Summer 2012 Begins

Hello all!  It sure has been a while since my last blog post.  Since my last blog post I had my last semester of college, where I finished writing and defended my master’s thesis, and graduated on May 12.  The only job I have lined up so far is returning to Sequoia Kings National Parks to do the same work I did last summer; I start this coming Monday and end at the end of September. 

It was a bit harder to leave Tucson this year than last, since I don’t know where I will be come October;  each time I said goodbye to someone (who wasn’t family, of course) I knew that there was a chance it would be the last time I saw that person, as least for a while. My animals are farmed out to three homes – my sister is taking care of my old Siamese, my parents are taking care of my black kitty and lizards, and a friend is taking care of my snakes. 

The drive to California was 11 long hours, and was thankfully ended the first day by a visit (and good company/food) with some friends.  The second day I only drove 4 more hours to get to another friend’s place north of Sacramento, where I’ve been all week.  After the bustle of getting my affairs in order to leave AZ for another 4 months, it has been really nice to just relax and live in someone else’s life.

My friends north of Sacramento are friends from church, and so it is especially nice to visit them and share doctrinal viewpoints on our lives from the past year.  My friend Mary is an especially close friend, and it has been wonderful visiting with her (and her family!).  It is a treat to be in the company who shares your beliefs in things, can provide advice that is grounded in something other than human viewpoint, and is equally excited about doing Bible class every day.  It’s been a great week for me spiritually.  

This past Thursday she, her two kids, and I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and had a wonderful time.  Mary’s kids seemed to enjoy the aquarium a lot, and it was really neat to experience it with them and see them interact with all the different activities there.  Monterey has done a great job designing activities that are fun and actually quite educational (even for me!). 

Mary’s daughter has had a cough the entire time I’ve been here, and this cough has been around for the past month.  The night before and the day of the Monterey Bay Aquarium the cough seemed especially bad, and Mary was concerned of it not getting better (despite a doctor’s appointment the previous week), so on the way back from the aquarium we did a stopover to the UC Davis Emergency Room.  A good few hours later we learned that her daughter wasn’t given the right materials for her inhaler to work, so she hadn’t been getting that medicine since her previous doctor’s appt.   We ended up getting home around 2 or 3 in the morning – a long day, but worth it!  Two days later, with the right inhaler stuff, Mary’s daughter’s cough does seem to be getting better – I hope the progress continues.  

Monterey Bay Photos

I’ve had a great time!  Tomorrow (Sunday) I will leave Mary’s place and go to Ash Mountain (Sequoia Kings Park headquarters), and Monday I start work!  As an FYI, when I go to the east side of the Sierra Nevadas I plan to get a PO box, and will post that address here when I do.  Before then, on the off chance anyone needs to get into contact with me, I will have periodic email service, phone service, and can be reached via mail here until the 19^th of June:

Kris Ratzlaff
c/o Danny Boiano
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
47050 Generals Highway,
Three Rivers, CA 93271