I've said it before and I'll say it again..

My job is SOOO cool! I have been crazy busy lately with planning for our third annual American Indian Music Fest. I was responsible for all of the vendors/exhibitors and for the seating. It was a great deal of stress, and at the same time fun. I dealt with over 45 vendors/exhibitors and that meant that I got to know all of them and speak with all of them as I processed applications, answered questions, arranged locations, and more. As if that wasn't the epitome of fun (no sarcasm here, I mean it) I then was invited onstage to perform with Travis Terry. No kidding! I was the only Park Ranger to be able to do it, and it was such an honor to play the native flute with someone so talented. I spent the day talking with many more gifted artists as well. I even found one who I recommended to be a performer, and he was selected. It was such a great weekend. I arrived at the park at 5:45 am to let the food vendors into the park, as they had to cook there and wanted to be ready by 9am. Then I only sat down for five minutes to shovel a fry bread down my throat for the rest of the day which ran until 9:30pm for me. It was amazing though. The artists and craftsmen were fantastic, and many of them explained their artwork and the symbolism behind it. I got wonderful praise for the hard work I put into managing the exhibitor/vendor portion of the music fest, and for the performance. Not only was it rewarding to see the whole event come together, but I met some of the greatest people I have ever met in my lifetime. The people I work with are so awesome as well, they are really devoted to the mission of the park service, and so am I. I was so grateful that my boss trusted me enough to give me the opportunity to tackle something of this magnitude, and I hope I justified her faith in me. I will have pictures in the future to post, but for right now I am still glowing from the warmth of the event and the beauty that was in abundance over the weekend. It was a feast for all of the senses. There was the myriad of colors in all of the artworks of the many different Native American artists, and the delightful food provided a wonderful smell and taste. The exhibitor area was also full of musicians who were selling Cd's, playing their instruments, and singing which not only provided a delight to the ears, but to the soul as well. Then there was the setting itself with the sun, breeze, and later sunset all encompassed around the great house itself. It was absolutely an intoxicating, enchanting, splendid, exhausting, spiritually moving day. One that I will never forget. Originally my boss wanted me to sing on stage, but I got that hideous flu and even though I was recovered, I was still coughing every once in a while so I ended up playing the flute instead, but I was glad to be able to do it. Anyway, I could go on forever, and have, but it was just one of those once in a lifetime events that changes you. It was absolutely wonderful!