Movin' on Up

Ok, so I've finally decided. I'm going to try and go for a Master's Degree. The reason I say "try" is because I really will only do it if they pay for it. Still not really sure how that works, but I'll find out soon enough. And, of course I would have to get into the school(s) of my choice, providing I have good GRE exam scores, 3 letters of recommendations from professors, and a likable transcript. I've really only done one day of researching different schools and the requirements and all that, so I'll update as I go.

I want to get a Master's in Animal Behavior and Ethology. Ethology is the study of animal behavior, with emphasis on the behavioral patterns that occur in natural environments. For example, how different species communicate to each other in the wild, why sheep huddle together when cold, and what triggers things like hibernation, nesting, or mating courtship. This, along with how they adapted to do certain things by natural instincts, through evolution or what have you. Most of this I have already studied, but I feel this is where I excel, and I want to dig even deeper, and get a degree in something I'm in love with. It will be hard; for instance there is a lot of studying of the brain involved with this; but I think it will be something I'm good at. People ask "what kind of job can you get with this degree?". Well, same as Fisheries and Wildlife (my Bachelor's Degree), just an even greater pull from the people you want to hire you. Jobs like college teaching and research, government and private research institutions, zoos, conservation groups, research assistants, animal trainers, and wildlife biologists, the latter being what I would like the most. To have a Master's in animal behavior is impressive for many.
My school of choice that looks the most promising is UC Davis. I also have to think about Erik and wait for him to be ready to move, if that will be the case, and if he even wants to live in that area. Not really sure yet what kind of jobs are in Davis or Sacramento for Erik, but I'm sure there must be a good selection for him. He's so smart, I think he'll be able to go pretty much anywhere. He, too, is thinking of going for a Master's someday, but I think he would like to earn a little more money first, and so far it looks pretty good that he will be working for Intel for a while.

Wish me luck! :)

Camping in Paradise

Last weekend I went on a very spontaneous camping trip with our friends down here. We figured it all out in a few hours, and put everything together the next day and headed north to the high country! The original plan was to camp at a campground, with only 13 sites (and this is spring break, so of course many people had the same idea). So obviously that didn't work out because it was completely full when we arrived. BUT, 2 of our friends, about 20 minutes ahead of us in a 4wd jeep decided to do a little off-roading/exploring since the rest of the group was behind, and found an AMAZING spot on a creek. You have to have 4wd to get to it, so not many people actually know about this spot. We camped right on the sand on the bank of the creek, where there was a rope swing, superb hiking, and beautiful cliffs around us. It was like another world. No one else was around so we had it all to ourselves.





The creek, called Beaver Creek, runs right from the mountains, where they do get snow in the winter. So pretty much all of the water in the creek is snow-melt, leaving for a very very cold swim! But we did it anyway!! At night we heard a Great Horned Owl in the tree across from the creek most of the night. Considering how cold it was that night, listening to the owl's call made it so much more pleasant to fall asleep.

The hiking we did was just behind the cliff, in a wash created during the monsoon seasons. The wash goes on for miles, with walls on either side of us, where every once in a while we would come across caves. Some of us would be brave enough to explore the caves... but I made them holler before entering in case there was a not-so-welcoming animal inside! This is prime cougar country, but did not see any evidence of them. Lots of coyote and elk evidence though!


After we left the site we went to Montezuma Castle, a National Monument nearby. It was pretty amazing to still see the ruins of an old village built in the side of a cliff! They were built and used by the Sinagua people around 1400 AD. The five-story stone and mortar dwellings contain 20 rooms and once housed about 50 people, and they used ladders to get from the ground up.

After the ruins, 3 of us traveled yet another hour north to Meteor Crater outside of Flagstaff, which is a very famous and popular site to see in the world. The crater is a meteorite impact crater in the desert, which happened about 50,000 years ago. It is almost a mile in diameter, 570 ft deep, and is surrounded by a rim that rises 150 ft above the surrounding plains. I felt like I was standing on Mars when overlooking the crater!


The more I have explored down here, the more I like this state. There is really a lot of beautiful places. So much hiking, and some really amazing spots. (But no,this does not mean I like it better than Oregon and California!)

Just thinking...

So I've been thinking a lot lately about jobs and the fact that my unemployment is supposed to run out this month. I'm going to request an extension, which I should get, at least until summer. Then once summer hits, I'm going to need something. I have had no luck down here. The vet jobs seem to have both fallen through, although not completely. The first one decided they found someone with a little more small animal veterinary experience than me, although she did like me so much that she sent my resume to another vet (no word from them yet), and the other vet I was interested in are having money issues, and instead of hiring more people like the original plan was, they are going to be keeping who they have and may be laying off instead. The economy really is far down the toilet right now, and government jobs are pretty much out of question (where my field is).

