This week we’ve been checking the condition of fences for cattle access, especially in canyon areas where they may try to sneak down to get to the streams and riparian areas below. It may sound like really mundane work, but I think for me at least, it’s been one of the most exciting parts of the internship.
Not because checking for cattle hoof prints or trails down the canyons is particularly thrilling, but the access points take you to these beautiful, remote places. You can’t just do the work and leave. Nobody in their right mind could do just that. It’s places like these that require a thorough exploration. You never know what you’ll find! There are really cool rocks, nooks in the cliffs, wildlife, caves and of course, photos to take.
I always feel so lucky that I get to explore the furthest reaches of the middle of nowhere. Even though I’m an outsider (and an easterner at that), I feel like I get to know and see places that even native Idahoans never see. It’s definitely a perk of the job. A bunch of my friends back home have daily routines that include getting up later in the morning, working an office job in a cubicle all day and going home. They may jog or take a walk around the neighborhood or perhaps even take a weekend trip, but how many end up driving out two hours to a remote location in the pre-dawn hours, scaling up and down a rocky cliff side and assessing the status of a wetland all before lunch? I am incredibly lucky to do the things I do!
A few days ago, Ricecake and I were checking out a riparian area down in Murphy Canyon and on the way up from the riparian area, we found a cool cave and rock formation that we checked put for a while. We even found some blue rocks! We’re thinking the blue and white parts on the rocks are some sort of calcium deposit. There were only a small areas that had these rocks, we’ve worked around here before and never seen them. What a lucky find! A perfect way to end August.
Thanks for reading!
Maria Paula
Jarbidge Field Office
Bureau of Land Management
Twin Falls, Idaho