Thursday, July 25, 2013

Day 10

Day 10

Day 10 was pretty cool. We started the day out with a few lectures in this old abandoned outdoor gym thing. When we finished there we headed out to go to a few different sites.
The first site we learned about placing Track Mats. The purpose of TM are to help with observing what small predators are in the area. How TM work is very simple. The critter walks into the tunnel, which has bait on the other side, goes over track paper and then leaves footprints on the contact paper. The contact paper is taken out and examined to study which critters when in.

Then we went to another creek and had lunch, provided and cooked by the Spokane Indians. Their we learned about shocking fish and how it's done. One kid caught a huge Rainbow Trout!

From there we drove back to camp for a bit, hit the store, and changed into swimsuits. At 5 we got to go swimming in Lake Roosevelt! The water was perfect, not to cold and just a little bit warm. We splashed about for quite some time and then had another feast prepared for us by the Spokane Indians. When we had finished eating we all gathered around and listened to some truly helpful and meaningful stories. The Spokane Indians offered us assistance and guidance in our everyday lives and told us if any of us ever need help they would be glad to provide it.

After stories we went back to camp and had brownie cake to celebrate Destiny's b-day. Then we got to play around till 11.

Day 9 6/23/13

Day 9 6/23/13

Day 9 was a pretty chaotic day as well :)

We started the day by painting with paints that we made, both oil and milk based. We made pigments out of many different things, such as berries, flowers, and leaves.

Wenix also gave us another presentation on First Foods, she actually set up a table as it would look at a feast. We got to taste some salmon, roots, and berries. As she gave her presentation we learned about different medicines and plant uses.

When we left Wenix's house we drove for several hours to Airway Heights (WHERE I LIVED FOR 7 YEARS! :) ) There we got free Arbie's paid for by the Spokane Indians! When we collected all the food we got back in the cars and drove for a while more. We eventually got to our camp grounds and set up.

Then we slept :)

Day 8

Day 8 6/23/13

Day 8 was an adventure to say the least! We packed up and out of the Pow-Wow grounds and drove Umatilla Indian Department of Natural Resources. There we met Wenix Red Elk who gave us a presentation on First Foods. The presentation covered the different foods that are put on the table and the order of their placement. The order is as follows: water, salmon, deer, roots, berries. We also learned a little bit about why the foods go on in that order. Wenix's job involves protecting the women's food from the table, rather than just the salmon and deer. After the presentation we headed out to go to a restoration project in process at Meachu. BUUUUUUTTTTTT! The road there had just been graveled and decided to have some fun with our tires! :D
Band Wagon pulls over to check their tire, and see's Flaming Eagles popped tire, then see's their own. Then after the restoration project tour we start driving back when War Pony lost 2 wheels! When Flaming Eagle got to the Les Schwab they noticed another tire of theirs went out. THAT MAKES 5 TIRES IN ONE DAY.
Unfourtuntly because of all the issues with tires it was too late to get to our original camp ground. But we had an awesome guide, Wenix. She took us to her house and had us camp in her yard. It was a great experience. Her family made dinner, including Fry Bread! We also learned how to play Stick Games :) That was a lot of fun. Wenix's mother also is into many crafts, such as glasswork. Her mom had many beautiful pieces of glass-work in a room, including irridescent salmon and wonderfully contrasted buffalo.
Band Wagon Out! 

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Day 7 Elmer Crow

Elmer deserves a post all on his own.

