Day 25. Of horse corrals and swimming pools.

Day 25 began in the same way most do... however this time we were awake and there to witness it. This was a fun exercise and also a bit of a reminder that most ranchers work a great deal harder than I do (at least on average). We woke up and grabbed some breakfast, and by 5am ish half of us were headed up the mountain to start working.

We arrived up top about 30-45 minutes later and got rolling on a row of fenceposts. These were not ordinary fenceposts though, when Ben builds a corral he does it right, so the posts we were sinking were old railroad ties. Incredibly heavy buggers that are also soaked in a fair bit of creosote tar so they don't rot. Over the course of the day we managed to get 3 sides of a big pen done, and what stopped us was the auger on the skid-steer broke. It was near the time we were out of energy anyway but 5 of us finished the last side by hand while most of the crew headed back down the hill.

Eventually the truck made its way back up to pick us up and get some of the tools, and by this time we'd long since discovered that the soda cooler had been left behind and reduced it to merely an ice cooler. We also were all tired enough that somewhat insane hilarity ensued. The restorative power of laughter is great stuff.

hmm... after returning to the base of the mountain we discovered camp had been packed up and we were ready to roll across town to our next temporary home.

We made our magical journey and arrived, set up camp, and fairly promptly began to swim. yaay swimming! It was quite refreshing but did quickly devolve into a tiny rendition of lake day where your sucess hinged on how often you got dunked.

We ate dunner and then sleep happened. I felt somewhat inclined to write these posts last night but was tired enough that it may have been dangerous (albeit possibly entertaining).

Today we attend church at the same facility we'll be living all week and we get the rest of the team for primary camp!

hmm... rant.... Despite the busy days we had and despite the incredible fatigue that comes from a full day of work I think I've rested and recovered in the last few days more than I have poured out. The laughter and conversations I've had with old friends and new, the wonderful support that comes from a team that just gets the job done and has fun doing it... and the blessings that God has bestowed upon us greatly outpace the aches and pains, the sleep that I wish I had more of and the pain of the scrapes on my arm. (don't worry mum and martha they're taking good care of me). I am so excited that we're only halfway done. There is so much to look forward to!

-Nick
p.s. I think zach wants to take down my tent so I'll finish here.