Our Green America

7/15-29/09: Julia's feeling better now, after five cast/splint/wrap combinations, 10 pins and a plate in her wrist, and a lot of dead skin. Unfortunatley, she has to get physical therapy twice a week for a while, so it looks like we won't be going back on the road.

7/27/09: We attended the Trek to Re-Energize America rally in DC. Forty people from all around the country (as far away as Seattle) rode their bikes to the National Capitol to lobby for climate change legislation. This rally was for the most part a celebration for them, amidst lobbying visits to senators and congressmen.

6/16-22/09: In Fargo, we stayed with our friend Kim and attended a Pride Week event at Skateland. We had other plans for the city, but they were cut short when Julia fell skating and broke her wrist (luckily, Kim's a trained EMT). This gallery shows her adventure from the skating rink in Fargo to home, in Baltimore.

6/13-14/09: In Badlands National Park, we hiked around in miniature dirt mountains. We attempted a back country trip, but called it off due to severe thunderstorms. The place is a fractal: the same formations are repeated on scales from 4 inches to 80 feet.

6/10-11/09: It might sound like a cop out, but Yellowstone National Park was one of the best places we visited on this trip. Our first stop was at the lower geyser basin, which didn't have much in the way of geysers, but was a place of pristine beauty and few visitors. You shouldn't go there. Beyond that, I only have one thing to say about Yellowestone: did you know it's inside a giant volcanic caldera? No captions for this set, folks: the pictures will have to speak for themselves.

6/8-9/09: We stayed only breifly at Glacier National Park, since a large portion of the park was closed due to a 60' snow drift. It would have taken about 4 hours to circumvent it, and put us way out of our way. We ended up spending most of our time at Avalanche Lake and Lake MacDonald.

6/6-7/09: From Seattle, we headed across the border to Vancouver, British Columbia. We had no end of trouble there, so left after less than a day. We then drove across southern British Columbia (which is beautiful) to get to Glacier National Park in Montana. On the way, we saw Canada's only desert.

6/3-5/09: In Seatlle, we visited the Seattle Children's Theater, FareStart, and the President/Prioress of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. As with the rest of the Pacific Northwest, it was hot and sunny. I didn't mind though. We spent a lot of our time walking around the city, and had some great fish and chips.

5/31-6/2/09: When we were on the Olympic Penninsula in Washington, I felt like I was in a combination of Alaska and Norway. We were surrounded by huge mountains, clear water, and pristine meadowland. While there, we also stopped at a salmon hatchery to see what all the fuss is about.

5/30/09: Mt. St. Helens is so close to Portland that you can see it from the city. You can see the power of the mountain by the amount of it that blew off and the thousands of downed trees still littering the area. (related blog)

5/27-30/09: In Portland, OR, we stayed with our friend Elizabeth's Parents, Deb and Ted. They pointed us in a few directions, which really helped us narrow our focus. Portland has so much in the way of sustainability that it can be overwhelming.

5/23-26/09: Our friends Liz and Aaron moved to Eugene, OR last summer. Over the year, Liz has become integrated into a green community there. We followed her in some of her daily activities, like volunteering at the art gallery at Bring, or attending a time bank meeting.

5/22/09: In Coquille, OR, we visited Mountain Homestead, an intentional community. It's a small, informal group, less driven by the politics of community than many other communes. They practice ecoforestry, which is basically sustainable logging. Sound impossible? People have been doing it for millenia.

5/19-22/09: In Northern California, we visited Redwood National Park and checked out the coast. We didn't look at any sustainable actions per se, but the fact that much of this fragile land is protected means that we won't lose it's biodiversity, an important consideration in any sustainability-based decision. By the way, did you know that the entire Pacific Northwest coast is a rainforest?

5/19/09: We stopped by the headquarters of Tumbleweed Tiny Houses to check out their compact homes. Most of their houses are designed to fit on trailers and take up less than 100 square feet.

5/13-19/09: In San Francisco, we encountered a freak convergence of 8 people from St. Marys, including ourselves. It was great to spend time in a familiar community again, and made us look forward to gong home. We had some trouble finding sustainable enterprises, but that's because they were so ingrained as to ebe invisible. We managed to come across a few things that were exemplary of the city, though.

