An Acadia Wedding

I left my first week of summer camp a day early. And it was totally worth it! Two of my close friends from graduate school, Joe and Hazel, got married in Surry, Maine. The wedding was incredibly beautiful (even in the drizzle and rain). And everything reflected these two to the T! There was even kuub to play after the reception (and contra dancing). Congratulations Joe & Hazel, may you have a wonderful life together! Photos are not mine - they were taken from friends from the wedding and placed online & Instagram.

TheChristyBel

Joe & Hazel Walking Down to the Group

Building Their Moss Garden & Terrarium

You May Kiss Each Other!!
Yay! They are Married!

The Wedding Party

Cutting the Cake
Made By Hazel's Mom and Friend!

Look At This Cake!!!!!

Their Rings

Drinking Their HomeMade Beer & Cider!
Joe and Hazel Supplied All the Alcoholic Beverages - They Even Home Brewed It Too!

Kuub Instructions
I knew you all wanted to know how to play a great game!

Reunited with Charlie!!

Contra Dancing!

A Teton Science Schools Reunion

A Joe & Charlie Sandwich

Then eXplorations, Now eXpressions

Me, Skylar, Deondre, and Vince
Some of my boys from Teton eXplorations '14

Last night, Matt McGee, my lead faculty of Teton eXplorations and eXpressions in Nature and Art from my Summer Capstone at the Teton Science Schools texted me letting me know that several of my students from my graduate year were coming back to attend some camps. The summer camps at the Kelly Campus were having their Celebrations of Learning and my students had asked Matt to invite me to see their hard work from the summer. I was beyond honored and excited to attend! Skylar, Vince, and Deondre from Teton eXplorations were back for the second summer in a row and attending eXpressions in Nature and Art.

Being back on the Kelly Campus was definitely weird. I think it was because I was not teaching this time and it was weird seeing the new grads take lead on the programs I had worked on last year. But really quickly that feeling of being weird subsided and was overtaken with joy, pride, and being impressed. It was super awesome to see this year's grad students take what my group had done with eXpressions and 1) improve upon what we had done, 2) compare and contrast my summer to theirs, and 3) see how this grad group made eXpressions their own. Not to mention seeing Sylar, Vince, and Deondre was beyond awesome. These boys have grown up (literally in height and maturity) in the spark of one year. I was beyond proud of them and so happy to see them. 

It was really cool to talk to them about this year's camp, what they learned, what they did, and some of their highlights from their second time around at the Kelly Campus. It was just a really great gallery walk for eXpressions. Those students are incredibly talented and incredibly amazing beings.

Pretty excited to see how eXpressions will change for future programs and very excited to see how my former students will continue to grow and do wonderful things.

TheChristyBel

Vince Presenting the Communal Project

The Barred Owl Communal Project

The Boys' Art Exhibits

Last Teaching Program at Teton Science Schools

You would think I would be done teaching with the Teton Science Schools after graduation...wrong. The last week of August was my last week of teaching for TSS - I ended with an age group I was definitely not familiar with and actually, incredibly nervous to work with and teach - undergraduate college level! I was supporting the University of Wyoming's ENR1100 course where similar to TSS' Ecological Inquiry class where the entire class chose their own specific Wyoming Environmental Issue to research and interview stakeholders, this class focused on one issue and as a huge group. ENR 1100 dug deeper into the issues ecologically, politically, systematically, and within the community of the expansion/renovation/construction of the Moose-Wilson Corridor.

For those of you who do not know about this, the Moose-Wilson Corridor is a road that runs through the park on the southeast side of the Teton Range. Even though it is incredibly scenic and is a great place to spot moose, black and grizzly bear, and beaver, it also attract many people to use the road. You would think a scenic road in a national park would just have its occasional wildlife jams and idiotic tourists stopping in the middle of the road for various reasons, but the issue goes beyond that - this road also connects the Teton Village (a major tourist hot spot and recreational area for all people of Jackson Hole) to Moose (a town that is an entrance area into the park and a junction to get onto the major highway, US-89.

