A Ride on the Jupiter

On K's last day at the Spike, he did a lot of things "for the last time." He had a list of emotional, symbolic, and ritualistic things in his head that he wanted to accomplish. One of those was riding both of the locomotives from the engine house to the last spike site. I had been on the 119, but had never ridden the Jupiter, so K and I left the VC, admired the blooming yucca, and walked down the tracks together to the engine house, noticing the multitudinous mice and voles darting around as we approached. It was a perfect, beautiful, sunny day arranged by God to add to the overall sendoff for Ranger Ken.


Can we ride?


K and Engineer Ron.


Loading coal on the 119.


Wood stacked on the Jupiter.


Volunteer Fireman Bruce throwing the switches (or whatever you're supposed to say, I'm not a railroader, ahem).


Engineer Ron and his PPE (Personal Protective Equipment, in this case...ear plugs, we all had them in our ears!).


This, My Friends, is called doing a Blowdown (letting off steam--you'd be surprised how many ordinary words and phrases in our language stem from the railroad).


Volunteer Fireman Bruce working hard. It is not an easy thing to get a steam locomotive down a track. The action is constant. One thing I enjoy is listening to the engineer and the fireman communicate with each other. They are always calling out what they see and confirming it, what they are about to do and confirming it, etc. When one says something to the other, the other says "Thank You" and then repeats what was just said so the understanding is there. Kind of like saying "10-4" over a radio. K was the bell ringer. Everybody has to have a job when they ride the locomotive so my job was "photographer."


Guages. They help you to know when it's time for a Blowdown.


Did I mention it gets pretty hot in the cab? I've eaten a hotdog cooked on this locomotive!


Put another log on the fire!


Engineer Ron being super safe as always. He is fanatical about tracking people, their location, their habits of movement, and all that ("three on the ground, one on the stand"). He will not move his locomotive until all safety concerns are resolved. There's a difference between park rangers who are safe and those who aren't so safe. Obviously, I appreciate the really safe ones.


There's my K ringing the bell of the Jupiter! Let me tell you, I rang the 119's bell once and got criticized for not doing it well enough. It's tougher than it looks--you have to find a groove. On top of that, K still manages to stick his head out the window and wave.


Ranger Val recording K and his locomotive duties. K's coworkers were filming and photographing him all day, as if they would never see him on the face of the earth again!

A Boy and His Job

Golden Spike certainly gave K a grand sendoff! They arranged to have a dinner at Maddox in Perry, a wonderful restaurant known for their beef, their buffalo, but probably most of all, their rolls! K's bye-bye party was actually located in The Lodge in a private area due to the number of people attending. We can only think of one paid employee who was unable to attend and there were also several volunteers who came out to wish K well in his future endeavors. K was blown away by the number of people who showed up! And here are a few of them:

Kat and Angie. Kat is hilarious! She's also a dispatcher so she has great stories from that job as well.

Andrea and Richard. Richard was one of the engineers but has since been promoted to, can't remember the exact title...Chief of Maintenance (close enough). Andrea has also worked at the Spike (she has another job with the state) and when she first met K four years ago, she proclaimed, "I've been camping with you!" They have a mutual friend and the memories came flooding back. Richard and Andrea are fabulous people. We've been to their home. So kind. Another park ranger love affair!

Here are some of the people...the guy on the left, nearest, is John. K enjoys a special friendship with John. He and his wife are wonderful, generous people. John is from Germany and is in love with the park service and being a ranger and Ranger Rendezvous and all that.

Tammy. Tammy is one of K's supervisors. I forget her exact title, but it's administrative. She also used to be law enforcement at the park. Tammy made a quilt for K! It's pretty spectacular! All of the squares with the green and gray are PHOTOGRAPHS of K and his time at Golden Spike. There's even a picture of me and K on the handcar! Another picture shows K selling a Golden Age pass to his dad! I can't imagine how much time Tammy put into this quilt, but it's a sure sign of appreciation for K's efforts at the Spike.

Dave and Christina. Dave has been such a good friend to K at the Spike. He and his wife are LDS and have also lived apart in order to gain success in the park service. Dave has been noted as saying quite often, "I've been praying for you guys." It's just so nice having people like this in your cheering section.

