I have this thing for the letter M

So it has been well over a month since I last wrote and in that time quite a bit has happened. I was a team leader for two weeks in Winona and it was a great chance to spread my wings. I had a great time and learned a little bit about leading a team... it really wasn't all that hard ;). We finished our connector trail... and let me tell you I was so happy to say goodbye to that project. It was a lot of very physical work in the 90s with high humidity. It is also a project I feel very proud of... if you are ever in Missouri I suggest that you walk the connector trail between Big Spring and the Ozark Trail off of highway C!

The last day of that project I got a message from my brother telling me that my aunt and uncle's(Mike and Jen) farm was hit by the awful storms that ripped through Minnesota. I was instantly concerned and talked to my teammates about maybe taking a team up to help with cleanup. Everyone was way into it and after talking to my program director I had a team of four with some chainsaws. We left Saturday morning and started cleaning up on Sunday. There were trees down everywhere... one even landed on the house, but luckily no one was hurt and the damage was minimal. We spent one day cutting trees off of a fence and a couple other days cutting, piling, and stacking wood in their backyard. My friends had a great time helping out and really liked meeting all of my family. It is amazing what four people can get done when they feel so connected to the people they are helping. It was an experience that will stick with all who were involved.

I was back in St.Louis by the end of the week and that weekend I found out that I would be on the first trip out to Montana. That is my excuse for taking so long to write and that is also why you will not be getting any pictures at this time. I am blogging from a library in downtown Butte. We left for Montana on the fourth of July and stopped at Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone Park on our way out. We didn't spend much time at either but it was still very worth it.

For the last three weeks I have been doing a variety of projects including digging trail, clearing trails, spraying invasives, building fences,picking up sticks, and weed whacking picnic areas. My favorite task was spraying invasives. We walked through random gulches climing the hills and hoping over streams to kill non native plants. There were so many pretty wildflowers that I got to see and except for our presence the area was realtivly untouched by man. I don't know how I feel about spraying chemicals in these wilderness areas, but I am trying to figure it out.

I just came back from a spike out in the grasshopper valley area of Montana. The experience was mixed for me. The first night we stayed at a hot spring and had a nice cabin for our team of four. The next three days were spent carrying 55 lb plus bags up and down mountains and clearing trail as we went. It wouldn't have been quite so bad if the mosquitoes hadn't found us so very delicious. We hiked somewhere around 15 miles total and cleared and fixed trail as we went. Over all I am glad I had the experience and I am very relieved that I only have to relive it in my memory! The last two days I spent with my team of 14 building a trail on the Continental Divide Trail. There were a bunch of volunteers with us and in two days we completed over a mile of trail.

Now I think you are all caught up. I am not sure how long I will be here, but I will try to keep you posted.

Happy trails,
Elsa

P.S. I realized the other day that while in AmeriCorps I have only served in states that start with M... Maine, Massachussetts, and Maryland... your next ;)