Where has the time gone?

I noticed that I haven't posted in over a month.  Whoopsie.  It's not that nothing interesting has happened, it's that I'm caught in the wave known as the end of the season in Glacier National Park.  


Who am I kidding?!  I'm caught in the wave called 6th grade at Napi Elementary!


15/24 of my students
Abstract Art inspired by Jasper Johns proudly displayed in our class gallery

 The year is already flying by.  We are settling in to our routines, getting to know each other, and learning how to work together as a team.  The students love hearing about my adventures in China and were on board when I said I'm trying to get my sister, Carrie Lee, to come out and volunteer!

After school rainbow
We had a blast during Sprit Week.  Each day we dressed up as a different theme - one day we dressed in the style of our favorite decade.  I wore plaid and called it '90s but I loved how many students dressed in '80s gear!  The final day we were treated to the Homecoming Parade.  I wanted to take more photos but I had to run out into the street to collect the candy!  



Now, on to why I live here:

Two hikes were crossed off my bucket list this year, Divide and Double Falls.  Thanks to my friend, Natalee, I finally climbed one of Glacier's peaks - Divide Mountain.  The view was amazing and it felt good to stand on top of a mountain that I see everyday.

View from Divide Mountain
The other check on the bucket list happened thanks to my friends Jeff and Aiofe visiting from Calgary.  Jeff is a photographer (check out his work, it's phenomenal: JCruz Photo) and wanted to shoot Double Falls.  Double Falls is accessed from Logan Pass but special permission is needed to go off-trail.  After checking in with the rangers, we were good to go.  The views were unbelievable and the falls were more beautiful than I ever could've imagined.

Double Falls

The shot behind the shot behind the shot

Logan Pass

See you next year, Going-to-the-Sun Road
With fall brings bundling up and braving the wind for end of season walks in the park.  I jumped on an invite to tackle Siyeh Pass last weekend and the dramatic views stun me every time.  On the way down, we were encouraged by the last push of huckleberries, one of Glacier's precious gifts.

Siyeh Pass
Last weekend, two of my dad's friends arrived via the train.  Crossing Glacier National Park off of their bucket list, they arrived just in time as they enjoyed Glacier Park Lodge's last night open for business!

Glacier Park Lodge - see you next year!
Looking good, East Glacier Bridge!
Anyone who takes Amtrak from Cleveland to East Glacier gets a gold star in my book so I treated them to a quick tour of Two Medicine: Running Eagle Falls, Paradise Point and Aster Falls and in return, they treated me to lunch and Huckleberry Pie at Luna's - good trade!  If I could go back in time and tell my 12 year-old self that one day she was going to take her Columbus Jr. High School Assistant Principal hiking in Montana, she'd think the world had gone mad.

Two Medicine
Needless to say, it was nice to see familiar faces as Ohioans don't often show up in Montana.

Speaking of visitors, this evening I was treated to a delicious dinner at Serrano's with Monica and Kristine from the Montana House. Even though the Montana House is a year-round operation, it's still bittersweet to say, "See you next year" to the summer staff.  I'm grateful Monica and Kristine made the drive over to check up on me and I look forward to working a few weekends this winter for our Look, Listen and Learn series.  Coming up on October 26:  Dan Fagre and Adam Clark present: Glacier National Park:  A Sentinel for High-Elevation Change and Why It Matters.

Monica and me and my new gorgeous scarf made by Kristine!
As for life in East Glacier, I'm settled in to my new house.  I realized that earlier this year, I lived in a hotel and now I live in a vacation rental - not too shabby.  I look forward to bonding with the East Glacier crew over pot luck dinners and craft nights once the snow flies.

My house until June and some of my neighbors
I've been enjoying the 12 mile commute over to Browning and I am realizing that it's not only the breathtaking view of the mountains that defines my love for the East Glacier, it's also the sky.

Good Morning, Full moon
The warmth and comfort of the fire in the wood stove paired and the sound of the wind blowing outside my window remind me that a long, long winter is looming.  For now, I'm welcoming any opportunity to play outside as the days get shorter and the nights get longer.  I'm wondering how much more snow will be on the peaks in the morning...

Natalie

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sweet Shanghai

Image
Things always seem to come full circle and that was certainly the case in this latest adventure in China. It seemed like ages ago that we were in a taxi with Professor Rhea headed from the Shanghai Pudong Airport over to Hongqiao Airport to catch our flight to Guiyang and it was decided that the driver would cruise through downtown to show us the Bund. First glimpse of The Bund A little taste of Shanghai and a glimpse of what was yet to come, I was hooked and looked forward to our last days in China simply because they involved exploring one of the world's largest cities that I knew was full of art and wonder. Shanghai's famous skyline  Lizzy's friend, Melissa, graciously invited us to stay in her apartment and I looked forward to reuniting to rehash our weekend at the Miao Village as well as commiserate with teaching stories as Melissa was an English Teacher at a private school.   We landed in Shanghai and had no trouble finding a taxi to Melissa...
Read more

For Ms. Mahoney & 5M at Hawthorne Elementary in Missoula, Montana

Image
Greetings 5M! How are you all doing?  It's been a while!  After my time in your classroom, I spent the holidays in Ohio with my family, student taught in a second grade class in Browning, MT and I'm currently in my 6th week student teaching at Guiyang No. 4 Experimental Primary School in Guiyang, Guizhou, China. Map of China showing Guiyang.  China is huge! Here's a close-up of our neighborhood.  Notice we are very close to a park.  Qianling Park is famous for its monkeys!   Monkey monkeying around at Qianling Park Things are really different here, as you can imagine.  I thought you'd be interested to know what the typical school day is like for a student in a Chinese public school.  I've been teaching 2nd, 3rd and sometimes 6th grade.  The 6th graders are preparing for a standardized test so I am not permitted to teach them every week.  At No. 4, there are over 1,000 students in grades 1-6.  There are four cl...
Read more

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Image
Lizzy and I had many things to celebrate today, our first day completely on our own and we did awesome!!! First, we had a leisurely morning at our hotel.  I made us coffee and we spent some time updating our blog and making a game plan for the day.  Our main goal was to find the grocery store nearest to our hotel.  We had lunch on the way at a spot where we will become regulars.  The menu was in Chinese and we started to panic.  How on earth would we order?  There was only one other couple in the restaurant and the gal happened to be an English teacher at the High School.  Boy, were we lucky.  Her  English name was Elaine and we told her to order what was best at this particular restaurant.  We had sweet fish, rice, cucumber soup and a vegetable that translates to "good bitter."  It was no corned beef and cabbage but it was one of the best we've had yet! As we strolled around, we noticed another cozy coffee shop and finally ...
Read more