On the Move!

Roseburg, Oregon. Not familiar with it? Neither was I. Despite that, I'm currently very excited to be there. Why, you might ask? Although Portland, Salem and Eugene may seem to be more interesting or attractive Oregon cities located along I-5, Roseburg is where the Super 8 is that we're staying at tonight and represents the first bed, real shower and prepared breakfast that I've had in 2 weeks. Our drive through Southeastern Washington and down through Oregon was a long one, but now that we're here I'm glad that we're that much closer to Mendocino, our next project, and being reunited with Justin who has been with another team in Reno for the last 2 weeks. 

Our last week of work was difficult and as much as I'm glad that it's over, I do have a great sense of accomplishment that we completed so many brush piles and created a defensible space that can be used for many more years to protect the homes in the area. Hopefully we'll have some pictures up on Facebook in the near future! Now, off to bed.

First Week in Nez Perce National Forest

Made it through the first week! We arrived at the worksite at the boundary of the national forest on Monday morning for an orientation on building hand piles and worksite safety. We're required to wear steel toe boots, long pants, long sleeves, gloves, hard hats and safety glasses, all while watching out for slick ground, pungee sticks, bees, bears, mountain lions, moose and heat exhaustion. Our work basically consists of taking the log, branches and thorn bushes that a forestry crew cut down last year and piling them in order to burn them this winter. The goal is reduce the amount of fuel in a 6 acre area adjacent to some homes that were built at the border of the federal land. We take the big round logs and pile them into a base that's a bout 5x5 ft, then stack branches, sticks and brush on top, lay down a piece of tar paper that will be used to lignite the fire later, then stack more brush on top. In the first five days of work we've made upwards of 150 piles and next week we'll be moving over to the other side of the road which is much steeper, but less full of brush. The work has been very physically demanding, with lots of bending down to pick up sticks and logs, plenty of hiking up and down hill to get tools and collect fuel, raking and chopping brush/logs and generally getting cut up and bruised. Although I wasn't so sure about it at first, I've come to enjoy it a lot and the feeling of accomplishment when you look up the hill that's now completely covered with brush piles is very rewarding.

Camping has also been a great experience, if a little trying at times. Our campsite is up near a meadow that overlooks the Salmon River Canyon. Every morning the first to get up (usually me, Erik or Philip) builds a fire so that we can have coffee and warmth before the start of the day. We have to keep all of our food and most of our belongings in the cargo van in order to avoid unwanted animal visitors and overcrowding in the tents, respectively. We've also had a challenging time cooking over the fire, especially because we're usually not patient enough to let the fire die down to coals - we've eaten more than a few charred meals. Despite the rain that we've had, there have been a few beautiful days and sunsets, and the forest is incredibly quiet during the day with the exception of the yelling and laughter coming from our campsite. I've been able to do all the camping essentials: chopping firewood, building a fire, running to throw everything in the tent when it starts to rain, washing dishes in a wash basin, etc. 

Today we came into town after showering for the first time in a week last night in order to get some internet, do some laundry and work with a local ranch that does equine therapy for mentally challenged kids. I got to help round up a few horses, groom one, and learn a little bit about the town and the rodeo that we'll be attending tonight. The guy at the ranch told me that it's quite a trip because there is only one rodeo clown. Basically, there are a bunch of drunk rednecks and guys getting pretty messed up riding bulls. I can't wait.

Final Transition

This is going to have to be a very brief post. I'm in the midst of my last transition between projects in AmeriCorps, and this time we've got what usually takes place over 5 days crammed into only 2. Our briefing for Idaho and Mendocino is tomorrow morning, then we've got a community meeting, equipment and vehicle checkout, cross-trainings and team position meetings. Basically, I'm busy tomorrow from 6 AM until 5:30 PM, when I get to start duty which involves cleaning the buildings. Oh, and I have to pack... including a bunch of stuff that I have to wash and/or will be wearing tomorrow.

Anyways, I'm off to bed. I'll be in the Nez Perce National Forest starting on Friday and won't have internet  access or cell reception until the following weekend (maybe) and after that not until we start to drive to Mendocino. I'll keep you updated as best I can. One more round!

Later, Presidio.

I'm leaving the Presidio tomorrow. That's weird to write out. Tonight we packed up our rooms and cleaned up the common areas in preparation for heading out tomorrow afternoon after work. This week we had the opportunity to present our work to some of the Presidio Trust staff through a powerpoint presentation during a luncheon. I really enjoyed going over our photos, accomplishments and photos (possibly more than the Trust staff enjoyed seeing them). Today we got to lead some more volunteers, and afterwards we had a potluck with another group of Trust staff.

Working in the Presidio, as you may have noticed from my past posts, has been a great experience. Filling out our evaluations online and discussing the project in preparation for our portfolio, I had very little negative feedback and boatload of positive things to say. Our sponsors - especially Jenny McIlvaine, Joel Thomas and Sarah Ortiz - were amazing at every turn. They were responsive to our needs, made sure that we had the opportunity to learn whatever we wanted about the work that we were doing, searched for fun and interesting things for us to do outside of the park, and worked alongside us every day: fog, rain or shine.

Aside from the three main points of contact, we also benefited from the incredible knowledge of the rest of the Presidio staff. Everyone, whether they worked with native resources, sustainability, forestry, salvage, planning, special events, or any number of other group, had some interesting and informative to say about our work. I really feel that I've gained a good understanding of the Presidio, it's history and the unique interplay between people and nature in the park. I suppose it serves their interest, because I feel equipped to be an advocate for the park and to share my interest in it with other people.

But wait, there's more. Our housing was top notch, we had a detailed 8 week schedule, we were able to work with almost every department in the park, we had plenty of opportunities to manage and work alongside volunteers, and learned an immense amount about the history, ecology, management and character of the Presidio. Not only that, but we got to be a part of the first NCCC team to serve in the Presidio in 11 years and left an impression that led the Executive Director of the Presidio, Craig Middleton, to meet with the National Director of NCCC and request more teams and a closer relationship between the two organizations. Exciting stuff.

So, I've had an amazing, informative, transformative and fun time here in the Presidio of San Francisco. Thinking on it, a lot has happened in the last 8 weeks while I've called this place home. I was accepted as a Team Leader for the Pacific Region next year, which signals the start of another adventure in national service. I've had fun exploring one of the great cities in the world with a group of people that I love to be with while being able to connect with friends from college who now call SF home. I couldn't have asked for a better experience here. 

Although I'm going to miss this place, I'm also looking forward to a new adventure in the forests of Idaho. We'll be building brush piles in the forests while camping for 2 weeks. I'll be freed from electricity and consumer electronics (that's how I'm choosing to phrase it) for 2 weeks, so hopefully I'll have plenty of time for reading, talking and reflecting.