My last epic Yosemite run...

This morning I was able to partake in the last of my epic Yosemite runs (for now at least). I accomplished a huge goal of being able to run to the top of Nevada falls without stopping or hiking! I continued up the Panorama Trail to Glacier Point, then came down the 4mile trail and back to Curry. I think it is about a total 17 mile loop! I am excited about getting back home and racing! I am signing up today for a half marathon in Charlotte in September, and seriously considering doing my first Ultra in October!

BUT, two interesting things happened that I need to note:

1. I ran into like 5 different Asian people with huge obnoxious bells on their backpacks coming down the Panorama trail. I had a hunch, but it finally annoyed me so much that I just had to stop and ask why the heck they were doing that. Of course, I got the answer, "to avoid the bears and animals." I don't exactly know what to think of this yet. I mean, I can understand the fear of wild things from a person who has lived in the city their whole lives and heard about animal attacks and what not. At least they are getting out onto a trail, loud obnoxious bell or no bell.

At the same time, it kind of made me a little angry and sad! But I know that I can't hold it against them, I need to seek to understand better this fear that they have. Are they just ignorant to the true nature of a Black Bear? Where does their fear come from?

2. I was running today in my Carolina Gamecocks softball shirt and I run into a guy wearing a Clemson shirt! It was funny because I stopped and said, "so i notice your shirt...." and we just laughed and said "the rivals meet even in the backcountry of california!!" It was funny stuff...

Last day of work tomorrow, crazy crazy that this summer has gone by so fast and been so incredibly awesome.

High Sierra Feast

Shimmering snow patch behind blue sky.

Red rock bleeding green sheets and purple.

Jagged peak topped powdery, fading into rounded rusty summit.

Faces and features as far as the eye can see.

Around the bend! Eyes lie on emerald green pools fed by a Sapphire lake, lush, tucked in by green meadows.

A carpet folds out in front.

Yellow carpet speckled with blazing pink. Then blue carpet making way for purple.

Scarlet Gilia, Mountain Penstemon, canvas of Indian Paintbrush.

Popping Lupine! Make way for the narrow path!

Intimidating pass looms ahead, not so distant.

Polished granite kissed by its glacial past.

Sticky sap of the dwarfed needle pine pleases the nose.

Shhh! the soft voice. Clicking through groves of Quaking Aspen-

yet another crystal-laid alpine lake!

Razor ridge line, slicing bright blue sky.

White cirque carved through black banded array.

Trickling stream as the ice bowl retreats.

Sinking sun pours golden caps on the rocky Teets, Minarets, and high San Joaquin.

Evening star invites the rest, the universe lays out as a sheet.

The bright band of billions ushers in my peaceful sleep.

And I wake up to find, His glory divine.

Grateful soul, fully satisified by a High Sierra Feast.

The AWESOMENESS

Here is the awesomeness of this week:

1. I got to lead some climbs which was a big goal for me this summer. Thanks broc!!! He's an awesome teacher!

2. I just got a letter in the mail from a visitor who went on a couple of my programs saying thank you, with pictures of me in action. It almost made me cry, it makes it all worth it!

2. The last few nights I have had a sweet British family at my films and we have chatted for a while after. They said I can come visit them in England anytime, and the high school girl and I are staying in touch over facebook and email

3.Got up and went climbing with my roommate Monica this morning. We did a fun 5.10b on toprope and just did laps on it! Felt really good to do a hard climb. Jumped in the river after!

4. I am coming home in seven days and I'm so happy! Have had a blast of a summer and love where I am going back to, so life is good.

