2 Days Until Graduation!!!

Yes, that's right--Mike has just 2 days until he will officially graduate from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. This week was a busy and stressful one for him. On Monday he had his final defensive tactics physical exam, as well as his final written exam. Today he finished up with arrest warrants and the final physical efficiency battery (PEB), which includes benchpress, agility run, flexibility, and a 1.5 mile run. He improved on most of his scores from the mid-term PEB, and I'm so proud of him! So...at long last, on Thursday the 16th, he will graduate alongside his classmates, and be released from the hallowed halls of FLETC.

So Mike will soon drive north toward Michigan, and then west, west, west. We'll be able to spend a few days together before he'll drive 13 hours to the south, to begin a (the 1st of 4) 3 week "field training" session. During these next 3 months, he'll be a commissioned officer in various areas of California, Nevada, and Washington, working very closely with experienced BLM rangers. Then he'll return to his job (and wife) in Humboldt County. Yay. :)

Fern Canyon, its steep walls covered in lush green ferns of many varieties (where part of the Jurassic Park movie was filmed)

Redwood NP has such a diversity of habitats! I was surprised to see the "Bald Hills" area, high above the redwood forests.


Pretty in pink!

Pink rhodedendrons in the Lady Bird Johnson Grove of Redwood trees...

Tiger or Columbia Lilies

Wood rose

Douglas iris

The rhodedendrons are ever brighter than this...you must come and see them blooming sometime!

(As for me...) I've seen some beautiful scenery lately, while becoming oriented with the trails in Redwood National and State Parks. The rhodedendrons were still blooming as of last week in the Lady Bird Johnson Grove...my photos didn't capture their full color, but they're still pretty.