SNOW!

It was snowing this morning when I rode into campus and it felt so great against my face! Although the snow didn't really stick as it got too warm today (~45 degrees F...still 15 degrees cooler than yesterday), it did snow tonight when I was working in the lab. When we left about 10:45, there was a few centimeters of snow on everything! It's so pretty out right now and even though my butt got wet again riding home (since I don't have fenders), I was thrilled to ride home with the snow against my face and the beautiful white, undulating blanket of fresh snow. Unfortunately, I need to buy more film so I don't have pictures...but I'll be sure to get some later on when we get more snow :-).

On another note, I spoke with my advisor Matt today. He wanted to check up on me and see how I was doing and we talked about some important stuff. I actually get somewhat of a choice as to my thesis topic, which is exciting. I'll also be TAing a class for Helga, my co-advisor, which is good to know. We talked about what classes I should take next semester too and I'll get to take 3 since they'll be worth less credits. That means I'll get to learn more...a plus for me. Now if only I could get some work done on my project...that needs to be done by the end of the semester...ArcGIS is driving us nuts rights now....at least our professor is our advisor and we can help eachother in the lab.

The Narrows

We were up before the sun again to catch the first bus up the canyon where we got off at the last stop. It was a little chilly in the air with the breeze but I was fine once we got started hiking. The Narrows hike follows the Virgin River upstream and not your typical "trail". There is not a path to follow other than the river itself...that's right, we hiked in the river. At some points, there was sufficient land to walk on and we did because it is faster and slightly less dangerous (esp for me as I tend to be hurting myself a lot lately...oh well). The water temperature was about 50-55 degrees F but I was comfortable in my dry pants (that really do keep you dry) and my neoprene socks and yellow boots. I was surprised that my feet were warm most of the time but that is the miracle (or just great innovation) of neoprene, which keeps a thin layer of water around your feet that your feet warm up and then the warm water ends up keeping your feet warm...unless it gets washed out by a higher flow section of the river of course.

The walking stick came in real handy as it helped me to keep my balance as I traversed and ascended the river. Since we started so early, the canyon was a bit dark to take pictures on our way up but at some points the light came into the canyon and was just soothingly beautiful. Apparently the light was also insufficient on the way down too so my pictures are not that good. Next time I know to bring a tripod (which I need to get) or to find spots where I can safely (*key*) place my camera to get a good photo so the would be amazing photos do not taunt me with their blurriness. Even though I would miss some great shots, at least I would have some good ones. Again, I'm looking forward to seeing Joe's end products. It will be even more interesting as Joe's camera got wet when he slipped while taking a picture. The camera is now en route to being fixed...hopefully it won't be too expensive but I think it will be because this is a high end camera (very similar to Jason's...guy from TX that I was friends w/ in Germany...he got some great shots when we were in Prague). Time will tell....

We made it quite a ways up the Narrows...past the gurgling spring at least. On the way back down, we took the side canyon that has much smaller discharge stream. It was a neat difference from the bigger canyon and river. Most of our hike we were the only ones in the canyon and I reveled in the solitude. We didn't meet anyone else until we were most of the way back down. In fact, I was surprised when I saw a lot of people and realized that we were back to where we started and where the actual "trail" (paved path) ends at the river. I had a guy take a picture of us in our sexy gear before we had to return it...the yellow just seems to highlight everything so well...

All in all I think it only took us about 4.5 hours from start to finish, so we made good time. Before heading out of the park, we stopped at the visitor's center where I was able to get my stamp for my national parks passport (which I, as usual, forgot to bring) as well as some postcard. The store also had a geologic cross-section poster of the area and a geologic map of Zion...I was so excited that I couldn't choose just one and got them both...besides, they were only about $4 each. While browsing in the shop, I noticed some good geology books that I will have to acquire and read so that I can enjoy myself even more the next time I go out in Utah. It's so cool to be able to look at a rock outcrop and know what it is (name and kind of rock) in addition to its relation to other rock layers. I like having that comprehensive idea of areas...and then to add some ecology on top of it...

I had an amazing weekend with the guys and am glad that we did something despite the mass dropout...certainly didn't want to be spending it at the lab doing work as that's what I do most of the time. The break was great and now I need to get some actual work done for this coming week...back to the salt mine...

