Jan. 28-Feb. 2 was our trip to the big Society for Range Management meeting in Spokane, WA, where the team and I got to exercise our plant knowledge (see my October post) and understanding of range management on the exams. Aside from the tests, we participated in poster and speech contests and ran a booth promoting our university's program (with candy!).
We had a great time bonding, getting to try new restaurants and walking along the river. We also hit the country dance one night where U of Wyoming exceeded our expectations of intoxication. Fortunately our group wasn't the only to opt for sobriety, but some of our girls were still asked to dance by buzzed old range folk.
I should mention the mustaches; there were many, many mustaches on a lot of cowboy-type guys (and one gal), most of which were the kind of mustaches that you wouldn't think actually exist outside of cartoons... yeah. I'm pretty sure Yosemite Sam was based on these people. Anyway, it all made for some great entertainment (don't forget the hats!).
Not to seem too out of place, we all made sure to wear plenty of plaid and denim. Had "best-dressed" been a category at the awards meeting, I'm sure we could have won it with our school "Society for Range Management"-embroidered collared, [business-like] plaid shirts. That's not to say that we didn't place in anything: grad and undergrad students, team and individual, and even a professor of ours earned recognition for various grand jobs done.
It was great to get to know the professors and students better outside of the school setting, and even though the grad students decided to call the rest of us "undies," it was even cool to hang out with them some (most of whom I didn't know existed before the trip). The undergrads formed a pretty tight friend group, and we're working to keep the Spokane spirit alive.
Now, it's back to school. I was fortunate enough to have a pretty light load of making up to do for classes, but the ensuing workload has made our adventures in Washington seem so far in the past. Gone are the days where we met and studied together for hours each week. They'll start again in the fall, though, as we get ready for SRM 2013 in Oklahoma City. Some of our team members will graduate or go on missions before then, but the good times will live on... and for now, I get to keep my plant knowledge toned in the identification class, where we're actually graded.