Jess. Oh how K loved working with Jess! His better half and children couldn't make it to the party, but Jess keeps everything "awesome" at the Spike. Leslie, the superintendent, was telling us she went out to the Last Spike Site during a horrific downpour the other day with her long, green raincoat and this green hat when Jess said something like, "Well if it isn't Wyatt Earp!" Jess has been begging me to let K get a PS3 so they can "keep in touch." These two have been hiking together after work and have carpooled on occasion. K will really miss working with the people who have become great friends.

Val. She's the one who hired K and we love her for that alone. She has two dogs, Stinky and Sweetie. Sweetie is actually the mean one. She said at the party that she'll miss traveling with K. I myself have had the pleasure of dining with Val at the El Tovar in Grand Canyon as well as some hotel in Washington, D.C. She introduced K to a fabulous Japanese restaurant in Denver which he has since taken me to enjoy. Val is famous for reading aloud a weekly column from the small local newspaper during quiet moments at the VC. I have also enjoyed these readings which are a total crack-up, not only because of the content of the article (funny news about the ranches in the area, gossip, etc.), but because of the way Val reads aloud with drama and emphasis. K said she read aloud to all the rangers just the other day. Shucks, I missed it. Leslie said she'll miss hearing Val and K discuss what they're having for lunch each day. Val would ask K what he brought. K's answer would be something like, "Peanut butter and jelly (or Hot Pockets)." K would ask, "What are you having, Val?" Val would say, "Spinach salad with blueberries and dressing, leftover BBQ spare ribs, etc." And then Val would say, "I don't even know if I'll make it to my potato salad!"

So, not the greatest picture of Leslie, the superintendent. Leslie is, quite simply, the best. She started at the same time K did. She is a wonderful leader and manager. She is so kind, loving, compassionate, and understanding. She has been a great mentor for both of us! Leslie has taken the time to have interviews with K to get his feedback on things happening in the park. He has really appreciated her leadership style and has learned so many good things from her. Leslie is also a crack-up. The Spike rangers were having a party at the Old Depot and Leslie put some bleach blonde wig on with red lipstick and while approaching the depot and waving, she called out to Ranger John, the one from Germany, "Johanne! Oh, Johanne!" John, and most of the others didn't recognize her. I also remember her Hawaiian clothing at Val's birthday party. We were all at Mim's in Corinne after the Railroader's Festival once and Leslie and I were sharing tater tots off the same plate. She's so chill like that. Love her.

The party was great. They honored my husband so well. He received several nice gifts in addition to the quilt. They gave him a gold tie tac in the shape of a spike, made by O.C. Tanner. They gave him a wooden arrowhead plaque with funny, made up signatures on it, including one from Obama. They also gave him a "real" arrowhead plaque with very nice things written on the back by all the rangers. They gave him a big picture frame with drawings of the locomotives along with some railroad pins. And they bought our meals for us. They tried to have a "roast" about him, but nobody could say anything bad or too funny. All of the comments were sincere, and somewhat tender. K had a chance to speak and honored me first by gesturing toward me and thanking me for my support in his career endeavors. It was all very sweet. Really, they went all out and Leslie said, "We couldn't get you as a permanent, but we wanted to treat you as if you were permanent!"

BYGTWSO!-Day 2

On my second day of Summer Vacation I volunteered at Golden Spike Natinal Historic Site located at Promontory Summit. It was also K's last day as a ranger there--last day of his four year tour of duty. He began on 8 June 2008 and there was no legal way for them to keep him past 7 June 2012.

The picture above was taken by K atop the Jupiter, a wood burning steam locomotive. That's me talking to Leslie, the Superintendent. She usually wears civilian clothing to work and changes into her uniform in her office. She was going to ride the Jupiter to the Visitor Center with us, but decided she could get there faster by walking, so she hopped off. I had ridden the 119, but never the Jupiter, so I checked that off my bucket list, thanks to the engineer!

