Oh my goodness Chuck! I was just thinking about you and how I needed to send you a message or something! I've been at JL now for 4 days and I LOVE IT! Kelly is ridiculesly fun, my goodness you're around him for 5 minutes and he has you laughing so hard! They have me on Waitri and the first two days I felt like a headless chicken - running everywhere. 'Now where were those coffee cups again?' But today we had 2 more new people jump on the crew and I trained one of them on Waitri. I guess they felt like I knew my stuff enough? I think it was just so that I learned the job better. Ya know how teaching something does that for ya... But shoot girl - this snowmobile crew came in already half drunk. And they tore me apart! The Beer Cooler was WAY too cold and had frozen most of the alcohol so when i opened it, it spilled all over! And it was kinda a slow process so I had taken one can to the guy and left it on the table. I came back to the table and it was spilling all over the place! Ha! But I did fairly well they said, for a newbie ;). Jim, the supposed leader of the group, said that if I could remember their names when they came back tomorrow that they would give a 100% tip. Great, i didn't even hear their names. So he gave me a few hints to think about. I'm hoping for a $100 revelation. :)
I head out to RCA for training next week - I checked in with them last week just to let them know how I was coming along. The recruiter guy called me this morning and we chatted a bit. I'm fairly confident that I will get the job, but there always is that chance ya know? I just need to be myself, not be lazy, and make sure they know I'm completely interested!
Shoot Chels, life is so crazy right now, I started a blog to try and keep up with it all and post it to the world.
Kelly said that he loves you. "You know Chelsea? OMG I love that girl!"
Well dude - have a Happy New Year!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Jacob Lake - Day Three, New Years Eve
After my second shift of the day I found myself in the RecRoom for my dinner break. I checked my mail, did some blogging, and then set my alarm so that I could take a nap. I guess I was exhausted because I must have been out in 5 minutes. The next thing I knew Mike was calling me from behind. “David… David… David! Sale wants you out front.” I must have given him a worried face because he followed up with, “I don’t think you’re in trouble or anything…” I rolled up off the couch and made my way to the office where I asked for Sale. I didn’t understand the first few words that he spoke to me. Partly cause I was still waking up, and partly because of his heavy accent. Something about St. George, coming back tomorrow in time to work a Late Straight… After a few moments I finally connected the dots. I was to go pick up the Walkers from Saint George, stay the night at Kelly’s house, and then drive us all back up tomorrow before 2:00 to work a late straight. Got it. Kelly was originally supposed to be picking them up, but I guess had decided to stay in St George and not return to the lodge. At the point he called and asked for me to go retrieve them.
The roads weren’t the greatest. At 8000 feet elevation we get hit with a lot of wind and snow. I found myself doing 25mph down the mountain… Snow, ice, wind, unfamiliar roads, dark… I just thought it better to take it super slow. I rocked out to my awesome country CD for the first little while to make sure I was still awake and then switched over to a Jeffrey R Holland discourse on my phone. That man destroys.
When I got closer to St George I started texting Kelly for directions. I started texting Walker as well to see how his flight was. He had gone through several delays and finally made it to St George. Kelly became very impressed with how fast I was responding to both of them. “Is he driving and texting!?” He directed me to a Wal-Mart where I found his green suburban parked in the back. Kelly of course greeted me saying, “Hello Michael.” I followed him to his house a few miles away where he put us up in his front room. He showed us his fridge, the pantry and the bathroom. “Make yourselves at home.” Along the way Tristan and I had called our mission companion Paul Bartholomew who lived in St George and had him come over to say hi. He was super surprised to see us both in St George, of all places. Walker and I had both been companions with Bart, one right after the other. We exchanged hugs and caught up on each other’s lives. We decided to meet up for breakfast in the morning before heading back out to the Lodge. Bart took us to one of his favorite restaurants called 25 and Main. I imagine the name came from its location. Bart recommended a ham sandwich and pumpkin cupcake. They were both divine.
I would probably be seeing Bart every couple weeks. He offered to let me stay at his house the night before going into the field. That way I could make half of the trip the night before, stay the night in St George, and then finish up the trip the next morning rather than leaving super early the morning of.
We made good time back to the Lodge. Most of the snow had gone and the sun was shining. Walker and I talked most of the way while BreAnn slept in the back. I helped them unpack a few things and then showed them around the lodge before we started at two. Tristan was going to be put in the kitchen to start and BreAnn with me on Waitri. I was a little surprised to be training my third day on the job… It was really good for me though, the best way to learn something is to teach it right?
After dealing with all the New Years Eve traffic we locked the doors and did our cleaning. Once all the lodge chores were done we set up the snack bar. Little Smokies, cheese and crackers, pizza bites, soda, hot chocolate, etc. Kelly for some reason changed his mind and decided to come back up to the lodge for New Years instead of heading to Salt Lake like had planned earlier. I just laughed to myself… thinking how in the end I didn’t really need to make that trip to St George. However – seeing Barty and being able to associate with Kelly on a different level made it all well worth it. Kelly brought up with him a box of fountain fireworks to light off at midnight. After lighting the first couple fountains one at a time people were getting a little bit bored and asked that we light them all at the same time. I figured out that if I could grab a lit fountain as it was finishing up, that I could use the dying flame to light the next one. The tricky part was getting two or three fuses lit before the fountains started going off again. Those sparks hurt!
We took a group picture in front of the lodge and headed in for the movie. When I noticed Kelly’s laptop connected to the TV I offered to bring out my movie projector. I guess I had forgotten to mention that I had one because everyone seemed really excited after I had said it. We set up in the Lodge lobby next to the fire pit. We strung a sheet across the window and gathered a load of pillows. After everything was set up and a few minutes into the movie I smiled to myself. It was one of those, ‘I love myself’ moments. For example – when you find 10 bucks in your pocket from way back when… Or when you have free time because you did all your homework the night before… Or when you bring along a projector and contribute to the sickest New Year’s party Jacob Lake has ever seen.
The roads weren’t the greatest. At 8000 feet elevation we get hit with a lot of wind and snow. I found myself doing 25mph down the mountain… Snow, ice, wind, unfamiliar roads, dark… I just thought it better to take it super slow. I rocked out to my awesome country CD for the first little while to make sure I was still awake and then switched over to a Jeffrey R Holland discourse on my phone. That man destroys.
When I got closer to St George I started texting Kelly for directions. I started texting Walker as well to see how his flight was. He had gone through several delays and finally made it to St George. Kelly became very impressed with how fast I was responding to both of them. “Is he driving and texting!?” He directed me to a Wal-Mart where I found his green suburban parked in the back. Kelly of course greeted me saying, “Hello Michael.” I followed him to his house a few miles away where he put us up in his front room. He showed us his fridge, the pantry and the bathroom. “Make yourselves at home.” Along the way Tristan and I had called our mission companion Paul Bartholomew who lived in St George and had him come over to say hi. He was super surprised to see us both in St George, of all places. Walker and I had both been companions with Bart, one right after the other. We exchanged hugs and caught up on each other’s lives. We decided to meet up for breakfast in the morning before heading back out to the Lodge. Bart took us to one of his favorite restaurants called 25 and Main. I imagine the name came from its location. Bart recommended a ham sandwich and pumpkin cupcake. They were both divine.
I would probably be seeing Bart every couple weeks. He offered to let me stay at his house the night before going into the field. That way I could make half of the trip the night before, stay the night in St George, and then finish up the trip the next morning rather than leaving super early the morning of.
We made good time back to the Lodge. Most of the snow had gone and the sun was shining. Walker and I talked most of the way while BreAnn slept in the back. I helped them unpack a few things and then showed them around the lodge before we started at two. Tristan was going to be put in the kitchen to start and BreAnn with me on Waitri. I was a little surprised to be training my third day on the job… It was really good for me though, the best way to learn something is to teach it right?
