A great last week atop the rockpile!

2014-11-02 20:29:00.000 – Christine Welsh, Summit Museum Attendant

My boyfriend called me a weather geek. He was teasing because he knows how happy I am to say, I’m back! I just could not stay away. The MWObs living quarters are undergoing a much needed remodel and the kitchen was short a cook, so guess who’s wearing her best Gortex chef’s hat this week? Your friendly museum attendant, that’s who, and what a fun week it has been!

Between having a ball in the kitchen creating yummy meals for the masses, aliens from outer space dropping in on Halloween, and the upcoming Wilderness First Aid training, I don’t know how I could be more excited, but I am! My boyfriend is right. I have become a weather nerd! I feel I need to invest in my very own anemometer. I hear the wind roaring in the exhaust hood over the kitchen stove and it is just too much. I cannot sit inside and listen any longer; I must go out and play.

I bundle up. I wear my hat AND my mittens.I step outside and think, ohhh this is nice! This is living! I take a step away from the building and feel the push of the wind. I push back. I know that the building is sheltering me from the direct force of it, so I remove my fogged up glasses, cover my eyes with my neck gaiter, and walk confidently around the corner. I walk, I feel myself wobble, I stagger. That gust, it turns out, was around 96 miles per hour.

It reached 99.2 mph just after I came back inside and is showing no signs of slowing down. I am rooting for a new record, 232 mph, but I’ll settle for sustained over one hundred. I am so ready for this. Although I may need more practice actually staying upright against the force of such a strong wind, I am booted and suited and ready for The Big One. Oh, and MWObs, if you ever need a chef again!

Christine Welsh, Summit Museum Attendant