Go Swimmers Go!

Today during one of my Level 1 classes the four kids there swam 30 ft about four times, then 75 ft...mostly by themselves! The pass requirement for a Level 1 student is two body-lengths. I feel so proud!

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...the camping lifeguard

Blast off!

Welcome swimmers to the first day of swim lessons! The pool is nice and warm at 85°! Most of you are wet from the rain, so lets just get in!

I have two classes in the morning, both with already good swimmers. In my second class we even went off the diving board! I can tell these next nine days are going to be awsome!

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...the camping lifeguard

5! 4! 3! 2! 1!

Its almost time! Friday was beach setup day, Saturday and Sunday were the weekend and lifeguarding, and today was our staff meeting! Tomorrow is the first day of swim lessons!

Beach setup is always interesting and nerve racking. We have two beaches we setup on, Bayview Beach, which is where we guard at. The other beach, Krare (not how you spell it) we set up but don’t guard it, partially because the deep end is waist deep. At Bayview, AKA Pamida Beach, has a diving board and dock, making it the teens hangout (at least until they break the rules). We setup the rope and buoy so that swimmers don’t stray off and boats keep out. The rope is never that difficult after the annoying untangle, but the buoy is a different story. Two cement blocks hold it down as the anchor. We have to some how get it out to the spot and tie the rope around it. Our boat is a plug short of being able to float so we swim it out...well I.

Normally to move the buoy, I would swim to the bottom and lift the bricks and rocks. Not bad for a short distance, but getting it out there is a long cold way to walk at under the water. Oddly one day while lifeguarding I calculated out that a rescue tube we use for lifeguarding is somewhat more buoyant than a cement brick. Using our two beach tubes, I can keep the entire system above water and swim it to the spot, then pull on the straps and undo a slipknot for both tubes and we are set!

This weekend was supposed to be me lifeguarding, but it was cold and cloudy out. Instead I sat in my car and worked on school work and read part of a book. I have read more this summer than I have all year! Too bad the books I want aren't free.

Today was our meeting for swim lessons and lifeguarding. I found out what my classes are for session 1 (Level 2, 1, preschool, and parent child!). We all then worked on practicing rescue skills for the pool and beach. I am glad we do in-services, because the college pool we do not and we do not have to do a lot of rescues at the beach, so its good to try out stuff. What was interesting is there are three of us regular lifeguards who are certified to teach lifeguarding, so we are kind of looked up to for knowing stuff. I wound up supervising the practice with one of the teachers while the other one was working with two guards on what to do if there was a pool rescue. The pool presents a problem in that there is normally only one guard there at a time. If there was an emergency and we needed to do a rescue, we would be by ourselves for a while and need to get the victim to a state where they cannot drown while we wait for help. Luckly in my 5 years there we have not had anything serious occur.

Tonight I am going to the circus here in town, then tomorrow at 9 is lessons!

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...the camping lifeguard

Your doing what!? And what!? All while doing what!? AND ON A BIKE!!?

I have already been asked, so I might as well share, just how I am going to take online classes when I am camping with no power or internet? Well, when I don’t have to work a shift I can work for a few hours on school stuff, or stay after evening swim lessons.

Here is what a full day looks like for me, at least last year. I wake up about 8:15, grab breakfast and head to the pool to make sure its ready. Teach from 9-11 am. Lifeguard either at the beach from 11:30-5:30 or at the pool from 11-1 then beach from 3:30-5:30. Evening swim lessons go from 5-7, then the closing shift at the pool from 7-9. Any time I don’t have to lifeguard I can use the school’s internet to go online. If I don’t have to do the evening shift then I can grab a little dinner and work as late as I want. Then its a 18 mile bike ride mostly downhill back to the campsite.

Yea, I know, 18 miles to work and another 18 back is a lot...here in Iowa, add another 4 miles to each and your traveling an entire county twice a day. Back when the US government was restricting where Native Americans lived, the land given to the natives was land that no one else wanted. In the case of the Bad River Reservation, which is where I will be camping, its mostly swamp land. The nice thing about swamp land is it is relatively flat. Between the campsite and the beach I guard at (16 miles difference) the overall elevation climb is only about 10 feet. Assuming no headwind, I can do that in just a little over an hour.

The bad part is going from the beach to the pool. Northland College sits just over 100 feet above the lake, and only a mile away. About a mile of this trip, no matter which method I take, either the highway or the corridor, is fairly flat. It is the other mile is the 100 foot climb. I already know I can go from the beach to the pool in about 20 minutes, so I am not too worried.

I will have my car and bike rack up there too, so if I need to I can take my car to and from work, but that costs money. Good thing I have a third option...the BART bus. Six times a day a bus will stop in Odanah, about 3 miles from the camp site, and can take me to Walmart, the beach, and the pool. Each bart bus has a bike rack, and a ride costs between 25 and 50 cents...well for you. For me and as a student of Northland College last semester, and still carrying my ID card, I, like all Northland students, have paid for unlimited access to the BART system. Just meet the bus in Odanah just before 7, and be at County Market by 7:30. A quick bike ride or walk just 6 block and I am on campus with an hour to work on school work before lessons.

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...the camping lifeguard