox, McLeod, handsaw, and loppers, strap on our day packs and hike out to our ending point of the day before. As with my project first round, the farther you work on the trail, the farther you have to hike to begin work, meaning we were hiking out an hour by the end. At noon we get a half hour lunch break, then back to work until 4pm. Upon returning home, dinner is made immediately and as the sun sets (around 9pm) most retire to our tents for the night.

The whole crew!

cactus flowering on the Lone Mountain Trail

The Very Tippy Top

          One of the most amazing parts of living in Big Bend is that the only thing to do on the weekend is explore. This past weekend my friends and I decided to take the 12 mile (round trip) hike to the top of Emory Peak, the highest point in the park. Here is a video from the very tippy top of the mountain.

Welcome to Big Bend

my first venture into video blogging...

letter mailing address:
Lindsey Loeper - Trails
Big Bend National Park, Texas 79834


package mailing address:
Lindsey Loeper - Trails
1 Maintenance Yard
Big Bend National Park, Texas 79834