North Rim and Angel's Landing

We got started early this morning in order to catch the sun rise over the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Believe it or not, we weren't the first ones to walk out to Bright Angel Point that morning...a group of about a half dozen Germans around my age were there. As we got there, they were trying to get a group shot so I offered to take it for them..in German. It felt so great to speak a bit of German (outloud) again and listen to colloqial German. I would overhear parts of their conversations and couldn't help but smile or chuckle. It was great...sigh. It was rather chilly with the brisk wind and the sun always seems to take forever when you are waiting for it...so I took some pictures of the canyon. Needless to say, they are pretty dark and I kind of wasted some film by not waiting till after sunrise...oh well, lesson learned...besides, it was my first time to the North Rim so I was excited to get some pictures from that viewpoint.

After spending a couple hours or so at the North Rim, we headed back to Jacob Lake en route to Zion. At Jacob Lake, we stopped so the guys could grab some food for lunch later (I brought stuff and made sandwiches). While waiting for the guys, I overheard some woman refer to herself as a New Yorker. So, naturally, I asked where her and her husband were from in New York. Turns out they are from Vernon and the guy (Justus Cheney) student taught under my Grandpa Schulz in Central Square in 1959. I was in shock...this is more of a coincidence than the couple I met at Church. This guy had my grandpa for a master (now cooperating) teacher. Amazingly small world it is.

I dozed a bit on the way to Zion after the initial shock of meeting the couple wore off...I mean, we were up before the sun after all. As we drove into Zion National Park, I just gazed (rather lovingly) at the awesome rock...it's colors and patterns (due to the layers). Oh how I miss rocks sometimes. We drove into Springdale, which is just outside of the park, to try to find a motel room because parking was full in the park anyway. After getting a room, we took the transit system to the park and then up to one of the stops in what I guess you could say is the main canyon. In order to drive up this part, you have to take the bus or have reservations at the lodge. What a great way to keep down traffic and increase the safety (not to mention animal-vehicle collisions).

Today we hiked the Angel's Landing trail that leads to the end of a promontory in the canyon. The trail isn't too long mileage wise but still a decent workout due to its vertical rise. I loved the hike because I got to gaze at lots of cool rock like the thick layer of fossilized sand dunes (Navajo Sandstone) and the cool drop-off parts and climbing up rocks. Certainly not a boring trail or one for acrophobics (the afraid of heights crowd). At one point, the trail is only a couple feet wide and it drops down steeply on both sides to the valley below. Don't worry, there's a chain strung between two metal posts that you can hold onto if you are uneasy. Besides, the views at the end are indescribable. I was perched on the end of a long rock thousands of feet above the river valley with approximately a 300 degree view of what is below. Pictures can't do it justice and I wonder if a video camera is even sufficient enough. My pictures came out okay nonetheless but I'm anxious to see if Joe's stitching will create a more representative view.

For a warm-down (and because we had time), we hiked to the lower Emerald Pool on our way back to bus. The path follows the rock behind a thin veil of water falling to the pools below. The walls and path are a bit muddy and the walls are rather slimy...kind of gross but also kind of cool. We took the bus back down the canyon after our excursion and ended up getting some information from others on the bus who had hiked The Narrows that day on what the conditions are like and where to rent equipment from. So we went to Zion Adventures on our way back to the motel to get our dry pants, neoprene socks, boots, and walking stick. The girl showed us the correct way to put everything on and gave us some tips on the trip. We then carried our cool gear back to the Bumbleberry Motel then went to the diner in the front for some grub. I tried a buffalo burger (that's a burger made from buffalo meat, which is leaner) that tasted good. Joe and I also split a bumbleberry pie but he didn't really like it so Pete ended up eating it with me. We figured out, mostly by taste and sight, that the bumbleberry is a mixture of blueberry and blackberry...yummy with ice cream :-). So a very productive, fun-filled day...now for The Narrows in the morning....

Tally ho!

Today we set off around noon to head to Jacob Lake, near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We didn't have classes as it is "Fall Break". Pete and Joe drove Pete's car...it's a hybrid so it's not only wicked cool with the new features (aka it's a new car), it also uses less gas. The car is eerily quiet when it switches to electronic mode, like when stopped at a traffic light. We had a rather uneventful trip down but it was an enjoyable, though long, drive durin which we chatted quite a bit and listened to some good music. Jacob Lake is basically a small gas station with attached gift shop/diner and a couple inn buildings. It's a small, quaint place. The stars were brilliant tonight and we regret not stopping when we were in more open country as it is difficult to see the stars through the trees around Jacob Lake.