Anyway, I will keep looking until summer, but I know I always have Reds Meadow to fall back on. For those of you that don't know what this place is, it's a resort in the California High Sierras my dad manages in the summer. They have a store, cafe, cabins, and take out horseback rides and pack trips into the back country. I take out the rides. It's a great place to be; it's my home away from home, and I will be there for sure if nothing else works out. I just love the area, and can't go a summer without at least visiting. I've practically grown up there. Below is Lake Ediza, in the high country of the Sierras, my favorite destination.

Horseback rides get in a lot of money too, so it's something I should do if nothing else, especially since I miss riding. Besides, it would be nice to get out of Arizona in their hottest months! Also, it would definitely help me along in my photography field. There is so much to photograph there. I would of course be back in Oregon in the beginning of August though, when my best friend is due for her first baby. I want to be there, and it will be a good time to visit family again. Then I'd be back in Chandler with Erik once the temperatures begin to drop.

A trip to the High Country

As I said in my last blog, my grandmother is in town. She comes through Arizona every year with her manfriend in a motor home to watch the baseball Spring Training games. We've been hanging out a lot, and yesterday we went to Roosevelt Lake, AZ, about 2.5 hours NE of Phoenix. I didn't realize such a great lake was so close, but it was beautiful! (Click to enlarge.)

It still amazes me to see cactus growing just on the bank of a lake... I know they still need water to survive, but seeing huge Saguaros living somewhere other than the dry desert is pretty cool to see!


At the far end of the lake is the Roosevelt Dam, approved by Teddy Roosevelt in the early 1900's. It empties every few hours, and in order to keep traffic off the dam, a bridge was built, the Roosevelt Lake Bridge. Apparently it was painted light blue to "blend in" with the sky and water.



I'm not the biggest fan of dams... I mean I know they do a lot of good to humans, providing water for us, and electricity, but there are many controversies with wildlife and dams, especially along rivers where salmon frequent to spawn every year. Fish ladders just don't do the trick, and more and more salmon are dying. This not only destroys the salmon population, but the animals that eat the salmon as well, especially brown bears in Alaska. So I'm not all that "awed" about dams and their appearance. Yes, they do make for a beautiful lake on the other side, but I'd rather have a healthy ecosystem.

We took a 22-mile dirt road on the way back; a little different scenery than the way in. There were really some magnificent crags and canyons along the way. It was incredible.

I heart animals

My grandma on my dad's side is in town, and yesterday we went to the Wildife World Zoo together, in Litchfield, AZ. This place opened just Dec. of '08, so its pretty new. I must say, I liked it better than the Phoenix Zoo, even though it's still hard for me to see animals in cages smaller than that should be in. You can click on the images themselves to make them bigger if you like.

My old friend, the gray kangaroo


Spider monkey

Red-tailed hawk

Meerkat

There's a first time for everything, right? This was my first time hand-feeding a giraffe, and I loved it. I think he liked it too ;)

Tapir, found in South American swamps. They're as large as a small cow!

I loved this little spider monkey. She posed for me so many times.

Now she's just showing off...

Ringtail lemur

Defassa waterbuck

Gardening just for Old People?

The other day I went into Target to buy some more plants cuz they're uber cheap there... and the lady at the desk said "You're probably the youngest person we've had into gardening around here, I give you props." Is it seriously only old women that garden anymore?? I so wish I had a house so I could have a garden! Is that silly? I love plants and enjoy taking care of them and watching things grow from a seed. So does Erik. Besides, it gives me something to do. We have 10 potted plants on our deck, 3 of which are planted key lime seeds to see if we can get lime trees. I know they probably won't produce limes, but it's worth a try! My favorite plant I have, which happens to be my second favorite flower, is an orange hibiscus. (My favorite flower is the plumeria.) They're pretty cool because the flower lasts only a day and a half, then they close up and fall off, and just hours later, new flowers will open up from the next buds, and they just keep going! Sooo pretty.

That's what's great about living in the southern states -- we can get by growing sub-tropical plants like this. They wouldn't last in Oregon because of the cold winters.

Another supercool plant I have is a tiny orange cactus called a "hibotan", also called a "moon cactus" or "ruby ball". It's so cute!!

We also have jades, aloe plant, and more succulents that I don't have to water often. I'll let you know if our lime trees grow ;). Soon I'm going to start growing tomatoes, cilantro, basil, and anything else we use to cook with! I also want "hens and chickens" because they remind me of my Bumper (grandpa), and they produce pretty amazing flowers.

Stargazing

Last week I went to San Tan Mountain for a short hike, and found out that the coming weekend they hosted a stargazing seminar, where a ranger taught us about the constellations and the planets. I invited a group of my friends from down here to go, and we had a lot of fun. The hosts had about 7 telescopes pointed at different stars and planets. It was pretty incredible. Saturn is amazing through a telescope. The rings were very visible, along with two of its moons. Apparently Saturn has a total of 60 moons! I was only able to get a clear shot of the moon and Venus with my camera... can you tell which is which? ;P


Next time there's a full moon I want to get back out there and take some of it rising... so stay tuned!