First Summer In Colorado with SOS

I came to this mountainous region just two months ago with nothing more than a freshly minted college degree in hand and a job. I wasn't sure what to expect but I had all the anticipation and expectations in the world.
As I soon learned, SOS Outreach recently merged with Meet The Wilderness (MTW), at the time this meant nothing to me but would soon mark a summer of new friends, great experiences, and some very long days. I was told I was going to be the Base Camp Manager for Meet The Wilderness at Minturn Middle School, "very prestigious," I recall thinking.
To say the least my first day at work was nothing short of a marathon; well, a Marathon in the eyes of anyone who has had the privilege to experience Minturn Middle in the wee hours of the morning and the moon lit hours of the night.
My duties consisted mainly of preparing meals, cleaning dishes, mopping the floor, cleaning out the locker rooms, food shopping, organizing gear, polishing stainless steel, and any other miscellaneous task that came up. Which was all fine with me. I was getting wet head first while learning the ropes of Meet The Wilderness. And that was more or less the routine over the course of my first summer. I have to admit that at times it seemed monotonous and on more than one occasion I recall thinking to my self, "thank goodness I have a college degree for this!" But as the summer now draws to a close and winter programs are consuming my focus I will miss the days of my first summer in CO. Being the jovial "head chef" of a middle school kitchen is surely an experience I will never forget.