Disappointing People

This coming weekend was supposed to be the Newman Club Grand Canyon Rim to Rim in a day hike. We had 12 people signed up to go: 10 hikers from Newman, a guide (a guy from the parish who has done it twice), and a chase driver (drops hikers off at North Rim and picks up at South Rim). Between Monday and today (Thursday), everyone else who was supposed to hike dropped out (mostly on Wednesday though). I was the only one left with the guide and chase driver. Pete (our guide) was in town anyway (he just transferred to Indianapolis) so he suggested that we go to Zion National Park instead as it made more sense. Really, what's the point of having only 2 people hike the Grand Canyon, one of whom has already done it, and make the chase driver spend ~9 hours in the car going from rim to rim...plus the gas. So even though I was really excited to hike the Grand Canyon in a day, it just didn't make sense to do it this weekend. I'm pretty disappointed in the other people who dropped though...nothing like waiting till the last minute...and every effort was made from the beginning to make sure that everyone understood the conditions of the hike...irresponsible people...

Science

Some people think I'm crazy because I love Science. Well, I'm crazy but it's not for that reason. Today our Small Watershed Hydrology class did a lab out in the field. We drove to Spawn Creek near Temple Fork (where I went mountain biking) and took some stream measurements. To measure the discharge of the stream, we used two different methods so we could compare them. It was so great to be outside on a nice day (not in the basement lab with no windows) and playing around, I mean diligently working, around and in a stream. Even though I only had my hiking boots and gaitors on (not waders), I still went in the stream and took velocity measurements along the width of the channel. Actually, I placed the instrument and others in my group read the data and recorded it. I got wet but was still warm due to the amazing capabilities of wool. It's days and events like this that make science so incredible and fulfilling...who couldn't love it? It's a hands on, down and dirty, intellectual yet manual area. English on the other hand...

Updates

I will be attempting some updates in my blog soon. Some will be from a few weeks ago when some neat stuff happened. So keep a look out for new stuff from mid-late September. There will also be more pictures from Eddie's wedding once I get more scanned...I only have 1 out of 4 rolls scanned so far. As always...Enjoy!

Eddie's Wedding

I flew back to NY this weekend to go to my cousin Eddie's wedding on Saturday. Yes, him and Rachel (Schaffer) tied the knot. Shannon let me stay with her on Thursday night and she took me to the airport before work. My flights were good as there were no delays and I met some neat people...which is one of the things I love about traveling (esp by air). On my flight from Salt Lake City to Chicago, I sat next to a guy from Frankfurt, Germany. At O'Hare (Chicago airport), I talked for awhile with a girl who had been doing field work in Nevada. She was also going to the NE for the weekend for a wedding and was applying to grad schools. Since she had just gotten her new MacBook (Macintosh laptop) and had some really cool pictures from Antarctica on it, she showed them to me. The pictures were from a field station that was something like 20 miles from where she had done some work. It was pretty neat talking with her.

I flew into Rochester where Kait picked me up and took me back to her suite. We ended up going out to a frat (Chi Phi) that her and her friend always go to because they have a friend in it and know the guys. It was my first frat party and I now know for certain that I haven't missed anything by not going to them...in fact, I would have missed a lot of I had gone in the past. Some guy did come up to me and asked me to dance so I did as Kait was on my left prodding me saying something to the effect of "he won't remember anyways, he's probably too drunk." Oh well, no harm done because at least he didn't try anything dirty (so I didn't have to leave till the end of a songor hurt him). We didn't stay too long because it was not the same for Kait and her friend Karen as it was homecoming/alumni weekend (aka Meliora weekend at the University of Rochester) and it was a little different with all the alumni there. So we headed to the frat quad for a bit (yes, UofR has a quad on campus for frats). Kait and Meagan played a couple of really drunk Russians in pool and still lost (though they had been playing better than the guys). The frat quad was pretty boring too so we didn't stick around too long. Eventually we made it back to Kait's suite where we crashed for a few hours of sleep before mom picked us up at 9.

Mom picked us up and we went to Carousel Mall before going home so Kait could get a dress. Amazingly, I had already bought one here (in Utah) and was more prepared than Kait...scary that I had bought a dress and Kait hadn't yet. We were at the mall too long but she and I got what we needed. I jumped in the shower when we got home and Kait attempted to do my hair before the wedding (aka blow-dry it) but we had insufficient time. We made it to the Church a few minutes before 2 (when the wedding was supposed to start). As we were walking up, my grandma Schulz and Aunt Sandy (Eddie's mom) were outside and asked what the heck had happened to my knee. I have some pretty nasty turf burns on my knee from indoor soccer and I couldn't get the gauze all the way off when I was in the shower so I had to go to the Church with a little piece still stuck on (I had cut most of the gauze off).

