For the first couple of weeks, I had someone to work with me each night, showing me what I needed to do and look for as we walked the property in the evening. The first few nights, I came early so I could walk the place in the daylight, knowing I would shortly be walking it at night. I worked with a variety of people and each had his/her own way of doing the job. At first, I felt like I would never figure out how to find my way around the property in the dark. I learned where the switches were to turn on the heaters and heatlamps to keep the animals warm on cold nights. After awhile, the place started to become more familiar and I began to get a picture of how it was laid out. On first impression, it seemed like a very large, complex and dangerous place, but I quickly got quite comfortable walking among the animal enclosures at night. One thing immediately became evident. At the original interview for the job, the WayStation was described to me as a "sanctuary for wild animals, surrounded by wild animals." I saw for myself that this was a very accurate description of my new work environment. In the surrounding mountains are coyotes, mountain lions, raccoons, bobcats, rattlesnakes, rats, mice and a wide variety of birds. I often see several sets of coyote eyes, lit up by my flashlight, all watching me walk by on my rounds. Almost every night, I see two to four raccoons in various places around the property.