New Stuff

So I am counting down the days now...seven days until I'm heading back to the beautiful NC. It is a little harder to work this week because I find myself looking so much foward to our fastpacking trip this weekend, as well as really excited about coming home and going to Mo's wedding!
It is easy to get an attitude like, "ok, i'm almost done, I've done my programs a ton of times now, I can just cruise on through to the end" But, I don't want to fall into that. Even though I may only do my program one more time, I still want to try new things and make it better.
I had some great feedback from a wonderful British lady with a sweet family the other night at my climbing film program. She suggested that since the film was a little dated, it needed to be more interactive for the kids and needed something to bring more understanding about the sport of climbing to people who have never done it. Especially bc the film talks about "petons, cams, nuts, protection, etc"....so why don't I have those things to show what they are???
DUH, I should have started out with an introduction of what they were going to be seeing, having actual petons on one side and cams and nuts on the other side- my talk neededs something tangible! So, next time I play the film, I am going to incorporate climbing props since I have them available for my use!
Also, I am playing around with my star program conclusion to have more of a "so what" at the end, talking about what our part is in preserving dark skies, and having some practical ways that people can get involved and care.
Yesterday I go to do a good bit of informal interp. I went out to the Lower Yosemite Falls trail with Jen and Jenna and we did some family activities about the watersheds in Yosemite. I liked it a lot. When doing informal interp, you really have to know your stuff bc people ask all kinds of questions! You also need some good hooks to keep people interested.
No one showed up for my Wee Wild Ones last night so I just ended up laying out the bear skin, skull, and paw and letting people come up and check it out, and tell them cool bear facts, and answer questions. I really had a lot of fun with it, and I even got tipped $12! It was awesome!

another sierra adventure

This weekend brought about another great sierra adventure! A very generous friend let me borrow his car, so Friday morning early I took off up to Tuolumne to climb with Broc, Glen, and Meghan. Broc was awesome and took off the wall early to come and meet up with me and let me lead some stuff. I lead a 5.6 crack called "puppy dome" to warm up, then later in the day we went to Daft Dome and I lead a few 5.7 and 5.8 cracks, and one had a fun 5.9 slab portion with a lot of Glacial Polish that was super cool! Learning to lead Trad was a big goal for me this summer, and I'm so thankful that Broc took the time to help me learn! Awesome!

Saturday I woke up early and drove over the Tioga pass to meet up with Meghan (my boss) and Bryan her bf to go for a long, Eastern Sierra running adventure. We did about a 20 mile loop that was absolutely indescribable. Big canyons, lots of high alpine lakes that are emerald green to deep turquiose blue in color, lined with almost white granite. Lush green high alpine meadows with thousands of colors and shapes and sizes of brilliant wildflowers. It was so beautiful. Beyond anything I have ever laid my eyes on! We ended the day with a beastly run down, a recovery in June lake, and a big pizza and a beer to top it off!

It was so fun to be with such awesome people. I am so thankful for Meghan, she has really made my summer such a sweet time. It is really fun to be around her!

My time is winding down and I have about 10 more days left in Yosemite! Crazy it has gone by so fast.

tourons are people too!

Sunday...I the official end to the week. I sit here in my office at 10:00 on the computer because I decided to cancel my star gazing program tonight due to lots of clouds and a HUGE full moon.
I had a great day (after my attitude adjustment described below) I had this renewed love for Yosemite's tourists again and I couldn't wait to go to work today and have conversations with people. I am supposed to hang out at the Ahwahnee hotel on sunday afternoons and ask people if they have questions about the hotel or the park, and just have some good conversation with visitors. I usually only stay for about an hour then make my way back to the office for research and program time. But, today I ended up staying around for over two hours just talking with different folks, and I had a blast!
I am learning that if you are going to work at a national park, or anywhere where your job is to serve visitors, you have to keep an appreciation and love for your visitors. I have to remind myself that people are here from all different walks of life, excited about being here, and eager to have fun...just like I am! Most of them are getting an experience of a lifetime, and I get to be a part of that for them.
When I lose sight of that, I lose that passion and motivation for my job. People just become annoying "tourons" instead of people having a significant family vacation or a couple on their anniversary trip, or a group of kids in nature for the first time....I am finding that whatever I do, I can not do my job well if I am not loving the people I am serving.

