I truly have no idea where the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday I drove out to Holderness, nervous but excited to see what was in store for me here. Alas, it has not been a single day but instead just about 4 months. For 4 months I have been camping, hiking, swimming, boating, and enjoying the company of my co-servers, but more accurately the company of my friends.
To mark the fact that it has indeed been 4 months since I came to Holderness, fall is creeping in. The temperatures have been dropping and the leaves are changing ever so slightly. The best indication of the leaves' color change is the view from the boat on Squam. You can see the dusting of color on the tips of the lush green trees surrounding the lake. Just the slightest change, but there nonetheless. However, there are other changes happening as well to mark the seasons change: the full-timers (those that have been at the SLA since November), are wrapping up their terms, dive days are a bit chillier and soon enough will come to an end, and more trail work and office days will replace them as the weather outside gets brisker. It is crazy to really realize fall is here and summer went by in the blink of an eye.
View just leaving Piper Cove, note the slight color change of leaves in the trees.
With winter just around the corner, even more changes will come. The half-timers (those of us that have been here since May) will begin packing up and moving on to our next adventures. For some that means moving to Maine to start a new job, for others it means sticking around another year at the SLA to welcome in the new round of members, and for me it means driving back to Colorado to begin thinking about options for graduate school. But only after enjoying the East coast a little longer with my aunt of course before we begin the long trek West.
Of course I am sad to be seeing our terms winding down to an end. I have met some of the most amazing people here who I will miss dearly. But, I am also so excited to see what everyone does with the next chapter of their lives. I am certain that everyone will end up doing something incredible. I will also be very sad to say goodbye to New Hampshire. Not forever of course, but for now. But instead of dwelling on the cheerless aspects of what is to come, I want to instead look back and focus on what my time here has given me and will last with me for the years to come.
With my time spent here I have had my first opportunities to SCUBA in a freshwater lake. With that has come many a fright from catfish coming much closer to me than I’d prefer, a sighting of some gorgeous lake trout that I had never seen until this past week, and wrestling with the DASH hose to actually point where I would like it to. I also had the opportunity to star in this years SLA promotional video (which can be seen on the SLA website), meet Joe (a local who loves to give us Klondike bars during our long, hot days), and see both a GIANT snapping turtle (from the safety of the boat thank goodness) and the tiniest baby snapping turtle I have ever seen.
With my time spent here I like to think I am sort of a local and know the places to go to. One of those places being Chamberlain Reynolds at sunset (see below). Another being Golden Pond Country Store for their fresh fries, a new addiction I have developed. However, the best place to be while here is hands down on Squam, whether that be on our whaler or pontoon or a kayak. Whether it’s for work or play, rain or shine. This lake will always be a very special place to me, and I know for certain that I will be back on Squam even after my term here has ended.
Sunset from Chamberlain Reynolds Memorial Forest Beach 1
After finishing up her term at the Squam Lakes Association, Eva is headed back to Colorado for the winter. She’ll be looking for her next adventure, which might be graduate school in marine science! Learn more about Eva here.