The week has been going well... i have been quite busy finishing things up and writing my paper and preparing my exit presentation. It always seems like the days go by so slowly until you have a deadline to meet; then the days are not long enough. Thursday we (the ward) went out to White Sands Monument to play on the dunes in the full-moonlight, but right when we got there, a huge thunderstorm hit, and it rained and i saw more lightning than I have seen in a long time. We waited it out and just as we got a game of capture the flag going, the warden informed us that the park was closing. :(

On Friday, I embarked on a journey with George Jennings Jr. and George Jennings the 3rd, George's (the 3rd) brother, and Ryan Houpt. We took the Jennings' big chevy van filled with our gear and drove through Deming and Silver City to the Gila. We stopped in Silver City where Goerge and Ryan got food for the trip. (A 12 pack of 1/4 pound beef hot dogs, a can of refried beans and a block of pepper jack cheese.) The road up to the Cliff Dwellings National Monument was long and windy. I found out that it was the 'scenic route' which George translated as 'narrow with sharp corners'. We finally arrived to our destination. None of the campgrounds seeemed very inviting, so we found a place off of a hiking trail that was pretty amazing. It was right off the river, sheltered by a 50 foot cliff and cottonwood trees. George and I hung our hammocks from two cottonwood trees (basicially one hammock above the other) and we started checking out our surroundings. We found a lot of stinging nettle by the base of the cliff and huge tadpoles in the river. That night we went frog hunting. George showed us how to make spears by splitting the end of an 8 foot willow branch and lashing and whittling it so that it makes two points (these proved to be much more effective than the single point spears) that are seperated at the end by about an inch and a half. We walked at night, using our flashlights to spot their eyes, and jabbing at them with our weapons. Two big ones got away before I made my first kill. It was a huge Bullfrog (about a foot long with the legs extended) George showed us how to tie their legs together and lash them to our belts so that they wouldn't get away. (We had killed them before hand by stabbing a knife through their brain but they keep kicking after they are dead. Last time he went frogging, George found out the hard way that they can jump out of a pocket or a bag when you least expect it.) We hunted until about midnight, nabbing 12 bullfrogs--half were big like the ones that I got, and the rest were a bit smaller. Back at camp wechopped their legs and arms off and cooked them in the fire in tin foil. We added Cattail roots to the tin foil along with butter, seasoning salt, and lemon pepper. After 15 minutes, we enjoyed our french wilderness meal of frog meat. It tasted like fishy chicken and the meat fell off of the bones. It was enough meat for all four of us (George Jr. was sleeping). I was actually kind of surprised that I didn't die instantly from some frog-borne illness, and that it sat well in my stomach. I slept okay, but in the hammock my back kept getting cold since I didn't bring my sleeping mattress. the next morning we ate breakfast (boiled stinging nettle leaves and other stuff that we brought) and we just relaxed. We checked out the monument (we actually didn't go up to see the cave dwellings) and then drove back (the other way, NOT on the scenic route), stopping in Deming for ice cream.

Saturday night we watched 'Flight of the Conchords' at Ray Foote's house and it was way funny.