First Impressions

DAY ONE:
I woke up at 3 am after going to bed two hours prior. My mother and I drove to Milwaukee and I got on my first flight to Chicago. Upon arrival at O’Hare I went on a exploration expedition of the airport before winding up at my gate. It was there I finally got some uncomfortable sleep waiting to board my flight. After loading up on my flight out of Chicago, the plane sat in line for takeoff and again to unload in Denver. I watched the minutes tick on my watch. I must have glanced at my wrist every thirty seconds as I anxiously waited to get the heck off the plane. When the seatbelt light went off I shot up like a weed and jumped down the aisle. In order to make my final connecting flight to Jackson Hole I needed to move but my seat was in the back of a 747. I watched as people took their sweet time getting their luggage out. I was not patient. I watched my departure time come and go while standing in the middle of the aisle. It felt like everyone else around me had fallen into slow motion. I got off the jet but was five minutes late. An older lady who sat across from me on the previous flight bought me lunch after we both waited in line at customer service to get our replacement flight out of Denver. We talked for an hour or so about life and culture before parting ways. She had a optimistic and pleasant way of dealing with life that helped to calm me down after missing my flight. It is interesting how you can share in such a friendly conversation with someone, talk about anything and everything in life, and then just say a simple goodbye when your paths no longer coincide.

My next flight was to Jackson hole. I fell asleep as soon as I boarded and slept until the descent of the flight into Jackson hole airport. I woke up to a view of mountains growing larger as we dropped in from the sky. It had just finished raining and the clouds were rolling off the mountains and smearing water across the sky. The flight touched down as I peered out the window, noticing how the majority of ground area was dominated by one single type of underbrush. I learned late it is called sagebrush. The sagebrush bushes that covered the landscape seemed sharp but veiled in a fresh and moist coat of spring leaves and rain drops. As I stepped off the plane and into the atmosphere I took in the aroma of wild fresh air. To me, it smelled like wet pine cones. It seemed fitting. After I got off the flight I walked into the airport. The airport was more resembling to an oversized and modern ranch lodge. I met Ben, who showed me to the car. It was there that we drove into the park. I noticed how flat the land was that the park was on and yet all around me were towering mountain peaks. It was beautiful; like a playing field for titans to wrestle in the expanse that lay before me. The dominating underbrush akin to turf or individual blades of grass. Whereas I was merely a spectator, shrunken down to find a new perspective. One of humbleness in such bold company as this terrain for titans. I gazed up at the walls to the dome. Forceful, ripped, and rugged the mountains protruded from the sod and disguised the fallen mountain snow and foggy air as one and the same. I waited for body to acclimate to this new perspective but it has not.

After arriving at Signal Mountain I was flooded with names and faces, rules and regulations, and the beauty of my location. We jumped into the fray by eating dinner. After dinner, more faces and places, more rules and regulations. I filled out my paperwork, then, wandering down to the laundry basement I got my uniform and bedsheets, headed to the dorms and threw my stuff in the new square corner of a basement dorm I would call my own. Leaving my stuff behind I followed Doc on a tour of the area and looked at more buildings with more regulations. Doc made it very clear not break rules because of the government behind them. Everything is a federal offense or has multiplied repercussions when you live in a national park. I got my room key and headed out to explore on my own. I wound up at the kitchen and ate some cereal as the sun finally began to burn bright and warm. I made friendly conversation with a girl name Ashely from Wisconsin and others who came and went in the kitchen. Free food from 7am till 12 midnight and a view of the sun setting on the mountain peaks, I had found my new favorite spot. Conversation was easy as people had set questions to ask about my whereabouts, school, or common interests; all of which lead to more conversation. I made my way out and saw some more campgrounds before meandering my way back to the dorms. I talked to some more new people and unpacked my things before going to bed much later than I would have liked.