Tabatha Deans

Greetings from the Gorge

Day two of the Dam guide job was just as amazing as the first. I awoke at 5:45 a.m. and am amazed at how easy it was to get out of bed. Usually I hit snooze several times, but there’s something about the fresh air, and the chilly air, that prompted me to get out of bed and watch the sunrise. So I got out of the tent, poured some cereal into a cup with milk, and walked around the campround as I ate. I got the full effect of the “Flaming Gorge,” with the sunrise. The scattered clouds over the reservoir were red with the morning sun, and as they floated across the mountains, it truly looked as if the sky was on fire.

Along my morning walk I ran across a mother doe and her two fawns, and got the crap scared out of me by the baby rabbits that hopped out of the bushes, across my feet, and on down the road. After finishing my breakfast, I drove up the road about a half mile to the Deer Run campground, where I took a shower and got ready for work. I still had an hour left before I had to report to the dam, so I drove up to the Flaming gorge lodge and got a cup of coffee, checked my email, and submitted last night’s blog, which I wrote while I was lounging in my tent last night.

I did partial tours today, explaining to the visitors some of the details of building the dam. After learning more about the dam I realize how amazing the task was to tame 136 trillion gallons of water (that’s how much is in the lake now.) By the time I gave my first partial tour, it wasn’t about just doing the job right, it was more about making the visitors understand the overwhelming job of building the dam. We had nearly 400 visitors today, from as far away as London. Many of them are “Full timers,” like my parents. Full timers are people who spend all day every day traveling the states and camping in RV’s or tents.

I’m getting to know the people who work at the dam with me, as well as some of the cops who are there to secure the dam. Three girls, Johnita, Sheila and Angel, are sisters who were raised in Dutch John. They all work the dam tours in the summer. Johnita and Angel are still going to school, and Sheila is a professor in Tennessee the rest of the year. They’re good girls with good hearts, and i found out today that their mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer earlier this year. I think there are 8 kids in the family total, and the mother and others came up to tour the dam and run the river. I’ts heartbreaking to watch the girls, knowing that their mother probably won’t be here next year. It makes me miss Jessica and want to grab her in a hug and never let go.

I’m treating myself to a hot dinner at the lodge tonight. There’s all kinds of people here, including several guys who are here flyfishing who were at the dam earlier harassing us. There’s people from Asia, families from various cities, and some bikers straggling back from Sturgis. The locals are very helpful and nice, and again  my head is getting bigger as a couple of them have walked by and stopped to talk. “You must the writer who works at the dam,” they say. “I am, I just got off work over there and am trying to get a couple stories done,” I say. “Whatcha writing?” they ask. “Stories for the Vernal Express,” I say. “What kinda stories?” they ask, wanting to know the news before anyone else does. “School Stories,” I say. They always want to know what else I’ve written, and if I’m writing any stories about the area. I tell them that I’m always looking for good stories, so I’m sure when I show up for coffee tomorrow morning there will be some kind of story waiting for me.

Although the Dam job doesn’t seem like work, standing and walking for 10 hours has me beat. So I’m going to enjoy my fish and chips, take a long walk down to the marina, then hit the sack.

August 10, 2008 - Posted by Tabatha Stewart | Uncategorized