This week has been a super busy one. Madeline and I kicked off Monday with the removal of 5 (yes, I said 5) 4-drawer filing cabinets from the 2nd floor to an area outside the building. On our drive into the park Monday morning she said we were going to get these out of the library and she was not kidding. We were two women on a mission.
My new nickname for Madeline is now “The Beast” as she did ALL the heavy lifting. Thanks to a dolly and some tie down straps from the climber crew in an office downstairs, Madeline took down the first one single-handedly! (Now you know why I nicknamed her “The Beast”.)
One of the nicest guys I’ve met around the museum is interpretative ranger Eric Nelson. I met him my first day on site when I practically bumped (literally) into a deer hanging out at the museum. He chuckled at me, as did I and shared pictures of the deer peeking into the museum from earlier that morning. He is just a super nice person and willing to help with anything. I know I spoke weeks ago about the Rare Book Room and when I went looking for someone to help me lift some boxes onto a high shelf he was there to help without any hesitation.
On this morning he was right there once again. He saw us bring down the first cabinet and without skipping a beat he joined us in this effort and stayed with us until it was done. Together our hero (Eric) and the Beast (Madeline) hauled down 5 cabinets and I managed to assist with the 20 drawers that came down separately. We had all of this complete by 10:00 am when the museum opened to the public. If you are interested you can watch the video of them taking down one cabinet here: https://youtu.be/fHYy4P6vFVY.
Removing these filing cabinets really opened up some space for us. You cannot really see the benefits in these pictures but the bottom line is we are getting better organized each week and eliminating more and more of the stacks awaiting to be processed.
Volunteer Elizabeth arrived Tuesday and Volunteer Laura joined us on Wednesday. They are both ready to continue the efforts of getting the backlog resolved and we are looking forward to even more productive weeks ahead. I’ll get pictures of them this week!
Virginia and I spent Friday working on her desk. I had high hopes of getting it cleared and organized by day’s end but that was not possible. We cleared one large stack and a few things from the floor. I was disappointed but recognize that I need to celebrate small successes as well as large ones. Maybe we can get this done next week. We’ll see . . .
Reminder to self: Progress takes time!
The following came out in the Yosemite Daily Post which publishes park wide. Always nice to be appreciated. Thanks Virginia!
Kudos to Madeline Miller and Mara Yachik! Huge KUDOS to VIPs Madeline Miller and Mara Yachik. Their work and dedication is outstanding, and their intellectual curiosity regarding the Research Library in particular and Yosemite in general brings credit to them and is a demonstrated asset to our community. They shirk at nothing and at the short time they’ve been onboard they’ve made a palpable difference. (V. Sanchez)
Kudos to Eric Nelson! Thank you, Eric, for jumping in and assisting the Research Library team with getting those FIVE cabinets down the stairs. You saw a need and stepped up without being asked. (V. Sanchez)
On to Interpretation: Tuesday at the Welcome Center was again fun. We still have lots of visitors and answering questions is a busy, busy job. Each day I spend there I learn more about hiking and backpacking and the things important to those planning their events. Seasonal rangers last days was this week and added volunteers won’t be in for another week or so. We’ll be short-staffed until after Thanksgiving. I plan to work Saturdays as often as they need me in November and cover a few holidays there while the library is closed (i.e. Veterans Day and Thanksgiving).
Erik Westerlund did the Ranger talk on Tuesday about Charley Harper (August 4, 1922 – June 10, 2007) who was a Cincinnati-based American Modernist artist. He was best known for his highly stylized wildlife prints, posters, and book illustrations.
In the 1970s and 1980s he created 10 illustrations of the life and landscapes of our national parks. Each poster has integrated different things to make the poster like a “find Waldo” piece. Colorful, fun, educational, and quite interesting. You can view more of his posters at the link here: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/hfc/charley-harper-posters.htm
Thursday night was our paining class here in the Motor Inns. Madeline and Elizabeth came along and we all seemed to enjoy ourselves. However, we did confirm that I am no artist. My picture of Half Dome looks more like a whale gazing up at the sun! LOL!
The weekend has gone by much too quickly. Saturday included a drive to Mariposa to pick up a few things at the store and to check my tires. The tire pressure light had come on this week and while I was fairly certain it was related to the changing temps I didn’t have a tire pressure gauge in the car and wanted to pick up one.
This simple process became a bigger one than expected since I stopped at the gas station and found their air pump gauge not working and the gauge I purchased at the first store didn’t work either. Given that it was a trip to Ace Hardware for a second gauge purchase and then back to the gas station only to find this one didn’t work either. As I’m contemplating my next move two motorcyclists pull into the station and one comes over to offer some assistance. Not only did he offer to help, he also had a gauge that worked and checked all 4 tires for me. His kindness did not go unnoticed. We visited and he told me about his mom who volunteers at the San Diego airport helping visitors find their way around and how much she loved this role. He told me he and his buddy were out for a ride and when he saw me bending down to a tire he knew this was going to be his good deed of the day. I couldn’t thank him enough for the sweet assist.
This brings me to one last thing I wanted to share. Earlier this week I was chatting with one of the Volunteer Greg Nelson from Minnesota. He mentioned a book called Take Less, Do More by Glen Van Peski, the founder of Gossamer Gear that he was reading and felt I would enjoy. You will find the link to this book here: Take Less, Do More
Glen Van Peski, founder of Gossamer Gear, is known for his legendary contributions to the backpacking community. A native Californian, Van Peski grew up in the western outdoors. When his oldest son joined Scouts, he led the troop’s backpacking program. As he got more involved with the Scouts and backpacking, he began to work on finding ways to lighten his load of gear and in that process he learned some valuable life lessons that have changed his life. Lightening our load so that we can do more can be incredibly powerful. I have loved listening to this book and highly recommend it to others.
Now we all know I am not a backpacker, a hiker, or a wilderness traveler. But now that I have experienced Yosemite, I can see why those that are absolutely love it. It is a chance to reflect; a chance to pause and consider all that we are as well as all that we are given, and a chance to appreciate nature and all that comes with it. It’s a level of peace that can’t be found as easily when you are ‘in the noise’ of living. I thought about that yesterday with my motorcycle friend. A couple of guys just out for a ride to enjoy the scenery. But they were aware of what was around them. They saw me because they had slowed down their lives and were looking and seeing at the same time. I’m grateful for that moment for them but also for me. Their good deed changed my day. They took less and they did more.
I don’t believe this world was created by us alone. And sitting in the middle of places like Yosemite bring me a better view of all that this world is and all that was created. I’m awed by the people who came before me. The John Muir’s of the world who saw the importance of this space and the need to protect it for generations to come. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be here, to be engaged, and to share in its wonder in any way that I can. I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn about taking time to reflect. I’m grateful for people like Volunteer Greg who shared this book with me. These are the moments that matter in this world. We really can take less and do more in so many capacities.
Life here continues to be FUN and BUSY! What memories I am making! Upcoming events include (1) Art Class at Local Community Center in El Portal on Thursday 10/24 (2) Halloween celebration in the El Portal community complete with two food trusts, Sal’s Tacos and Madera BBQ on October 31. (3) Ansel Adams iPhone Camera Photography Class on 11/9 (4) Friends Cathy Scott and Joan Head coming to visit on November 11-12! (5) Government Credential Updating in Mariposa the afternoon of 11/12.
Please forgive all errors, take care of yourselves, stay safe and blessings to all. And this week . . . Take Less and Do More!
Hugs, Mara
Love the post. Happy to see you recognized in the paper. Madeline is a “ beast”.
Found the heart in the deer picture
Love you!