Attitude Adjustment

Had a bit of a frustrating weekend as I twisted my ankle pretty good bouldering on Thursday, and had a hurting knee on top of that. I was forced to say no to a lot of opportunities to go climbing and backpacking and running...which was so stinkin hard since I only have about two weeks left here in Yosemite. But, its crazy how the Lord turns everything good because slowing down for me is the hardest thing in the world to do, even though I tell the people here to do it all the time...sit back, relax, enjoy nature, rest in this moment...etc, but I find it so hard to do myself!
I ate a HUGE piece of humble pie yesterday, as the valley was crowded with weekend traffic and tourists everywhere, it was hot, and I was hurt with my panties in a wad bc my plans got wrecked. So here I am zooming around the bike paths on my bike, all annoyed at the number of tourists in my way, when turn a corner and have a close collision with a lady walking.
I stopped to make sure she was alright, and I felt bad, but I still had this attitude like...dang tourists need to watch where they are going!
Then she looked at me and said she was ok, but that I needed to "slow down, it's a pretty place, why are you in such a rush! slow down."
My first wicked instinct overtook me and I said "its different when you live here"
Then I thought to myself, ARE YOU SERIOUS? Who am I? I am in no rush. It was my day off, I had no where to be, nothing to do, yet I feel a need to rush around with my panties in a wad bc things weren't going exactly my way? Have I forgotten what a privilege I have been given to be able to live and work here in awesome Yosemite? the place people come from across the world to see?
The truth is I have.
It is so easy to lose sight of things, its kind of ridiculous. Needless to say, I had a small breakdown, repenting for my lack of gratitude, thanking God for my health...the fact that I can go out and run 15 miles and hike across mountains and bike and do all of these wonderful things. So many people out there are not able to do what I get to, I am so richly blessed.
Thank God for attitude adjustments.

Thank God for family

I stood on that tippy top point!! what a view....the most incredible one i've ever seen~ ->

I can't explain the way I feel right now, just that I want to burst with this love in my heart for my family. I am so thankful for all of you who are my family reading this right now. We have something special you know? The fact that we love and take care of each other. I wish all the people around me here got to experience that.

Mom and Jim came and visited me last week! It was awesome, we had a blast. They came to see my programs, and then we had some great adventures on my days off. We stayed in Oakhurst at a b&b, then made a day going to Glacier Point, the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequioas, stopped by Summit to check out the base camp, and had wine and chips and salsa with the sunset. The next day we went to tuolumne and I did a crazy burly awesome adventure to the top of unicorn peak while mom and jim took a more chill route down the beautiful Lylle Canyon on the JMT trail. We met back up and celebrated the awesomeness!

I really wish Dad, J n Meg, Sarah, Carter, Gmommy n Gdaddy, ok lets be honest...I wish all you guys could come visit!! but hopefully my life will take me to more awesome places like this one where you can come visit!

(internship post here guys) interpretation is like an onion...it has layers -donkey from shrek

Had my mid-season evaluation meeting with my supervisor yesterday. It was really encouraging. She instilled a lot of confidence in me and encouraged me to go out on a limb, take risks, and try new things. I also got some good feedback on things I can work on, like my nervous "stepping" habit and my funky transitions.

tasks for this week:

1. figure out how to make my stroll about John Muir's "saunterings" and the management balancing act of our national parks relevant to teenagers or young kids that come on my program

2. Get more activities for my family stroll so that I can be ready for anybody that comes on it.... two year old to eighty-two year old. Bring it on

3. What the heck are you going to do if the back rooms of the Ahwahnee are closed when you give your Ahwahnee tour sunday?

4. hitch hike to tuolumne to go climbing and camp out with amy, meg, and glen

Biggest lesson learned so far:

Interpretation is not a solid rock. It is like a parfait- with layers. You can not be a perfectionist and be an interpreter, or you will be stressed to the max 24/7. It is important to have a solid foundation, then build apon that foundation through trial and error. It takes time and experience... and it takes a light attitude to just have FUN with it!

where else but Montreat would your professor come kick it with you for a few days in Yosemite?

This week was a crazy one, but a lot of fun! Sunday was the 4^th of July celebration that we put on at Curry Village. I MC’d the talent show, but sadly, I made a little girl histerically cry and made her mom irate bc she didn’t make it into the show. Oops….what do you do? Despite that, it all went over really well and we got to celebrate with banana splits afterward. Dottie got here on Monday morning and we had a blast! We took her to Glacier Point and up to Tuolumne for a little hike. She came to see my star program, my stroll, Ahwahnee tour, and film, which was really cool bc she gave me some good feedback. She also fed me, Broc, and Amy really well…that mom that she is! Hoping it was a refreshing time for her as her life is so crazy right now.

