Alas! An entry from Montana!

Well, I'm coming up on the two week mark for landing in Montana. As it turns out, internet does exist here, just only as VERY slow and unpredictable dial-up. So between its speed and its use by the ranch for office purposes, I don't really have internet in the sense most people are used to. But, I thought you guys deserved an update, so here I am.

My flights to Montana went well. On time for both if not even a little early. Flew into the Billings airport (largest city in Montana with a population of ~100,000). Found Phyllis, one of the owners, with ease as the airport is quite small. The ranch is very remote. About an hour and a half away from Big Timber, most of which is driven on a very poor dirt-and-boulder road. The address here is actually in McLeod, Montana, but McLeod basically just consists of a post office and a bar (The Roadkill).

Saw lots of wildlife in my time here so far. My first night in we saw a large adult Grizzly Bear across the way in a meadow! Very cool, as long as he stays across the river that is... I've also seen plenty of deer and elk, a coyote, several moose (one kept hanging around the "bunkhouse" where I live and thus was termed "Hannah's Moose" by the others), bald eagles, and several black bears.

The weather had been quite nice the first week I was here, but then this past week we had three days straight of cold snow! It was wet, heavy stuff, so it melted rather quickly, but nonetheless I was not exactly thrilled to see a sheet of white and be tromping through 4 or 5 inches of the stuff for that time. It's mostly gone again now, and instead we've been stuck with rain. It's supposed to get nice by mid-week though, so hopefully that holds true.

All but 2 staff have arrived at this point (both wranglers, one arriving today and one arriving tomorrow). For the most part, the other staff is great and I'm glad to be around them. The owners, Ron and Phyllis, are really great and treat the rest of us well. Phyllis and some of the others keep telling me how much they appreciate my hard work, so I must be doing something right thus far.

The first guests arrive June 1st (next Sunday), although there aren't very many guests the first two weeks. The first two sessions are "Wellness Weeks," something new they are trying this year. The horses won't be brought up the road (literally driven with people on horseback the 14 miles up the road) until June 6th, and so the regular sessions involving the horses won't begin until after the Wellness Weeks.

So far we've just been doing a lot of deep cleaning around the place-indoors and out- in preparation for the guests. The ranch had to be evacuated last year due to wildfires (cross your fingers it doesn't happen this year), and so the ranch was kind of left in less than ideal conditions at the end of last season. It's hard work, but bearable, and it will be worth it in the end when everything is spruced up and looking good. I think I will enjoy my time here more once guests arrive and we are able to get into a routine. I don't like having to ask what I'm supposed to be doing all of the time, and so it will be nice when everything is second nature and I can just go and do it with no questions asked.

I've been taking lots of pictures, but don't have anyway to get them on here currently unfortunately! I'll probably create entire albums on photobucket or something when I get back from the summer, so I'll be sure to link that here so you all can look through everything if you choose.

Things are going to get much crazier and busier here shortly, but I'll try to take some time to update this once every two weeks or so if I can! Otherwise, I've been writing lots of letters, and have only recieved two (thanks Dad and Papa and Grandma), so if you expect to keep getting my letters, write me back please!!! The address is PO Box 4, McLeod, MT, 59052, so now you all have no excuses!

So, in conclusion, I'm doing well, but missing home a bit more than I thought I would. I'm ready for the season to start, and working had until then.

Goodbye for now! Have a great holiday weekend everyone!

35 hours and counting....

It's Sunday evening, which means in roughly 35 hours, I'll be in the airport and getting ready to head to Montana. It's strange, because it still almost doesn't seem real to me. This, of course, is rather ridiculous, because as I just mentioned, we are down to an hour countdown! I think it's finally hit me that I'm leaving soon, it just hasn't quite sunk in yet that I will not be coming back for 3 1/2 months! Ah well. I am nearly no longer a teenager. It is time for me to do something off completely on my own for once!

I'm not really sure I have a ton to say today! These past few days have been rather busy but fun. Wednesday I finished up my last final and moved out that night. Odd to be done with two years of college already. Thursday I went downtown (Des Moines) to have lunch with my dad and get a tour of some of the Principle buildings. The buildings were really great looking, and lunch was fun. On Friday I did some shopping and then went to an Iowa Cubs game that night with my dad and my grandparents. I hadn't been to a baseball game in quite awhile, so it was nice to do so again. The weather held out for us and the I-Cubs even won (in one of the fastest games I've ever seen!). My grandpa even got a foulball (it bounced off some guy's hands and literally landed in his lap). Finders keepers. :P

Yesterday was a crazy day. Helped out with some major house cleaning, then headed up to Ames for my brother's college graduation (Congrats again Andy!). After that we headed back to our house in Ankeny for a little party. Two of my dad's brothers and their families were there, along with my dad's grandparents, my brother's fiance, her parents and one of her sisters. My dad grilled out and my mom made tons of delicious desserts (3 pies and one sheet of brownies!). It was a full house for sure, and I think a good time was had by all.