After our day at the Spike, which I will write more about in other posts, we went to our hotel room in Brigham City (since we gave up our apartment on the 31st) and enjoyed having the pool all to ourselves. Then we drove back to Corinne to have dinner at Golden Spike Burgers--great food if you're in the area. We were driving back to the hotel again and asking each other questions such as, "Anything else we should see/do for the last time?" We couldn't think of anything. It was just a nice relaxing evening as we thought back over the day with the wonderful comments that K's coworkers had made about working with him. All in all, bittersweet.

The Pool at Night

I found the little "less than" and "greater than" symbols on the keyboard, Rach! I'll keep trying that tip!
I couldn't go to the pool this morning because I had a professional development training with the district and met my carpool at 7:40 a.m. So, I tried going to the pool at night. Oh my.
Every rule ever posted was broken: non-residents were coming by the droves, people were drinking, and diving (it's only 5 feet), children under 14 were there without any supervision, etc. One good point is that clothing stayed on. It wasn't that bad, you know, in terms of behavior, but bad enough that I took notice. In other words, nobody died.
Some of those "young people" were very friendly toward me. Nineteen year olds. They asked my name, introduced themselves, chatted about their jobs and their pursuits in higher education. And then they went back to making out in the pool.
Incidentally, yesterday afternoon I was walking past the volleyball court and these five "young people", four men and one lady, engaged me in conversation. Picture this! I was in my church clothes and they were all in shorts, etc. They had long hair and guages in their ears (guages, right?), and they had a big 24 pack of Coors. One fellow chatted me up as I passed by the picnic table, "Wanna play volleyball with us? We need one more player." Honestly, he sounded like a fifth grader on the playground. So I stopped. And chatted back. I assured them that they probably didn't really want me to play with them. I also told them that there seemed to be a group of people that play every Sunday at 4:00 p.m. but that I didn't know their names or who to contact (that group invited me to play also...such friendly folks around here!). The dude seemed to take all this in and then asked, "What time is it?" As if that were going to solve all his troubles. One of his buddies answered, "Time to drink beer."
Back to the pool...as things escalated this evening, I started to really take note of my surroundings. I noticed exactly where the life saving "donut" was hanging on the fence. I wondered if someone hit their head while flipping off the top of the bars which are meant for grasping as you climb the steps out of the deep end and became unconscious, IF it would be a good idea to put a piece of pool furniture under them in the water (lay it down flat, use it like a backboard). Anyone have any input on that? The drunk guy had four friends with him, so I'm pretty sure they may have kept him from drowning after he passed out, but I was wondering if there was a first aid kit around with latex gloves for the blood that was surely going to spill. Note to self--check the restroom for a first aid kit (and start packing one down there whenever I go).
Anyway, Jose finally showed up and kicked everyone out. I felt bad for the 10, 12, and 13 year old boys in the hot tub who kept getting asked by the 15, 16, and 19 year old girls how many girls they've kissed and if they are virgins. Ridiculous. I also felt bad for the little guy who kept jumping into the water repeatedly while his dad sat off in a corner and talked on his cell. the whole time. Way to spend quality time with your son. He never got in once to swim with his boy. All those youth in the hot tub need more structure with their time. Too bad the big kids can't think of anything better to do than throw the little kids into the pool after asking them about inappropriate things of a highly personal nature. Don't suppose I could entice them to a game of Aggravation or Phase 10...

BYGTWSO!-Day 1

Yesterday was my first day of Summer Vacation. I slept in as long as I could. I stayed in bed and kept my eyes closed even longer, just enjoying the fact that I didn't have to get up for anyone or anything. After feeling completely satisfied that I had truly slept in and had my fill of laziness, I got up. It was 6:08 a.m. I like to study the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the mornings, when I'm fresh. I like the quiet and the cool of the morning. I'm teaching a lesson in Relief Society this Sunday, and so I studied. I'm also hungry in the mornings. I'm a huge fan of breakfast and my doctor tells me people who eat breakfast reduce their chances of developing diabetes by fifty percent. I do not adhere to a traditional breakfast menu common in America. After living in Japan, I got over the fact that you had to have a certain type of food at a certain time of day. So I cooked up a little stir fry with onion, garlic, sweet potato, and tofu. Loved it. Feeling strong, I went to the pool and MOVED for over an hour. No one else was there. It was, as stated on Facebook, glorious! After showering and shining myself up, I fell asleep for an hour. I never take naps, but when this happens, I chalk it up to "sleep is healthy and I must have needed it." The Mister thought it was funny that I napped. We went out to shop for a minute at Recreation Outlet. We ate lunch at Jim's Family Restaurant (I ordered a gyro). We went food shopping and fueled up the car. I was fading fast, overcome with fatigue. I carried as many groceries as I could up the stairs in one trip, set them down in the kitchen, disrobed, and crawled into bed. Hubby said that was at 3:15 p.m. He decided to wake me up at 6:30 p.m., hoping I wasn't "dead in there." All I can say is that the work involved in wrapping up a school year and getting K moved back from Brigham City, and the emotions involved with saying goodbye to darling children and getting my husband back under the same roof all finally caught up with me. We made chicken enchiladas for dinner and ENJOYED chatting together, over dinner, in our very own dining room. K watched the Celtics win their game while I talked with my sister in Iowa (we had not conversed since March). And off to bed we went for more sleep.