Missing my friends and family a lot, but I have gotten to catch up with people this week, and that has been good! Still thinking about Summit Adventure and if that is how I want to spend my last semester at Montreat. I see how precious my life at Montreat is, but I am still torn with a call to a new adventure. This place is awesome, but my heart is in western NC. I hate this because I have to make a decision really soon. Oh Lord what to do!

new

It is another awesome and HOT day in Yosemite valley! Here has been my day so far:

1. wake up at 6:30

2. Jesus time by the river in my crazy creek

2.5. Talked to Morgan Besares on the phone (total highlight)

3. Breakfast with Courtney at seven, read the word together

4. Climbing with Broc at Swan Slabs where I lead my first trad route!! whoohh!! Unfortunately now I want my own trad rack

5. Went to work at 12:30

6. Did an Ahwahnee tour and my boss Meghan came to coach me. She had great things to say and I feel good about it! yay!

7. Ate snacks, going on break in a bit. Then I will do a Wee Wild Ones program at six, give an evening film program at eight thirty, and probably go hang out with folks or go for a night hike or boulder session maybe.

= Good day

Last night I did my first Astronomy program! I think it went really well and it was a whole lot of fun. I got to use the awesomely powerful laser pointer and the cool glow in the dark constellation maps. I had about 30 or so people come, and I even got tipped ten dollars! I cant believe how much I have learned and am able to teach to folks in such a small amount of time. It is a lot of fun, and I definitely think i'm meant to be an educator/interpreter of some form or fashion. Meghan gave me some good feedback on improving my Ahwahnee tour, so I'm going to work on that some more. It is good to learn from her and Emily bc they are really great at what they do.

Hilarious facts of the past few days:

1. Got asked to be a running model by Meghan for her boyfriend's article in trail running magazine on friday and told to wear "cute running clothes!!" haha

2. I ran about 10 miles yesterday morning and during that 10 miles, I ran up on 3 old ladies peeing on the trail. All different spots and different ladies.

3. I went to a concert/dance party-the band was called "pimps of joytime"

Looking forward to Dottie getting here on Monday and my Mom and Jim coming on Wednesday to see me in action and have some fun!

have I really been here over a month?

So finally an update on what is been going on this week in the life of Bekah. Here is a list of the highlights...

1. Spontaneously decided to hike the eight or nine miles to half dome at 1:00 in the morning, barely used a light bc of the full moon, got to the top of the 9,000ft granite hunker right when sun was poking its brilliant colors over the snowy sierra nevada horizon, ate a pb and bananna sandwich and drink a blue moon with my roomate becky, got to talk real about Jesus and apologize for how the church sucks a lot sometimes at showing who He is

2. Moved on Saturday over to the other side of the river where all the other people my age are, its a party all the time so its fun. Spent some quality time and had some good convos with my friend Courtney who is now my neighbor- Totally a friendship the Lord put together out of nowhere.

3. Got to go on Sunday to the service by Christian ministries in national parks- The three students that do that are now my neighbors as welll... God told me to pray over them, I did, hope I can help them out in the future with their stuff

4. Went climbing with broc on Friday and scrambled up to the middle Yosemite Falls that no one ever sees bc its hidden...stood in the mist and got soaked but it was awesome

5. Saw the freaking moonbow (full moon's light reflects off of yosemite falls mist and creates this crazy awesome bright rainbow in the middle of the night!)

6. Totally winged my first family stroll with pretty much NO preparation, and it didn't suck that bad!

7. Got my first "stary skies over yosemite" program tomorrow night and I'm super stoked

8. Dottie is coming a Week from today, and my mom and Jim are coming next wednesday to see me!!!!!!!!!!

9. Fighting for my joy and got it back

10. Learning a freakin ton

11. Missing carolina beaches, my brother and sister, and my sweet friends

my life is a movie

This week has been crazy but good! I'll start with my days off.... of course... Friday my roomate let me borrow her car, so me and courtney drove to Oakhurst (bout an hour outside the park) and took my bike to the shop and got new bearings on the back wheel so i can finally ride my bike! yay! We ate at this sweet hamburger joint that had zuccinni fries. Found a discount grocery to shop, and then went up to the Mariposa grove of Giant Sequioas and saw all the big monster trees! Stopped by wawona and saw Amelia for a little bit at her campsite. She seems to be doing well, her job is real cool!