5/11-12/09: Our friend Amy works at SMOE (San Mateo Outdoor Education), where youths can spend a week learning about nature. The kids, who come from very diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, gain a respect for natural processes while also learning how to incorporate them into their lives.

5/8-10/09: North of Los Angeles, we circumvented smoky Santa Barbara, continuing up the coast toward the Bay Area. We went up Rt. 1, the coastal highway, which is beautiful and crazy. On our way we saw elephant seals and Point Lobos, among other things.

5/6-8/09: Los Angeles, home of the concrete LA river, is showing signs of change. Aside from a project to rehabilitate the river, we saw The Tree People, who are focused on urban forestry, and the masterminds of wannastartacommune.com, who are shortly starting a new site, wecommune.com.

5/3-5/09: In San Diego, we visited the world renowned zoo, went to a meeting of San Diego Roots, ran across Food not Bombs, and visited a community garden at City College. Despite these things, sustainability hasn't really taken off here. This is probably because it's always so beautiful that it's difficult to think about the troubles of the world. (See related blog entry)

4/29-5/1/09: Arcosanti is a model city founded by Paolo Soleri in cenral Arizona to realize his plans for the city form he calls "arcology." Though it's remained incomplete since the '70s and many people call it a failed project, it's important to recognize the importance of this place in the movement toward sustainability.

4/24-25/09: Zion National Park in Utah was frustrating, touristiy, and confusing to get around. Luckliy, we found an uncrowded trail that led to a beautiful canyon. Also, Zion is starting to use sustainable practices where they can.

4/22-24/09: At Arches National Park, near Moab, UT, we got to experience the classic utah desert and all of its ridiculous formations. I didn't think I could really show what Arches is like shooting normally, so I've tried some alternate methods here.

4/18-20/09: In Boulder, CO, we looked at the green initiatives at the University of Colorado and the Nyland Co-housing project, and chilled out.

4/17/09: The New Belgium Brewery, in Fort Collins, CO, is dedicated to sustainability, community, and good, interesting beer. We got a tour, some free beer, and learned about the mission of New Belgium.

4/15-17/09: In Denver, we stayed at a group house called Villa Villakula. The residents were actively involved in projects like Food not Bombs and the Derailer Bike Collective. Basically, Denver is full of bikes and sustainable actions.

4/14/09: On the way to Denver we stopped by Great Sand Dunes National Park. Julia and I and Luke (who caught a ride with us from Taos to Denver) hiked up the snow covered dunes and wished we had sleds for the way down.

4/11-14/09: In Taos, NM, we volunteered at Earthship Biotecture. We worked with a crew building a new earthship, mixing adobe and packing it in the walls. I think we started adjusting to the elevation (over 8000'); we lasted a few minutes before getting winded!

4/10/09: We visited Ecoversity in Santa Fe, NM, where they teach sustainable practices. Most of their constituency is local, but occasionally instructors attract students from other areas. Ecoversity's focus is mostly on urban and semi-urban intensive projects.

4/8-10/09: Santa Fe is built in a style that uses local materials and a practical design for the climate. The city has a great arts community, which is helping with the push for sustainability.

4/6-7/09: We decended deep into the earth in Carlsbad Caverns, only to find that a gift shop beat us there. Afterwards, we took pictures of me because it was my birthday!

4/2-4/09: We drove straight across Texas to Big Bend Naitonal Park, an a crook of the Rio Grande. I had thought that Big Bend was flat until about a year ago, but I still didn't have a good idea. We slept in the High Chisos and spent a lot of time by the river. If this place doens't convince you that the natural world is worth saving, nothing will.

3/31/09: The Rhizome Collective was evicted from their property for confusing reasons shortly before we visited Austin. When we visited, the place was torn apart, but there were still a few people working to move the bike project out. Though their space is gone, the Rhizome will survive.

3/28-4/1: The community in Ausitn is possibly trying to build an urban utopia. We visited with groups who are trying to create a sustainable semi-urban environment, as well as perserve the Austin's natural resources.

