Operation: Cave Fitness

I LOVE caves ... I love caving!!!  I know it's probably no surprise to anyone but here I am working at another cave park, cave park number three to be exact, and I am pumped.  This time I have the pleasure of working at Wind Cave National Park, and for those of you who have been following my blog I wrote an entry describing my adventures visiting Wind Cave National Park this past winter (1 of 5 trips made throughout the winter.) 

So far I am excited to see how my summer will pan out as I have already met amazing people and have had incredible experiences in such a short amount of time.  For those of you who didn't know Wind Cave National Park was actually the first National Park established to protect a cave resource, it became the 7th National Park of the United States in 1903.  The cave is such an incredible resource.  It's much different from Jewel Cave National Monument and I find both places equally beautiful yet unique in their own ways.

I find it slightly unfortunate that I didn't take a lot of time this winter to explain in more detail how amazing Jewel Cave National Monument is.  It's impressive to say you've worked at the 2nd longest cave in the world.  Jewel Cave is full of massive passageways and is known for the calcite crystals that cover approximately 95% of the cave walls.  There too I met some of the most amazing people ever; some folks whom I would easily consider some of the best people I've ever met.

My love and admiration for caves is unmatched.  It was at a cave, in the middle of southwest Montana, at the age of 18, where I realized what it was that I wanted to do with the rest of my life...  I wanted to become a National Park Ranger and a speleologist.  I remember I had never visited a cave before in my life and I wondered if I had even made the right decision to work there, but that was truly the BEST decision of my life.  I spent four years there completely enthralled with the cave resource. 

The summer of 2007 was a blast!  It seemed there wasn't a week I didn't end up going on a cave trip and it was also the year I got to make my first Snow Room trip (which for Lewis & Clark Cavern's is a big deal).

This is also the place where I decided that I would trade in my music scholarship and get a major in geology so I could understand the processes in which caves form better, and I slowly but surely accomplished that goal!  Once again, I love caves.

NOW, for the title of my blog; Operation: Cave Fitness... Like I said I love to cave, I use to cave quite a bit.  Any opportunity I had to go with a group or take the cave's speleologist in I was all over it, even if it meant I had to go to the Glow Room, ha ha.

Even though I have this incredible passion for caving I am definitely not in the best shape for it... but that is all about to change!!  This summer is officially my opportunity to lose as much weight as possible so I can once again do all these cave trips I love so much.  I mean if I'm going to work in the 2nd longest cave in the winter and the 5th longest cave in the summer I might as well take advantage of these opportunities that are available, thus I am devoting my summer to getting into the best shape I possibly can.  That means no more ice cream cake for awhile (even if it is right after a cave trip.)  So far this winter I lost 3 pant sizes and I don't plan on stopping.  So wish me luck as I work my ass off to get into the best shape possible so that not only can I feel better about myself, but so that I can also bend and twist down into the bowels of the earth...  Here's to the future!