"But You Get the Whole Summer Off!"

Hi. I'm really worried about using my summer days off well. I haven't had a summer off since 2000. I've been working full-time in the summers for the National Park Service (my choice, tons of fun) and before that I was working at a summer camp called Clear Creek. So, now that I'm "free as a bird" I'm a little fixated on making sure I don't waste time. I may or may not chronicle what I do on this here blog, but I don't want to be SO fixated on it that, you know, I go crazy. I know, I already sound a little crazy. Here are the rules: as far as "days off" go, I'm only counting weekdays, because like everyone else, or most everyone, speaking in general terms, everyone usually gets a weekend, two days off, so that's not a bonus for teachers who get the WHOLE summer off, it's just the usual. I'm also not going to count the Fourth of July because so many people get that as a paid holiday. For teachers, it's an unpaid holiday. Just like Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, MKLJR, President's Day, etc. Teachers have NO paid holidays. Got that? Zero. None. We don't know the meaning of "holiday pay." Tough for some to wrap their heads around. One more rule, I won't be counting this Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday as summer vacation days nor will I count Monday 13 August because those are all "implementing the new language arts core training days" which will be paid by the district and they last a full working day each. Forced training if you will (they said if we didn't take the training in June we would be forced to take it in the fall, unpaid, so of course, most of the little ducks signed up to take it in June, with pay). Now, if I happen to CHOOSE to spend some summer vacation time working in my classroom or taking a professional development class, then yes, that's how I'm choosing to spend my summer vacation. However, so far, I haven't registered for anything. Maybe as the summer progresses I'll completely quit worrying about how I'm spending my summer and just become lazy and enjoy doing nothing. But for now, I feel almost compelled to keep track, to report, to PROVE I'm not wasting my time. Is there a name for this personality disorder? Is it just the way I was raised (Dad would wake us up super early on the first day of summer by banging on the wall in the stairway and calling up to our bedroom to get up...I dragged myself to the doorway, rubbing my eyes at 5:00 a.m. explaining, "Dad, it's summer vacation, we don't have school." He shot back, "I know! And I don't want you girls getting into any bad habits! There's work to do! Get dressed.")? So, in future blog posts, I think I'll use the following initials which serve as an acronym for the above title of this post: BYGTWSO! I'm so weary of hearing that. Does anyone care that I stayed at school on Tuesday night until 7:30 p.m. (3.5 hours past my contract time) printing out honor roll certificates and filling out advancement slips? No, they don't. People don't realize what teachers put in during the school year, they only focus on the very loose "fact" that teachers "get the whole summer off." Ha! More like a forced lay-off. The feds call it "furlough." Yep, we're totally subject to furlough. Done ranting now.

My Paragraph Problem

I have clicked on the HTML button many, many times in varioius attempts to solve my paragraph problem. I have NOT tried typing in the code "br" at the end of a paragraph for "page break." I do not see on my keyboard how to type in the "less than" and "greater than" symbols that Rach said I needed to type in before the "br" and after the "br", but perhaps I'll find them? Here goes! When I clicked on "Options" these are the things that are checked: allow reader comments, interpret typed HTML (should I instead click on "show HTML literally"?), and under line breaks it's marked for "use br tag". What am I missing?