Moving to South Dakota for Internships//Summer's Story Pt. 1

   

                                                                    Bison in South Dakota

    The drive took forever. We probably could have done all 14 hours in one day but we split it into 2 days. Which adds to the adventure because the air b and b we stayed in was a very awkward experience. We went from the flat Midwest farmland and trees of Illinois and Iowa to rolling hills without a tree insight. Then the giant Dignity statue greets you and behind her is the Missouri river and giant hills with pine trees. That doesn't last too long until it is back to the hilly grasslands but our destination was the black hills where there was mountains and pine trees, Rushmore and cougars and loads of trails to hike and adventure to be had. We are actually only about an hour from Wyoming from our cabin here in Custer. 

                                                                  Views around our cabin

Our cabin, Ponderosa

     Some of you knew where we went to- and some of you may not until now, but Parker and I both got jobs in South Dakota so we moved there back in the middle of May. We got a cabin all to ourselves in Custer State Park (here is another link) since Parker works there as a resource technician doing habitat management things. He does get to work at the bison corrals, too which is always fun to hear about when he gets home. I got a job as an archery/ naturalist intern. I work in Rapid City, South Dakota at The Outdoor Campus. It is actually amazing that I get to take my passion for archery and teach a big variety of people how to shoot, encourage new hunters (as you know, bowhunting is one of the top favorite things I do), and we have a fun time doing it. I have been told a lot that the classes I teach are very chill, and have a good atmosphere from people just starting out or even experienced archers. We actually did a super fun archery class a few weeks ago that I invented called ART-chery where we fill balloons with paint and shoot them to make paint pour art! Along that same idea I hosted a 3D archery shoot with 38 targets placed all over the trails and we had over 112 people. It sounds very nonchalant but that day I put in 16 hours of work and had lots more hours put in planning and working it out. Parker helped me so much with it, he even came out to help me on his day off. 

My masterpiece from ART-chery

    Besides archery, I have been teaching a few survival classes, fishing classes like bowfishing and kayak fishing, cleaning and fileting fish, wild game cooking, leading nature hikes, animal tracking classes and all of these are open to the community or organized groups. It is so rewarding to hear the feedback from people who take my classes and they usually sign up for more that I teach just to come see me again and have fun. I really like that I can come out of this internship knowing so much more than I went in. Parker and I even attended a trapping class that they held there so wherever we end up next we can start trapping, too. 

The Outdoor Campus West- Rapid City; my work

    I suppose a really cool thing I ought to mention is that because I work for South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks I got to go to an intern lunch that the Governor Kristi Noem hosted! Not only was she there and I got a picture with her, but I actually got a chance to chat with her about hunting and archery since she is into it too. We got to tour the governors mansion and have a fantastic lunch that was a taco bar of anything you could ever want. 

                                                   Lieutenant Governor, me and Kristi Noem (gov)

    We also found the most FANTASTIC church out here called Living Outreach Church. If you come out to the black hills or Custer, South Dakota and you need a church to go to I really suggest this one. We have actually been pretty involved and made a lot of great life long friends there. It makes it feel more like home out here when we have a support system. 

                                                                    The trail from behind our cabin

     Work really keeps me busy and especially the added stress lately of not knowing where we were going next, little teaser but we know now and just got approved to rent a house. Now that things are already coming to an end here I can take a step back and relax a little more. The area we are in really helps with that and we can hike a trail right behind our house whenever we want that is only a 4 mile loop, it even has snacks of wild raspberries. But enough of that- I really want to have all our adventures in the next blog to keep track of it better. 

                                                                               raspberries

    The verse I have for this blog has to do with God being with us wherever we go. He is not a God that leaves you alone, he is always there. It doesn't matter how far you go he will stay by your side. The Holy Spirit is within us as Christians so we can't really be lost to God. The verse is "Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me." -Psalm 138:7-10. If you have watched the Chosen series this verse may be familiar to you in season 2. It is the main theme of the episode because even when you are living outside of God's will he is still there, even if you turn your back on God he is there waiting for you to come back. So even though moving can be a stressful time of life, it doesn't matter how far you go God just doesn't go away, too. You are never too hard for God to reach. 

-Nichole💜