Montana: The Last Frontier

Dear Internet,

After a long two days of driving, we finally made it to Montana! We're at our base camp now, just outside of Butte, getting acclimated to the altitude (around 5900 feet I think) and the fact of living with 30 other people and only 2 sinks. It's absolutely beautiful here, and although last night was a little cold, today was beautiful and sunny. The area is full of aspen trees just turning yellow, and layers of blue mountains on the hazy horizon.

I'm posting this from my phone, so hopefully it formats okay for you all. Here are some photos for now, enjoy!

xoxo Liz

So, night hiking.

Dear Internet,

So I've been home from Quest in Illinois for a couple days now and just too lazy to post anything. But we're all here now, so let's talk about Quest!

We drove up to Illinois in some very packed 15-passenger vans on Wednesday morning/afternoon, arriving at Giant City State Park by midday for lunch and some orienteering lessons. My teammates and I on Team Orange were led by Tom, an experienced outdoorsy guy with a long history in AmeriCorps and Outward Bound.

Orienteering lessons

After learning some orienteering basics, we checked out a cabin built by hand by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers in the 1930s, then headed into the woods.

At the lodge built by CCC workers as part of the New Deal

Our goal was Antioch Graveyard, where we would have dinner. We set off around 5:30 or 6 after deciding which trails to take, setting a general bearing for our destination, and selecting leaders to take us there. For a while, everything went fine - we had light, the trails were relatively well-marked, we bounced along like Little Bunny Frou Frou.

Little Bunny Frou Frou

Then it got dark.

Sharing some trail mix, also known as Gorp (Good Old Raisins and Peanuts) at dusk.

Darkness doesn't make hiking impossible, but it does make it interesting. We hauled out our flashlights, though, and continued in pretty good spirits, tromping through the woods and making pretty good progress. My teammates were all really great - I honestly enjoyed every one of their company - but around 11pm I started to think, "this just isn't fun anymore...."

We pushed on and around 1am finally made it to the Cemetery! Dinnertime was nigh. By around 1:30 we had prepared (and spilled half of) a few boxes of Zatarain's rice and beans, along with some bell peppers and sausage thrown in for color. Dinner was delicious, and not as creepy as it could have been, and once the dishes were cleaned and packed up, we continued on our merry way.

Our next goal was a Hidatsa Lodge, based on a design by Indians native to the area but also built by the CCC. At this point, everyone was eager just to get there and settle in for the night. Long story short, this didn't happen - at least not soon.

In the dark (and, might I add, using trail maps that were last updated in 1976) we soon became unbelievably lost in the woods. Example: while looking for a stream we were meant to cross, we spent 20-odd minutes debating whether the water in front of us was in fact the stream that we wanted, or maybe just the intermittent stream to the south of it? I'm still not sure what the verdict was.

Eventually, we ended up estimating our location (after many cries of "where is the 'you are here?!?!'") and "leapfrogging" our way there. Leapfrogging involves splitting into two groups, one with compasses and one with flashlights. The flashlight crew forges ahead while the compass crew directs them where to go so that the group stays on the correct bearing (the angle needed to reach the destination). Then the compasses catch up with the flashlights, and the game continues.

Finally finally, we reached a gravel trail and almost kissed it. From that point, the path toward the Lodge was pretty easy. We came upon the Brown Group sleeping peacefully along the trail and shone our lights in their faces for revenge. We made it to the Lodge around 4:15am and finally got some sleep. Whew!

The entrance of the Hidatsa Lodge by day

Breakfast at the Lodge!

The next morning, we packed out and hit the trail around 1:30pm, got lost a little more (though by daylight it wasn't as bad), and made it to the canoes we were meant to take back to the group campsite by 5ish. On the lake as we canoed back to the campsite it started to rain, but really we had remarkable weather for the whole trip.

Getting ready to canoe "home" after a long day and a half of hiking

We were glad to reach Little Grassy Camp though, since it meant showering and some hot food that we didn't cook or clean up ourselves. It also meant bunk beds, stories from the other groups (and the next morning, skits about their experiences), and sharing our "positive bombardment" scarves.

The Orange Team, "home" in time for dinner!

