I Got to Ride Asia!!!!!

I got to ride ASIA THE ELEPHANT!!! As Alex was walking Baby and Asia down for Bellobration he called me over and had Asia lay down. Then he was like, "ok hurry up!" I had no idea what he was talking about and he was like, "hurry! get on her back!" So i scurryed my way up her gigantic legs and onto her back (bare!!!!) and he had her stand up! it was so cool! i got a picture on my phone and i made him promise i could do it again next week so i can get one on my camera :)

now i can die happy

Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have SNOW

So today was one of those days where you wish you hadn't gotten out of bed. 3 show saturday and it rained and snowed the entire 12 hours i worked. yay. of course the animals are outside this week and it was also terribly cold. while the precious performers and rest of the workers were cozy and dry inside, animal crew got to stay outside in the crappy weather. the parking lot where the animal compound in is dirt- so that of course turned into mud and by the time i left work tonight my black pants were covered in mud up to my knees. since it was so cold we couldnt wash our horses this morning- i have white horses. and of course last night they rolled in their shit. gosh that was fun. after the first show i broke down and walked to dicks sporting goods and bought some long underwear. i spent way too much money but it made a huge difference. tomorrow is supposed to be nice again-then we head off to denver for 10 days. today was a long day and it is now 9:30 and i am ready for bed!

Welcome to Mormonville, USA!

So we have arrived in Salt Lake City- where 75% of the people are mormon. the arena is in a beautiful area with mountains engulfing us. seeing the pink sunset every night disappear behind the mountains is breath taking. we opened yesterday with one show. it was bellos birthday and at noon, him and the elephants paraded down the street. kids had birthday hats, bellow signs and clown noses. during my break i ate lunch at a great thai restaurant with laura. today was another one show day- after the show i headed over to temple square- a place to see in my 1000 places to see before you die book. i went to a mormon temple and watched choir practice. man can they sing! the conductor (is that what they are called) made an announcement before it all started that we should welcome a very special person. i thought he was going to intoduce kate from the circus, but instead he introduced the president from the czech republic! cool! the songs they sang were amazing. one of which was somewhere over the rainbow. i had chills the entire time. the train is parked close enough to the arena that we can walk home. so after watching the choir, some friends and i headed back to the train. 2 shows tomorrow. i think i am going to head back over to temple square. well- i think i am going to read....i will post pictures tomorrow

later

Back Already?

Home was wonderful! it went by way too fast but i left with great memories and quite the party hangover. andy and teresa's wedding was beautiful. it was great to see family and to be around familiar faces once again. i cant believe the week is already over and i am sitting back in my train car. crazy. everyone seemed shocked that i actually came back today. i went right to work after the cab dropped me off- helped to take down the tent, did preshow with poncha the fjord and assisted in the ring for the last show. oh- and that 4 mile animal walk. ugh. we are FINALLY done with california- off to salt lake city. it's been a long day- im off to bed.

Back in Sunny California

After a long summer we are back in cali for our last 2 cities until we make our way over to the east coast. washington was beautiful-i was sad to leave the state. peta was all over us as usual- this time they even called in bomb threats to the building hoping that the shows would be cancelled. we got them on video tape saying that they would rather the elephants be roaming free in asia and be killed for their ivory than to live in the circus with us. they also found our stock cars where we house the animals during train runs, and with spray paint wrote: "animal abusers" all over the cars. CRAZY PEOPLE! we had a long train run back down the coast- beautful! i took a lot of pictures yesterday- we were going in mountains and riding alongside enormous valley's. early this morning we arrived in stockton, cali. we had a nice 3 mile animal walk at 6am. what a way to start the day. lucky me, i get to walk one of the crazy arabians. after 2 days on the train, shamal was quite rowdy. he went on his hind legs several times and got me all scratched and bruised. so much for having nice skin for the wedding next weekend! and speaking of the wedding- i fly home tuesday! I CANNOT WAIT! i need a break :) tomorrow is opening day- i am back at the train now- ready to take a nap!

Labor Day in Washington

We arrived in washington early monday morning. the train came up right along side the ocean. we saw seals and otters poking their heads out of the water and fishermen trying to catch their lunch. it is so beautiful out here! the past few days have been easy. we had a short animal walk monday around 11am and had the rest of the day off. i wandered around the city of everett with my friends and ended up at a bar that served $1.50 pabst blue ribbon beer and frozen tv dinners. :) i helped the bartender and her what looked to be 80 year old friend make jello shots for the following day. what a bar! tuesday i went into work for a few hours to muck out, feed and unload 8 wagon. we ate lunch at a great thai restaurant and had enough leftovers for dinner. i was home by noon and did 5 loads of laundry and slept most of the day. yesterday i had off. i hitched a ride to the mall and saw the movie "superbad"- and let me tell you, it was super funny. great movie- i highly reccommend it. i was in bed early last night. i have been feeling a little sick the past few days. i think i am catching a cold of some sort. i was on the 7am bus this morning because the horses had practice at 8:30. i'm back at the train now for a few hours until rehersal this afternoon. we have a pretty easy schedule this week. 1 show tonight, 1 tomorrow, 3 saturday, 2 sunday. then we take the long trip back down into california to stockton. then i get to go HOME!!!!!!! can you believe summer is over?