Today was just spent doing some more shopping. This afternoon my grandparents, parents and I went to see the movie "The Visitor." Very good film, but rather sad and depressing as well. Even moreso when you realize things like that are happening to people everyday in the U.S.

Anyway, I think that's about all I have to say! Check back later and I'll try to add some pictures from the I-Cubs game and graduation. This will be my last post before I leave, and therefore I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again! If you'd like the address of where I'll be at, talk to my parents.

Until next time....

Hannah

Pictures:

My dad and my grandma before the game...



















The game...

My grandpa and his ball

My grandpa and I

Fireworks after the game...

Graduates starting to file in (more grad pics to come!)
















My dad and I. Slightly bored before the ceremony.

Andy and I.

Andy, my mom, and I.

A cute picture of my dog. Just because....

Good-bye Classes

As of about half an hour ago, I am officially done with going to class (for this semester anyway) . I have three finals next week and will be done come Wednesday. It's exciting and crazy to think about. In less than a week, I'll be halfway done with my undergraduate degree. Furthermore, since I'll be studying in Ireland this fall, I have only three semesters left at Iowa State University. Which means, I've completed more semesters here than I have remaining!!

I also completed my last tutoring sessions this week. If you don't remember, I got dropped from my plant pathology lab job at the beginning of the semester due to budget cuts. I began tutoring in February for the second course in the chemistry series for science majors (Chem 178 for you ISU people). I ended up with 5 separate sessions, two of which met twice a week. I was kind of nervous in the beginning, as I can be a bit shy in front of groups, but it actually turned out to be a good fit for me. I never had more than 4 people in a group, and that was a good size. I don't think I'd ever like to be a professor teaching in front of 200+ kids at once, but 4 or less was definitely doable and even fun at times! It was also a great review for me for when I take the DAT (Dental Admission's Test) come September.

So, speaking of September, I figure I should give a rundown of my shenanigans (isn't that such a fun word?) after the dude ranch. I'll be flying home from Montana on August 31st, a Sunday. I'll be leaving from Des Moines for Ireland on Tuesday, September 9th. In that time frame that I'll be home, I'll be quite busy! My birthday is September 2nd (I won't be a teenager anymore!), I'm taking the DAT on September 4th, and my brother, Andy, is getting married on September 6th. I also hope to get up to Ames sometime in there to visit some of my college friends. I'm sure I'll also try to pack in some things like doctor's appointments, and oh yeah, packing for Ireland!!

So, Ireland. As I said, I'll be leaving for Ireland on September 9th. I'll be living in Cork (city), Ireland, and will be attending classes at the University of College Cork. Cork is the third largest city in Ireland (after Dublin and Belfast) and is located in Southern Ireland near the coast. The city is an important seaport. The River Lee runs through the heart of the city, and the apartment I'll be living in, Leeside Apartments, is located on the river near the city centre (notice the UK spelling! I'm practicing! ;)). Most of their apartment complexes there are similar to the style of Frederickson Court Apartments here in Ames. This means that there are usually between 1-6 bedrooms in an apartment, and you just pay to rent a room. I've heard the area I'll be living in is a great location, and I can't wait to experience it.

The University will between a 5 and 30 minute walk from my apartment (I've been told both of these numbers and everything in between by various people). The University has about 12,000 students and from what I can tell, a beautiful campus! From what I've been told, the system there is a bit different. Much less time is spent in class, and it's much more of a "work at your own pace" kind of thing. Meaning, very few assignments throughout the semester, with most of your score resting on a final exam or paper at the end. Of course, I'll have to tell more about this when I'm actually able to experience it first hand. At this point in time, I do not know what classes I will be taking there. I put in some of my preferences for courses in my application, but I will not know for awhile if I get into those ones or not. Apparently, after two weeks of classes, there is a college fair type thing where all of the departments set up booths and give you information about classes. At that point, you could apparently change all of your courses if you so chose.

Anyway, that's the bulk of information I know about Ireland at this time. I feel like I should perhaps know more, but at the same time I'd rather learn by experiencing. So I'll leave you all for now with some pictures of Ireland from the internet (yes, be jealous, be VERY jealous! :P).

Cork City

Shots from University College Cork

And other random shots from around Ireland.