Saturday I slept in then decided to go on a little solo trail run adventure. I ended up going up Yosemite falls, over to North Dome, then down Snow Creek Trail. It was a burly day but awesome, about 2o Miles! North Dome is the coolest view, google it if you have time.

As far as work goes..whooh...its a challenge. Fun though. I did my first twilight stroll the other night, titled "any place wild". The first one went HORRIBLE! it was so choppy and gross, so I was kinda discouraged. But the second time I did it was SO much better. I even got tipped $10!

Last night's wasn't the best, I have a lot to work on it...I want to change it up a good bit to make it more exciting for all audiences. Right now it is geared toward the adult city slicker that likes nature.

Today I am working on a new evening program about managed wildfire in Yosemite, as well as beginning to work on my astronomy program. My first "Stary Skies over Yosemite" program is This Sunday night! I have a TON to learn before then.

Yesterday was my first Tour of the Ahwahnee Hotel, and that went great. I felt really confident in my interp and I felt like the visitors were diggin it. I needed a confidence booster for sure.

As far as what I am learning...just get an idea, go with it, perfect it later. Trial and Error. Its been great experience for sure.

So that is what I have been up to...just livin the dream. I feel like sometimes my life is a movie that i am watching.

Like last night, I went climbing with some friends around 11:00 in the light of a almost full moon. We did the classic Yosemite granite crack climb. We sat out on a ledge for a long time, loking over the stary valley, and all I could say was, "wow, God." I am blessed beyond measure.

PS...I got some AWESOME packages this week (ahuh... aunt sandra and amy berry) I can't tell you how much love that made me feel. I am so so so blessed.

miss you all

b

Workin Workin

This week I have two new programs to work on. My kids program on bears is going really well, tonight I had 25 kids there! Crazy! I also did the evening film program and Curry Village and had almost 100 people in the crowd. Tomorrow I do my first twighlight stroll, which is about how Yosemite came to become the national park it is today by the passion and experiences that folks like John Muir, Galen Clark, Teddy Roosevelt, and Steven Mather had while they were visiting/living/ exploring here. I hope it goes well. I have a lot of work to do before tomorrow night! I am also starting to work on my Astronomy program and the tour of the Ahwahnee Hotel for next week. SO, as you can see, it is pretty busy. I have to use my brain a LOT which is good.The biggest thing I am learning about myself is that I am unfortunately, slightly perfectionist. I can't stand the fact that my program might not be really good the first time I do it. But, I am starting to see that it takes patience, trial and error, and that it is a process- which for those of you who know me well, know I don't do great with patience and trial and error.

So I am learning a ton right now about tons of things...myself included.

Bummer, my bike broke again. that sucks.

But all else is well. I went on a run to the top of Vernal falls yesterday, and that was incredible! There is so much power in that waterfall...its huge!

I was so sore from carrying a backpack everywhere and running up mountains, so this morning I took one of the free Yoga classes at the wellness center. It was pretty fun, and I met a cool girl that I will probably hang out with again this week and go climbing!

Miss all of you. Been encouraged by these words this week Isaiah 26

You will keep in perfect peace

all who trust in you,

all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

4 Trust in the Lord always,

for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.

5 He humbles the proud and brings down the arrogant city.

He brings it down to the dust.

6 The poor and oppressed trample it underfoot,

and the needy walk all over it.
7 But for those who are righteous,

the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right,

and you smooth out the path ahead of them.

8 Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws;

our heart’s desire is to glorify your name.

I will try to post pictures soon of me in my super nerdy orange shirt uniform with grandma pants, and pics of me cruising around Yosemite valley in the little electric mini car. Love it.

