Round 3: Lots of Rain, 2 Tornado Warnings, No Bears

Round 4 was interesting to say the least.  We stayed at a beautiful campsite on Cedar Lake.  We had three campsites and the Forest Service provided us with a camper to cook and store items.  The view of the lake was a wonderful site to come home to everyday.  The weather was less than cooperative.  It rained a lot, sometimes days at a time, and there were tons of tornado warnings during this time also.

The work was challenging.  Some days we were very busy and others we were very bored.  We completed over 23 miles of trail work, which included tread work, brushing, and blazing.  We worked on a variety of trails including hiking, ATV, and equestrian trails.  The forest was beautiful and even in the rain, I still enjoyed walking in the forest.  We did not receive No Trace certification, but we did receive chainsaw training.  All of my team are now on the Apprentice level as Sawyers, which is cool, but not so useful in my future endeavors probably.

I loved my shuffle team, and I was so grateful for the opportunity to be with several of my friends during this experience.  We enjoyed working together and sharing the experience of camping together for eight weeks.  We spent time going to Poteau to grocery shop and go out to eat.  We spent time on the lake and played A LOT of cards.  We were invited by our supervisor to a local Native American Pow Wow and also attended the Heavener Lamplight Jamboree, which reminded me of the Grand Ol' Opry.
For Spring Break (a long weekend)  I was able to go into Oklahoma City and spend time with Chris.  It was definitely a break that I needed.  It was so nice to sleep in a bed and not have to walk 100 yards to shower or go to the bathroom.  We enjoyed one another's company and just lounged around for most of the weekend.  However, we did go out to dinner, see a movie, go to the bookstore, and go to the Science Musuem while I was there.
Overall the experience was positive, but I was definitely ready to get back to Denver and get the last round underway.  We had a difficult time getting enough work from our sponsor, and the bad weather was taking a toll on our team morale.