After dealing with all the New Years Eve traffic we locked the doors and did our cleaning. Once all the lodge chores were done we set up the snack bar. Little Smokies, cheese and crackers, pizza bites, soda, hot chocolate, etc. Kelly for some reason changed his mind and decided to come back up to the lodge for New Years instead of heading to Salt Lake like had planned earlier. I just laughed to myself… thinking how in the end I didn’t really need to make that trip to St George. However – seeing Barty and being able to associate with Kelly on a different level made it all well worth it. Kelly brought up with him a box of fountain fireworks to light off at midnight. After lighting the first couple fountains one at a time people were getting a little bit bored and asked that we light them all at the same time. I figured out that if I could grab a lit fountain as it was finishing up, that I could use the dying flame to light the next one. The tricky part was getting two or three fuses lit before the fountains started going off again. Those sparks hurt!
We took a group picture in front of the lodge and headed in for the movie. When I noticed Kelly’s laptop connected to the TV I offered to bring out my movie projector. I guess I had forgotten to mention that I had one because everyone seemed really excited after I had said it. We set up in the Lodge lobby next to the fire pit. We strung a sheet across the window and gathered a load of pillows. After everything was set up and a few minutes into the movie I smiled to myself. It was one of those, ‘I love myself’ moments. For example – when you find 10 bucks in your pocket from way back when… Or when you have free time because you did all your homework the night before… Or when you bring along a projector and contribute to the sickest New Year’s party Jacob Lake has ever seen.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Jacob Lake - Day Two, Meet the Gang
With a few helps from Mike I could do most of the morning routine myself. I made sure to have that coffee brewing like Kelly had advised me to do. Coffee is the single most requested drink in the mornings. Everything else seemed to fly fairly well. I had to run to the kitchen every couple minutes with a new question. I was still working on my menu lingo – learning all the different abbreviations for each meal.
Each day we are allowed to order two meals from the menu for breakfast and lunch. Then for dinner one of us is assigned to cook dinner for everyone. Last night we got talking about camping foods, and how good Dutch Oven sounded. When they learned that I knew something about Dutch Oven cooking I was assigned dinner for the next day. I made Dutch Oven potatoes and Peach Cobbler. After finishing her second plate, Laura looked over and suggested that I be put on permanent dinner duty. Haha.
Jacob Lake hires students by season. For the last couple years they have followed the BYU-I track system for hiring purposes. Three tracks a year: Winter, Spring and Fall. Each semester they can hire off track students to run their lodge. Most of the employees on right now are carrying over from the Fall. Two or three of them are high school graduates saving up money for missions. The others are just buying time for the next great thing. But whatever the story or situation, we make up the Jacob Lake Winter 2010 crew.
Allow me to introduce you to them.
Kelly Langi – To start off with, he’s Polynesian. RN and Patient Educator. He also does a great deal of translating for Tongan patients. He married into the Rich family and helps manage the lodge in his free time. Last year he was the full time manager, but is now training his sister in law Laura and her husband to be the Winter Season managers. Kelly comes every couple weekends to make sure things are running smoothly and to relieve Laura for a few days. They say that one of the main reasons JL hasn’t gone out of business or bankrupt is because of Kelly. He came up this weekend to help me get settled in and to learn my job properly. Kelly is much more relaxed than the other managers. He epitomizes ‘work hard, play hard.’
Akenese Hamilton – We call her Ake (Ah-K) for short, also of Polynesian descent. She is probably the most all around knowledgeable employee here at the lodge. She has been here for five or six months and dominates everything she does. Kitchen, Bakery, Office, Waitri, housekeeping – she does it all. Her personality reminds me a lot an elder in my mission. She is soft spoken, but not afraid to voice her opinion. She is super passionate and extremely loving. She’s in love with a boy named Tulu, but has her sights set on a mission. She’ll work here until spring to earn enough money and will then put her papers in.
Ofacilia – I don’t know her last name at this moment, but we call her Ofa (O-fa) for short. At first Ofa didn’t really open up like Ake did. She is more reserved, waiting to get to know someone before becoming outgoing. She nick named me Vita, short for Davita, my name in Tongan. Her specialty is the kitchen; she makes a mean bean burrito. She has also been here 5 or 6 months, waiting for the day when her boyfriend comes by and sweeps her away to Vegas to elope. The Polynesians often mix their English with Tongan when speaking to each other. After hearing the same word several times I could start using it myself. The girls had a nickname for Parker that no one else knew. I learned it and asked what it meant. The girls looked at each other and started laughing. Tamahine (Ta-ma-hee-ney), it means ugly half boy half girl. Haha. I started writing down a few other words that they seemed to use most often, could introduce myself by the end of the day. “You learn too fast, we’re going to have to watch what we say around you!” A few days later I overheard Ofa telling the others to watch out what they said around the ‘new Michael, he picks up Tongan really fast.”
Laura Eliesa – Laura is a third generation Rich family member. Her dad is John Rich, the company majority owner and man I spoke of last post. She served a mission several years ago and married Kelly Langi’s cousin. Laura and Salesi met in Tonga and have been married for three years now. They have a one year old named Charles. We call him “Charles in Charge” because he owns the place. He’s super cute and walks around with random stuff that he finds around the lodge – magnets, candy bars, super expensive pottery, etc. Whenever I see the kid, I like to yell out “Baby Charles!” This is Laura and Salesi’s first season managing the Lodge. At first I was a little annoyed with their unprofessionalism, but after realizing that they were just as new as I was, I was much more understanding and started to really appreciate them. Laura is the twin sister of Julie who is married to Kelly. I imagine Kelly and Julie set up Laura with Kelly’s cousin Salesi.
Salesi Eliesa – We call him Sale for short. Pronounce it like you would in Spanish. Sal-ley – a true Tongan, born and raised. He speaks with a heavy accent and is hard to understand at times. He’s the muscle behind most of the operations. While Kelly is more of a social business man, Sale is more prone to pick up a shovel and get his hands dirty outside. When we pull out the games, his little kid side comes through. It wouldn’t be uncommon for him to jump out of his chair with his arms in the air shouting after rolling a Yatzee.
Parker – We call him Parker. Probably one of the funniest people I have ever met. He is the master of descriptive words and telling stories. He can have me on the floor grabbing my sides from laughing so hard. My smiling muscles are getting the workout of their life. Parker has been here a season as well. He is earning money for a mission as well, and trying to slim down a bit to make the weight requirements. He plays the piano and dominates the Saxophone. He inspired me to call home and ask for my Trumpet to be sent down.
Mike – Not to confuse you with ‘Michael’ who I was mistakenly called. Mike has been here for two seasons and is finishing up his last couple months here before putting in his mission papers. He was off on Christmas break when I first arrived. Mike’s specialty is the grill, though he can do it all. He’s super smart and probably the biggest flirt I’ve ever met. We decided that the only way to describe it with justice was as a ‘shameless flirt.’ His justification is that if he flirts with every girl then he won’t be tempted to pair off with any of them. Haha. Mike is a pretty chill guy. He doesn’t get super energetic or overly excited like I would occasionally, or like Parker does every couple minutes… Mike is also the only other employee besides myself with a car. That is, if you can call a Toyota Echo a car… I can barely fit into the thing without having my knees hit my chest.
There are a few more people to add to the gang at a later time. My good friend and mission buddy Tristan Walker will be flying down with his cousin BreAnn. One other named Mary that I haven’t met yet will be returning in a day or two from her Christmas break. Ya know we ought to do shirts or something… Jacob Lake Inn – Crew Awesome - Winter 2010!!
Each day we are allowed to order two meals from the menu for breakfast and lunch. Then for dinner one of us is assigned to cook dinner for everyone. Last night we got talking about camping foods, and how good Dutch Oven sounded. When they learned that I knew something about Dutch Oven cooking I was assigned dinner for the next day. I made Dutch Oven potatoes and Peach Cobbler. After finishing her second plate, Laura looked over and suggested that I be put on permanent dinner duty. Haha.
Jacob Lake hires students by season. For the last couple years they have followed the BYU-I track system for hiring purposes. Three tracks a year: Winter, Spring and Fall. Each semester they can hire off track students to run their lodge. Most of the employees on right now are carrying over from the Fall. Two or three of them are high school graduates saving up money for missions. The others are just buying time for the next great thing. But whatever the story or situation, we make up the Jacob Lake Winter 2010 crew.
