Recap of last few months

Greetings all,

My stint here at Cuyahoga Valley National Park is entering its final stages. The seasons have come and gone and now it is Fall! The leaves are changing color, weather fluctuating between cold and warm (though the cold is winning out).

Photos below will summarize the last few months (in no particular order):

New goal - one post every week

Manhattan (view from Brooklyn)

MOMA

McSorley's Old Ale House, NYC

KSU vs Akron

Volunteering at a winery

Volunteering with Penn State Grad Students (shucking corn and counting corn ear worms)

Weezer - Del Mar Summer Concert Series

Doughnut Plant, NYC - try the Lavender Doughnut!

McSorley's for lunch

Dim Sum Brooklyn Style

And we're back

Time for a reload (not Matrix style) of this blog.

Let's start off with - Who wants to Hike the Pacific Crest Trail in 2011?

**Planning happens now so notify us ASAP

And keep it rolling waterfall style

Blue Hen Falls

Helloo,

Quick updates: Work has been going well, ankle is healing, weather right now is cool and sunny (sigh).

ComFest in Columbus,OH is a must go to if you enjoy good music and company.

Keep in touch, Hope all is well

New visitors in the backyard

Recommended Read

What state is round on both sides and hi in the middle?

Cuyahoga River

Long overdue update:

The first week of the project went well and we are into the latter stages of our second week, which will include the weekend. The mosquitoes are out in force, unfortunately there is little room left for any more bites (are around left eye swollen, look like Steve Nash in the 2nd round of the playoffs this year), sometimes you have to wonder why those insects exist (yes we know bats do eat them)

Our crew is getting along well and we are looking forward to our free days next week to explore more of the area. One destination will be the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Downtown Cleveland. Look out for pictures from that.

Here are a few pics, enjoy!

Last years fawn

Side note: Game 7 of the NBA Finals 2010 was a good defensive game, ugly offense but good defense. Got to give credit to both teams for going for the ultimate goal in their league, hope the two teams meet again next year. Props to Ron Artest, if anyone has dreams of getting into the NBA, watch how he plays defense and you will understand why coaches and teams love to have a lock down defender playing for them.

One of the old locks on the tow path (runs through the park)

Unsure of the name of this fungi but looks neat

Deep Lock Quarry

Recommended Movie

Oh, best way to stay in contact would probably be gmail or skype so please email or post your usernames, hope all is well,

Cheers

Rain Man

Wiffle (Pac Man) Ball

A week and a half at altitude and rainy weather may not be everyone's cup of team but it was a good experience for the team.

Payette Lake

After arriving in Ohio, the Corps Members got a few good work days in before we traveled to training.

Team Work on multiflora rose

Some highlights: we receieved Wilderness First Aid and CPR Certification, had some quality Chainsaw time and got to meet all the other Native Plant and Fire Monitoring Teams.
Learning about Fire Scars

Looking forward to some nice weather sometime but looks everywhere we go we run into one extreme or the other

Rain does cannot this ones curiousity

Btw, please email your skype and gmail screen names to better stay in contact (facebook hiatus)

The Blue Turf

Hope all is well,

Cheers

Unfotunately they do not allow dogs at the hotsprings

Quote of the week: "You know I was made in China" Little helper at the Camp

seal of approval

found this old clip (one of many that have yet to be posted)

an overdue update - the seals will not be evicted! Good job people!

Go out to the Cove in La Jolla and check them out when you get a chance,

Shout out to the SD people! Good times,

Cheers

Please HELP

A photo of our AB Group outside the underfunded school we taught environmental education at in Belize

Please help a friend who is a top 10 finalist to win $10,000 to help pay for college:

go to http://tuition-tailes.com/videos/795BD7CFC5B24AA3BCABD57FAA679F39.mp4

or to the homepage of:

http://tuition-tales.com/watch-video-contest-entry.asp

and vote for Tiffany Chiu or T C. from CALIFORNIA (CA) as her screen name

DON'T get it mixed up with the other Tiffany from Virginia

all you have to do is click on the video or click on the vote/checkmark icon and enter your email.

