Kim's Fantastic Philmont Adventures!

Friday, Friday, Friday is my Favorite Day!

2009-06-19T12:06:00.001-07:00

So after our awesome hike to t-rex, our bus never showed up. we had to wait an hour for our boss, greg, to come get us in a suburban. We played mafia and mango mango mango while we waited so it wasnt too bad. I was hoping to stop by CHQ to see if there were any buses going out to ponil tomorrow morning. I'll have to go later though. We have a staff meeting at 6:15 then our closing ceremony, so it may be pretty late. Oh well. If I get to see matt, it makes it all worth it.

T-REX!

2009-06-19T06:59:00.001-07:00

i gotta make this post short, since its almost 8 and i need to be over at PTC very soon. but im going to T REX TODAY!!!!!!!!!
its a pretty short hike and at the end is a dinosaur footprint of the KING OF DINOSAURS!!!!!!!!! hell yeah!
im wearing my t-rex shirt and i brought my dino cards (cathy's birthday present to me) and im super excited.
more later, i think i'll actually be able to get a computer some other time today.
every time i check, they're both being used. i usually just go on my ipod, but i cant get my blog that way.

Happy Trails,
Kim

Country Road, Take me Home

2009-06-09T16:55:00.000-07:00

So our actual jobs started yesterday. im working in small fry, which is kids five and under. theres only five of them and since ive worked with that age before, its a piece of cake. Matt came back today!!!! we're going to western night tonight and tomorrow is my (half) day off so we're gonna be able to spend lots of time together.
that'll be nice because most of my downtime lately ive spent by myself. its really getting to me and i dont know how much more of it i can take. When im working i'm having fun, but outside of that i feel like i dont really have a group i fit in with. everyone has become rather cliquish and i dont really fit into any of the groups. I'm trying but it just doesnt seem to be working. I spend most of my time in my tent reading.
Hopefully things will get better, but if they dont, i think i'll be coming home before july.

I've Got to Admit, It's Getting Better

2009-06-03T10:48:00.000-07:00

So as training continues, i'm getting to know the people i'm working with better. We had first aid training all day yesterday, and a western dance at night (i wasnt the best but whateves.) The night before that we made cobbler in a dutch oven (SOOO GOOOD!)
The tents are super cold at night. im glad finn & cathy gave me an extra sleeping bag to lay over mine. (which is supposed to stay warm up to 20degrees) Hopefully as the summer continues, it gets less cold at night. It's hard to wake up in the morning, partly because i wake up at 6, and partly because its freezing and i dont want to get out of bed.
The first people come to the training center (where i work) on July seventh, so four more days!
Matt leaves on friday, and i'm seeing less and less of him as training continues. Hopefully its not too hard to see him once the summer gets into full swing.
My bed time here has turned into 9:30. i kinda feel like a granny, but i'm so tired otherwise. It kinda stinks i've been missing Conan on the tonight show, we cant stream video with the internet here so i guess i'll have to wait til i get home for that one.

My summer here is going to be ending a bit earlier than i had anticipated because i need to get my wisdom teeth pulled out. I think i'll be leaving here at the end of the first weekend in August, but i'll have to get everything sorted out before i can be sure.

Thats all for now!
Happy Trails,
Kim

WOO HOO!

2009-05-29T17:29:00.001-07:00

woah! i updated my template for the blog and now its all purty!
i'll try to customize it later

Getting There

2009-05-29T17:10:00.000-07:00

So today was my birthday!
i was determined to make it a happy day, and i think i succeded. Matt picked me up bright and early at my tent at 6:45 for breakfast. Then i had training all day from nine til 4. i had a lunch break so matt & i hung out for a while.
I finally was able to meet people who i'll be working with today. we played a lot of get to know eachother games & they sang happy birthday to me.
not much for this post besides that! i want to get back to my tent area so i can take a shower before the sun goes down. MAN does it get cold her at night! i thought minnesota had bipolar weather but i was WRONG!