Allow me to introduce you to them.
Kelly Langi – To start off with, he’s Polynesian. RN and Patient Educator. He also does a great deal of translating for Tongan patients. He married into the Rich family and helps manage the lodge in his free time. Last year he was the full time manager, but is now training his sister in law Laura and her husband to be the Winter Season managers. Kelly comes every couple weekends to make sure things are running smoothly and to relieve Laura for a few days. They say that one of the main reasons JL hasn’t gone out of business or bankrupt is because of Kelly. He came up this weekend to help me get settled in and to learn my job properly. Kelly is much more relaxed than the other managers. He epitomizes ‘work hard, play hard.’
Akenese Hamilton – We call her Ake (Ah-K) for short, also of Polynesian descent. She is probably the most all around knowledgeable employee here at the lodge. She has been here for five or six months and dominates everything she does. Kitchen, Bakery, Office, Waitri, housekeeping – she does it all. Her personality reminds me a lot an elder in my mission. She is soft spoken, but not afraid to voice her opinion. She is super passionate and extremely loving. She’s in love with a boy named Tulu, but has her sights set on a mission. She’ll work here until spring to earn enough money and will then put her papers in.
Ofacilia – I don’t know her last name at this moment, but we call her Ofa (O-fa) for short. At first Ofa didn’t really open up like Ake did. She is more reserved, waiting to get to know someone before becoming outgoing. She nick named me Vita, short for Davita, my name in Tongan. Her specialty is the kitchen; she makes a mean bean burrito. She has also been here 5 or 6 months, waiting for the day when her boyfriend comes by and sweeps her away to Vegas to elope. The Polynesians often mix their English with Tongan when speaking to each other. After hearing the same word several times I could start using it myself. The girls had a nickname for Parker that no one else knew. I learned it and asked what it meant. The girls looked at each other and started laughing. Tamahine (Ta-ma-hee-ney), it means ugly half boy half girl. Haha. I started writing down a few other words that they seemed to use most often, could introduce myself by the end of the day. “You learn too fast, we’re going to have to watch what we say around you!” A few days later I overheard Ofa telling the others to watch out what they said around the ‘new Michael, he picks up Tongan really fast.”
Laura Eliesa – Laura is a third generation Rich family member. Her dad is John Rich, the company majority owner and man I spoke of last post. She served a mission several years ago and married Kelly Langi’s cousin. Laura and Salesi met in Tonga and have been married for three years now. They have a one year old named Charles. We call him “Charles in Charge” because he owns the place. He’s super cute and walks around with random stuff that he finds around the lodge – magnets, candy bars, super expensive pottery, etc. Whenever I see the kid, I like to yell out “Baby Charles!” This is Laura and Salesi’s first season managing the Lodge. At first I was a little annoyed with their unprofessionalism, but after realizing that they were just as new as I was, I was much more understanding and started to really appreciate them. Laura is the twin sister of Julie who is married to Kelly. I imagine Kelly and Julie set up Laura with Kelly’s cousin Salesi.
Salesi Eliesa – We call him Sale for short. Pronounce it like you would in Spanish. Sal-ley – a true Tongan, born and raised. He speaks with a heavy accent and is hard to understand at times. He’s the muscle behind most of the operations. While Kelly is more of a social business man, Sale is more prone to pick up a shovel and get his hands dirty outside. When we pull out the games, his little kid side comes through. It wouldn’t be uncommon for him to jump out of his chair with his arms in the air shouting after rolling a Yatzee.
Parker – We call him Parker. Probably one of the funniest people I have ever met. He is the master of descriptive words and telling stories. He can have me on the floor grabbing my sides from laughing so hard. My smiling muscles are getting the workout of their life. Parker has been here a season as well. He is earning money for a mission as well, and trying to slim down a bit to make the weight requirements. He plays the piano and dominates the Saxophone. He inspired me to call home and ask for my Trumpet to be sent down.
Mike – Not to confuse you with ‘Michael’ who I was mistakenly called. Mike has been here for two seasons and is finishing up his last couple months here before putting in his mission papers. He was off on Christmas break when I first arrived. Mike’s specialty is the grill, though he can do it all. He’s super smart and probably the biggest flirt I’ve ever met. We decided that the only way to describe it with justice was as a ‘shameless flirt.’ His justification is that if he flirts with every girl then he won’t be tempted to pair off with any of them. Haha. Mike is a pretty chill guy. He doesn’t get super energetic or overly excited like I would occasionally, or like Parker does every couple minutes… Mike is also the only other employee besides myself with a car. That is, if you can call a Toyota Echo a car… I can barely fit into the thing without having my knees hit my chest.
There are a few more people to add to the gang at a later time. My good friend and mission buddy Tristan Walker will be flying down with his cousin BreAnn. One other named Mary that I haven’t met yet will be returning in a day or two from her Christmas break. Ya know we ought to do shirts or something… Jacob Lake Inn – Crew Awesome - Winter 2010!!
Jacob Lake - Day One
The sheets that I brought from home were for a twin sized bed and didn't quite stretch enough to cover my queen sized bed. Instead I laid my blanket down and pulled out my sleeping bag. After snoozing through my alarm twice for an additional 10 minutes of sleep, I got up out of bed and did a few pushups with Tony Horton. After a shower I found my JL polo and headed out to the lobby to start my first day on the job.
Kelly was waiting for me in the office. He had just woken up a few moments before. Kelly was one of the managers and part of the Rich family. First we started by turning on all the lights. He said that he liked to start by illuminating his day. Then we started a fire in the two fire pits by making a pyramid of three logs and drenching it with lighter fluid. "It's just easier this way..." We moved our way to the center counter where the coffee maker was located. "They will kill you if you don't have coffee in the morning." We wiped down the counter and made sure everything was stocked (sugar, salt, pepper, etc). I spent most of the morning watching for aside, and maybe filling up a drink or two every once in awhile. Towards the end of the morning shift Kelly pulled out a menu and told me to sit down and study it over a plate of food. And to put a little heat under my butt he told me that I would be taking the next order…
There are a few different scheduling options. The opening shift has their 8 hours spread over the entire day, making it feel more like a 13 hour shift. The closing shift starts late morning and works through the late evening until close. I prefer the closing shift so that my free time is clumped together and not spread out over three different breaks.
Other options are ‘early straight,’ ‘late straight,’ and ‘mid rover.’ Straight means that you work a straight 8 hours. Sundays are usually the days for straights so that half the group can catch morning sacrament meeting in Kanab and come back for the others to catch an afternoon sacrament meeting.
Winter Schedule Hours 8-8
OPEN
Kitchen 7:30-11:30 2:00-5:30 7:45-8:15
Waitri 7:45-11:45 2:00-5:30 7:45-8:15
Rover 8:00-12:00 2:00-5:30 7:45-8:15
CLOSE
Kitchen 11:00-3:00 4:00-8:15 15 min dinner break
Waitri 11:00-3:00 4:00-8:15 15 min dinner break
Rover 11:00-3:00 4:00-8:15 15 min dinner break
Mid Rover 9:30-1:30 3:00-6:00 7:15-8:15
During my break I decided that I ought to take a walk around the grounds of the lodge. There were several buildings that I still hadn’t been to or seen. I laced up my new boots and strapped on my gaiters. I walked around the front to the side where I found snow mobile tracks leading for the woods. I followed them a bit to the Forest Service station closed for the winter, then down a small hill and back behind where the volleyball/racquetball court was buried by three feet of snow. My mind turned to friction fires and how I could probably use the practice. I found a few worthy looking pieces of wood and carried them back to a bench outside the Forrest Service station. I had a bow, a few straight-ish dowels, and a small log that I thought might work as a fire board. I split it by using my knife as a wedge and a log as a hammer. After flattening both sides I made a small hole and notch like I’d remembered seeing so many years ago in Scouts. I still needed some kind of cap to hold the dowel with as I bowed… I found a piece of the log that might do the job and carved out a small hole. After bowing for several minutes and shooting my dowel into the snow a number of times, I concluded that my equipment wasn’t the best, and probably wasn’t too dry either. I fiddled around a bit more and then headed back to the lodge to wrap up my break.
