Eeee...
Well, another day, another... 8 dollars an hour, how ever much that adds up to. I found out why the pay is so good compared to regular staff pay at most boy scout summer camps - if you work in the backcountry (as I am), you are effectively on 24 hour call - camper rescue, search and rescue, etc etc. I'm not sure how many hours I'm working a day - it's sorta hard to tell.

The funny thing is that I got a check the day I got here - for two days pay. So, I didn't work at all and I got paid. Well, sorta. Ha. I got paid for two days in advance, as payday was on memorial day.

Still rather sun burnt, but a good bit less dehydrated. Which makes me rather happy. I got a baseball cap and this 'cool scarf' thing from the trading post to deal with the heat. The cool scarf thing soaks up water and forms some sort of gel inside that slowly releases the water over a period of 3-5 days.

I've been reading a few of the books I brought, and that's been very enjoyable.

It's kinda funny - 90 degree heat during the day, 30 degree cold during the night. Takes a little getting used to.

There is this nifty department nicknamed 'the wall', where one can get snack food for free, vending machine stuff and trail food and jerky and what not. You just sign for it, and there's a 10 item limit. So all in all, not too bad.

The scenery is awe-inspiring. I've taken a few photos, but have yet to find a way to get them uploaded to my webserver. The photo department here has the facilities, as I was told, but I ran into the director of the department the other day and was snippely (sp?) informed that 'we have them yes, but not for staff'. How nice.

The food here is actually pretty darn good for camp food. I am told that when the staff dining hall opens, we will be getting even better food. Heavens, save me.

The staff lounge where I am typing said entry is pretty damn noisy. Just like 30 people talking in loud voices inside a small area. Ow. Makes it rather hard to concentrate on anything.

My camp mates are pretty cool - My director Dan (who's only a year older than me - 24 - but looks like he's 30), Issac and Pete, bot cool to the bone, but laughably not even 21. Well, that's not really that funny. Well, for them. Well, let's be honest. I find it funny as hell. These two uber-cool dudes, and they can't even set foot in any bar here. And Ashley, who's getting married in late june to her fiance, Lewis, who is one of the camp directors. They're both from the same college, UNC in NC. She's 21. Lewis might be a bit older - I have no idea. Then there's Michelle - I almost always forget her. Because she really doesn't fit the picture. She's this middle-aged woman, a fair bit overweight and terribly nice. But I think 'black smithing, blackpowder shooting, boiled possum - and I don't see her for some reason in our group. But she worked hard at learning how to shoot the black powder rifles and cleaned them right along with us, so she'll probably turn out to be pretty cool.

I'm getting used to this place and it's nice. I just can't wait till this hellish training week is over and the real fun starts.