Time in Stanley

I absolutely loved my time in Stanley. My Stanley family is wonderful, and everybody is so unique. We have been very busy in Stanley, so busy that all the counties in District II have been extremely wet so rainfall enhancement has not been needed. Although, we have definitely stayed on our toes with all of the hail suppression missions. I have learned so much within these past few weeks, but the main thing is persistence and dedication. We have had several missions that stretched on into the night, one in particular was from sunset to sunrise and lasted 7 and 1/2 hours! When dealing with several rounds of storms, for such a long period of time, it can drain you mentally and physically. It is important to be focused and prepared. I also got to go on a mission. I got to see the beautiful structure of the thunderstorm, and watched it evolve as the planes seeded it. I have lots of pics that I will post soon. I am even working on a video of the mission. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever done. Hopefully I will have more opportunities to ride along on the missions. One of the most rewarding experiences thus far was when I ran a mission...by myself. I was preforming the duties of radar watch, when a cell quickly exploded over the MT/ND border. I ended up launching 4 planes in the air and operations ran smoothly. After an hour in, I had assistance...yet I was allowed to finish the mission that I began. I had lots of positive feedback, and the simple joy of overcoming the pressure of a stressful situation was a reward within itself. Overall this has been such an exciting and different job. I never knew that I would enjoy this aspect of meteorology so much. I wish there was a way I could do this job closer to home and on an annual bases. Since this is a 24hr operation it can wear you thin, yet isn't weather always ever changing? Most meteorology jobs have some type of "always on call" dedication.

If I was was working with a different group of people, I'm sure things would not be the same. On our downtime (which is very little), we have inter-tubed on the lake, grilled out, gone shopping, shot guns, watched movies, played games, built character, and simply had our own personal adventures. I am already halfway through the project and I have developed friendships and memories that will last a lifetime.

I am now currently in Bowman, ND and so far the weather hasn't been quite as busy as District II. So far I have gone ghost town touring, explored the enchanted highway, played putt-putt golf, and gone fishing. Tomorrow we are going to dig for dinosaurs! I am also with a completely different group of people, whom I am eager to get to know. My next stop is Bismarck, then back to my Stanley family. I miss my family at home and have vacation time set up for July 22-26. Ticket prices to fly home are outrageous, so I may have to wait till the end of project to travel home. Which is doable, because being busy and meeting new friends has kept my head clear. This is the time of my life, and I want to live it up while I can!