My first couple of kitchen tickets were all over the place. I didn’t know the menu yet so I was describing things rather than abbreviating them. Then once I had gotten all the details down that time permitted I went to the kitchen with a menu and transcribed. Mike thought my full sentences were funny, and showed me a few abbreviations to make it quicker and more legible. Over the course of the afternoon I made two large mistakes. First of all, I didn’t know how to add in a tip to a Credit Card charge. So… someone who had added a five dollar tip didn’t get charged for it. My second mistake – Someone paid for a couple coffees with a five dollar bill and said to keep the change. I was excited because that meant tips! I put the bill in the tip jar without thinking to pay the cash register first, then put the remaining change in the tip jar.
Being here at Jacob Lake reminds me a bit of tourists in Guatemala. At Tikal you would meet people from all over the world. Here at the Lodge, I’d say more foreigners have been passing through than locals. It makes sense though; a local wouldn’t want to drive 45 minutes into the middle of nowhere just to eat one of our amazing meals.
Jacob Lake has been run by the Rich family for several generations. They own large portions of land out here and move their cattle back and forth over it. John, the oldest Rich son and now majority owner of JL, comes through every couple months to move cattle. He had finished his work and needed to gas up his rig before taking off. In order to charge gas to the company, you had to activate it from within the station. He asked that I come with him so that I could learn how to run the service station. As we were about to leave John realized he didn’t have the keys. He shouted over to the office to have them hand ‘Michael’ the keys. No one moved. They looked at each other rather confused. John asked again for “someone to hand Mike here the keys.” “Um… John? Who’s Michael?” John looked over at me and responded by putting his hand on my shoulder and saying, “Michael.” Pause… “or whatever the hell his name is… this young man here.” Everyone in the office busted up laughing, John wasn’t known to swear. I got the keys and we went outside to gas his truck. Almost instantly my name had changed to Michael. I guess if John wanted to call me Michael, then everyone else would as well. Michael evolved into my screw up name. When I made a mistake, we called it pulling a Michael.
At the end of each day we clean the place and prepare it for next morning. When everything is done the tip jar is spilled onto the counter and divided between the workers. Today we pulled in nine dollars each. Not bad for a winter day. I found a small stuff sack to put my tips in and hid it with my socks. I started a tip tally on a small half sheet of paper recording the days I worked and how much in tips I made. Maybe I’ll save all my tip money and do something fun with it at the end. We’ll see.
I hit the RecRoom for a bit to do some blogging and hit the sack.
Kelly was waiting for me in the office. He had just woken up a few moments before. Kelly was one of the managers and part of the Rich family. First we started by turning on all the lights. He said that he liked to start by illuminating his day. Then we started a fire in the two fire pits by making a pyramid of three logs and drenching it with lighter fluid. "It's just easier this way..." We moved our way to the center counter where the coffee maker was located. "They will kill you if you don't have coffee in the morning." We wiped down the counter and made sure everything was stocked (sugar, salt, pepper, etc). I spent most of the morning watching for aside, and maybe filling up a drink or two every once in awhile. Towards the end of the morning shift Kelly pulled out a menu and told me to sit down and study it over a plate of food. And to put a little heat under my butt he told me that I would be taking the next order…
There are a few different scheduling options. The opening shift has their 8 hours spread over the entire day, making it feel more like a 13 hour shift. The closing shift starts late morning and works through the late evening until close. I prefer the closing shift so that my free time is clumped together and not spread out over three different breaks.
Other options are ‘early straight,’ ‘late straight,’ and ‘mid rover.’ Straight means that you work a straight 8 hours. Sundays are usually the days for straights so that half the group can catch morning sacrament meeting in Kanab and come back for the others to catch an afternoon sacrament meeting.
Winter Schedule Hours 8-8
OPEN
Kitchen 7:30-11:30 2:00-5:30 7:45-8:15
Waitri 7:45-11:45 2:00-5:30 7:45-8:15
Rover 8:00-12:00 2:00-5:30 7:45-8:15
CLOSE
Kitchen 11:00-3:00 4:00-8:15 15 min dinner break
Waitri 11:00-3:00 4:00-8:15 15 min dinner break
Rover 11:00-3:00 4:00-8:15 15 min dinner break
Mid Rover 9:30-1:30 3:00-6:00 7:15-8:15
During my break I decided that I ought to take a walk around the grounds of the lodge. There were several buildings that I still hadn’t been to or seen. I laced up my new boots and strapped on my gaiters. I walked around the front to the side where I found snow mobile tracks leading for the woods. I followed them a bit to the Forest Service station closed for the winter, then down a small hill and back behind where the volleyball/racquetball court was buried by three feet of snow. My mind turned to friction fires and how I could probably use the practice. I found a few worthy looking pieces of wood and carried them back to a bench outside the Forrest Service station. I had a bow, a few straight-ish dowels, and a small log that I thought might work as a fire board. I split it by using my knife as a wedge and a log as a hammer. After flattening both sides I made a small hole and notch like I’d remembered seeing so many years ago in Scouts. I still needed some kind of cap to hold the dowel with as I bowed… I found a piece of the log that might do the job and carved out a small hole. After bowing for several minutes and shooting my dowel into the snow a number of times, I concluded that my equipment wasn’t the best, and probably wasn’t too dry either. I fiddled around a bit more and then headed back to the lodge to wrap up my break.
My first couple of kitchen tickets were all over the place. I didn’t know the menu yet so I was describing things rather than abbreviating them. Then once I had gotten all the details down that time permitted I went to the kitchen with a menu and transcribed. Mike thought my full sentences were funny, and showed me a few abbreviations to make it quicker and more legible. Over the course of the afternoon I made two large mistakes. First of all, I didn’t know how to add in a tip to a Credit Card charge. So… someone who had added a five dollar tip didn’t get charged for it. My second mistake – Someone paid for a couple coffees with a five dollar bill and said to keep the change. I was excited because that meant tips! I put the bill in the tip jar without thinking to pay the cash register first, then put the remaining change in the tip jar.
Being here at Jacob Lake reminds me a bit of tourists in Guatemala. At Tikal you would meet people from all over the world. Here at the Lodge, I’d say more foreigners have been passing through than locals. It makes sense though; a local wouldn’t want to drive 45 minutes into the middle of nowhere just to eat one of our amazing meals.
Jacob Lake has been run by the Rich family for several generations. They own large portions of land out here and move their cattle back and forth over it. John, the oldest Rich son and now majority owner of JL, comes through every couple months to move cattle. He had finished his work and needed to gas up his rig before taking off. In order to charge gas to the company, you had to activate it from within the station. He asked that I come with him so that I could learn how to run the service station. As we were about to leave John realized he didn’t have the keys. He shouted over to the office to have them hand ‘Michael’ the keys. No one moved. They looked at each other rather confused. John asked again for “someone to hand Mike here the keys.” “Um… John? Who’s Michael?” John looked over at me and responded by putting his hand on my shoulder and saying, “Michael.” Pause… “or whatever the hell his name is… this young man here.” Everyone in the office busted up laughing, John wasn’t known to swear. I got the keys and we went outside to gas his truck. Almost instantly my name had changed to Michael. I guess if John wanted to call me Michael, then everyone else would as well. Michael evolved into my screw up name. When I made a mistake, we called it pulling a Michael.
At the end of each day we clean the place and prepare it for next morning. When everything is done the tip jar is spilled onto the counter and divided between the workers. Today we pulled in nine dollars each. Not bad for a winter day. I found a small stuff sack to put my tips in and hid it with my socks. I started a tip tally on a small half sheet of paper recording the days I worked and how much in tips I made. Maybe I’ll save all my tip money and do something fun with it at the end. We’ll see.
