Just Around the River Bend

Hello Again!
Here is a picture of the super neat hotspring hole at the Fairmont Hotsprings Resort in BC. A huge waterfall of hot water falling into a naturally occuring (and eroded!) hole in the rock! A tres beautiful and nifty experience!

This past weekend, my parents came out west, so we all hung out at my brothers place in Fairmont. It was good to be out of the city again. As for the adventure, we went tubing down the mighty COLD Columbia River. We sat in tubes where our bodies didn't have to touch the water because it was intensely freezing cold. At one point, I went to step out of the tube (so that we could re-oriente ourselves as to our location)...and the water happened to be deeper than expected. My whole body fell in, then I started getting pulled by a bit of an undertow of the moving water. I finally got a grip on some grass/shrubs on the bank and managed to pull myself out of it... and after all ... I lost my glasses in the Columbia...!
Monday I left to go out into the field.. we got rained out on Tuesday so came home Tuesday. We got two sites assessed on Monday though. Quaded around where a potential oil well would be put, listened and recorded present bird species, then systematically quaded around the radius of the potential oil well centre and observed and recorded anything of importance, ie. nests, burrows, birds, scat/pellets...etc. Oh... and the hotel that the company booked for me...was a honeymoon suite! It was a bit awkward I'd have to admit. I didn't know what to do with myself...so many different places to sit, 2 tvs, a fireplace, a kingsized bed....aaak! Tuesday I ended up driving the whole day. I quickly learnt how to drive a big truck pulling a trailer with two quads on top!!! I drove for about 6 hours straight... throughout eastern Alberta....to southern alberta, up through Lethbridge and back to Calgary again.
I can't stop thanking God for the job He's given me. He's blessed me so much... I just couldn't believe it...I was out listening and looking and identifying birds... FOR WORK! But it's also a continuous challenge sometimes with priorities and commitments. I'm fully committed to this project and to serving God about all else... even work... which is sometimes difficult. Today for example..I was really struggling because I got asked to do some bird and amphibian surveys in southern Manitoba all next week. WOW.. such a great opportunity... yet I had to refuse. It was so hard to do... but I had to. I'm committed to here. It's like God is challenging me in all aspects to seek Him more and to desire growing closer to Him.
Tomorrow, we're having another BBQ... we're praying a lot for it! Keep praying that God will bring out lots of people, that the rain will hold off, and that good conversations and fellowship will occur. This weekend, is our second and last retreat. We're going somewhere in the mountains... apparently getting to do some whitewater rafting, repelling, and more horseback riding! Any chance to get out of the city is exciting!
Stampede is coming up soon... and the business men are starting to polish their boots and beltbuckles! The town is slowly getting paced to transform into a cow-town! I was told to get a cowboy hat if I were going to be going to the Stampede... apparently EVERYone has one... and people would notice one without a cowboy hat... aaak!
Lately, I've been really enthused to playing outside. Doing anything: frisbee, just sliding in the wet grass/mud, biking (now that I have a BIKE!!!)... and such! It's becoming a bit of a distraction actually. I know I have lots of stuff to get done...yet aaaak... it's just so neat outside!
Well.. now that it's late again... I best cut this one off! Take care.
--Peace and Love--