The next poll...

Seeing as it is election time again, and all we seem to hear about anymore is the primaries... I thought why not get into the spirit over things we know something about. You will notice a couple of questions and selectable multiple choice answers to the right... the question is, what should the next poll be? Use the comment box below to throw some ideas out there... no idea will go unread. I'll pick from the best of them (I'm assuming there will be more than one), and add it to the blog page.

I'm quickly learning the ropes when it comes to blogging... please feel free to add comments about the blog that will ensure it is the type of place people will bookmark and return too...
Getting better all the time...

Chippie Creek & Columbine 1

2007

Later in the season... as things slowed down, we were given the opportunity to take the helicopter off district...

Stop number 1 on our tour of the North... Montana and the Chippie Creek Fire! It was about 11 days of fun. With more helicopters than crews, Zion Helitack helped to support the entire helibase with many positions. We had a lot of experiences on this fire. We did some ABRO work, some helispotting, we topped it off with a little PSD... although we didn't get to spike out on the line as we would have liked... it was a good time had by most if not all.

Stop number 2... Wyoming and Yellowstone N.P. on the Columbine 1 Fire! between the buffalo jams and the tourists... just getting there was a feet in itself. We spent a lot of time supporting the fire with a variety of things. We had some cold weather. We had some rainy weather. Did someone say snow... no but it seemed like it was right around the corner. By the time we were done with Yellowstone... it was time. Most if not all were ready to be back home! We had lost two crewmembers back to school. We had also helped many detailers to gain some needed experience... but those on the crew were running on fumes.

It was a great trip all in all... and the longest role that Zion Helitack has been given the pleasure of taking. 35 days on the road... and a lot of miles under our belt we returned home satisfied to wait for next seasons off district role.

Cheers,

Zion Helitack 2007

The 2007 crew...

What a bunch... (top left moving clockwise) Chris Jensen, Ben Suerig, Rob Brennecke, Erin Sparks, Kate Chappel, Paul Damron, Scott Dornbusch, Jessica Mico-Wentworth, Jezaree McNutt, Michael Reid, Alicia Tanrath, (pilot) Michael Wilton, Norman "Iceman" Allen

Missing from the photo is Curtis Ritzman and fuel driver Jud Callaway.

Early in the season it was slow... nearly the entire month of June was spent without fighting fire... I know that the crew nearly went nuts with the projects that we had to accomplish. Digging a rather large trench from the crew trailer to the electrical box... I am sure that if I had them dig one more foot beyond what we did, I would no longer be bloggin' they would have killed me where I stood. Pouring the concrete around the trailer to the workshop... another task that a bunch of novices undertook and if I don't say so did a wonderful job. I'm not sure all wanted to take credit for what we had accomplished, but I was rather proud of it.

It didn't take long for the season to get started and once it did the projects were a thing of the past. We don't have as many projects this next season, but then I am hoping that the fire season will be back to normal and we will be fighting fire earlier in June...

Cheers,

Dinosaur Bones?

Each season for the past 4 years, Zion Helitack has been given the opportunity to assist in a rather fun and unique project. The Grand Staircase National Monument (GSNM) paleontologist's have needed a way to extract the bones that they have uncovered on the monument. Due to the weight of the bones and the remote location, a helicopter is the obvious choice.

We have been pleased to pull leg bones, skulls, and even complete bodies of rarely if every before seen dinosaur's. At least two of the bones that we have extracted for them are new discoveries... it is fun to be a part of such a new and groundbreaking discovery. The bones are always plastered in a casing before we rig and lift them to waiting trucks and trailers. So unfortunately we have no pictures of the finished product... in fact it often takes many years to uncase the bones from the rock within which they were entombed... But just the knowledge of what we have been a part of is rewarding.

We are looking to help the GSNM out once again in 2008 by inserting gear and equipment into a very difficult area to reach. An area that the paleontologists refer to as "no man's land"... they are hopefull that they will unearth even more and diversily interesting bones that no doubt we will be extracting for them...

just a step back in time... Cheers,

Winter Time At The Base!

Often I get asked what happens around the base during the winter months. "Do you close the base down?", is a common question from crewmembers that only know the warm summer months of the base life. The answer is... NO! I am still stuck at the base long after most everyone leaves. In past years it has been just me and the cat. While Alicia is full time, she has taken the oportunity to teach at the academy in California for several months. Recently John Burke joined us at the air center... he too will now know the cold boredom that is winter at the base...

Occassionally there is something that happens that is worth mentioning... Like the visit by Laura Bush to Zion N.P. Did I get to see her, or shake her hand?... NO! I did however get to see her jet land and take off again... if you can call that exciting!


And there was the phone call back in '05, early in the morning to inform me that the coal creek river had burst its banks during the runnoff and the air center was being flooded. That is a mess that I still have nightmares about. It did a lot of damage, and required days of cleanup and years of rebuilding. We still feel the affects of that mess even today.

Almost weekly the Cedar City fire department is out playing with their newest million dollar toy. The aircraft crash truck is something to ooh and aww over. I wasn't very pleased the day they decided to test their water canon on our freshly plowed aircraft ramp... temperatures that night were well below zero and caused a sheet of ice nearly an inch thick to remain on the ramp for many days to follow... ooops!

Winters are filled with keeping warm and doing paperwork... not all that exciting.

Cheers,

The Beauty of Zion National Park

One of the things that attracted me to Zion N.P. and the foreman position here, was the absolute beauty of the park itself. Zion, very fittingly, is part of Color Country. The colors of the landscape are spectacular nearly any time of year. I must say that sunset is my absolute favorite, but sunrise is nothing to neglect either.

I suppose that the best part of my job is that I get to fly over this country. Most of it un-touched by humans... the plateau nature of Zion makes a lot of it unaccessible. If ever I am having a tough day when I ask myself,"why do I continue to do this job for the lack of pay I receive?" a statement that anyone who has been in the industry for some length of time has probably thought to himself/herself... when I have those feelings, all I have to do is look out the window of the helicopter down at what is so beautifully painted on the landscape and I know that I have one of the best jobs in the world.

No matter your thoughts or beliefs concerning God or Mother Nature and their intertwinned roles... I think it is safe to say that most everyone who visits Zion N.P. has a moment when in awe they realize that its creation is a masterful work of art, created by an artist that is unmatched. It is a very serene and inspiring landscape for sure...

I hope on your next visit to Zion you take the time to stop and notice a sunset... let it inspire you! Cheers,