weekly wrap-up: school, snow and sunshine

Sooooo, my week has looked VERY different than what it normally does in May.  Instead of working on the farm...I'm actually in Alberta!

My degree has a field school requirement, which means that I'm in Kananaskis Valley for a week at the moment, doing all sorts of wonderful things!

When we woke up on the very first morning that we were here.....there was SNOW on the ground!! 

It was beautiful, but freezing cold!  My group was learning how to survey an area, and it is not something I recommend you do in freezing temperatures!

The next day was MUCH nicer, and warmed up quite a bit, and we learned how to calculate wind velocities using balloons! 

(our prof is hilarious....and was pretending to freak out right as I took these pics!)

One of the most exciting parts of this day was blowing up the balloons....helium is fun ;)

Below is my partner and I right after we set up a weather station on the delta of Barrier Lake! 

(it was SUPER WINDY!!!)

I am continually amazed at the beauty of the valley, and am having so much fun here.  It's so great to be able to be learning so many practical and applicable things, and the hands-on approach is so much more enjoyable compared to sitting in a classroom all day!

Today was hydrology, so we got to model some extremely flattering waders (waterproof overalls), and "play" around in a creek!  It was by far my favorite day....and it was so warm that a few people even got sunburns!

My group is so much fun....and it's been such a wonderful experience to be able to bond with my classmates in such a unique way before entering into our final year together!

I hope your week was as interesting as mine!

ps: kelsey ♥