I hit the RecRoom for a bit to do some blogging and hit the sack.
Jacob Lake Inn
When I woke up in the morning Aunt Marla had gone to her kick boxing class. Bekah came up from downstairs and starting cooking crepes for breakfast. We listened to Michael Buble and danced around the kitchen a bit. Hannah and I did a country two step. I loaded up the last of my things and got Bekah’s birthday present out of the car. Several weeks ago she had mentioned that she wanted a new set of scriptures for Christmas. She knew however that it was highly unlikely that they would come because they were rather expensive and Santa was taking their family to Disneyland. I did some research/undercover work and found out that she wanted the compact size with a button, color burgundy. I asked her mother if she knew if anyone else was planning on getting Bekah new scriptures. She didn’t believe so, so I told her not to let anyone because I was going to. One thing that I wasn’t quite sure about was what to print on the front. Because girls have to change their name when they get married… I didn’t know if you left the last name blank until they do? Or what? And I was hoping that Bekah wouldn’t be a Hintze for too much longer. Aunt Marla calmed my soul by suggesting that her maiden name Hintze go on the front, and that she can put a plate over it should arise the need. I wasn’t quite ready to give it to her so I set it on the counter, slightly hidden next to a few other things. Aunt Marla returned while I was out of the room – maybe I was getting my camera from the car. She saw the scripture box on the counter and asked if I had given her her birthday present yet. “What my I Kiss Better Than I Cook sign? Yeah he gave it to me for graduation.” Aunt Marla bit her lip and quickly changed the subject. I returned with my camera and started saying my goodbyes. I told Bekah that since I wasn’t going to be there for her Birthday the following day, that I would have to give her her present then. I picked up the box and handed it to her. Bekah looked at the box in shock. “David are you serious! These are expensive!” I jokingly said not to worry about it, that it was just the box. She looked at me for a moment not knowing whether to believe me or not. She opened the box and saw her name inscripted in gold letters on her brand new set of burgundy compact leather scriptures, with a button snap. Her eyes welled up with tears and she gave me a big hug.
Every time I leave the Hintze neighborhood I seem to get turned around. I always end up going the wrong direction. However – after several attempts, I am getting better about correcting my mistakes. I made it back to the freeway and headed south for Arizona. A few miles down the road Bekah sent me a text thanking me once again for the gift. By now she had read the letter I left in the front cover. “David you made me cry. I don’t deserve it. Thank you so so so much. I love you!”
I made it to JL in about 7 hours. I ate a famous Six Dollar Burger from Carl’s Junior along the way. When I entered the lodge I was treated as a customer. “Welcome to Jacob Lake, if you need anything just let me know.” I asked the lady behind the counter for whoever was in charge - ‘That’s me.’ Oh hi! I’m David, I’m really hoping that you’re expecting me… She smiled and welcomed me to the Lodge. I was introduced to everyone and given the grand tour. They put me in a room with a queen sized bed and a door right to the parking lot. Afterwards they said that I had the night to bring my stuff in and set up my room.
Every time I leave the Hintze neighborhood I seem to get turned around. I always end up going the wrong direction. However – after several attempts, I am getting better about correcting my mistakes. I made it back to the freeway and headed south for Arizona. A few miles down the road Bekah sent me a text thanking me once again for the gift. By now she had read the letter I left in the front cover. “David you made me cry. I don’t deserve it. Thank you so so so much. I love you!”
I made it to JL in about 7 hours. I ate a famous Six Dollar Burger from Carl’s Junior along the way. When I entered the lodge I was treated as a customer. “Welcome to Jacob Lake, if you need anything just let me know.” I asked the lady behind the counter for whoever was in charge - ‘That’s me.’ Oh hi! I’m David, I’m really hoping that you’re expecting me… She smiled and welcomed me to the Lodge. I was introduced to everyone and given the grand tour. They put me in a room with a queen sized bed and a door right to the parking lot. Afterwards they said that I had the night to bring my stuff in and set up my room.
Adios Chewelah!
While still at school I arranged for my cousin Bekah Hintze to drive my car home with her to Utah at the end of the Fall Semester. I loaded it with things that I would need in AZ/UT for the next several months. I also sent down my tires so that I could change them for my studs when April rolled around. The rest of my stuff went back home to Washington in Jaymi Stricker’s van. We like to call it ‘The Beast.’ From home I would fly to UT to pick up my car and then make the 7 hour trek down to Jacob Lake, AZ.
Dana Fleming was also flying down to UT the same day I was – Sunday Morning. She and her mom were going to rent a room on the Air Force base right next to the airport so that they wouldn’t have to get up as early to get Dana in on time. My flight was an hour earlier than theirs, so they offered to let me stay with them as well; this way my parents wouldn’t have to wake up and leave at 3:00AM on a Sunday Morning. The whole Fleming family made it to Spokane with us, in two vehicles. We ate an Indian dinner and stopped by REI to do some last minute shopping. I found myself a compression sack for my new sleeping bag that I just had to have. After all, the colors matched and everything. Susan, Dana and I made our way to the Air Force Inn while the rest of the family took off for a movie. Once at the AF Inn I repacked my bags and hit the sack. We woke up at 4:30am to get me to the airport by 5:00am to catch a 6:00am flight.
Bekah picked me up in Salt Lake with her older sister’s car. We threw my bags in and headed back to West Jordan. I had flown in Sunday dress so that we could go straight to Church. We showed up for the last half of Sacrament meeting. After church I unloaded my car and drove back to SLC to pick up Dana and drop her off at a friend’s house in Alpine. When I returned to the Hintze home I stored my normal tires in their garage and repacked my car. That Sunday was ‘Dutch Oven Sunday - Oriental’ in the Hintze neighborhood. Two or three families got together and each brought a dish of Oriental Dutch Oven. There was a lot of rice and a couple different chicken concoctions that others had brought. I thought it best to load up on rice and pour the chicken amazingness on top. As I was leaving the kitchen to find a seat the lady of the house passed me and seemed rather surprise. She said, “Whoa, I hope you like it!’ I looked around and noticed that I had served myself a little bit more than everyone else had. Ooops. I think I turned a little bit red as I made my way into the dining area. Ha, I ate the first half super fast to try and hide the fact that I had more - of course not letting anyone see that I was wolfing it down. When I felt like I had an acceptable portion size I slowed down and began to enjoy it. I really liked the sweet chicken. After dinner the kids went to the basement to place Rock Band. They had me on vocals, how embarrassing. But to my surprise, and I believe everyone else’s, I didn’t do too bad. I think I scored high 90’s each time.
From dinner we hit Temple Square with a couple other friend’s of Bekah. The
lights were B… E… A.. utiful. We took way too many pictures and walked around until our toes and fingers were frozen. When we got back to the Hintze home, Aunt D, Uncle Russ and Jackie were waiting there to surprise us. They had spent Christmas with their daughters in SLC and had stopped by for a short visit. Jackie is tall and beautiful. She brought along a boy that she called ‘Her friend. Well, her boyfriend.’ Aunt D and I talked for a little bit about my future plans and how our families were doing. Little Dinah Hintze was super curious as to why Aunt Dedie was Aunt Dedie when her real name was Janice. I learned that night that Aunt D was a twin. However, I’d never met her sister because she’d died at birth. The best part about this conversation was when Jackie looked up rather quickly at her mother and said, “You had a twin mom?!” In our parting words Uncle Russ gave me a post card of the Columbia River Temple. Printed on the back was his name. His photography skills were now earning him a little bit of money. The local book store buys them from him for 50 cents apiece.
Usually when I stay at the Hintze home they have me sleep upstairs in Caleb or Dinah’s room. However, they were extremely messy and they hadn’t had time to do any arranging or prepping of the rooms. I had no problem with sleeping in a messy room but Uncle Frank insisted that I have a nice bed. He pumped up an air mattress, laid it out on the floor, covered it with a sheet, found a pillow, and topped it off with several layers of blankets. I offered to help and let him know that he needn’t do it all, but I kind of felt like he wanted to help me in some way… just the feeling that I got.
