Third Times the Charm...



stopping to eat lunch in an unknown location after
 getting lost in Kate's neighborhood

Well, we finally made it to Tokyo!  We weren’t sure we would make it, but we landed safely at Narita airport, navigated our way to Yoyogi Uehara subway station, and met up with our friend Kate Staples at the nearby Starbucks. 

We are enjoying Asia and in lots of ways it just feels like coming home to something familiar.  No culture shock.  No worrying about getting lost (been there and done that…we always manage to find our way).  And no frustration about the language barrier/lack of English (you just learn to go with the flow).

Honestly, the most anxiety we have had so far was still in America when I (Teresa) stupidly walked through a gate at the seattle airport, cutting me off from Jesse and our connecting flight to Tokyo.  Forget about the guard standing by the gate or all the “do not enter/ exit” signs.  Nooo, why would I pay any attention to those?  I was too concerned about finding the snack bar!  I am sure I looked pretty silly jumping up and down, waving my arms and trying to yell through the sound proof glass to let me husband know I had made a terrible mistake and couldn’t get back through.  I pleaded with the guard a little but to no avail I still needed to restart the process of checking into the airport, and going through all of security.  Thankfully the line wasn’t terrible long and we still had a good hour before boarding time, so all was well and we even made it to the united club in time to grab some snacks for the 10 hr. flight. 

So far so good!  I am feeling better (got sick Saturday morning).  Jesse has not gotten sick (phew!)  And it has been great catching up with the wonderful Kate Staples.  We are all 3 looking forward to continuing our adventures in Asia over the next few weeks J 

Hey Ranger!

At last...the long awaited glamour shots of us in our volunteer ranger uniforms....

Teresa high atop El Morro, examining some
 petroglyphs with Ranger Lee

 

The brave rangers out on patrol

 

Working the Register



 

And possibly the most exciting news since we've arrived.... Jesse will soon be trading in his Volunteer uniform for the REAL THING! Starting next February Jesse will be a National Park Ranger here at El Morro.

National Parks of the Southwest

Good news everyone!  We have been able to start volunteering (oh, New Mexico, you were worth us packing our bags once again and moving).  Perhaps even better news is that we have been able to visit two National Parks in the last two weeks J 

Grand Canyon Sunset

First stop Grand Canyon.  We visited the park right before the government reopened and it was being run by the State.  Thank you governor of Arizona - we appreciated your decision.  We spent close to 3 days camping, taking pictures, hiking the rim, and a very steep hike to the bottom of the canyon and back up.  Even though our legs didn’t appreciate the trip, we had a wonderful time! 

Lunch at the bottom of the Canyon



We just got back from a trip to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.  The park is famous for its ancient cliff dwellings…which we got to hike right up to!  It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has some of the most amazing ruins we have ever seen in our travels.  One of our favorite ruins was Spruce Tree House that has a wonderful canyon trail linked to it.  Once we hiked to the bottom of the canyon in became apparent we weren’t the only ones who enjoyed this trail.  Yes folks, we saw so much bear scat that we lost count after 2 wet, fresh, piles of poo and a paw print. 

Mesa Verde

The Southwest has treated us well so far and we hope to continue to fill our weekends with wonderful outings.

By the way, check our blog soon for pictures of us sporting our new volunteer ranger outfits!

Wandering New Mexico

So…things haven’t gone quite according to plan this fall.  We intended to spend the fall and winter in Lincoln, maybe working at Cabela’s and maybe building a snowman or two.  But, an unexpected opportunity came up for both of us to spend a few months volunteering for the National Park Service at El Morro National Monument in New Mexico.  Because Park Service positions are quite hard to come by, we couldn’t pass the opportunity up.

Unfortunately, our first day of volunteering coincided with the first day of the government shutdown…

So, we have been allowed to stay in our housing at the monument but now have A LOT of time off.  We have been trying to stay busy-lots of school-work, volcano climbing, ice-cave exploring, and wolf-watching- you’re basic New Mexico activities.

Hopefully the parks can open back up soon, and in the meantime if anyone wants to visit us we have a pull-out couch and a wide-open schedule J

Here’s to hoping, along with the rest of America, that the government gets their act together sooner rather than later!

