Starting October 7, 2010 I begin a new way of life, with the AmeriCorps NCCC, serving the western region of the United States. This is a large change for me, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. I have quit my job, taken a temporary (possibly permanent) leave of absence from the East Granby Fire Department, and have left my family, friends, and most of my possessions behind. Although only for 10 months, I hope it will change my future, as I attempt to better the lives of my fellow Americans! This is my story...




the following blog entries are the thoughts and compilations of myself, and in no way reflect that of the AmeriCorps as a whole.



Sunday, February 13, 2011

More BLM!

The past two weeks have been more along the same line of work as stated in my last post.  Two weeks ago, we changed location by about 5 miles or so.  The view was supposed to be better, at our campsight, however our 15 passenger van and 2wd Ford F150 couldn't make it up the steep hills and muddy terrain.  So we camped at the bottom of the hill.  We still managed to have a lot of fun, of course!  We camped all week, and after buying groceries for the week on Monday, only went into "town" once on Wednesday to shower at a "campground".  I say "town" because Groveland, which was the closest town to our location, is a very small mountain town.  I would say the town lives off of tourism, so right now it's hurting, seeing that not too many tourists visit in the winter.  I say "campground" because it was a place for RVs to park, that had running hot water for showers and sinks.  Not my kind of camping!  I opted out of a full shower, and only rinsed my hair and washed my face... good enough for me!  We did visit the oldest continuously operated bar in California - The Iron Door Saloon.  The place was awesome, with a lot of history, and some really good beer!  Yum!  We had to turn our AmeriCorps uniform (if we had it on) inside out.  I turned my t-shirt inside out because we are not supposed to drink in it...  adapt and overcome!!

Here are some pics from that week:
 
 
Last week, we didn't camp.  We stayed in Sacramento and travelled to El Dorado every day.  We worked on a fuel break line 15 minutes from the BLM office.  Not as exciting, but we all got a lot of chainsaw use.  My saw team, Zac and I, have become a very strong team.  We are quick, effective, and still safe.  As of right now, weare the strongest team.  We did get filmed this week!  I know, kind of random, yet very cool!  The BLM was shooting a Public Service Announcement for the area, to inform people about the need to clear brush and small trees away from their house up to 100 feet.  We all played small roles in the background of the film, to make it a little more interesting.  I was in the first clip making a fake fire line in the background, as they interviewed the local Fire Department.  The rest of the morning was a waste, as I stood around on "the set" (which was some person's back yard).  That afternoon we took a drive up to Lover's Leap, a lookout over a near 2,500 vertical drop.  AWESOME!  We were told that Lover's Leap is one of the best views on BLM land in the nation.  It was given a view rating of 2, where in perspective the Grand Canyon is a 1 (the lower, the better).
 
Here are some pics from that:
 
Not sure what the plan is for this week... We'll find out a few minutes before we leave!  Craziness!
 
Talk to you all soon!
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