The past five months haven’t always been easy for me. It was harder than I expected to move so far from home, but I’m glad I did. The landscape of southern Idaho is full of surprises. From a distance, it may look like an endless sea of sagebrush and grass, but when you take a closer look, you find all sorts of incredible things such as giant rock formations, lava tubes, and dramatic canyons. You also find bright colors and beautiful wildflowers.

Over the course of the season, I’ve had the opportunity to try all kinds of new things personally and professionally. Here are a couple of my firsts:

• First time living out west
• First time monitoring wildlife
• First time driving a pickup
• First time driving off-road
• First time electrofishing
• First time seeing a wildfire
• First rodeo
• First time on a UTV

My first rodeo

Thanks to all the interns, our crew leads, my mentor, Joanna, and all of the people in our office who showed us around and answered our questions for a great field season!