The ceremony was nice even though my angle was not very conducive to good picture taking. The two mom's (my aunt and Rachel's mom) did the readings which I thought was a neat idea. Of course, Krista (one of my 4 year-old cousins) was supposed to be a flower girl with Jenna (the other 4 year-old cousin) but she started crying and Melissa (Eddie's sister) had to carry her up the aisle.

It was a beautiful day and perfect for a wedding...didn't even need a sweater after the ceremony and the sun was actually shining in a blue sky! Amazing!

Before the reception, my family went to my Galvin grandparent's to drop off Chris and Dena's dogs and so Kait and I could see them before they leave for Florida. It was good to see them again even though it was only a few minutes. (I had lived w/ them while student teaching...still miss their cooking).

The reception was at the Labrador Ski Center as someone in Rachel's family owns it and they let them have the reception there for free as a wedding gift. Although it got quite cool outside, inside was nice and warm. On the way in, there was a table set up with bowls of various candies (caramels, candy corn, chocolate cirlces w/ sprinkles, Jolly Ranchers, etc.) that you could fill up a small decorative bag with (or a cup or your hand). Yummy and simple idea for a wedding favor.

I had a great time at the reception with my family...they are just amazingly awesome. Everyone was there except my cousin Jamie (who should be expecting to get reemed out by all of us as she only goes to school at SUNY Oswego and has a car there) so it was a typical Schulz get-together...lots of fun and some craziness. I danced a good deal of the night, rather exclusively with my cousins...especially Krista and Jenna...so I know how to dance w/ you if you are a 4 year-old girl. It was fun relearning the Macarena, etc.

Craziest part of the night must have been when my cousin Stephen (7 years old) was in a bridge position and started humping the air. Everyone was dying laughing, including his parents. My Aunt Anne Marie got down in a similar position and started kicking her legs out, I think trying to get Stephen to do the same, but he kept humping the air. No one told him to stop though so he did it for a bit longer, till the end of the song I think. For most of the night after that, one of Eddie's friends (he was an usher) attempted to teach Stephen some dance moves, some more successfully than others. Yup, that's my cousin...he's going to be a real ladies man when he's older.

Towards the end of the night, I was at the bar getting a cup of water when my Uncle Casey (Eddie's dad) bought everyone (who was at the bar) shots of Bailey's and toasted Eddie. I had a sip of Bailey's as I had refused the full shot...that kind of alcohol is dangerous because it tastes more like chocolate than alcohol. I wonder how many women get drunk off of it for this reason alone...

When I got home from the reception, i found some old pictures of Eddie and I when we were about 2 and 3. He has his arm around me in one and I think I might include them in the photo-type present that Kait and I plan to make for them. Although we aren't too sure exactly what we are going to do yet...at least my pictures came out really well. :-)

I flew out of Rochester today, through Chicago again, back to Salt Lake City. Shannon picked me up and it was good to have some more time (in addition to Thursday night) to catch up. I'm going to have to go down some night soon to meet her lieutenant friends that she works with, as they sound really cool.

I'm really glad that I went home even though I was only there about a day. It was more than worth it.

Check out my photos from the wedding.

Small World

My second Sunday of teaching CCD didn't actually involve teaching as a priest from NYC was in town for the parish retreat and he did some songs, etc. with the kids. I won't actually get to teach my kids until 30 October.
After the Newman mass, I went to the dinner social. This week was the faculty mixer so students could meet Catholic (read: non-Mormon) faculty that they could go see on campus. I met a few nice professors but it was one couple that really put me in shock.
I started talking with a professor who, like everyone else, asked where I did my undergrad work and where I was from (you know, generic questions). I told him and it turns out that he is from Syracuse and started at Oneonta but dropped out and finished at Potsdam. His wife is also from Syracuse and I met her a couple minutes later. The guy is a geology professor and the dean of Sciences, Don Fiesinger. His wife Janet had just gotten back from NY this morning and had actually been in little ol' Central Square on Saturday! Her parents (Francis and Bob Harris-who worked at Agway)had lived on CoRt 37 for some time before her dad died. Her mom remarried and lives in Camden now so Janet was in CS filling her mother's prescription at, where else, Wal-Mart. I was in total shock tonight. I mean, what are the chances of meeting people in Utah that have so many connections to places in your own life a couple time zones away? Apparently pretty good... Oh and their daughter's name is also Amanda...fancy that.