EPiC WeEkEnd

My first real weekend, and it was an epic one. My friends shawn, courtney, and I drove the Tioga pass (that just opened bc it is SO snowy up there still) through the high country, through Tuolomne Meadows, and over to the East side of the Sierras where there is a little town called Lee vining. There lies the legendary Mobil station (that i have heard about endlessly since i got here) that has a gourmet restaurant in it. We stopped there and ate fish tacos (awesome with mango!) overlooking Mono lake (a huge crazy colored lake that has these crazy islands with calcium deposit spire things). We then made our way south following a book my boss gave me to borrow from the 80's called 'Sierra Hot Springs'. We found the springs by following the directions..."turn left by the green church, then count three cattle guards and turn right down the dirt road until you reach a white dried up alkaline lake. Then walk .5 miles down the creek to the hot spring. Clothing optional. Best time to bathe at 4 or 5 pm" We appraoched to see a bunch of naked hippies bathing in the natural hot spring. hilarious. we stayed there until about sunset, hangin out with the hippies and other folks that came through, drinkin a few mammoth beers and looking out at this quiet meadow with the high sierras in the backdrop. Epic.

Today my friend Courtney and I (whose friendship has been totally awesome and divinely appointed for sure) did a beast of a hike. We started around 10:30, hiked up the four mile trail to glacier point, then took the panorama trail down to nevada falls. Then we hopped on the mist trail and took it all the way back to the valley, past vernal falls which is at its peak flow right now and RAGING! (please look at my pictures on FB) Finished the day with a blue moon and a little buffet action where I pounded some food after a 15 mile hike.

Bad news, my bike is out of commission YET AGAIN! so frustrating. I am hoping my boss's boyfriend can take a look at it when he gets back from skiing at mammoth this weekend.

Tomorrow is work again. I am doing a LOT of research and putting together an hour long twighlight stroll on the topic of wilderness. I'll let you know how it goes.

gettin in the swing of things

So i had some great adventures the past couple of days. Got to go climbing with Brock, Amelia, Meghan, and Glen. We did this route called nutcracker that was awesome. it was six pitches and you could see the whole valley from up there! beautiful!

Did my first program last night...it went well! I introduced a film about climber allen steck.

Today I give my first "wee wild ones" program for pre-schoolers. I developed a program about black bears, it should be pretty fun. (Dottie I will send you my outline!)

I will update you more later, I have to go laminate 25 cards that have bear prints on them for my game tonight :)

thanks to everyone who sent me packages and mail! it is so awesome

lots of love

b

interpretation is about connecting the resource to the visitor, for me it is connecting more than that

During solo time on our staff retreat, we were asked to write our personal relevance statement: why we are here and what our motivation is. This is mine....

When it comes down to the core of every person, we are all searching for something. All of us long to know who we are and we long for a sense of purpose and meaning in our lives beyond the surface. We all want to know why the heck we are here and what this is all about. In a sense, this is the journey we all share as human beings.
Yosemite is a place of wild beauty and majesty that puts the lives we have made for ourselves in fresh perspective. All of a sudden, we are small. We look at the wild and think, "maybe this way of life is not what I am intended for."
I believe John Muir, the man whose heartbeat is this place, understood this very well.
He saw that this natural beauty and majesty pointed to something bigger and something true.
Psalm 19 says, "The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. 2 Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. 3 They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard.[a] 4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world."
I feel like Muir understood this idea of connection to the creator. That in our humanness, we have created such a disconnect, such a broken bridge between us and the way of real life.
Knowing about the intricacies, the rhythms and workings of creation, and experiencing and enjoying the beauty and majesty here fosters a connection back to one huge intention of our lives is to be; to know our creator and enjoy him forever...that's right, enjoy Him.
Yosemite is a place where I get to enjoy Him. We have all been given gifts, abilities, and passions. Yosemite is a diving board for this journey- a place that provides the opportunity to enjoy Him by using these passions and gifts of educating and enlightening, gifts of relationships and passions for climbing, challenges, exploration....
Everyone leaves Yosemite with something of an experience. I hope to be a small influence on people's shared journey, and know that Yosemite will be a part of propelling mine forward as well.

