Day 14 last day

This makes my truly sad that this trip is coming to an end. I was not suppose to come on this trip (or knew about it ), but my friend Judy asked me and said there was room so I was like why not, it could be fun. By the end of this trip I have learned so much about the environment, the people around me, culture, and most importantly, about myself, and did not want to leave but learning about different things, being on this trip, and talking to people, has shown me that its good to get out there and look for new things to do, and be more open. It took forever for us to get things packed and put away but it happened, and after we were done packing, Alexis, Jay, Jose and I went to the dock for the last time to hang out. We went to the Wellness center to finish up our blogs for the last time and after this we leave to Palouse Falls and we will learn things then we make our way home. I'm not ready to go home just yet, but I hope that I can remember experience for the future.

thank you, for this experience

Day 13 Landon Charlo and Powwow

Yesterday we set up traps to catch mice, and we did it in teams, so my team was Judy and Jose. We didn't catch anything but were going to fix them and set them out later tonight. We went on a hike today and we went to the top of the ridge and over looked the view of these fields. It was amazing. We sat at the top of the ridge and some of had lunch, then we hiked back down to for Landon to talk to us about school and what he has done.

( Julyamsh Powwow )

Then we went to the powwow later that night, which was a great experience, aging looking at our culture and reflecting about what I should do in the future.

Day 12 Northern Quest and wellness center 07/20/17

Well we did not do much today, the Natural Resource Center is busy with the Powwow  because its more related to the culture. We did go to the Northern Quest Casino, and discuss the culture and history of the Coeur'd Alene people, with Quanah Matheson and Dave Matheson discussing the importance of culture and that what we do now has an impact on the generations after us. Then we talked about the environment and the importance of  " Natural '' things in the world that could help us off the track of an uncertain future.

Day 11 travel day to Coeur'd Alene 07/19/17

This morning it took me a bit to wake up and then when I did I started to pack my stuff and take my tent down. After my tent was finished being taken down we had breakfast and Ms. Trease was telling people to try oatmeal with peanut butter and honey which Jose commented on but he hasn't tried oatmeal before. Then we sat for hours blogging about the things we've done, and I got so much done. Warren brought three interns with him Kyle, Ethan, and Xavier and we talked to them about what they do and if they enjoy it, which they do. Then we packed up and left to Coeur'd Alene.

Day 10 Spokane Tribal Hatchery and Anderson ranch ( wildlife )

Today we started off eating breakfast then we went to the Fisheries and met Tim Peone who talked about them losing the salmon to the Grand Coulee Dam being built and how the tribe converted to elk as their source of protein, because of the lack of fish. "Before Grand Coulee Dam we wanted for nothing... After Grand Coulee Dam we had nothing..." We went on a tour through the hatchery itself, but first we went to the field where he talked about the stream and told us a story about his grandma with this pot full of water that was fresh from the stream.

We were at the hatchery until lunch and around that time we went to the Anderson Ranch and he told us a bit about the history and the big game that they hunt. They hunt buffalo in Montana and they also brought in some elk in from the north. Later that day we went canoeing which was my first time canoeing with Judy, we were splashing each other, we made someone tip over, and we yelled a lot. was a fun and adventurous experience. 

Day 9 Fish- Shock 07/17/17

Back to learning, today we went to this creek ( Tshimikain Creek ), we were doing field work with fish ( Red Band trout ). Fish shocking them, catching, taking DNA sample, measuring, weighing, and pit- tagging them, then setting them free. while we were on this " fish scouting mission " we found a clay deposit, so we collected some. 

After all that Waren Seyler took us up to the top of the mountain to see the sun set. it was a very insightful and beautiful day.

Day 8 Rest day 7/16/17

We did not have anything to do today, because it was a rest day . So we got to sleep in then go swimming at Two Rivers, which was enjoyable. We did some geocaching for a good while. today was a pleasant and stress free day.

( Just because )

Day 7 travel to Wellpinit 7/15/17

So we left Wenix's house leaving Umatilla going to Wellpitit. While travel to there, our car started to listening to this podcast called " Welcome to Night Vale ", which was humorous. we did laundry on this travel day ( luckily ). Also while traveling to Wellpitit we stopped at this dam on the (  McNary Dam, fish view site and visitor center ).  It was a very enjoyable day.

( McNary Dam )

Day 6 culture sites, yoga, and feast

Wenix took us to these different places and talked about the different things affecting the plants and wildlife how they are working to change that. She would also tell us about different cultural uses, practices, and the way of life that it used to be like. She told us some of the struggles the plants and the native people go thought like that a different people have come and raked the huckleberries and makes it harder to grow, she also said that they used to use fallen tress ( fuel ) to dry the foods a certain way. After these discussions we went to this lake to have lunch, some of the people went swimming. Where was this one person (Alexis ) that jumped into the lake, but in the shallow part        ( she okay now ). then we went to a yoga class, which was great and relaxing. The instructor was Wenix's sister Acosia Elk.

After we were done with the relaxing yoga, we came back to Wenix's house and finished the feast. Today was pleasant and enjoyable.

Day 5 presentation, volunteer work and glass work

Today we went to the Umatilla governant center to have a presentation about “first foods” and the importance of why we still need them. That food is more then just what it is, that food plays a part in the society of a culture.

Then after we were done with the presentation, we went to this plant nursery to volunteer and help out. They gave us a tour of their facility, then they assigned each one of us a job. One of the jobs we did was a group effort trimming small trees ( saplings ) and moving them. The first job I was assigned to was transplanting tiny little plants ( spouts ), which was a little difficult.

My group finished early so we were assigned to sifting, which is taking soil out of cones. The team I was with enjoyed being competitive, so we got a lot of work done. There was this time when this one person in our group ( Christina ) would always get to competitive, and would “ shower “ us in soil and dirt.

After we left the nursery, we came back to Wenix's house, where her Loveda Elk showed us some glass art. It was a fun day of laughter, work, creativity, and dirty.

Day 4 travel day to Umatilla

So we were leaving from Bend heading toward Umatilla, and staying in the back of Wenix Red elk's house . This was the longest drive of the whole trip, we were on the road all day. This is a great experience so far, got to meet new people, see beautiful sites, and most of all get to know myself better.

Day three volunteer work

Today was just amazing. Coming together with the people I came with was the best part of the day. working Hard, getting stuff done, and laughing a lot. Today we worked in groups, taking out fences and clearing out a trail.

 Then the high light of my day was when we were all done with our work and then we went swimming, and one of the people that came ( Jose ) could not swim, so me and another person were “ trying “ to teach him to swim, which did not go well.

 But one of the best things that I learned today was that if you don’t know anyone you could always laugh again.

Day two volcanic exploration

Today we awoke in a very pleasant way in really cold weather. Today we went to Lava Lands and my favorite part was the view. Looking at the beautiful landscape, and the lava flow. 

Day 1 starting day

So today was alright and a very exciting day. So, my friend asked me and another person to come to this trip for two weeks. My first thought was okay then, this will be fun to do; she goes and tells me that we leave the next day. Even though we were late and had a few things to do before we arrived at Heritage University I enjoyed it. This morning we were running late. We were supposed to be there around 9:30, but we got there late. That’s okay, I’m just happy to be here this is a great experience so far. We were on the road most of the day, and it was lit because I was riding with some funny people including myself. After all the riding around we got to the camp site and started to put up our tents and what not. So yeah it was good and I enjoyed spending time with people.