Countless other educational institutions that haven’t signed the pledge, but are now establishing sustainability offices to save money and our future.  For example, my alma mater, The College of William & Mary, like many others has not signed the pledge, but there are still “green” initiatives.  You can check out details on W&M’s Hark Upon the Green blog.

But since it was my last tour I appreciated each sunset and every cold night even more than before.  One of my goals was to finally see a shooting star so I spent a few nights just staring endlessly at the sky.  I did finally catch one!

Most importantly though, what makes any place special is usually the people that you meet.  On the last tour there were two crews present so every night was like a big block party.  We played a 12 person game of UNO one night that last forever, had hilarious bouts of trivial pursuit, and campfires that tended to stay alive longer than usual.  I had the opportunity to get to know and spend time with people from so many different backgrounds that I would probably never encounter in my life prior to this project.

I really allowed myself to be present and devote all of my mental and physical energy into making the most I could of this project.  The new intimacy I share with nature and the myriad of connections I made, make this experience everything I wanted it to be and more.

Friday I am supposed to go on a trip with all of the other volunteers to Zion National Park in Utah. Until then I am focusing on getting better!

Being able to shower each day, eat what I want, and not wake up to the 6am morning chill was great!  However, our project for the week was the opposite of riveting.  We were assigned to do Desert Cleanup: pick up trash on a large patch of land near some condos that has been regularly used as a dump site. People left things like old carpets, couches, and massive stacks of newspapers.

Part of the site. Train tracks bordered one side. And yes there were constantly shipping containers rolling by.

As helpful as it may be, ten hours of just picking up rubbish (as my English roomies like to say) can be mind numbing.  Although with our positive attitudes we did find some interesting objects and found ways to amuse ourselves each day. More pictures.

Goalkeeper on his sweet ride.

We started a collection of golf balls we found. And a cute little mini tennis ball.

Me and our plethora of trash. We filled up 8 of these big dumpsters!

I really enjoy having my evenings in the apartment.  One night we decided to go down to the Strip and see a show through last minute half price tickets.  We ended up seeing a hypnotist which provided minor laughs for cheap price. You get what you pay for I guess!

This weekend, a few of us went to the hot springs near Hoover dam.  The springs were wonderful and even too hot at times-pictures!

Next week I am back on the fence for a 4 day tour out in the field.  After the 8 day, 4 days will be a piece of cake!

I was with a new crew this week and will be with them until the end of my term.

Lunch time with the new crew!

The first few days passed like the last tour and we made some great progress on the fence!

The second wire getting put in.

This week we also started a new section of the fence.  The site was about a half mile hike from camp that was an excellent way to start off each morning.

Up close.

However, after day five of eight, I was really craving a shower, something besides a meat, cheese and ranch dressing sandwich, and was ready to be rid of the deep chill that greeted me every morning when I crawled out of my sleeping bag.

Hard at work!

But I still loved the end of every day where I got to see the mountains around me turn pink and a beautiful sunset.

Then on day 8 of 8, the morning chill didn’t even bother me!  This was mostly because I was very excited to be showering that evening and also for my trip Thanksgiving break trip to Los Angeles to visit family!!! More pictures from this tour, click here.

Right before my shower.

BUT we needed a car.  Long story short, by the time we figured out the rental car situation and a few frustrating trips to the airport, it was already 2:30pm on Friday Nov. 13.  We decided to leave early on Saturday morning.

Bright and early we headed off to a geological treasure trove of the west.  Death Valley is definitely a different kind of barren beauty.  We saw salt flats and LOTS of just DRY open spaces.  Also, I was surprised by the plethora of the colorful canyons and rocks.

Our first stop was some salt flats.  And YES I did taste the salt!  Next we hiked Golden Canyon. Even though I am not exactly the avid climber I did some mild bouldering (climbing rocks basically).

After a securing a campsite for the evening and some lunch, we found the Mesquite Sand Dunes.  These aren’t the HUGE (over 700 feet) sand dunes of Death Valley but were still fabulous.