the retreat

This weekend we went to a little cabin in the Merced grove of giant sequoia trees for our staff training retreat! I work with some really awesome people. The whole interpretation department went together which is our bosses Emily, Meghan, and Andrew, and all the staff Corey, Jenna, Veronica, and I. It was crazy because the weather was COLD and snowy/rainy when we got there Friday. We kept the wood stove burning the whole time and I got to chop a lot of wood which was super fun. The cabin we stayed in was restored- it was originally the cabin that was the first entrance to Yosemite way back in early 1900's. We played a lot of games and got to know each other a lot better. Everyone is full of energy and a lot of fun to hang out with. We had some great conversations about deeper stuff, everyone was really open to sharing about their lives.
When we woke up Saturday morning, the sun was shining and it warmed up to seventy degrees yesterday!
Last night I went bouldering (finally!) with the guy I work with corey and his friends chris and zach who are both from Tennessee, and zach just moved out here from asheville so we had a lot to talk about. A big group of us hiked up to this place called the couch, which is a big rock outcrop above tree-line that you can see the valley and all the stars! It was awesome! we watched the moon rise then walked over to Yosemite falls to see the moonbow, which very rarely happens. It is when the full moon hits the lower Yosemite Falls mist and causes a faint rainbow across the falls.
Today is my day off! Brock is coming to the valley and we are hopefully going to get on a wall and go climbing today. Its super crazy this weekend because there are a million tourists here for memorial day. Its kind of insane the amount of people.
Megan, brock's best friend's girlfriend, who i randomly met here is looking for a roommate, so i'm still praying about whether I am where I need to be living. She lives in a quieter place over near curry village, so it would be really cool. Please pray for me on that...
I will update with pictures soon!

ADDRESS

(photo by becky legel)

if any of you loved ones would like to send me a letter or a package, please do! My address is

Rebekah Henderson

General Delivery

Yosemite Village Post Office

Yosemite, CA 95389

__ or for Fed-ex/ups___

Rebekah Henderson

Employee Services

9013 Village Drive

Yosemite, CA 95389

****Please let me know if you send something bc it is general delivery, I have to go pick it up within a week of it getting there or they will get rid of it

**food is really expensive here so if you feel led to send healthy snacks, I will not argue with you :)

great is your faithfulness...

(photos by becky legel, my awesome roomate)

for all you who want to know what has Really been going on the past week...

Finally! I could tell the sun was welcoming this early morning through the little gash in the top of the canvas wall of my tent cabin. But despite the promise of the sun's warmth, a cold draft interrupted my cozy state as soon as I unzipped the top half of my sleeping bag. "Woman up, bekah, you can do it" I said to myself, mustering up the fervor to quickly roll out of the bed, brace the biting cold, strap on my rainbows, tromp outside to the bear locker where I would fumble around with the heavy clips to finally get my tupperware box of shower stuff out from the big metal container, and dash through the kitchen to try to get a shower before all the morning shift ladies got in there. I plopped down on the toilet (you have to hold it for a long time when your bathroom is a cold walk away at night) with my heavy head in my hands"Oh Lord, I need you today. I need to know you are with me"

As I sat (feeling more relieved by the second) a high pitched but soft voice rose out of the steamy rushing of the shower across the room, "Great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness, morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me," she continued to sing.

Tears came to my eyes, and I thanked Him. I thanked Him that I was not alone. That He is with me, and I am surrounded by people that love Him and know Him too, I just don't realize it yet. He is so much bigger!! I thanked him that this morning, his mercies are new and that He WILL PROVIDE all I need! This is so significant because when I got here, I was given the decision to live in Huff where pretty much everyone my age lives and hangs out, and its basically a crazy throw down party every night, its loud, and its where most of the people that climb and get out and do outdoors stuff are -or- to live behind the Awahnee dorms in one of three little quiet tent cabins with some quiet girls and a lot of older retired people. Of course I wanted to live where all the climbers and fun stuff was going on, mostly because I am scared to miss out on opportunities to do that stuff, but I also was nervous about how crazy it is over there and how everyone was basically like"yeah if you don't like to party and drink a lot, and you like to sleep at night, don't live here" So, my first couple of days here was agonizing over decisions (like i always tend to do), praying a lot and thinking a lot about what the heck I needed to do.

