Oregon Trail

Kevin and I are leaving Trail, OR tomorrow. I feel like this summer is going by so quickly. We are already finished at our 3rd farm stop. Each place has been so different and we are learning so much. I am really coming to appreciate how much work it takes to get to the end result of good food without using chemicals and huge machinery. But the food does taste great. I think in the end it is worth all of the sweat.

While in Trail we have gone swimming in a few creeks near the house. The place we are staying at is in the mountains away from any real sense of a town. We have also visited Crater Lake. It is an old volcano that imploded in on itself about 7,000 years ago and formed a lake inside. The lake is about 7,000 feet up in the air and is a beautiful blue color. We went for some steep hikes, not sure if we would be able to finish. But luckily we made it up to Mount Scott and then down to the lake. One day we also went into the town of Shady Cove.

Where we are the air is dry but hot. Right now is forest fire season in southern Oregon. In the past I have always watched the news and heard about the forest fires, but the reality did not set in. In order to get to the house we drive along a road where you witness the devastation of a forest fire back in 2002. And it appears that there has been a fire near Reno, NV a few days after we drove by that way. I think now I will be able to understand the magnitude of the forest fires next time it makes the news headlines.

Tomorrow we leave for our final farm destination. We are going to stop by Corvallis and then end up in Portland to visit a friend. We have decided to put the redwood trees on our 'to do' list for when I come home for Africa, as it seems we will not be able to make it this trip.

Less than two months until Cameroon, as long as plans do not change...

Paonia

I believe in love at first site. As soon as we got over the mountains to the western slopes of Colorado I knew it was meant to be. This place is so amazingly beautiful. The air is fresh, the sun is shining, the endless view of the mountains is breathtaking, and the people are friendly. What more can you ask for?

Kevin and I are at our second farm and I am sad to say that we are leaving soon. Time is flying by so quickly. While in Paonia we went to the Carbondale Farmer's market, played a pick up game of ultimate frisbee, went for a good long hike, and have been helping Kerry with her farm. The family we are staying with is great. I wish I had more time to write about everything we are doing, but then I would not have enough time to be out exploring.

We leave on Sunday morning for Oregon via Utah, Nevada, and California. Kevin's birthday is on Monday! Hopefully we will stop in Reno and have some fun.

Cameroon it is!

The trip to Mauritania was just cancelled a few days ago. I really did not expect a call from the Peace Corps. My messge went something like this: "There is urgent news regarding your service in Mauritania. Please call back". Oh no, really not a good sign. I know this from when it was postponed.

I call back and they tell me that the Mauritania government was still not issueing visas to Americans. This came as no surprise since we were not expecting them until after the July elections. But then the news kept coming. Unfortunately the trip was being CANCELLED!!! So I am just starting my road trip and I have this news. Now what do I do. Well they are working on reassigning us.

So a few days later, but what felt like a whole month later, I received my new assignment. Here is a quick run down:

Country: Cameroon

Program: Community Health

Job: Community Development Agent

Date of Departure: September 17, 2009

I will post more later/soon when I have the chance. For today I am heading to Hot Springs with Kevin!

Cross Country

Living on borrowed time is a weird experience. At times I feel like a slight intruder to my own life. I said goodbye to everyone and made plans to leave them. Now I have to make room for myself in a place where a few weeks ago I was making plans to leave.

But on a much happier note, I have found something to do with myself for the next month or so. I am traveling the country with Kevin. He was originally going to go solo, but he has offered to change his plans so that we can spend the summer together. We are taking a WWOOF tour across the country working on four organic farms for about a week and camping along the way. Luckily it was not too much of a hassle for me to join him. All of the farm owners have been friendly and welcoming through phone and email communications. So here is a run down of our schedule:

June 27-July 3 Mount Ida, Arkansas
July 5 – July 12 Paonia, Colorado
July 14- July 20 Trail, Oregon
July 22 – July 29 Long Beach, Washington

In between each farm stop we are camping at state parks and the like along the way.