Happy Trails,
Kim

Day Two

2009-05-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

I had trouble sleeping last night. On top of how cold it was, i was feeling pretty lonely in my tent all by myself. I've had some trouble making friends, and I feel like i dont fit in here. I called my dad and that made me feel a lot better. I also texted a few people back home which really helped. I promised myself today would be better.
It wasnt much. The weather was a lot better, I'll give it that, but I still have that whole not fitting in very well thing going on. I woke up at 6:30, and met matt for breakfast. We were going to go to this harrassment seminar, but when we got to the PTC (where i work & where the seminar was being held) I saw my supervisors loading a bus with a bunch of people. I went to talk to one, and apperantly my group was all going on a day hike, and when i checked in, they forgot to tell me. So to make up for it, they had me cleaning and doing chores until 11:30 with some high school girls.
Luckily, matt showed up when i was going through the tents to check if light bulbs worked, and he was able to make time go by so much quicker. We had lunch together & hung out for a bit. I went back to my tent for a couple hours while he took a nap. Now i'm in the staff center at base camp & matt is at a meeting for his Dan Beard group.
Its getting to be hard to break out of my shell, since it seems like a lot of people already know eachother, and i don't feel like i have too much in common with that many people here.
I'm not gonna give up hope quite yet though, I've heard too many good things about this place to give up on it this quickly

Happy Trails,
Kim

Arrival!

2009-05-27T19:37:00.000-07:00

hey everyone!
I finally arrived in philmont! We had a lazy morning in Taos with delicious breakfast and a loverly stroll down the plaza (I got yummy CHOCOLATE!!!) We departed around noon and got into philmont a little more than an hour later. The drive down here was so beautiful.
When we arrived it was rather rainy and cold & i had some trouble with getting my uniform (my shorts go up to my chest, my shirt (small) is really baggy on me, and they dont make belts my size.
Its shaping up to be pretty nice. I'll be able to spend time with matt for a while before he scatters. My roommate hasnt arrived yet.

oh, one more thing!
before our meeting, matt and i saw a bunch of deer outside my tent! it was really neat. I took some pictures, maybe i'll upload them soon.

Happy Trails,
Kim

Mailing Address

2009-05-26T20:52:00.000-07:00

Kim Cordova
Philmont Training Center
47 Caballo Rd
Cimarron, NM 87714

The Day Before

2009-05-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

So it's the day before I finally take off for Philmont. A day I've been waiting for since winter- it seems unreal that it's actually happening.
We (Matt, Karl, Finn, Cathy, Casey and I) left for Colorado on Friday night right from our going away party. it was nice having everyone around right before I left, it was a lot of fun. We took the big van and casey had his outback, so karl and he drove that while Matt and I had the van. Matt drove until 4, then we switched and I drove the outback until 6. It was pretty exhausting. We got to Casey's house in Bailey around 3. Ellen made her delicious breakfast burritos, we played a game of fooseball with John Micheal. Then I proceeded to sleep until 9ish (I was exhausted) I woke up with some elevation sickness, but was able to stay up long enough to spend some time with Erik.
The next day we headed to the flea market, it was a really nice day and we got some deals (i got my very first pocket knife!) then we went to the theater & saw Night at the Museum.
We had Hog Heaven for dinner (drool) and Cathy & Ellen got me a red velvet birthday cake. Max came over and we hung out.
We left for New Mexico yesterday (monday) around noon & stopped by this cute hot dog stand (that was actually shaped like a hot dog) called coney island. We got to our hotel in Taos around 5, went shopping a bit & got some (new) mexican dinner. When we got back, we played some scrabble & bananagrams, then Stephen Matt & I went to the hot tub (which we got kicked out of 5 minutes later because apperantly it was closed)
Today we woke up around 8 for breakfast (i had the most amazing french toast) then we went shopping some more. Taos is cool because all of the buildings are adobe (even like the walmart and kfc). At noon we took off for our whitewater rafting adventure. I was nervous about it before (like right before i go on a roller coaster) but once we got in the water and hit a few rapids, it was a blast, i ended up going in the front seat for the last (and biggest) rapid.
Afterwards we walked over this bridge above this HUGE canyon with the Rio Grand, then got some more delicious (new) mexican food. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and hit up the hot tub (this time it was open), and now we're back in the hotel. Mary Cathy and Matt are playing scrabble. We're all watching this show about the top catch phrases from tv comedies.

It still feels weird that I'm arriving in Philmont tomorrow. Kind of because Matt doesnt arrive unitl the 28th. I'm nervous but excited about so many things. My new roommate. Where i'll be staying, the people i'm working at, and the whole camp in general.

Hopefully I'll be able to update this as much as possible. Probably every few days/ once a week kind of thing. Contrary to populary belief, I do have internet (at the staff center) so I will be able to keep in touch through this and facebook.

Happy Trails,
Kim