Bring Water! The Grand Canyon is a desert, and even though it is only spring, the sun is hot and bright, and thus it is easy to become dehydrated. For a day hike, 3 liters of water is necessary, 4 is preferred. For 16 people, we brought 55 liters of water, and we still only had just enough to get out of the Canyon! The Colorado River is the perfect vessel to carry water through western North America and three distinct deserts: the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan Deserts. The dry air above these deserts draw in moisture from the Sea… Read More
Our departure from the surreal hospitality from our hosts Marty, Ralph, his two sisters and our home in El Paso was difficult, yet exciting to begin the next leg of our journey. We met up with Angel Peña and a few of his friends who help him run a local nonprofit; Nuestra Tierra, which focuses on giving a platform for overlooked communities to voice their concerns on land conservation. We explored natural hot springs along the Gila river and took in his extensive knowledge on archaeology, even finding thousand year old ceramic shards within a fifteen minute walk of our… Read More
The group finished up their 5 day excursion on the Black Canyon of the Colorado River on Saturday evening and are making their way to Patagonia, AZ where they will start working with the Borderlands Restoration Network this week. Here are a few photos from their canoe trip!
Hi Everybody. We are headed to the border right now, but I have a couple poems that I wrote while we were in Owens Valley. I hope you like them and the photos that I’m adding with them. Mother He knows not of what is right From the seedlings of the stars, I have seen him grow Expanding and spattering like ants on a hill He knows not of his doings A firefly no longer with its light Lost in the dark of night “It’s all in the plan.” he says But knows not of my watching Always Steady… Read More
We arrived in the Sierras Nevada after a 12 hour drive from Arizona and we couldn’t have received a warmer welcome. After 6 days of sleeping in tents without showers, we were extremely thankful to have our own beds and hot water. On the morning of Day 7, we were able to finally meet Kin-sin-ta, Thomas, Na-Tes, and Kris. They introduced the topics we would be exploring this week some of which include the history of indigenous people in America, white colonialism, and just sharing their narrative (one that I believe none of us learned in school). A prevalent sentiment… Read More
Land Acknowledgment: We are currently staying on Bishop Paiute land, home to the Bishop Paiute tribe. This tribe is the 5th largest in the U.S. and has over 2,000 members. They are the descendents of the Nuumu, the first people to live in the area now known as Owens Valley. It’s important to acknowledge the history of the land we visit, as well as the indigenous peoples who have survived. After leaving Arcosanti we made our way to Havasu where we camped for 2 nights. Here we visited the Colorado River for the first time, canoeing just under 16 miles… Read More
The Rio Grande’s presence and influence has only grown as we have navigated these past ~70 days. On our first trek in the mountains of Colorado we jumped over streams and crossed creeks that would flow down to form the mighty Rio. The first time we actually saw the Rio Grande was so anticlimactic that it’s quite humorous looking back now. While crossing over the river on a bridge in Alamosa, CO a cop car came roaring up behind us with lights and sirens blaring. Assuming we were getting pulled over we nervously pulled into a nearby parking lot only… Read More
I love painting and drawing— it’s how I synthesize a lot of my experiences and reflect on lessons learned. These are a small selection of some of the pieces I’ve made along this wonderful journey, each tied to a special place and usually many special people. First is Redemption. It’s based on a conversation I had with Gabe Crawford, a wild seed tender who we spent a few days with. It seems to me that so much of this country is deprived of certain truths… especially the idea that we and the land we live upon are one system, one… Read More
Wolves, much like horses, are hyper sensitive to the energy we give off. After being trained by Kent the director of Mission Wolf we were able to meet face to face with a couple specially trained wolves. Our 10 days here at Mission Wolf are all about tuning into how our verbal and nonverbal communication affects ourselves, each other and our animal friends.
Photos from adventures in Paonia! Everything from permaculture design to earthships to alternative local currency that supports local farmers.
The wood block art studio is a creative space on all its own. As you walk up a set of stone steps, the smell of mosquito incense and a faint hint of cigarette smoke greets you at the front door. If you turn back and look down the stairs, Ucup’s home village dots across a sprawling green space. The sounds of chickens, a screaming goat that sounds scarily human, and the shouts of children playing take up the audible space around us. Ucup, the instructor we worked with for the three weeks we spent in Jogja, stands up with an… Read More
Here are a few more photos from the past couple of weeks! I have been very inspired by all of the beautiful landscapes we have been going through, and having lots of fun experimenting with my camera.
Here are some photos from our gorgeous sunrise hike when we were on trek! 🙂