Resting on the day off :)

I'm taking it easy for my day off today ... I actually skipped work Monday because I was so dizzy that I could hardly get out of bed. I went to the doctor and discovered that I was dehydrated, so I am making a big effort to drink plenty of water! Have to take care of this baby! Today is my only "day off" before I work the next 6 days straight, then I will have 4 days off for the 4th of July. I am planning a trip to Twin Falls and Pocatello, ID, to do some shopping at "real" stores and to visit Wheaton friends! I am excited for the weekend, I think it will be a great mini vacation from work. After I get back, there will be only 6 weeks left of my internship. Crazy how time flies!

Is this where it gets hard?

No new pictures, sorry everyone :) It's been one of those weeks that I am only too grateful to make it through. I had food stolen from me twice, and today at church a woman was kind enough to tell me that "you look awfully large for only being 6 months along". Thanks a lot, lady. That is the last thing you tell a pregnant woman!

It isn't that things are so bad ... the sun is shining and life is good. I just find myself missing my husband and my friends back in Rapid City terribly. And I know that I cannot complain because I have chosen this for myself. I just keep telling myself that it's for the better that I'm here to give Josh space to work on his thesis. I keep believing that this must be where God wants me, otherwise why would He put me here? But then the doubts start creeping in, and I can't help but wonder ... did I hear God right? Or did I just talk myself into this? Am I completely crazy to spend my summer pregnant with our first child in a completely random, lonely Nevada town? Is this REALLY God? Or is it me? I don't know. And at this point I can't turn around and go back, I'm in for the long haul. So all that I can say now is that I will be spending the summer in prayer, on those long bus rides at 4:30 am when I'm trying desperately to sleep but my mind won't stop churning...

Life is so strange. It doesn't often end up where I expect it to be, in fact it is usually very different. And as much as I long to settle I almost wonder if God will just keep us moving from community to community. Whatever He's got in store, I've got to keep remembering that He knows best. Sometimes, it's just hard.

Enjoying Sunshine and Flowers :)

I thought it might be nice to give my picture an explanation ... I spent my Sunday (only "day off") at church, the laundromat, and I also went up on the hillsides for a little bike & hike.

I got a nice sunburn from my time enjoying the sun, but it was well worth it! The mountain flowers were blooming and the weather was picture perfect. I hiked when I got to some steep sections that I could no longer bike up. Behind me is the "city" of Elko laying in the valley. A typical day in Nevada, and a good way to spend a day off!

Week 2 Disappointment

My second week of work started off Monday with the expectation on my part that I would receive underground induction training. However, that plan was quickly halted as my supervisor and the head geologist pulled me aside. I am officially banned from the underground mine, due to the fact that mercury exists in vapor form underground and I am pregnant. I was hugely disappointed and also felt excessively guilty that I did not forewarn my supervisor of the pregnancy part, but they were extremely nice about the whole thing. I had no idea it would be such a big deal ... I guess that Barrick is playing on the side of caution. Even if there is not imminent danger, the possibility exists for mercury exposure and they would rather not have the possibility of it harming me or more specifically the baby.

So while everyone else trained, I hung around the office and read some geology papers. The week rapidly improved towards the end, when I was shown how to log chips. At least I could feel semi-productive! And I will get open pit hydrology / geology exposure throughout the summer, so I won't miss out on everything. It's still hard to be left behind when everyone else is going underground!

All in all, I am thankful I still have a job, excellent coworkers, and a great learning opportunity. I worked Tuesday - Saturday, so I even got an extra 10 hours this week. And my supervisor is happy to let me work as much as I want to, so that will be good for the bank account, especially considering our current financial circumstances! There are blessings even in the disappointments, and I think it will be a good summer after all.

I went up to Lamoille Canyon again to visit and found lots of snow and sunshine, so I hiked up next to a waterfall and hung out for a little bit reading my book. It was a beautiful afternoon!

Mountain City Try 2

I did find the alternate way to Mountain City, and drove all the way to Owyhee (which is really close to Idaho, actually). I headed out with a semi-full tank of gas to take advantage of my last day off for a week. I was surprised to discover a huge, beautiful lake at Big Bend / Wildhorse Reservoir, and I followed the curves through a canyon to Mountain City. It wasn't actually in the mountains, as I kind of was expecting it to be, but it was in a beautiful area!

I brought the bike along (as always) to see if I could find some fun paths to bike through the countryside, but the only trails led down to overflowing streams from all the recent rain. After crossing the same creek 4 times I decided to turn back. The water seemed to get deeper every time. I will have to wait for true summer before the trails will be rideable. I did hop out for a quick ride around the Big Bend area, which was relaxing and beautiful.

On the way home I was worried I would almost run out of gas! And that would not be fun. I have to think twice about these trips, I should really tell someone where I am going and when I plan to come back, in case something were to happen with the car. It wouldn't be fun to have to bike 15 miles into town to get gas and bike 15 miles uphill on the way back to fill up the car. Fortunately, this time I made it to the gas station, but it definitely gave me food for thought! A cell phone free life is really nice but can also be inconvenient and frustrating in circumstances like this!

I hung out with some of the other interns yesterday for a BBQ and the night before for dinner. All in all, a fun weekend!

40 hours of training ... and 12 hours of bus riding

My first week of work is officially completed! I don't have much to show for the week, due to the fact that all I really did was sit in a classroom watching numerous powerpoints and training videos on every facet of possible hazard in a gold mine. However, I do have one photo of my cool standard mine outfit next to one of the massive haul trucks. We got to tour the mine on the final day of training, which was the highlight of the week. This place is huge!

Oh, and the 12 hrs of bus riding? The mine is located 1 1/2 hrs from Elko, where we are staying, out in the middle of nowhere, Nevada. So we get on the bus at 4:15 am, get dropped off to work 6 am to 4 pm, and return to the bus stop at about 5:30 pm. Good thing I have mastered the ability to sleep on a bus. As it is, I still have to get to bed before 9 pm to be functional the next morning. Once you get used to the routine, it isn't that bad. It only leaves me about 3 hrs of free time in the evenings, which are generally taken up by working out, eating dinner, and relaxing for a bit. Busy, busy, but at least the time will fly by fast. It certainly isn't as bad as it sounds. Life is good!

Off to Harrison Pass

In my final day of exploration before the big job began, I decided to drive past Jiggs and towards Harrison Pass, in the locally acclaimed Ruby Mountains. It was beautiful and the weather was perfect, just the right temperature. I was excited to see all sorts of fun granite formations, and I decided to hike / bike up the closest hill. What I didn't anticipate was the effect of the elevation at ~7000 ft. Yeah, the hiking / pushing the bike took a lot out of me! But the view, and the fun rocks, at the top were well worth it.

The only thing that concerned me were some massive black beetles along the path - they looked kinda scary. I tried to get a picture but wasn't able to get one that did it justice :)

After I picnicked on the hill and rode my bike down, I drove to the other side of the pass on a road built of grus (highly weathered granite rock for the non-geologists). On the other side was only a T intersection, with a ranch to the left and a wildlife preserve to the right. I drove to the wildlife preserve, which ended up being an extensive marsh, and circled on the "wildlife view loop", watching a huge variety of birds, before turning back around and heading home so I could get to bed early before an early morning and busy week of training.