I think I’ll sidetrack for a moment and talk about my progress with the Hintze Family. Marla May is my mother’s half sister. They share the same father. I didn’t see or associate much with them because of where we both lived. The few memories I have of the Hintze family when I was younger are at Family Reunions at Salmon and ZCMI ice cream cones after Conference. Though I have a couple memories of my cousins, I didn’t really come to know Bekah or Hannah until we were all at school together. Over the last couple of semesters I’ve been invited back to their house a few times to spend time with them. At first I was a little uncomfortable. Not to be mistaken as a feeling of being out of place – rather a feeling of exploring new territory, I was a little more reserved than I would have normally carried myself. As I kept going back I felt more and more part of the family. And to top it all off - during one weekend that I was staying at their house, I decided to go out with a couple friends. I didn’t return until 2 or 3 that night and alarmed Samson the dog. I woke the whole house. When Aunt Marla didn’t kill me like I thought she would I knew she loved me. Now we have that experience to look back on and laugh. Also – Aunt Marla taught me a lot about my family that I didn’t ever know before. A lot about my ancestry and how our families came to be. I had heard bits and pieces from my mother and her siblings, but never had the stories laid out to me like Aunt Marla did one night. One thing that really stuck out in my mind was her closing comment saying that the effects of the Atonement run deep in our family, and are evident in our loving each other today.
Before bed I updated my Facebook status to read something to the effect of ‘Going into the wilderness, Facebook diet starts now.’
Dana Fleming was also flying down to UT the same day I was – Sunday Morning. She and her mom were going to rent a room on the Air Force base right next to the airport so that they wouldn’t have to get up as early to get Dana in on time. My flight was an hour earlier than theirs, so they offered to let me stay with them as well; this way my parents wouldn’t have to wake up and leave at 3:00AM on a Sunday Morning. The whole Fleming family made it to Spokane with us, in two vehicles. We ate an Indian dinner and stopped by REI to do some last minute shopping. I found myself a compression sack for my new sleeping bag that I just had to have. After all, the colors matched and everything. Susan, Dana and I made our way to the Air Force Inn while the rest of the family took off for a movie. Once at the AF Inn I repacked my bags and hit the sack. We woke up at 4:30am to get me to the airport by 5:00am to catch a 6:00am flight.
Bekah picked me up in Salt Lake with her older sister’s car. We threw my bags in and headed back to West Jordan. I had flown in Sunday dress so that we could go straight to Church. We showed up for the last half of Sacrament meeting. After church I unloaded my car and drove back to SLC to pick up Dana and drop her off at a friend’s house in Alpine. When I returned to the Hintze home I stored my normal tires in their garage and repacked my car. That Sunday was ‘Dutch Oven Sunday - Oriental’ in the Hintze neighborhood. Two or three families got together and each brought a dish of Oriental Dutch Oven. There was a lot of rice and a couple different chicken concoctions that others had brought. I thought it best to load up on rice and pour the chicken amazingness on top. As I was leaving the kitchen to find a seat the lady of the house passed me and seemed rather surprise. She said, “Whoa, I hope you like it!’ I looked around and noticed that I had served myself a little bit more than everyone else had. Ooops. I think I turned a little bit red as I made my way into the dining area. Ha, I ate the first half super fast to try and hide the fact that I had more - of course not letting anyone see that I was wolfing it down. When I felt like I had an acceptable portion size I slowed down and began to enjoy it. I really liked the sweet chicken. After dinner the kids went to the basement to place Rock Band. They had me on vocals, how embarrassing. But to my surprise, and I believe everyone else’s, I didn’t do too bad. I think I scored high 90’s each time.
From dinner we hit Temple Square with a couple other friend’s of Bekah. The
lights were B… E… A.. utiful. We took way too many pictures and walked around until our toes and fingers were frozen. When we got back to the Hintze home, Aunt D, Uncle Russ and Jackie were waiting there to surprise us. They had spent Christmas with their daughters in SLC and had stopped by for a short visit. Jackie is tall and beautiful. She brought along a boy that she called ‘Her friend. Well, her boyfriend.’ Aunt D and I talked for a little bit about my future plans and how our families were doing. Little Dinah Hintze was super curious as to why Aunt Dedie was Aunt Dedie when her real name was Janice. I learned that night that Aunt D was a twin. However, I’d never met her sister because she’d died at birth. The best part about this conversation was when Jackie looked up rather quickly at her mother and said, “You had a twin mom?!” In our parting words Uncle Russ gave me a post card of the Columbia River Temple. Printed on the back was his name. His photography skills were now earning him a little bit of money. The local book store buys them from him for 50 cents apiece.Usually when I stay at the Hintze home they have me sleep upstairs in Caleb or Dinah’s room. However, they were extremely messy and they hadn’t had time to do any arranging or prepping of the rooms. I had no problem with sleeping in a messy room but Uncle Frank insisted that I have a nice bed. He pumped up an air mattress, laid it out on the floor, covered it with a sheet, found a pillow, and topped it off with several layers of blankets. I offered to help and let him know that he needn’t do it all, but I kind of felt like he wanted to help me in some way… just the feeling that I got.
I think I’ll sidetrack for a moment and talk about my progress with the Hintze Family. Marla May is my mother’s half sister. They share the same father. I didn’t see or associate much with them because of where we both lived. The few memories I have of the Hintze family when I was younger are at Family Reunions at Salmon and ZCMI ice cream cones after Conference. Though I have a couple memories of my cousins, I didn’t really come to know Bekah or Hannah until we were all at school together. Over the last couple of semesters I’ve been invited back to their house a few times to spend time with them. At first I was a little uncomfortable. Not to be mistaken as a feeling of being out of place – rather a feeling of exploring new territory, I was a little more reserved than I would have normally carried myself. As I kept going back I felt more and more part of the family. And to top it all off - during one weekend that I was staying at their house, I decided to go out with a couple friends. I didn’t return until 2 or 3 that night and alarmed Samson the dog. I woke the whole house. When Aunt Marla didn’t kill me like I thought she would I knew she loved me. Now we have that experience to look back on and laugh. Also – Aunt Marla taught me a lot about my family that I didn’t ever know before. A lot about my ancestry and how our families came to be. I had heard bits and pieces from my mother and her siblings, but never had the stories laid out to me like Aunt Marla did one night. One thing that really stuck out in my mind was her closing comment saying that the effects of the Atonement run deep in our family, and are evident in our loving each other today.
Before bed I updated my Facebook status to read something to the effect of ‘Going into the wilderness, Facebook diet starts now.’
Jacob Lake Inn - From the Begining
I didn't know too many people when I first showed up at BYU-I last January. Of those few that I did know was Emily Brown, a good friend and old mission companion of my sister Jaymi. She invited me over for dinner by saying, and I quote, "Hope u don't already have plans for dinner tomorrow cause u will be eating here around 5:30." I still have that message saved on my phone. I got to know Emily's apartment and spent a lot of time with Chelsea Pelfrey. In our conversations I learned that she had worked for a couple different Wilderness Therapy programs over the last couple years. Her first Wilderness job was with WinGate out of Kanab, UT. Wilderness programs run an 8/6 schedule - 8 days on, 6 days off. Most people find housing nearby to spend their free time/ Chelsea however communted 30 minutes south to Jacob Lake, AZ where she worked at Jacob Lake Inn to make a little extra money. That is where she met and became good friends with Sarah Fisher from my home stake. I expressed my interest in working for a similar outfit and she encouraged me to look into Jacob Lake.
My second semester in Rexburg I was hired as a DJ for Campus Dances. I ran Country and Ballroom. Occasionally I would make the Social Board meetings where the planning of dances happened. There I met Johanna Hanks, one of the Student Directors of the organization. In getting to know her a little bit I learned that she had also worked at Jacob Lake with Chelsea and Sarah. That is also where she worked with and met her then boyfriend, and now husband. She wasn't as enthused about it as some where - but she as well encouraged me to look into it and said that I would have a blast.
