Today was pretty lax. I got up just an hour and a half after I went to bed and did morning chores. It was anothe soggy day and Rachel was still here with me, and I probably looked about as pathetic as I felt! So, Merle told me to go back to bed, lol. I came in and ate breakfast and then we both went back to bed for a bit. When we finally got back up and moving we decided to go for a drive and look around at the country since it was misting a little too much for four wheelers.
I called Merle to tell him that I was stealing a pickup for a while and he offered us some dinner, so we stopped down at his house for a while and talked. By the time we ate, the mist was going away and we had a chance to go on a short four wheeler tour before Rachel had to head home. It was really nice just to get out and ride around and put the landscape into perspective. He took us up on top of a hill that was tall enough to really see a lot of his pastures. I had never been at this spot before and it turns out I am glad we went there because it really put the idea of what pasture is where into perspective for me. But, we eventually had to head back home and let Rachel go back to Nebraska, so that's just what we did. I was so glad she came, we had a great time and hopefully we can do it again:) Sadly, she left so that she could make it to work on time this afternoon. After she headed out I spent a couple hours cleaning the house. This is just one of those things that had to be done that I rarely have time for. So, I cleaned for a while and then took a nap. Merle did chores during this time (oops...I slept through them!) and then he headed into town to eat supper with some of Sharla's family. I stayed back, finished off my nap, fed the horses, and got all my fire gear together. I made it to town by about seven. We loaded up the fireworks and such and headed out to the park.
The fireworks were quite the ordeal. We got all suited up in our bunker gear and got a system down. I was a runner. Basically what you do is grab a firework from the passer outer and put it in the right size hole and then hold the fuze cover on until someone comes to light it. It's sort of like being in a mine field because there are fireworks going off all around you out of the other holes, so you have to be careful of what you're doing! But, it all went really well, we had no duds and I didn't screw anything up too bad. The show lasted about 25 minutes...the hottest and sweatiest 25 minutes ever! It was probably a really cool show but I never got to see it because I was too busy loading the tubes. It was a great first time experience...all the while being teased about my campfire song and dance!
We got the fireworks deal all cleaned up and headed back to the station. Just as everyone had their gear taken off, dispatch came over the radio and paged us to be mutual aid at a fire in Wanblee. So, we all suited back up and hopped back into the trucks. I rode in the rescue truck with six other people. It's about a fourty mile drive...so it's not exactly a fast response time if you can imagine. The call was for an old head start building that was fully engulfed with a propane tank behind it. When we got there the Kadoka department was already spraying it down, so we had no choice but to do the same, even though it probably would have been better to just let it burn completely and then wet it down. I started out helping to back the hose. Then, they gave it to me. Yup...I ran a fire hose for a couple hours...scary right? It was a pretty cool experience. Fighting fire might sound and look easy, but it really isn't. We finally got the flames put out around 1:40am and got back to the station about 2:00. The building was done for before we got there but at least now the flames were out. Needless, to say, I'm tired and it's another late night/early morining (however you wanna look at it). I need sleep! Ahhh! Not sure what tomorrow will bring but I do know that my mom and her friend Mary are coming out to stay for a few days. That will be fun:) Happy Fourth!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
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