Happy NEW YEAR!!!

it was a wonderful day today. I finished work early and hiked/explored for 4 hours today. Took some great pictures and loved just getting out.

The hard spell is almost over. I've been worked to death for three solid weeks now but the crunch is almost done. I've gotten an unexpected gift today. A person dropped out from rafting sooo I get to take their place. I'M SOO EXCITED! The helicopter will come and pick us up at the lodge and we will be gone all day. Levels 3 and 4 rapids. I'm very excited.

sorry i'm not writing much but i'm falling asleep.
love love love,
megan lee

calm before the storm

DAY OFF!!!!

oh and it was a much needed one. I'm at Susan and Marion's house. Will be sleeping here for at least 5 night because the lodge will be full. I have today off because I'll have to be in top form for the next 9 days. I'm kind of dreading them but will try to make it fun. We have a huge wedding party coming in for 3 days and then we are fully booked with lots of families and others.
Got to talk to mom and dad today and that was also well needed. I'm much better now and ready for tomorrow.

soooo there is literally a big storm coming in tonight and they say there will be losts of rain. Enough rain for us to pull the kayaks and take one of our bridges down. It's always fun to see how high the river will rise. Oh hahaha, we had a guest come a week ago and he brought a metal detector with him. I had no idea what he was going to do until he walked out to the river and started looking for gold. The river that runs right beside us use to be a main panning river back in the old days. People didn't stick around not because the gold was gone but because the conditions were too harsh, to many deaths. Well, this guy ended up finding a pretty decent sized nugget and took it with him.... I wasn't to impressed because he cheated but maybe when I have another day off I'll go out and pan for gold!now back to the beach. It's gorgeous. The blue and green colors shift constantly. The clouds were racing across the sky. It was like the sky and sea were just one big blue/green/white panting.

Zena is the female Odie. It's sooooo funny. As you can see she will pose for you, she pounces on toys JUST like Odie. Mainly they are both lazy but if you say the "w.a.l.k." word they jump up ready to go. It's almost weired, but I like her a lot. I sadly didn't see any seals, dolphins, or penguins at all today. boooo....I'll just have to come back another day.
For the most part the sun was out but the tide was all the way in. It was a lovely walk where I could just unwind and be at peace. Now I'll fix some dinner and go to bed early. I think it's another 5:30 kind of morning... wish me luck.

miss you all and send my love. xoxo

Merry Christmas!!!

well it's not really christmas yet but.... know that I really really miss you family!!!!! I love you so much and am thinking about you.

Foggy Beach

Day off!!!!

Finally my first day off! Oh it was well needed. I woke up with the sun shining into my room feeling happy. By the time I took a shower and was ready to hit the trails the sun was gone...
I really thought it was going to rain and it was really chilly outside. So i stayed around the lodge and finished up some stuff that had to be done. -Levi I feel like you changing clothes 3 times a day. Even with the sun gone i sucked it up, put on some water clothes and headed to the river. I'm still not very good at kayaking and don't go way down the river. Really i just make big circles. But I'm learning and it's a great workout. I keep looking for my eels that haunt my dreams and the big trout but i never see anything. nothing. just birds. I guess my goal of catching a fish with my bare hands is shot. BUT I really enjoyed kayaking anyways.
Then back in for lunch and some chill time. Reading, napping, letter writing. The sun did come back out but it wasn't really sunny enough to sit outside and with the cooler weather comes more sandflys. I HATE SANDFLYS. They bite and hurt like on other. They just really get to me. I really wanted to be outside but I would have to be moving, ugh. So I asked susan what trail I should run. I don't remember the name of it but it was a great trail. Running it I was done 40 min. What a run but it's a good fun one. Yes to be honest I fell a bit like jello but hope to make a habit of that run and add onto it some as well.