Our Last Southern Blog (That We Know Of...)

A tarantula we found outside our dorm

 

We are finishing up our time in the Ozarks and will soon be heading back to Nebraska.  Last weekend was an exciting one though, a wonderful blend of Ligers, Lions, and Luck (Jesse ate a four leaf clover).  We visited the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, a home for rescued big cats and bears.  It turns out you used to be able to buy baby wild animals as easily as you could buy candy cigarettes for a minor.  But of course, wild animals don't make the best pets and are difficult to take care of.  Many of these animals end up abandoned and in poor health when their elderly owners no longer can take care of them, and that's where the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge steps in!

The highlights of the refuge included a liger, Bam Bam the grizzly bear, and knowing that the money spent on our snow cones went to a good cause.  If you want to find out a little more or even donate to a good cause, then click here.

It was a lot different than a zoo.  To us, the animals seemed far more active, and enjoyed showing off for people (probably because they grew up being handled by them).  We got to hear tigers growling, pumas snarling, lions roaring, and see Bam Bam balancing on his head.  What a ham...I mean bear!



One of our fishing trips in the kayaks

We cliff dove from the very top!  First you have
to swim to the base of the cliff, then there
 is a rope you have to use to climb
 to the top.

Our first time out in the resort kayaks

A Bug's Life

 

En-to-mol-o-gy:  The branch of zoology concerned with the study of insects



Our cool bug exploring hats

In May Jesse started taking Master’s classes studying science for educators with a focus in entomology.  So far he has completed one semester of summer classes and is getting ready for fall classes.  It is not uncommon for our co-workers to see us chasing around butterflies, moths, beetles…basically anything with six legs, and freezing them.  He has been doing a GREAT job balancing classes and work and I will do my best to continue supporting him even when his bugs take up my freezer space and I find one  forgotten in the warm oven after 3 hrs …*ahem



Of course out of all the wonderful bugs out there, I would have to agree with my husband that butterflies and beetles are my favorite.  Beetles are fun to pin and butterflies…even though they are stupid…are great for practicing photography.  Jesse and I had so much fun the other week visiting the Butterfly Palace in Branson, MO and working on our photo skills!

 

 

*Warning:   Even though people considered our time in S. Korea to be dangerous  because of nuclear threats and what not…It seems to us that Korea is nothing compared to all the venomous snakes, tarantulas, black widows, poison ivy, and scorpions we have found crawling around and getting into our homes while in the South.   





Life in the Ozarks

We have been working this summer at Stonewater Resort on Table Rock Lake in Missouri (there's lots of poison ivy if anyone was wondering- we know from painful experience).  After a spring spent in Alabama, we did make one awesome detour on the way back home...Mammoth Cave National Park, where we had our very first adventure cave tour. Wowzers!




Our Adventure Cave tour

So, what have our TOP TEN adventures and good times in Missouri been in case you are curious?   Hmmm, let us see...



#10  Kayaking

#9  Spending the afternoon in a hammock

#8  Tubing!

#7  Sitting on a boat watching fireworks (even if it was the 6th of July)

#6  Catching over 100 bugs for master classes

#5  Pizza Hut dates on the lake

#4  Cliff Diving 25-30 feet into the lake!

#3  Taking pictures of tropical butterflies at the Butterfly Palace

#2  Going camping and not worrying about getting eatin' by a bear



And the #1 adventure and good time spent in Missouri (drum roll please)...



#1  Our weekends with family!



The Gunn family made a trip down South to visit Branson a week ago, and were gracious enough to let us spend some time with them and the kids.  By far, one of the best weekends we had spent thus far.  We rode on a Segway, went to dinner and a show, fed some fish at a hatchery, climbed a tower, and enjoyed a day at the waterpark with the fearless kids.  Whoa, we had fun and sure stayed busy!

This last weekend, Ma and Pa Barry made there 2nd annual trip to visit us kids at our summer stomping grounds.  We spent time in Branson exploring Talking Rocks Cave (our 6th cave for the year), climbing through walls, mini golfing with an underwater cougar,  and getting sung to while eating dinner.  Oh, what fun!