I’m still in some disbelief that I am in Oregon! Almost a month ago today I was dipping my toes in the Atlantic off Maine’s coast, and now I’m looking at a beautiful snow capped mountains and sage steppe in Eastern Oregon. I mean, there was a whirlwind drive across the country, and a quick trip to the Pacific so I could dip my toes in that ocean, but that all seems ancient history now that I’m falling to a rhythm living in beautiful Baker City.  I’ve been at my GIS internship with the BLM’s Baker Field Office for 2 weeks now and it’s been awesome!

My first week was filled with the obligatory paperwork and trainings, followed by a bunch of meetings and then more online trainings (which to my dismay have continued into this week, but there’s got to be an end somewhere, right?). All of the meetings did allow me to meet most of the office and get some of my ducks in a row to begin working on projects. I’m the only GIS support person in the Baker Field Office, and therefore I have to direct most of my question to the District Office in Vale and self-help manuals. But fear not, there a lot of people around to help me when I get lost, and I’m so grateful to them.  This past week I was given some longer term tasks, but they all are proving to have their own bumps along the way, mainly issues with finding the data/creating it. But these challenges can be fun! Unlike most of the other CLM internships, I will be living the beautiful days of summer in a cubical and not enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. I’m a little bummed about that, but I also like GIS, and until a computer is made that will allow me to walk around while making maps, I guess I’ll have to daydream of mountains and bluebird skies. Hopefully my posts will get more interesting as I become more familiar with the labyrinth of GIS databases and I begin producing useable GIS products for people and not just certificates saying I’ve completed a training ;). Until then, enjoy this beautiful panorama of the borrowed cubicle in which I’ll be spending most of my time.

(ohhh, look how lovely the screens glow, almost like fireflies)

—Zoe