Blog 8 – Kayla Brock

September 11, 2018 3:13 pm Published by Kayla Brock 1 Comment

It’s over! I can’t believe how fast this summer flew by. It seems they get faster and faster every year. This summer was full of so many new experiences, such as fire fighting, silviculture surveys, helicopter rides, timber cruising; the list could go on. I am so thankful for the new friends I made and I hope we all cross paths again soon!

Leaving Quesnel yesterday was a bittersweet feeling. It was my home for four months and it grew on me quite quickly. I’ll miss my “Cariboo Wednesdays” and the forests within the district. The Cariboo district has some incredible forests and I am blessed to have spent time working within them.

Everyday was always something different. I think I’ll look back on this a lot when I’m sitting in classrooms all day at school.

West Fraser provided us with a rafting trip last Thursday; that was a blast. I think another student is writing about it, so I won’t go into too much detail. It was a cold, wet, and fun day though! Our work week ended with a BBQ on Wednesday. We had steaks, salads, and a piñata. It was a great way for us to spend time together before we part our separate ways. Last weekend, Storey (another student I mentioned in my first blog) took us all out to her family cabin on Quesnel Lake. That was a fun filled weekend filled with boating, games, laughter, and a copious amount of alcohol. It was really sad when that ended too.

I can’t express enough how thankful I am for the experiences and knowledge I gained this summer. Thank goodness West Fraser provided me with this incredible opportunity. Every now and again I get worrisome in school that I chose the wrong career path, but when I come home happy with my job every day, I realize that I’m indeed doing what I love.

When I made my rounds of goodbyes yesterday, a few people weren’t in the office, so if I didn’t say goodbye to you yesterday and you’re reading this: GOODBYE!! ?

Oh, and my animal count! I saw a total of 31 black bears (one of which was on the way home yesterday); 22 moose; 3 grizzlies; 5 lynx; 1 wolf; 1 porcupine; and 1 skunk (I saw the skunk yesterday on the way home too). I have never seen a porcupine before, and this one was crossing Highway 26 (Barkerville Highway) and it had a line-up of cars stopped waiting for it to cross the road. It was super cute. Seeing animals was something I never got sick of. In the beginning of the summer, we could pretty much predict where we would see moose. They hung out in the same spots everyday. I worried on mornings I wouldn’t see them.

My grizzly bear experience was probably my best memory this summer. It was very rewarding to see a mom and her two cubs.

So, thankyou again to West Fraser Quesnel, my co-workers, my office mates, Shannon (the best supervisor ever), and all the wildlife for making my summer 110% better than I thought it was going to be! You all rock.

-Kayla

A picture of our steak to make you hungry!