Nashville to New Mexico

We finished making our arrangements yesterday and will be staying in Nashville w/ Rachael's friends from Friday night until Monday morning. From there, we'll camp in Hot Springs National Park on Monday night. On Tuesday night, we're camping at Lake Meredith Nation Rec. area in Texas, before we go to our next WWOOF site on Wednesday.

Solar Ark is in the high desert (6000 ft., I believe!) near Santa Fe. Check out the website: www.solarark.org. We plan to stay there for a week and a half before going to Utah to camp and hike for a week or so before Burning Man. Looking forward to experiencing life in the desert and seeing terrain I've only seen in photographs!

Last week at Claymont

This is our third and final week at Claymont. I have really enjoyed my time here and coming back after the festival felt like coming home again. Some of the community members have become my friends and it's so great to know there are wonderful, like-minded people everywhere! I began my birthday feeling a bit bummed not to be celebrating with friends at home, but people here really helped to make my birthday special. We had a fancy dress party outside the garden and drank mojitos in the afternoon.

Garden party crew (l-r): Karl, Annie, Rachael, me, Jenna, Dan, Caitlin

I am already learning a lot about myself on this trip. For example, after going to Camp Bisco, I learned that I have entered a new phase in my life where going to a large, commercialized festival just isn't fun for me anymore. I could not handle how wasted people got, the negative energy coming from some of our neighbors and how quickly the festival grounds were trashed. I still love music and dancing, but in the future I plan to stick to events that operate within a leave no trace ethic and are likely to have many conscientious people in attendance. I am still really looking forward to Burning Man, though!

I am also learning a lot about the importance of letting go of expectations and being open to possibilities as they present themselves. Sometimes the best plan is having no plan at all. I have gained a sense of inner peace that I have not felt before, which I attribute to a lot of time spent outside with my hands in the soil and having so few distractions here. There iare many opportunities every day to just think, be still and meditate.

We will leave here Friday morning, then head to Nashville for a couple of days. On Thursday night, there is a community sauna, and I am really looking forward to that! There is a natural spring under the sauna that we take dip in when we want to cool off. I am convinced that a long sauna followed by a dip in a nice cold spring is a key ingredient to good health.

Outside the sauna building

The sauna benches

Oil can sauna stove

being present in the stillness

We've been at Claymont since Sunday evening. Never in recent years has my life been so calm and uneventful. It was a bit unnerving at first, but I am starting to really appreciate having so much time to think, read, write and just relax. I can't say I am crazy about this area - it's basically a suburb of DC with lots of subdivisions and McMansions - but the land the Claymont community is on is beautiful and the people who live here are very welcoming and friendly.

We receive our room and board for 28 hours of work per week here. On Monday we made tempeh and yogurt, which was a great learning experience! We've also done a lot of cleaning to prepare for the coming retreats and lots of weeding in the garden. Today we harvested oodles of garlic and bush-wacked an overgrown garden bed. It's pretty hot and muggy here, which makes an afternoon siesta a near necessity. Tomorrow we are scheduled to do a major cleaning of the mansion kitchen.

The mansion is over 200 years old and was built for George Washington's grand nephew, Bushrod. It's really cool to see such a historic home! People live in the east and west wings of the mansion, while the main building is rented out for retreats. It's also where we have our Monday community dinner after a group project is completed.

Yesterday, Rachael and I got our bearings a bit by doing some sight seeing. We walked along the Potomac River and saw downtown Shepherdstown, WV. It was really nice to be near water! We saw many Civil War sites along the way and re-learned some of our American history. We had a beer in this really neat bar in Shepherdstown that is part of a beautiful old inn.

It's been a challenge for me to stay present and be in the now, because my mind is so excited for Camp Bisco next week (Lou is picking me up here then bringing me back after the festival as a birthday present!!!) and then to head to the southwest at the end of July. But, I will enjoy the peace and quiet while I can. I already feel like I am learning a lot about myself in this stillness.

ready to head south

I have enjoyed the weekend in Ithaca, but am ready to move on to the next adventure. Last night we went to a party at a friend's, friend's house on 50 acres of land. They had a fireworks display and a huge fire, but I must admit that it was strange to not be with my own group of friends on the 4th. I found myself reminiscing about the fun fourth I had with the ladies last year and the incredible rain storm during the fireworks, while also wondering what everyone was up to this time around. Yet, it was nice to be around kind people and appreciate the fact that I have so many in my life whom I do miss.

Today was spent shopping and wandering around town, did a short winery tour, then back on the lake for a bit before heading to a Universal Peace dance at the Foundation of Light. We heard about it from a flyer at Turtle Dreams and were intrigued. It was a very spiritual, moving experience and I was glad to be a part of it. Singing and dancing to unfamiliar songs with complete strangers put me out of my comfort zone which, to me, indicates that it's just the right thing for me to do. I feel incredibly moved after experiencing all of the positive energy and dancing with people in the spirit of peace.

I have learned a lot about what a progressive community can look like from my time here. Of particular note are the Ithaca car share program, widely available bike route maps, bins for compost that you can put out on the curb, the amazing farmer's market and wind power that can be purchased from the utility company. I see so many things in Ithaca that seemingly could work in Portland! However, I look forward to the journey south tomorrow and to getting out of the familiar north east. Our next adventure will be at
Claymont Society for Continuous Education in Charles Town, WV.

last day at Turtle Dreams

We worked our last four hour shift at Turtle Dreams today. Rachael and I spent our six hours yesterday then the time today clearing rocks from a new garden bed. In the last 10 weeks I think each of us has put our hands on at least 1,000 rocks! It was hard work, but rewarding in its mindlessness and in the arm work-out it provided.

It has been a neat experiencing digging in the ground as I've been weeding or de-rocking the garden beds. I have seen at least a dozen kinds of bugs that I had never seen before. I never cease to be amazed at the vastness of the insect world!

On Monday, a WWOOF-er from Israel, Noam, arrived. Rachael and I had a good time exposing him, as well as the WWOOF-ers from New York and Missouri, to the infamous Maine accent. Two nights ago, all of us had a party of sorts in our tipi. We had a raging fire and sang along to some classic rock songs that Noam played on the guitar.

I really enjoyed working at Turtle Dreams--it's such a beautiful place and Fran and Paul were incredible hosts. I give a two thumbs up to my first WWOOF-ing experience! This is the Turtle Dreams WWOOF family (from L to R--: Rachael, Noam, Sage, Ashley, Rena, John & me):




Ithaca is beautiful! Last weekend we went for a hike at Treman Falls. It was a 4 mile hike through a gorge in Ithaca, on which we passed at least 4 waterfalls. It was a beautiful experience! We also saw Toughannick Falls, which is a 210 foot drop!