During that first Winter Semester, I was running an errand while working in the Activities office. I walked by a large sign by the stairs in the MC building that said "Jacob Lake Inn, Conference room 244." I ran up quickly just to see what was going. I met MaryLynn Jensen, part of the Rich family and part owner/manager of JL Inn. I guess she was doing interviews for jobs the following semester. I explained that I was couldn't sit down with her then but that I could return in a few hours. When I came back she sat me down and started to explain a few things about JL. She started off with an old philospher Maslow and started talking about his 'heriarchy of needs.' If one has their basic needs taken care of such as food and shelter, they can worry about other aspects of life. Once those are taken care of then we can continue up the flow chart/pyramid and focus on other things. MaryLynn put the pieces together by saying that she will feed and house me, so that I can worry about being a better employee rather than how I was going to be paying for those necesities. A couple minutes into the interview Bryan Jensen, MaryLynn's husband, opened up the door and directed another student into the room. I guess it was a group interview, which would make sense because it was more an explanation rather than a discovery of my qualifications. MaryLynn had me explain Maslow's theory to the new student as best I could. I got the gist of it, and she took over and continued with job discriptions and expectations. Bryan brought in another student or two to join us, at which point MaryLynn got frustrated and told him to wait til next round because she couldn't keep reviewing the same information. When the group info meeting/interview was over, I explained that I wasn't going to be available until the Winter season when I was off track. She said that was fine, but that we would need to check back again when she made her rounds next semester. She also commented how she thought that I would do fairly well and was impressed that I took notes. "Yeah?" I said, "It's habbit. Helps me to better remember." I talked to her about the possibility of me splitting my time with a wilderness job in Ut. She said that it would be no problem at all, that they had done it before and would be very flexible. Awesome!
During the Fall Semester I was extremely involved on campus with Student Activities. I worked in the office as a Secretary, and on the side was a Coordinator of Weekly Dances. One of my bosses was Margaret Krusinski (spelling?). As you might guess, it turns out that she as well worked at JL for a semester! At this point I was a little more confident in my getting the job, so I started asking more logistical questions.
MaryLynn invited me to a Career Fair some months later so that we finalize a few things. She warned me that Winter business isn't nearly as busy as Summer or Fall. And made sure that I knew we would be out in the boonies 2 hours from the nearest Walmart. :) I reassured her that I would be fine, coming from a small town myself, and easily entertained in the outdoors. We shook on it and I got the job.
A few weeks later I got an email from MaryLynn asking if I knew of anyone else that would be interested in adventuring out to JL for the Winter. I asked several people that weren't interested, or that couldn't... And then I remembered Elder Walker from the mission. He was going to be off track as well and would probably appreciate getting away from home for a bit. I told him about it, sent him some info and contact numbers, did the same to MaryLynn, and he got the job. Excellent. :) Walker and I made our travel arrangements and started counting down the days.
My second semester in Rexburg I was hired as a DJ for Campus Dances. I ran Country and Ballroom. Occasionally I would make the Social Board meetings where the planning of dances happened. There I met Johanna Hanks, one of the Student Directors of the organization. In getting to know her a little bit I learned that she had also worked at Jacob Lake with Chelsea and Sarah. That is also where she worked with and met her then boyfriend, and now husband. She wasn't as enthused about it as some where - but she as well encouraged me to look into it and said that I would have a blast.
During that first Winter Semester, I was running an errand while working in the Activities office. I walked by a large sign by the stairs in the MC building that said "Jacob Lake Inn, Conference room 244." I ran up quickly just to see what was going. I met MaryLynn Jensen, part of the Rich family and part owner/manager of JL Inn. I guess she was doing interviews for jobs the following semester. I explained that I was couldn't sit down with her then but that I could return in a few hours. When I came back she sat me down and started to explain a few things about JL. She started off with an old philospher Maslow and started talking about his 'heriarchy of needs.' If one has their basic needs taken care of such as food and shelter, they can worry about other aspects of life. Once those are taken care of then we can continue up the flow chart/pyramid and focus on other things. MaryLynn put the pieces together by saying that she will feed and house me, so that I can worry about being a better employee rather than how I was going to be paying for those necesities. A couple minutes into the interview Bryan Jensen, MaryLynn's husband, opened up the door and directed another student into the room. I guess it was a group interview, which would make sense because it was more an explanation rather than a discovery of my qualifications. MaryLynn had me explain Maslow's theory to the new student as best I could. I got the gist of it, and she took over and continued with job discriptions and expectations. Bryan brought in another student or two to join us, at which point MaryLynn got frustrated and told him to wait til next round because she couldn't keep reviewing the same information. When the group info meeting/interview was over, I explained that I wasn't going to be available until the Winter season when I was off track. She said that was fine, but that we would need to check back again when she made her rounds next semester. She also commented how she thought that I would do fairly well and was impressed that I took notes. "Yeah?" I said, "It's habbit. Helps me to better remember." I talked to her about the possibility of me splitting my time with a wilderness job in Ut. She said that it would be no problem at all, that they had done it before and would be very flexible. Awesome!
During the Fall Semester I was extremely involved on campus with Student Activities. I worked in the office as a Secretary, and on the side was a Coordinator of Weekly Dances. One of my bosses was Margaret Krusinski (spelling?). As you might guess, it turns out that she as well worked at JL for a semester! At this point I was a little more confident in my getting the job, so I started asking more logistical questions.
MaryLynn invited me to a Career Fair some months later so that we finalize a few things. She warned me that Winter business isn't nearly as busy as Summer or Fall. And made sure that I knew we would be out in the boonies 2 hours from the nearest Walmart. :) I reassured her that I would be fine, coming from a small town myself, and easily entertained in the outdoors. We shook on it and I got the job.
A few weeks later I got an email from MaryLynn asking if I knew of anyone else that would be interested in adventuring out to JL for the Winter. I asked several people that weren't interested, or that couldn't... And then I remembered Elder Walker from the mission. He was going to be off track as well and would probably appreciate getting away from home for a bit. I told him about it, sent him some info and contact numbers, did the same to MaryLynn, and he got the job. Excellent. :) Walker and I made our travel arrangements and started counting down the days.
RedCliff Ascent - How it all began
29 July, 2009
Dear RedCliff Ascent,
Ever since I was a teenager I've wanted to work for a wilderness company. My interest deepened further when I saw the love and reverance that my Scout Master, Patrick Farneman, had for his own experience with your program some years ago. He introduced me to primitive skills and showed me how to live with only the basics. Truly - the more knowledge on has the less he needs. If invited to join your staff I know that I will have a positive impact on both the lives of the students I'll be serving and the other staff I'll be working alongside with...
Back in March I filled out the online application for RedCliff Ascent (RCA). I followed all the instructions and submitted my best work. As I understood it, they would look over it and get back to me to tell me they weren't interested or to request more information. I waited a few weeks and sent a follow up email to make sure they had received my application. Still nothing. Finally when I got home from school over the summer break I decided I ought to call the office and see what was going on. I talked to Darcy, the recruiting officer, about my situation and what I was to expect next. His reply was that they were swamped with applications and it appeared that I was still missing some paperwork. He told me to send in a packet of information, including a cover letter, resume and three letters of recommendation. I was thankful for my high school portfolio that had a few of those in there. I picked two of the best letters, had them updated, and sent them off with another letter from Patrick Farneman himself. Darcy then redirected me to the website to answer any questions that I might still have. When everything was received in the RCA office about a week letter, I received an email informing me that my application had been moved to 'active status' and that I was now on a rather lengthy waiting list. They would get back to me when things changed.
Several months later when I was trying to sort out my upcoming break from school, my thoughts returned to RCA and the odds of me ever getting in... I Facebook chatted a bit with Phil Montour, a friend from school, that was working for Anasazi down in Arizona. I explained a little bit about my situation and my fleeting hopes. He encouraged me to apply to Anasazi and gave me telephone and website information. Phil said that they had to at least replace him because his offtrack was ending and he would be returning to school.