But here is the kicker

The day I was traveling here (friday), the Lord gave me this verse time and time again... Isaiah 30:15

"only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength..."

So as I knew what I needed to do, but I was just not wanting to be confident in God's provision, trusting that He will provide me with the opportunities to meet people and go out and do the things I love, especially if I was obedient in coming to him in a quiet place and resting in Him!

I am living in the quiet place, and I have met a lot of cool people here and all around.

Last night I had a crazy awesome conversation with two girls about religion and God, and why it seems to make no since to believe in only one thing. It was a beautiful conversation that lasted about 2 hours. I pray that the Lord will keep it going throughout the summer as my friendship with them grows. I pray that they will know the truth and the truth will set them free.

Also, my neighbor Tikka, came over and talked to me tonight. She noticed the books that were stacked on my shelf. Turns out she is a Christian and has done the Kay Arthur study that I am doing right now...her two roomates are two older retired ladies that she told me also know the Lord....WHAT THE HECK? why I don't trust His goodness, I don't know...its ridiculous.

"your ways are higher than my ways, and your thoughts are far beyond anything I can imagine..." Isaiah 55

"the lord works out all things to the good of those who love him and who have been called according to his purposes" romans 8

its about the business: the facts

(photos by my sweet roomate becky legel)

Today is Wednesday! The third day of training. Today was mostly classes about how to treat our guests. I didn't realize how huge of a company DNC is. They own/operate a ton of huge venues like stadiums, casinos, airports, and other national parks and resorts. I am working for a powerhouse of a company, which takes good care of their employees and there are a lot of opportunities with them in a lot of crazy cool places around the world. We had to learn our purpose as a DNC employee "to create special experiences one guest at a time." I understand now why the people at Chic-fil-a always say "my pleasure" to you. Its just good hospitality, and that is the nature of this business.

Yesterday's training was a lot more fun. We got to go on a hike up to Columbia point, which is about half way point of the Upper Yosemite Falls trail. The falls are just raging with huge amounts of water! Along the hike, our boss led us in a few discussions about the crazy history of Yosemite from the Native American peoples that settled here first, to the first white men, the crowd that came to explore/exploit in the gold rush of '49, John Muir (who is the freaking man btw) and how it eventually became a National Park. I felt really inspired by how John Muir's passion for this place ultimately saved it from total exploitation. Did you know that the man ALONE drew up the boundaries for this park because He had walked and explored them himself. (the park is about the size of the state of Rhode Island) Pretty Incredible. I learned that John Muir built a little cabin at the base of Yosemite Falls and he made it so a part of the creek would run right through his home. I am excited to read more about this fascinating man that was so in tune with the wilderness, yet so influential in the societal realm that He was able to ensure this wilderness was protected by the federal government.

To sum up what I learned the past two days:

1. I have a lot to learn...Yosemite has a PACKED history

2. the NPS and all of the park partners including DNC interpretive services (us), Yosemite Fund, Yosemite Foundation, Yosemite Institute, and Sierra Club all work together on interpretation in the park, and have come up with 13 interpretive themes for Yosemite that I get to build my talks around

3. Make eye contact with guests, smile, use their name at least 3 times during your interaction, dress neatly and professionally, use words like "my pleasure" and "how can I serve you" .....haha oh the business

starting it off...

My start has been a little crazy...I guess a little overwhelming trying to figure out where the best place to live is and all. But, I think I made a good decision. Its really cold and rainy right now, which is kind of a bummer. But, I still got to do some good exploring around the valley today. Brock and Amelia got here around 5 and brought me my stuff and we got to hang out for a while! That was so encouraging and really fun to know they are going to be here. Pray that Brock finds a job in the valley!

God provides! I was so lonely these past couple days, but my roomate that moved in with me is my co worker. Her name is Jenna and she is really cool. She is from this area, and knows a lot about it. I'm hoping we will get to go on some cool adventures!

Still on East Coast time, so I'm really tired tonight...short first post! But more to come...