The concern over Moose-Wilson Road is that it is constantly used by many people and the road is in need of some repair in certain areas and grows concern about safety of not just the people that use it but the wildlife that live within and around it. There has been great concern that redo-ing the road would affect wildlife populations and migratory patterns, as well as influence the road to attract more people with a question of surpassing a 'carrying capacity' of the pureness and scenic qualities of the area around the road.

It was the job of ENR 1100 to dive into this issue, find the origin and background of this road, and go into the community and speak with stakeholders from every position and see the perspectives and passions that this road has within the people that use it. The students spoke with wildlife and conservationists, staff from the National Park Service, local economic businesses - like Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, residents of the Jackson Hole Community, Friends of Pathways, the Forest Service, and the list goes on...

Here are some photos of random moments from their experience here in the Tetons!

TheChristyBel

A Little Trail Management and Creation with the Forest Service

Wyoming Boys Will Be Wyoming Boys - Working in Some Fancy Cowboy Boots!

'Christy, Take an Action-Shot of Us!'

I am so Uncomfortable Right Now...

Jake and a Pick!

Got a Bike Bell As a Thank You Gift!
Best Gift Ever!

Cleaning the Outreach Closet

Over the past three weeks of August, I not only helped teach some other programming at Teton Science Schools, but I offered my organizational and cleaning skills to the Outreach Closet. I wish I had taken a photo of the 'Before,' but those who have seen the outreach closet right after the summer capstone, can attest that the room was 'non-livable' - where you could not see the floor or even navigate through it. Below are the after photos of 45+ hours of blood,  sweat, tears, frustrations, 4-bags of trash, lots of Ke$ha and Beyonce listening, and removing everything into the Earth Science Classroom and back into its home!

The Teton Science Schools faculty was pretty impressed and Kate Bodey was beyond thankful for my help. I hope that the current TSS Grads will take care of that room! A lot of time and work went into making it beautiful to start the new outreach year out with a clean and organized bang!

I am pretty awesome...I know! 

You can see a floor!

Keeping It Clean, Organized, & Labeled!

Jordan and I Even Made the Specimens Beautifully Organized!

Keep It Clean! The Key to Success is to Maintain and Follow Systems!
TheChristyBel

Snake River Montessori Visits

Enjoy Some Moments From Snake River Montessori's Visit to the Kelly Campus.

Silent Conversations to Determine Their Field Research Project

Notice What They Stated With The Foxes...
Read the Blue Print Pointing to Foxes.
Ha Ha!

Working on Becoming Water Quality Test Experts!

Stream Team Analyzers!

My Council of the Purple Flying Chipmunks!

My Students in Front of 'Yoda' aka the Gros Ventre Slide

I'm loving the Spring Teaching Practicum.

Love my students!

Love teaching without a lot of snow!

Loving the science that they are learning!

TheChristyBel

Avalanche Off Cloudveil

So, yesterday, I had a day off from class and teaching.  Did a lot of personal errands, or well to-do's around the campus from cleaning my messy cabin, rearranging the furniture, writing letters to friends and family, to finishing up my Year 2-Graduate School application to the University of Wyoming.

In the midst of my productive zone, I was sitting at my desk and all of a sudden I hear this huge crash outside my cabin.  I turn to my window, and it was not what I saw but lack of what I saw: which was nothing except snow!  Instead of seeing the view to the Main Lodge and Dining Lodge, all I could see was a huge mound of snow!

Avalanche off of Cloudveil Dome Cabin!

There was a mini-avalanche that had occurred on my roof and covered my view from my window.  All winter snow had been piling up on the roof.  I am thinking about 2 and half to 4 feet of snow.  The past few days have been full of an endless snowfall and the weird thing is that the temperatures have been increasing to the low and mid-30s. So this slight warming had been causing snow all around campus to melt and fall off.  Which can be really scary based on how much had accrued on my cabin!

Snowy Damage

Luckily, no one was hurt in the process and my cabin was left un-damaged!  However, I think maybe should try to prevent this from happening again and taking off some of that accumulated snow off my cabin.  Hmmm. Or Maybe I should do what they do at the ski resorts, bomb the snow and have artificial avalanches!

