{"id":60007,"date":"2014-12-09T15:24:02","date_gmt":"2014-12-09T22:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/?p=60007"},"modified":"2014-12-09T15:24:02","modified_gmt":"2014-12-09T22:24:02","slug":"forever-grateful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/?p=60007","title":{"rendered":"Forever Grateful"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Let's<\/a><\/p>\n

Hello everyone,<\/p>\n

As I sit here on my last day of work reflecting on this internship that has now flown by, I’m realizing a lot.\u00a0 To the top of that list is, well the fact that I don’t have a job lined up for after this.\u00a0 I am very much hoping my family and friends back home will graciously accept my cheap holiday presents in the form of rocks I’ve collected along the way out here.\u00a0 If not, I suppose my large collection will continue to grow…fine\u00a0with me<\/p>\n

\"glistening<\/a>

glistening gypsum!<\/p><\/div>\n

I’m also here thinking about the very\u00a0first day I strolled into the BLM office.\u00a0 It was\u00a0the\u00a0Friday before I started work and\u00a0my mom was still in town helping me find a place to live.\u00a0 I came into the office to sign some forms and meet the team.\u00a0 Nervously, I approached the front door beneath the daunting Bureau of Land Management sign, thinking, \u00a0“OK,\u00a0I guess this is it.\u00a0 For the next few months I’ll be working for ‘the man.'” \u00a0I\u00a0quietly walked in and my mentor came to the front\u00a0to meet me.\u00a0 He took me on a tour of the building, one that\u00a0made me feel like\u00a0I was finding my way through a maze.\u00a0 Finally we stopped at the cubicles with the\u00a0other interns, soon to be my work space too.\u00a0 We briefly\u00a0introduced ourselves, smiled and I was pretty much on my way.\u00a0 Now looking back 9 or so months later, I am so happy I took that chance, packed all my things up and moved 2,800 miles away from home.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1631\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In\u00a0my time out here, I have had some\u00a0great adventures.\u00a0 Did I save any money while I was out here?\u00a0 Not much, but I have felt like I’ve really taken in the west as much as possible and been paid in more ways than simple monetary checks. \u00a0Nevada for me has been a place of endless blue skies, more mountain ranges than I can begin to name, and surprising oases popping up in the forms of ephemeral streams, emerging springs, and playa lakes.<\/p>\n

\"Sand<\/a>

Sand Mountain at sunset<\/p><\/div>\n

In addition to the numerous natural wonders of this area, my time here has been spent with unforgettable field work and tons of learning experiences. \u00a0I’m leaving Carson City certainly a better botanist than when I arrived, a more in tuned reader of the landscape, and with a head full of latin botanical names that could bore anyone for days. \u00a0Luckily though, most of my time here was spent with others that appreciate such disciplines. \u00a0I want to dedicate this post to the 7 other interns from the Carson City office. \u00a0Together we made over 100 seed collections, monitored our fair share of fires, and put on a large handful of educational outreach events. \u00a0Above that, I will more remember the late night talks around a campfire, family dinners, farmers markets, festivals, and of course the lamest yet creative botany jokes ever to be made. \u00a0Together we walked dozens of miles through the back country of Nevada, crawled mountain passes by truck that most wouldn’t even consider walking, and watched hundreds of shooting stars jet across the night sky. \u00a0In short, it’s been great, and truly an exceptional experience!<\/p>\n

\"Last<\/a>

Last seed collecting trip: Artemisia cana<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Lastly, for any of those reading this and are considering applying for a CLM internship, I say DO IT! \u00a0Don’t be afraid, take a chance and embrace every second along the way. \u00a0For those current and recently finished interns of this year, best of luck in all your next steps.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_7425\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sunny wishes and Shine On!<\/p>\n

Andrew Lyons<\/p>\n

Carson City NV, BLM Office<\/p>\n

\"Only<\/a>

Only in Nevada<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hello everyone, As I sit here on my last day of work reflecting on this internship that has now flown by, I’m realizing a lot.\u00a0 To the top of that list is, well the fact that I don’t have a … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5928,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60007"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5928"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60007"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60239,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60007\/revisions\/60239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}