Mr.Crow is a tribal elder who came by after lunch to speak with us. The different things he told us about and taught us were wonderful. He taught us some manners, he told us stories, he educated us about the importance of eel, showed us and told us how he makes different weapons, and he did all that in a fun, down to earth way. I know that I will be a least a little bit different from meeting Mr.Crow and his wife. I thank Jessica and everyone that was able to arrange his coming to speak to us. He was utterly amazing and I am proud of the gift of knowledge that he gave us. Thank you Elmer Crow

Day 7 6/22/13

Day 7 6/22/13

Today we woke up and went to meet Jim H. from the fisheries. He took us out to...
* his office, where he displayed posters about the salmon
* The Lostine River Hatchery where we saw salmon get tagged, released, and sent out to other hatcheries. We also learned about the construction of the facility and the river's of the area in detail. While we were there we learned about the many jobs that go into that simple seeming job and building.
* Lake Wallowa to swim and investigate the geographical changes wrought by glacers 17,000 years before.

After out time with Jim we came back to the Powwow grounds to eat lunch as well as explore. I watched some pretty amazing dancers and singers. I was amazed at all their bead work because I know just how long beading takes. I also danced last night during some open dances, it was pretty fun :)

We got called back at 6:30 for dinner and then we stayed to blog and socialize.

Day 6 6/20/13

Day 6 6/20/13

Drove for 11 hours
Stopped at Painted Hills
Arrived at Wallowa
Attended Powow

Painted Hills was pretty awesome! I found a really cool leaf fossil and the scenery was amazing!

Day 5

Day 5 7/19/13

Dang! Today is already Friday, right? J

Woke up 7:30
Ate (eggs, pancakes, cooked by War Pony)
Got ready
Left to a trail head
Split into two groups, sign workers and trail workers
Worked
Lunch/Swimming
Swimming
Split into two groups, trail workers and other workers
Went back to camp

Future:
Blog
Shower

Last night:
Showered
Collected firewood
Came back, everyone else left, only BandWagon
We did dishes, danced, and taught each other dance moves
Everyone came back
Fire circle/sharing circle
Shared most embarrassing stories
Played two truths and a lie
Roasted marshmallows
Slept

Today was a lot of fun! We got to sleep in a little bit and then we all piled into the cars with the instructions of having long pants on.
We went to a nearby trailhead and got a brief introduction of our two rangers.
Joe Welke – Trails Volunteer  Coordinator
Jason Fisher – Developer of Recreation

After that we split into two groups and received hard hats: Sign workers and trail workers. I was in the trail worker group with Joe and I received a hand saw, while my friend Brandi got a pair of clippers. Our job was to cut down and trim trees that were encroaching on the trail in the woods (if we didn’t feel right about that job we were allowed to switch, but I stayed). We followed the trail down doing that work together. At first I felt a little bad about it but I understand why it’s needed; I still apologized to every tree. As we worked people would come and go by us, usually chaperones reminding/demanding that we stay hydrated!  YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. After a while had passed lunch was called and we had to follow the group the rest of the way down the trail to the river, which was beautiful. There me and Brandi skipped food and jumped in swimming. We swam across the lake and back J. The water was cold but deliciously refreshing. When we got out we had lunch, cleaned up the area, and headed back on the trail, continuing our job of tree management, getting the areas we hadn’t gotten too. Brandi and I were a bit ahead of the group and sat at the car, we waited a few minutes and then Sheryl and Haver showed up. While we waited we learned about natural fauna and fruit. Now we’re sitting in the car waiting to go shower all this dirt off of us! We also get to do laundry! J Then when we come back Heritage 2 is cooking dinner. For today I’d say it was great, we had a good amount of hard work that helped the environment and then we got to play! Everything was well worth it J
I’m gonna pack up all my stuff tonight because this is our last night in this beautiful forest. I like my sleep so having everything ready will be nice.
Tomorrow is also supposed to be a long drive, but I’m prepared! I HAVE DR.WHO EPISODES ON MY COMPUTER! I also have two movies.
Overall the Dechutes area is a fantastic place and I know that I want to come back here for sure, especially that swimming hole!
Also today has helped me solidify what I want my future career to be. I really enjoyed working outside today and can’t wait to start again! I was a little worried about my career choice not being right for me, but now I’m sure that I will thoroughly enjoy my chosen path J

Au revior! Ari and BandWagon out!