That evening we decided to literally sleep under the blanket of stars.  It was a beautiful star filled sky that I’ve only seen once before in my life in south western Virginia.

So we laid down a tarp and determined to fall asleep looking at the stars.  However, the wind really picked up during the night and I was VERY thankful for my amazingly warm sleeping bag!

Sunday we headed to some look out points.

Yeah I have a Princess Leah thing going on...it was VERY windy and cold!

As the wind got to us and the day wore, we left in the early afternoon so we could stop at Ash Meadows on our way back to Vegas.  Ash Meadows in protected land that is the natural habitat for pupfish and other wildlife.  Pupfish and quite a few species of wildlife are found nowhere else in the WORLD and this land went through quite a struggle to escape development.  It is unique because there are hot springs here and water is extremely rare in the southern Nevada desert area.

Hot Springs in Ash Meadows!

From November 16-23 I’ll be on an 8 day tour!  Four days flew by as I mentioned before, but 8 days is going to be quite an experience.

The fence

My first day I had to pick up and carry a fairly large and quite heavy fence pole for about a half mile up and down both rocky and sandy hills.  As I climbed up my first sandy hill, one step forward and two steps back, I thought “what have I gotten myself into!”  However, as the week went on and not all the work was as physically demanding I was pleasantly surprised by the speed of my adaptation to my new work environment. Plus I got to wake up to sights like this every morning!

Sunrise

The first day we arrived and set up camp.  We each have our own tents.  There is always a crew working on the fence. So when one crew arrives the other leaves.  We worked together with the already present crew until about 3pm and then they left to return to Vegas.

Our schedule:

5:15am Wake up, breakfast

6am Stretching, morning meeting

6:30am-9:30am Work

9:30am-10am Morning Break

10am-12pm Work

12pm-12:30 Lunch

12:30pm-2:30pm Work

2:30-2:45pm Afternoon Break

2:45pm-4:15pm Work

The fence is made of heavy duty wire that cannot be cut very easily and a 115 feet of it weighs about 60 pounds (I carried this up rocky, sandy, slippery hills too!).  So a few people dig holes for the poles to placed in.  Some place the poles and others wire the fence.  We all sort of  rotate jobs as needed.

After a full day’s work and body covered in dust, dirt, and sand, a few crew members start dinner at 4:30pm (so early for me but I guess when you start work at 6am it works out).  We also eat so early because it gets dark around 5:15pm. The portable gas powered stove allows us to have hot meals every night.  This week we had: hot dogs; pasta with meat sauce and salad; quesadillas.

Following dinner it already feels like 10pm!  Some people retreat to their tents since this is only time of day there’s any “alone” time available.  Others hang out by the fire or play cards for awhile.  I usually enjoyed the fire until about 8:30pm or so and put the fire to sleep.

Going in I thought the hardest adjustment would be not showering.  It’s important to know taht there are no shower or bathroom facilities out in the field.  So that means no showers/washing the entire time I am out in the field.  This past week wasn’t so bad since it was only four days.  There’s so much dust that it doesn’t even really make sense to shower everyday because you’d never be clean for very long.  Plus everyone around you is in the same state so you sort of stop noticing after a day.  I did make the time to wash my face everyday though.

More pictures are here.

Four days flew by! But tomorrow I head out on a 8 day tour.  I’ll be on the fence project again.  It’ll be the real test of my fortitude.

Me on a lunch break

I am part of the “internationals” group which is separate from the regular crews.  There are 10 internationals and we are split up and basically embedded into the regular crews.  The regular crew members are all here on 6 to 12 month contracts through Ameri Corps.  Some of the internationals are also here for extended periods of time.  All the other internationals in the group are from Germany, Holland, Denmark, and England.  I am staying in apartment about 20 minutes from the Las Vegas strip with three British volunteers.

Yesterday, I explored a nearby state park, Valley of Fire, with some other volunteers.  It’s lot of red rock and apparently some of the Star Trek movies and other sci fi shows have been filmed here.  It was really beautiful.  We climbed all over the place. Here’s one picture and click here to see the album on facebook.