2018 People of Big River Field Class

7/20/18                 Today after we ate breakfast, Priscilla, Amelia, Caleb, and I started skipping rocks on the river next to our campsite, when all of a sudden we started throwing big rocks at each other, or at least at the water when we were next to it. So no, we didn’t really throw rocks at each other, no matter how much fun it would have been. I’m still not sure how the rock/water war started, even though some said it was me which makes a little sense, but it was pretty fun. And I won. Obviously.                 We later met Clinton Desautal, a firefighter, who obviously loved what he did as he said that it’s a good job because there’s always new stuff to learn, even if he has been doing it for eighteen years. He also said something that I could relate to, which was about how he was also a broke college student who survived off of Top Ramen, except that I at least try to eat some microwave burritos every once in a while. Another man who worked with him is Lance Lelone, who

7/19/18 This morning, we got to meet Lucy, who was a Traditional Cultural Preservation Officer. She was pretty cool because she was really nice and loved what she does. Lucy led us to the Okanagan Museum, which was small but it had some interesting stuff in there. One thing I really liked was a section about a writer named Mourning Dove, who told coyote stories. An interesting thing she said was, “Everything on the earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission.” I can’t explain why I liked what she said, but I just did. There was also an open book by Mourning Dove in a glass case so I only got to read one page.                 Something impossible happened today when we were eating our lunch. I was eating my second sandwich when all of a sudden, I no longer wanted to eat it. I wasn’t full and I was still hungry. I was pretty confused for a minute when I finally realized that I had lost my appetite. Interesting. This has never happened before,

7/18/18                 This morning wasn't a very good morning for me because the dog that had been hanging around our camp was attacked by three other dogs. Some people named him Buster, I named him Will because it was a cooler name. Either way, I hope he’s okay because I saw a woman from another camp putting some ointment stuff on his wounds. I later saw him laying down and resting so hopefully he gets better. I didn't even say goodbye to him, but it's not a big deal, but I will miss sharing my chicken soup and sloppy joes with him.                 We then went to some RV park, where I could already feel the heat that would kill us as the vans started to park. I set up my tent as fast as I possibly could because although we were promised a trip to the store if we set up camp and ate dinner, I only did it really fast because I cannot be bought over and I’m a responsible person or whatever. There was no shade available because there wasn’t any trees around. But hey, a

7/17/18                 We got to go to the Kalispel Tribal Fish Hatchery today, and guess what we saw there. We saw some fish. I liked how Jason, the Fish Program Manager,  talked about how the fish that weren’t wild, were spawned there, then moved as they got older and bigger, and used for research experiments, such as trying to test out fish ladders. The fun part about that place was when Omar, Damaris, Jessica, and I decided to have a challenge, which included putting our hands into super cold water that had a lot of small fishes in it. Jessica quit first, then Omar also took his hands out, so the adults quit first, because Omar still likes to act all professional like an adult, which kind of bothers me a little bit, but he doesn’t know. I think. Anyways, it was about 6 minutes when we had to move to the next spot, so Damaris I were still competing. Jessica told us to take our hands out of the water because it was time to move on, but I pretended that I couldn’t hear, so I even

7/16/18                 Today, we got to walk around different places, where George showed us the places that would be either burned or logged down, as he talked about the prescribed fires and wildfires. I thought it was interesting when I heard about what he did, which made sense, as it was so the trees could grow back better, and they wouldn’t be fighting each other for resources. It was pretty how when we were listening to him, but I forgot about the heat when something that looked like a small bee but was apparently a fly, flew onto my hand. I tried blowing him off, but it immediately flew back to my hand and started moving around. My interest grew as I blew him away probably like 10 more times, and he still acme back to me, to which I admit, I actually grew quite fond of him. When it was time for him to leave, I felt like a part of me was missing, but I decided not to dwell on it. I will miss the bee-looking fly thingie bug. I never even got to name it.               Anyways

7/15/18               This morning was the first morning that I actually woke up comfortable and warm, without having to struggle and fight for the warmth. After breakfast, Jim, Warren, and Francis came and sang a song for us while beating on a drum. We all got to take turns beating on the drum while they sang a song, and while I didn’t want to at first, I think I got the hang of it as I just listened to the song. It was pretty cool, and I wish I could understand what they were saying, but it was pretty fun helping to beat the drum.               So it had been around two days that we had gone without eating sandwiches, and I honestly missed them. So I did the right thing and only made two, one of turkey and the other of ham, stacking them and eating them together. It was all going good until Omar did the unthinkable and not only put mustard in his turkey sandwich, but grape jelly as well. When I asked him why, he said something about not wanting to make a boring sandwich or some