Smokey's Birthday Party

When I left you last, Smokey was about to turn 68, now he has been 68 for over a week, and boy does he look great! Smokey had a birthday party for all of his friends, there were different stations, one had firefighting tools and a game, one had camp ground safety and pin the pail on the fire, and another had the goodie bags. There was a stage with live music, and booth for face painting. Smokey also got cake, not one, not two but SIX giant sheet cakes, they were wonderful! Towards the end of the party, Smokey had some of his furry friends from the forest come visit to teach the kids about different animals, there was even a groundhog that you got to pet, he was really cute.

Last Wednesday (the 8^th) Derek, one of my roommates, left for a fire detail in Oklahoma. He went with two other firefighters. Should be back sometime this week, Jessica, another roommate, left to go home last Monday (the 13^th). The three wilderness guys got back from their two week trip in the Linville Gorge Wilderness; they hiked every trail, that’s pretty impressive. Lastly Rachel is just being Rachel.

I have been working on a Campground Host trip that I am going on next week. It involves traveling to Robbinsville NC, then to Chattanooga, TN, then back home, I am pretty excited to get out of the office. We will be talking to recreation staff and Campground Hosts to see how they handle emergencies. We are trying to find out what training is provided and what is needed for both Forest Service Employees and Campground Hosts. I have also had to make a few posters, one for proper use of trash cans, (trash goes in the can, not on top, we are in bear country) and one for the volunteer banquet we will be having on the 5^th of September, I really enjoy using my creativity to create flyers. Lastly I had to fill out a CA-1 form (Federal Employee’s Notice of Traumatic Injury and Claim for Continuation of Pay) one of our volunteers up at the Cradle got injured while working, I got to be the lead on the process, I learned that the system is set up for employees not for volunteers, so some of the date they need does not compute. It was very interesting to learn how to gather and input the data. (The volunteer will be fine; she received 4 stiches for a cut.)