What It Looked Like Before the Fall: Lots of Snowy Layers & Icicles

Deadly Icicles

This Has Left Me With a Lack of Sunshine Into My Cabin & Scenic View Out of My Window

Guess I'll Have Some Shoveling To Do Tomorrow!
TheChristyBel

XC Skiing To Granite Hot Springs

Friday, I went to a dance performance hosted by Dancer's Workshop (where I dance).  The performance were by the Gallim Dance Company.  It was a really awesome and interesting performance.  Included dancing with cardboard boxes and some really awesome, intricate combinations of modern and contemporary dance.  It was such a treat to see them perform that night.

Gallim Dance Performance Ticket & Program!

Saturday morning, I woke up really early (about 6am) to get myself up and ready for a full day of cross-country skiing with people Teton Science Schools community.  It was a blistering cold, windy, and snowy day in store for us.  Our goal was to ski 9-miles to the Granite Hot Springs south of Jackson.  I had not been back to the hot springs since Luke and I had gone back in September so I had no idea what to expect for this travel in.

It Was So Snowy, You Could Not Even See the Gros Ventre Mountains!

The decision to ski in was not optional.  They close the road up to the hot springs when the snow comes in and the only way to get to the hot springs is by either cross country skis, snowmobiles, or dog sled.  How cool is that?!

The Crew Trekking Through to the Hot Springs!

Leslie, one of our Grad Faculty & I

A Little on the Snowy & Chilly Side...

 Out ski began pretty late that we had expected: we were aiming to get onto the trail by 9:00 am MST, but there were two slides (small avalanches) along the road to the trailhead and we had to wait to for the plow to go through and plow the snow off the road and the road that leads to the Granite Hot Springs Trailhead.  So by the time the roads had been plowed, we were hitting the trail by I think 10-10:15 am MST.

A Snowy Cross-Country Ski!

The ski in was really fun and tiring.  The one thing that I found hard was as the fast snowmobiles were soaring past us cross-country skiers, was trying to breathe with all the smog and exhaust from the snow mobiles.  

When we finally got to the hot springs, it was a little past 1:00pm MST.  It took up about 3-3.5 hours to ski in.  It was totally worth the ski!  Doug Wachob, one of our TSS Grad Faculty who organized this awesome trip supplied us with some delicious hot stew and treats for lunch.  After rejuvenating ourselves with energy, we grabbed our bathing suits and went in the hot water!

The Natural Hot Springs Were Converted into a Pool
The Hot Springs Water Just Replenishes the Pool

It was such a cool experience to be in our bikinis and bathing suits while it was below 30 degrees and snowing!  Sure I have gone in hot tubs while it has been cold out back east, but to do this very same exact idea in a natural hot spring was pretty cool!

Can You See the Steam Rising From the Hot Springs?

Such a Snowy Hike Up!

So Much Snow Accumulation on the Creek Rocks!

Getting Ready to Cross-Country Ski Back!

On our way back, the snow was getting heavier and it was getting darker.  Luckily a few of the staff's friends had snowmobiled in and we worked some magic and get them to snowmobile us back to the trail head!  I had never been on a snowmobile before, so that experience was pretty over the top awesome as well!

The whole trip was pretty awesome in general: cross-country skiing more than I ever have, swimming in hot springs while it's snowing!, and then riding a snowmobile!  What more fun could a girl ask for on a snowy day!

The Cross-Country Skiing Snow Bunny!

I want to definitely do that again!
TheChristyBel

Back in the Forever West...

Saturday, January 4th, 2014, I traveled back to the Forever West to start my Winter Semester with the Teton Science Schools.  Although I am very excited to continue with this graduate program, two weeks back on the East Coast was clearly not enough time to be with family and friends.  I did not even make a significant indent in the list of people or activities I wanted to do or see while I was home.  Wah.