My excited was returning as I thought through the possibilities. The only setback would be the driving distance back and forth to Jacob Lake - about 7 hours each way. I decided it was too far to commute each week. I instead looked into WinGate located in Kanab, Ut - just 30 minutes away from Jacob Lake. I did some internet research and began filling out their application. A few minutes into it I had the feeling that I should check back into RedCliff once more. I thought about it half a day and sent Pat Farneman a text. Not expecting it, he immediatly called me back. He had no idea I was still in class! I had to ignore it and call him back afterwards. I first apologized for being rude and sending him to voicemail and then told him everything that was going through my head. He recommended I call the RCA office back and ask for Scott Schill, AKA Medicine Bull, one of his old friends and now Field Director of the program.
When I called the office Darcy was rather confused that anyone would ask for Scott Schill. He explained that he was four hours away and unavailable. I think it perked his interest and he asked me to explain what was going on. I told him my story about how I had applied several months ago, sent in the requested paperwork, been put on 'active status,' and forgotten about yet again. He pulled up my file, started looking around a bit, asking different random questions followed by a 'hmm' or an 'ahhh.' Apparently when I initially applied back in March, I had only offered 4 months of availability. RCA requires 6 months for all new employees. After realizing this a few months later, I emailed them offering to defer a semester of school and commit 8 months. I guess that email slipped through the cracks, preventing myself from ever being a possibility for hire. Finally, he told me, "Ya know it's a miracle that you call right now, because we just had an opening in our January training session. We had one guy drop out, this is really going to help me out." Alleluia!! I stood up out of my seat and started pacing the Crossroads. Darcy took a few more pieces of information from me and explained a little bit about what to expect. He emailed me a packet to be filled out and brought along. I was to show up in Enterprise, UT Jan 7th to train for 9 days. Though attending the training isn't a guarantee of employment, it seems that Darcy was suggesting that I had a pretty good chance. I guess they do most of their selection/filtering of applicants with applications and letters of recommendation.
I called Farneman back and told him what had happened. He congratulated me and offered a few bits of advice.
Awesome.
Dear RedCliff Ascent,
Ever since I was a teenager I've wanted to work for a wilderness company. My interest deepened further when I saw the love and reverance that my Scout Master, Patrick Farneman, had for his own experience with your program some years ago. He introduced me to primitive skills and showed me how to live with only the basics. Truly - the more knowledge on has the less he needs. If invited to join your staff I know that I will have a positive impact on both the lives of the students I'll be serving and the other staff I'll be working alongside with...
Back in March I filled out the online application for RedCliff Ascent (RCA). I followed all the instructions and submitted my best work. As I understood it, they would look over it and get back to me to tell me they weren't interested or to request more information. I waited a few weeks and sent a follow up email to make sure they had received my application. Still nothing. Finally when I got home from school over the summer break I decided I ought to call the office and see what was going on. I talked to Darcy, the recruiting officer, about my situation and what I was to expect next. His reply was that they were swamped with applications and it appeared that I was still missing some paperwork. He told me to send in a packet of information, including a cover letter, resume and three letters of recommendation. I was thankful for my high school portfolio that had a few of those in there. I picked two of the best letters, had them updated, and sent them off with another letter from Patrick Farneman himself. Darcy then redirected me to the website to answer any questions that I might still have. When everything was received in the RCA office about a week letter, I received an email informing me that my application had been moved to 'active status' and that I was now on a rather lengthy waiting list. They would get back to me when things changed.
Several months later when I was trying to sort out my upcoming break from school, my thoughts returned to RCA and the odds of me ever getting in... I Facebook chatted a bit with Phil Montour, a friend from school, that was working for Anasazi down in Arizona. I explained a little bit about my situation and my fleeting hopes. He encouraged me to apply to Anasazi and gave me telephone and website information. Phil said that they had to at least replace him because his offtrack was ending and he would be returning to school.
My excited was returning as I thought through the possibilities. The only setback would be the driving distance back and forth to Jacob Lake - about 7 hours each way. I decided it was too far to commute each week. I instead looked into WinGate located in Kanab, Ut - just 30 minutes away from Jacob Lake. I did some internet research and began filling out their application. A few minutes into it I had the feeling that I should check back into RedCliff once more. I thought about it half a day and sent Pat Farneman a text. Not expecting it, he immediatly called me back. He had no idea I was still in class! I had to ignore it and call him back afterwards. I first apologized for being rude and sending him to voicemail and then told him everything that was going through my head. He recommended I call the RCA office back and ask for Scott Schill, AKA Medicine Bull, one of his old friends and now Field Director of the program.
When I called the office Darcy was rather confused that anyone would ask for Scott Schill. He explained that he was four hours away and unavailable. I think it perked his interest and he asked me to explain what was going on. I told him my story about how I had applied several months ago, sent in the requested paperwork, been put on 'active status,' and forgotten about yet again. He pulled up my file, started looking around a bit, asking different random questions followed by a 'hmm' or an 'ahhh.' Apparently when I initially applied back in March, I had only offered 4 months of availability. RCA requires 6 months for all new employees. After realizing this a few months later, I emailed them offering to defer a semester of school and commit 8 months. I guess that email slipped through the cracks, preventing myself from ever being a possibility for hire. Finally, he told me, "Ya know it's a miracle that you call right now, because we just had an opening in our January training session. We had one guy drop out, this is really going to help me out." Alleluia!! I stood up out of my seat and started pacing the Crossroads. Darcy took a few more pieces of information from me and explained a little bit about what to expect. He emailed me a packet to be filled out and brought along. I was to show up in Enterprise, UT Jan 7th to train for 9 days. Though attending the training isn't a guarantee of employment, it seems that Darcy was suggesting that I had a pretty good chance. I guess they do most of their selection/filtering of applicants with applications and letters of recommendation.
I called Farneman back and told him what had happened. He congratulated me and offered a few bits of advice.
Awesome.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
A Little About Me
I'm from a small town north of Spokane, Washington where I was born and raised. I'm the youngest of 6 kids and am NOT spoiled - contrary to common belief. I love life and enjoy most the smiles of other people.In high school I was a three sport athlete - Football, Wrestling, and Track. Great parents, teachers, coaches, church leaders, and other mentors have helped me shape my life and found the character and persona that I am today.
I graduated from Jenkins High School in 2006 and worked the following summer with Gib Earl and Dale Schurger keeping bees and harvesting honey. I then served a two year mission to a humble people of Guatemala where my love for my Savior was engrained upon my soul.
I have since returned and am continuing my education at the University of Brigham Young - Idaho. I'm studying Spanish Education and aspire to be an Administrator. I love the Rexburg campus and all that is has to offer. I'm extremely involved with Student Activities - ranging from Outdoor Adventures to Coaching Track to running Campus Dances to working in the Office as a secretary.
Through all my experiences I'm learning that you get out of life what you put into it - no matter what cards you are dealt. Take advantage of every opportunity to do good and good will find its way back to you.
My career goals are to complete my education at BYU-I, teach a few years wherever I'm hired, jump into a master's program to get my Administrative Credentials, land my first Admin job before I'm 30, work my tail off for 35-40 years, and finally retire.
Other goals include that of finding someone who can put up with me and all my quarks - have 10 or 15 kids (just kidding...) - raise up a family - and make a positive impact in my sphere of influence.
If I had complete control over what others thought of me, I would use only one word - honorable. And though I've been known for many things - not all positive - I'd like above all else to be recognized by my own as a good husband and father. I'd like to invest my greatest and most valuable resources back into my own family. I feel like those relationships that I establish here in this world are one of the few things that I will be able to take with me to the next. May God and whoever else help me to accomplish these things.
Hello World of Blogging
This is my first posting of many to come.
I hope to detail what's going on in my life to be able to keep those interested informed of my adventures and life endeavors.
If there are mistakes - don't judge, I'm new.
Happy Reading
I hope to detail what's going on in my life to be able to keep those interested informed of my adventures and life endeavors.
If there are mistakes - don't judge, I'm new.
Happy Reading
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