Lest you think all we did was work really hard (don't worry we did plenty of that), I'm dedicating this post to the fun things we did while we were in Bluff. There were a few things we didn't do that I wish we had (really, I drove past Arches National Park 3 times a month for 4 months and NEVER went in! Stupid. I'm going to have to fix that some day), but plenty of fun things we did do!
In January a balloon festival (hot air balloons) takes place in Bluff. Once upon a time in middle school I got to go up in a hot air balloon, but it was tethered to the ground so I didn't really count it as an "official" ride. Anyway, this balloon festival happens every year, so every year the new students at Design Build Bluff (DBB) go volunteer to crew the hot air balloons- in the hope that after being on the crew you'll get a ride (which usually happens). We got up really early on the appointed day and went to the community center where we waited for pilots to come request volunteers.
My buddy Hoku and I got selected to join a team and off we went to the elementary school which was their assigned launching ground. Here's what I learned: Hot air balloons are really, really, really big. We're talking a lot of fabric. And the equipment is really heavy. And you have to set up everything just right or you'll be in trouble later. Also, January is a really cold time to launch a hot air balloon. When it came time to put the air into the balloon Hoku and I had to hold the strings apart so they wouldn't tangle as the balloon filled- it was early January and it was one of those clear, freezing mornings- now add a constant powerful stream of air on your fingers and we were in serious pain. Eventually the balloon was filled, our fingers burned (we'd reached the it's so cold you're fingers are now on fire! stage), but we were ready to go.
First we were on the chase team, driving around in the truck keeping an eye on the balloon during its first flight. After they touched down, it was our turn to take a ride. I don't like heights, but this was so much fun! And surprisingly not scary. Really, I felt totally fine when we were up there- even when another balloon bumped into us. I would totally go for another hot air balloon ride- I'll have to see if there are any festivals around here where they need experienced crew members ;)
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| View from the sky |
Since we were living in the middle of an incredible landscape as part of our history class we took hikes (some with guides) to explore the area- we saw ruins and petroglyphs and other remnants of past cultures and communities. It's incredible how every place has such a unique and identifiable history, we're lucky to live in a time when we have people who can study these things and teach us about them- and recognize that there's so much more to learn!
One of our earliest hikes was out to Comb Ridge where we had this incredible view:
Another time, after an (almost) full day of work we visited the Sixteen House ruins on the Navajo Reservation.
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| View from the ruins. Smart ancient people. |
We took another day off to go hiking with a local guide who showed us more petroglyphs and ruins, and told us more about why they were there and what they meant. It's always nice to have a knowledgeable person there to tell you about what you're seeing!
I don't think I've ever appreciated the beauty of the desert southwest as much as I did during the semester I spent in Bluff. It's just so different from other places in the world, and it's impressive and stunning in its own way.
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| Monument Valley in the distance. |
Our biggest adventure of the semester was the camping trip to Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. So much fun. It's definitely another place I want to go back to. There are so many ruins to explore, and they're just incredible when you think about how long ago these were built and with what tools and methods they used to create them!
We had a blast relaxing outside, hiking, eating yummy grilled food, playing games, etc. Hoku, Sonal and I had fun having girls night with games and yummy snacks in our tent every night. It was so great to take a break and be outside (and not be doing construction haha).
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| So cool, right! |
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| Ancient steps. |
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| My best friends at DBB- Hoku and Sonal :) |
Not all of our fun activities were outside... like the time we had a Luau at the Scorup House (the pioneer house where we lived). At the beginning of the semester we had all been split into pairs and assigned a cooking night. The cooking team for the day either stayed back from the site or came back early so we had a yummy meal every night (As a side note, you eat a LOT more food when you're doing construction- 2 full plates of pasta was not unusual for anyone there- girls included (even the boys were impressed with how much we could eat). We had to learn to adjust our eating habits when we came back to SLC!). Hoku and I were cooking partners, and Hoku is from Hawaii, so naturally everyone was clamoring for us to make Luau food. We had to do some planning to make it fit in the budget but we finally had a Luau one night, complete with Hula lessons from Hoku. It took a lot more work than most of our meals, but it was a success! Delicious and so much fun.
And sometimes... sometimes we just had fun on the site (always after working hard of course).
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