I had never traveled during the winter holidays, I had no idea how hectic and crazy my journey back west would be.  Arriving at the Philadelphia Airport, I discovered large amounts of people with flight delays, cancellations, and camping out waiting for updated information on their travelling paths.  It was really hectic and very overwhelming.  Luckily, my flight was relatively 'untouched' except for minor delays that were caused be de-icing, additional fuel being added to the aircraft, and multiple requests for volunteers to give up their seats for a weight restriction.  So crazy!

Greeted by Denver with light snow and ice!

My first part of my westward journey was flying into the Denver Airport.  Denver was experiencing some nasty snow and was being constantly plowed and the planes were being constantly de-iced.  It was a stressful time flying into the airport, sifting through congestion at gates and landing/take off strips, and waiting patiently for other passengers to recollect themselves and get off planes in orderly fashions.  I was so worried that I was going to miss my flight into Jackson Hole, but luckily my flight was not the only flight that was delayed getting into Denver that all connecting flights out of the city were then delayed as well.  Which was convenient...sort of.

Beautiful Snow Peaked Mountains!

My flight from Denver to Jackson Hole is a really beautiful flight.  Unlike traveling to or from the East, where there is more flat land and more prominent cities, traveling west to Jackson Hole flies over beautiful mountain ranges and lots of really cool river systems.  I could not stop looking out of my window to just admire the natural geological landscape that has been carved into the Earth and how visible they are with the snow covering them.

Beautiful River Carvings!

Flying over and into Jackson Hole, I totally lost my barrings are how we flew in...I think we did a little 'U' as we were flying in.

Nearing Jackson Hole Airport - Overlooking I believe part of the Teton National Park!

A HUGE Thank You to Hazel and Joe!  They stayed on the Kelly Campus for the holiday break, so they said they would water and watch my plants for me!  And not only did they watch over my plants, but they turned my heat on when I returned to campus, picked me up from the airport, AND...shoveled out my cabin!  I love those two so much! Thank you so much Hazel and Joe!

Cloudveil received lots of snow over the break...

My cabin is the 'go-to' place where plowed snow will go...and after what, two months of plowing, my cabin has the best snow fort barrier wall in front of it!  We could totally have a snow ball fight and I would have the best place to hide!  I would totally win!

Thank You to Hazel for Shoveling Out a Path Upon My Return

Upon my return to the Kelly Campus, not only was I surprised with a shoveled out, WARM cabin, but I had a present waiting for me!  Christine sent me a gift from Los Angeles!  So cute and nice of her! Hello Kitty Hot Chocolate (don't hate), glow sticks, green jasmine tea!, a new tea infuser, some other goodies, and....

Late Birthday / Winter Wonderland Care Package From Christine

MACAROONS!  Oh my gosh, one of my favorites!  So delicious!  So excited I got these!

With Macaroons Included!

Coming back and settling in from being in the comforts of home was hard.  I was happy to come back to the Tetons and get back into school, but not ready for the work that comes along with it, and well, was not ready to leave everyone back home.  I just got to see them after being away from them for 6-months! Wah.

Settling Back Into My Cabin - My New Moose From Luke

Sunday morning, I TRIED...repeat, I tried to sleep in...did not happen since I felt like I was still on Eastern Standard Time...but I woke up to a light snow and was able to indulge in some of my holiday gifts!  So for breakfast, I had some of the tea Brenna gave me in my new moose mug given to me by my grandmother, Phyllis, along with Mom's famous banana bread, while listening to the Hawaiian music Christine sent me in my care package - all while watching the snow fall!  So relaxing!

Sunday Morning - Indulging in my Holiday Gifts

Monday morning brought the start to class in the new year, starting with our second week of Winter Ecology in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.  Not only did Monday bring class, but some really cold weather.  Look at that comparison in the photo...Kelly, WY gets negative degree temperatures and light snow while Newark, DE is getting 'warmer' temperatures and rain....not sure which weather I would prefer! haha.

Monday Morning's Temperature Comparison

More updates to come about class and life back in the Tetons!

Welcome Back to the Forever West, Miss Bel!
TheChristyBel