You will get a confirmation email and then click on that link to confirm the vote

from there you can vote EACH day until May 26th when the contest ends

You can also use as many emails as you have; if you have 5 emails then that's 5 votes a day.

Every vote counts so if you could spare a minute or two each day it would be greatly appreciated

A little background on Tiffany: I've worked with her on an Alternative Breaks Trip that went to Belize in the Spring of 2009 (which involved working at a national park in Belize with the local Mayan community). She was the Co-site leader and I was the alumni advisor. Even during finals week (this on top of a full load of classes and two jobs) she was busy making gifts for everyone in the group before we departed from LAX.

Building a Palapa at the camp site we stayed at

She took on an even harder leadership position this past year as the Alternative Breaks Co-Fundraising Chair that helped plan events to raise funds for all the Alternative Breaks Trips at UC San Diego (this on top of helping with another volunteer trip to Texas).

Her dedication to the causes she supports and her willingness to put others needs before hers is something I admire and respect.

Please, if you can help out, each vote counts and all it takes is a few clicks of your mouse.

Visiting ancient ruins at El Castillo

One stone at a time

Stones into Schools by Greg Mortenson

An inspirational book that picks up where Three Cups of Tea (another recommended read in previous posts) left off. Greg has helped empower people who were never given a chance to attend school or learn how to read. Education is a powerful tool and something that brings hope to the future.

A great read and a motivator for anyone out there to do great things.

Cheers

Next time you are out for a walk in the woods, take some time toadmire your surroundings

Noodles, yes please

Been a while since the last post:

Update: Found a Chinese Market in Cleveland' Chinatown and it was the highlight of the weekend. So many familiar sights and sounds, the smell of roast duck and fresh fish and vegetables mixed with the site of Pocky and fruits gummy packages brought joy to the little kid inside. I definitely stocked up on supplies and will be visiting again for many a reason.

Got into the field for some autumn olive and multiflora rose removal at a site that has been overrun with invasive species. 5 people can accomplish a lot in a few hours! Just make sure to bring sun block, lots of water and some determination. Looking forward to the big volunteer day next week with over 200 volunteers coming out to work on that site!

Scents of childhood

Cate Blanchett = best actress

The Ledges at CVNP

Well there should be some more pics and updates this weekend after River Day, the big volunteer event to help clean up Cuyahoga Valley National Park. And there was a request to bring more stories into the blog again so stay tuned. Hope all is well,

Cheers

Everyday

Recommended Read:

The Omnivore's Dilemma

A Natural History of Four Meals

by Michael Pollan

It doesn't matter if your are vegetarian, vegan, a meat eater or like the majority of people, an omnivore, i

if you love food you should take the time to read this book

On a side note (but related)

Need to visit Chez Panisse next time I'm in Berkeley, whose down?

Blue Bells

Another week already?

Here are a few shots of a small patch of wild flowers that have started to bloom

note garlic mustard (an invasive species) is slowly encroaching but no pics of that, don't worry we'll get working on that it's what we're here to do :)

will have to check on the other 2 flowers and their names

enjoy

a field of blue bells

up close blue bell

smurf day

High School Crew going after Autumn Olive

Hope you all had a Happy Earth Day

Bronco Country

One successful week of training later and we're back in Cavalier Country

A few pics below:

Ichiban

Planting Sage along the old Oregon Trail

Breathe in

Remember the game?

O, Hi O

Greetings sports fans and welcome to the newest edition chasing waterfalls.

To update you all we'll be working in Ohio at Cuyahoga Valley National Park for the rest of the year. Projects will focus mainly on invasive species and we'll be working alongside Park Staff and Volunteers.

Here's a quick look at where we'll be staying:

The Cuyahoga River: Attention ESYS Students, remember this one?

Living Room

Dining Room, Kitchen

What we are driving ;)

It went from being 83 on arrival to snowing 2 days later, welcome to April in Ohio. Well hope everyone is doing well, we're off to training next week and then we'll be back to gear up for the season. We'll get some waterfall pics in next time, until then you all take care and living it up,

Cheers,

Ty

Update

Probably will not be able to update the Tongariro Crossing Pics but will try.

New adventures coming soon.

REAL SOON.

Stay TUNED.

Cheers