Almost done!

Well, that might not be entirely accurate. For me however, the summer is officially over, and my work at the Alpine Guard Station is indeed, done. School starts this week so I had to come down off the mountain early.

It's hard to believe that I have been up on the top of a mountain for 3 solid months with no internet or cell service (minus our one day off a week), no showers, no pressurized water, etc. I have to admit that I feel glutinous right now- sleeping in a big, soft, warm bed, turning on the faucet and getting hot water, showering everyday, not dealing with rat poop constantly! It's so GLORIOUS!

Don't get me wrong, I loved my three months of camping, and the work was fantastic. It's just quite the treat to have those lovely conveniences we all take for granted.

I really wish I could now show you some amazing before and after photos. Sadly though, the work is not done, and likely will not get done by the target date which is the end of this week. I can at least show you a few photos of my last day and the progress we've made so far:



Personally I'm super excited about the amazing new deck on the main cabin, I think it looks fantastic. You can also see that cabinets have started to go in the Kitchen, all ready for a sink! AND, you can also see the water tank next to that. Now that is exciting!

This was a really huge task to take on in such a short time, but we did give it our all, and I mean, completely. We usually worked very long days, but I loved it. The physical work was great. I was sore in the beginning, but quickly got used to that and the physical activity felt fantastic. It was also exhilarating being outdoors in such an incredible location all the time. I already miss the constant fresh air and amazing scenery, not to mention the lack of stress from constant technological stimuli. I also became pretty attached to my co-workers and all the amazing volunteers we had. I'm not going to deny that tears were shed as I drove down the mountain for the last time.

All in all it was a great summer, and I feel so very fortunate to have gotten such great hands-on experience. I just wish we could have seen the project to final completion. I'm not sure of the exact plan HistoriCorps has to complete the buildings, but I will definitely be taking a trip back there next summer to see the final results. Keep in mind, this cabin should be available for rentals next summer, trust me when I say that you should strongly consider a get away here, you won't be disappointed!