3/20-23/09: We ended up in New Orleans at the same time as our friends Caitlin and Jesse, who lived in New Orleans for a bit. They showed us the city from their perspective, with free meals, great people, and a canoe trip through the bayou. Jesse also took us around the upper 9th, where he and Caitlin had lived.

3/18-19/09: We visited Deborah Stewart Kent, the head of the Florida Trail Association to talk trails and sustainability. Afterwards, we headed up to Osceola National Forest to walk a bit of the trail.

3/17/09: Cayo Costa State Park, along with the rest of the Florida State Parks, is trying to remove all non-native species. It's also apparently a very popular place. We couldn't get a camp site there, and could barely get a ferry ride over. The time we spent was worth it, and we learned a lot both from volunteers and rangers.

3/14-15/09: We ended up at Big Cypress National Preserve after some scheduling problems. This unplanned stop was definitley worth it. We got to see the part of the Everglades that people imagine (as Julia says, "la jungla") and see some new animals.

3/9-12/09: We visited the Florida Keys, where the residents have adapted both to an environment unique to the US and to an economy based on the tourist trade.

3/6-8/09: We fled the cold that had been chasing us down the coast and ended up in the Everglades. We spent most of our time hiking and bird watching, getting to know the unique local environment.

3/5-6/09: The night before we left Savannah, we got a message from our friend Heather that said we should check out the hostel in the forest if we hadn't left Georgia yet. We spent the night in a tree house, ate a vegan dinner prepared by the staff, and helped out a bit.

3/3/09: We stopped briefly in Atlanta to see the Georgia Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the world. While the facility itslef is not sustainable, it teaches people about the importance of conservation.

3/4-5/09: From Atlanta, we went to Savannah to visit a friend from the Corcoran. While we were there, we took a look at what the city had to offer in the way of accessible sustainability.

03/1-2/09: We visited Asheville and were hit by a massive snowstorm. We had figured on wandering around the city and finding sustainable places, but we had a bit of difficulty in the snow. We ended up in a restaurant called Mayfels, where the owner took us in out of the storm for the night (thanks, Loretta!).

03/2/09: After a good night's rest and an awesome breakfast, we journeyed on to Kingston, TN, the site of a massive coal sludge spill. We were hoping to talk to people involved in the cleanup effort, but, to all appearances, no effort was being made.

2/23-26/09: After St. Mary's, we went to Acorn, an income sharing intentional community near Charlottesville, VA. We learned how their community worked, and helped out with their seed business and farm work.

2/20/09: While in St. Mary's, Julia and I visited Even' Star Organic Farm, where I used to work, and Circle C Oyster Ranch. Both places are focused on sustainable development as well as distributing food locally.

2/19-21/08: Our first stop was St. Mary's College of Maryland, our alma mater. We visited with friends, took walks, saw the college's new facilities, and visited a tree house.

11/15/08: John's video, Barefoot was projected on the Corcoran Gallery of Art as part of a group show called Transient State. This projection was part of FotoWeek DC.
(See related blog entry.)

10/26/08: A group of us went hiking at Catoctin Mountan Park. It was a beautiful day with lots of climbing around, and it was nice to see so many other people out on the trail.

9/27-28/08: A group of us went birding in Cape May, NJ with Dr. Mike Braun, who, aside from being Julia's father, is an eminent ornithologist. We went for the hawk migration and saw quite a few (though it was apparently slower than expected), but none were close enough to photograph. There was plenty else to see, though.

8/28-9/1/08- We visit our friends Caitlin + Jesse in Newfane, VT. They are living on a property that was once a camp for kids, and is now a ski retreat for lawyers from NY. In return for keeping up the grounds, they are given a private cabin with a tennis court, a garden of their own, and access to the commercial kitchen in the old bunk house.

1/17/08: We attended the "Flood Anapolis" rally at the Maryland State House, co-organized by our friend Holly Gorman of the Chesapeake Climate Change Network. Despite (or maybe because of) the snow, a great number of people turned out to show support for the Global Warming Solutions Act of Maryland. You can read more about it here.