So today was the calm before the storm. Tomorrow we will have 14 people in and that's a lot. I use to 4 or 6. This means getting up even earlier... talking like being in the kitchen BY 6 or 6:3o to set up and cook. blahh. But the good news is that there will be families with kids and I get to play with them. FUN. They will be my social life. sooo great day today and I'm ready to jump into this next round of work. Hope you all are doing well! lots of love. oxox

Oh if forgot. The three of us (susan, marion, and I) had a night off and went out to eat then home to watch a movie. It was great fun. It really felt like summer so I tried to order a milk shake.....umm yeah.. That would just be cold milk with sugar. no icecream. that was odd and a let down. New Zealand also does really funny things to their burgers. Like put pineapple on it. ...strange kiwis

My bath tub. yes, it's mine.

Here's some pictures. The river right by the Lodge and the Lodge and then some ferns from a walk. The river is huge but slowing down at the end of the day. Sadly the rains has started to fall again. It's a slow night tonight and I'm glad to find some time by myself and rest. The next few weeks are packed with work and guessed but I'll try to update you as much as possible. Loving the warm weather but hate the sand flys. They bite and leave little spots all over you. One short little story. We left the kayaks out by the river last night and so this morning Marion drove up, jumped out of the truck and looked to the river with stress and worry on his face. THANK GOD the kayaks were still there but they were hanging on by a rock. Marion wouldn't let me go in and get them so he stripped to his boxers and bare foot and ran out into the river to go get them. AT 6 AM this morning. What a great way to start the day. but now we can all sleep well tonight knowing the kayaks are safe. The weather is warm but chilly with all this rain. I've also put some more pictures up on picasa so look for those too. Peace!

Paradise

I made it. I'm here at the Rough and Tumble Bush Lodge.

I can't take my eyes from the windows. I catch myself just getting lost in the river. The river is wide and blue green in color with white rocks all along. The mountain rage that rises all around us is intimidating. When i thought that I would just climb a mountain on Christmas day to find some snow...I was very mistaken. These mountains are very different from home. They are steep, they rise fast and are very jagged because they are still young. They change all the time. They fall and rise. There are trails leading into the bush all around the lodge. Some follow the river, some wind up the mountains. One thing that you notice as you walk is how tropical the landscape is here. It's very different from home. Very green and tall but totally different plants. Lots of ferns but the trees i don't recognize at all. The other thing that I've noticed is that there are mainly only birds here. There are some rabbits, some rats and possums and that's about it. No other animals. There are seals on the coast and fish, eels, dolphins and such but no other land animals. It's been very cloudy here and rainy but finally today the sun came out.

Today was a wonderful day. I was up by 6:30 and working. Cleaning and helping with breakfast. Long long morning and the dishes were never done. Finally all rooms were clean and the bathrooms spotless. It had been raining all morning. After a final meeting and lunch it was still raining but i had free time on my hands for the first time and decided to get in a kayak for the first time and get on the river. AMAZING but my arms hurt. I took some left over pizza and tossed it out to see if i could see the eels that are as large as me or fish but no go....sadly. Then the rain stopped and the sun came out. FINALLY for the first time since I've been here and it made me really happy. The sand flies were eating me alive, I'd had enough on the river and it was getting hot so I came in. Being hot I decided I would brave the eels and dive in. AHHHH so cold. It's like at home. The water took my breath away and i was out just as fast as i had been in. After a hot shower I went to the kitchen to help Susan with dinner and I got to make truffles! mmmm and taste them too. sooo I'm worn out and it's been a full but great day. We only have three guest here tonight so tomorrow should be slower. I'm still trying to catch up on sleep but i'm so glad to be here.

I send my love.

Ha Ha HA HA, please laugh with me.

New web cam!!!

middlers, folk dance camp, pg, candy, and pie

I've been really busy at home the past 5 weeks. Leading recreation for Middle schoolers. Going to planning meetings. Then Family camp came and went. It was great and refreshing to see all of the family again. It was like my christmas. Then a total surprise with Paul Garrity knocking on my door at 10:30 at night. It's been wonderful to see him. It's been too long but now we're back to being two peas in a pod, best buds. The lovely Town of Black Mountain Christmas Parade came and went with the cutest dog sitting beside us. Now I'm packing up. It's been a well needed break at home before I'm off again. While earning some cash by picking up my photo-editing job with Regina. It's been great.