On May 16, three volunteers gathered in the parking lot of the Trust ready to head out to the West Side of the Kaibab Plateau to collect data from 50 plots looking for Cheatgrass invasion, native plant species, and Slide Fire affects on the landscape.
Steve had found us a great camping spot tucked away in the beautiful PJ life zone that allowed for great sunset and sunrise viewing. We set up camp, got ourselves oriented, and began our week together training and discussing the process behind monitoring these plots. We soon realized fitting 50 plots into three and a half days may be more than we were ready for, but our volunteers sure showed us! 
Each day they worked diligently, with attention to detail and accuracy- each day they took a deep breath with a smile and a sip of their coffee and each day, they worked hard until the plots were visited and completed. It was invigorating. My passion for our work grew and my appreciation for our volunteer communities rose to new heights.
The work we accomplished was amazing. I am honored to have been a part of this project and want to recognize Amy, Cliff, and Val for their energy, hard work, and wonderful attitudes. Let's not forget, however, there were times where we had some downtime to get creative and have some fun- back up singing, marshmallow eating contests, shadow puppets, burrito making showcase, bee charming, nickname giving, around the camp fire chatting, and a lot of laughing.
We hope to see you all again. Please check our website http://www.gcvolunteers.org/ for trip updates and volunteer opportunities in the future. Also, there are some fun pictures posted in our photo gallery http://www.flickr.com/photos/26568582%40N02
Cheers!
Lauren
