Wonderland

That's where I live.  Wonderland.  Yesterday the valley gave us three rainbows (one of them was a complete double with all the colors) and a super bright full moon shrouded in thin clouds.  Beautiful.  The day before, I went on a drive with Kris and few of the other interns to Argentina, running through the whole of the Valle Chacabuco and marveling at the cool geology and expansiveness of the area.  The day before that, we went on an adventure to the Chacabuco River, about an hour's walk from the lodge, and went swimming in the turquoise water.  The day prior, I went hiking with Collin and Lorren on part of the Lagunas Altas trail (but we turned around before the top because we thought we'd gone the wrong way and the giant horseflies were driving us nuts), and we got high enough on the ridge behind the lodge to get a fair view towards the Andes in the west and towards Argentina in the opposite direction.  This landscape is truly beautiful, and I am beginning to understand why Doug, when he came here in 1992, was immediately struck by the idea of turning this into a national park.

Yesterday we got our second set of guests, three Brazilians here on Doug's invitation.  They'll be here for a couple more days, and will soon be joined by a flood of guests and potential donors that will keep us busy for the next couple weeks.  The weather here has turned cooler and cloudy, giving us a little rain each day.  It feels more like fall than summer, but it makes hanging out in the kitchen with the oven on and food on the stove that much more cozy and fun.  I'm getting the hang of serving dinner and drinks, and now just have to figure out how appropriate it is for me to hang out with our guests before and after dinner, because I find them all to be interesting people and would like the opportunity to sit and talk with them.  Hopefully I can soon.