Before we left, Tom had given each of us the name of another Team member and a piece of orange-yellow fabric. Throughout the trip, we all wore our fabric as scarves, headbands, etc., but at the end we were meant to write nice things about our secret person and present them with the memento.

Things like that are always cheesy until it's your turn - it's so nice to hear someone notice and appreciate the good things you did. Everyone in the group really was great in different ways - which doesn't always happen in groups like this - so it was really nice to sit and listen to them being praised (and yeah, to hear my own :)

Allie presenting Tom, her secret person, with his "positive bombardment" scarf

We enjoyed each other's company for the rest of the night - Team Orange was divided between ERT and Education Members, so we might not see each other too much in the future - then headed off to bed. In the morning after breakfast and each Team's skits, the ERT Members were (surprise!) shipped back to St Louis to get ready for our trip to Montana.

So I've been hanging out in St Louis since Friday evening, and the plan is now to head to Montana on Wednesday morning. We were supposed to go today, but we didn't have all the materials we needed and decided to get a rental truck to take with us - so, plans change! We will hopefully drive as far as Denver tomorrow, then complete the trip on Thursday for about a three to three-and-a-half week stay. A good lesson in being flexible and not making too many plans ahead of time....

That's about all that's been going on, besides a fun day at Six Flags with James on Sunday and the fact that I got food stamps today (three cheers for being broke and living off of the government!). Oh, and my new roommate Saul moved in this weekend (bringing us up to five roommates... and still one bathroom). Another girl who was just hired and hasn't found an apartment yet, Dee, has been sleeping on our couch as well, so it's been fun having a full house this weekend.

I'll update you as I can in Montana. Cell and Internet reception will be spotty, but I'll do my best.

Peace y'all,
xoxo Liz

P.S. Photo credits to Tom, our fearless Team Orange leader - I did not bring my giant SLR into the woods and am glad of that. So thanks, Tom's Facebook!

P.P.S. I believe that if you want to comment, you can either use a Google (or possibly another) account, or you can select "Anonymous" in the "Comment As" drop-down bar. Just sign it so I know who you are :)

Getting Things Done

Dear Internet,

So I have now finished Day 2 of AmeriCorps Emergency Response Team (ERT) orientation and I would like to tell you about it! Many of you might know that I moved here with relatively few details about what I would be doing on the ERT, and will thusly be pleased that I now have relatively more details.

First, explaining the whole AmeriCorps STL crew is kind of difficult, as we do a number of different things: not only is there the ERT, but there is also the Education Team (two of my roommates are on it), as well as other state and VISTA programs (another roomie works with a nonprofit via AmeriCorps). Basically, what ties all of these together is the principle of "making sure that people don't get left behind" by society. The motto is "getting things done." I like the simplicity and directness of these objectives.

More specifically, I learned some basics about what the ERT does. We respond to natural and man-made disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and terrorist attacks (ERT went to New York after 9/11 and to New Orleans after Katrina, for example) by doing things like clearing trees and rubble, etc. To do that, I'll be chainsaw certified and learn how to work with and repair a bunch of different machinery/equipment. I will also be getting firefighter certified by the federal government to help control wildfires. In off-hours (ha), we do conservation work with national parks and so on. How much we're responding to disasters, doing conservation work, being trained, or on rotations out of town depends on time of year, weather patterns, etc.

So basically I am on call 24/7 (once I'm trained) to be sent anywhere. They say I will spend the majority of my service time outside of STL, which is kind of okay because ERT goes all over the country - there are some maps posted of past service sites, including places in California, New Mexico, and Montana, all the way up to New England and the Southeast, and everywhere in between. Many of these places will be fairly rural and will have (at best) sketchy cell phone reception and Internet. It sounds like we tend to sleep wherever we can find an empty floor - churches, YMCAs, and schools all seem to be possibilities, as well as a jail at one point.

As far as what the near future holds for me: the Education Team and ERT will be leaving tomorrow (Wednesday) morning for a Quest training (whatever that means; they won't tell us) in Illinois. All I know is that we have a very specific packing list for two separate bags (neither of which I have packed yet, of course). We are scheduled to return on Sunday, and then ERT will be heading out to training south of Butte, Montana I believe on Monday. I know even less about that training (not even an end date - all they told us was that we'd return to STL in mid- to late-October), but I guess we will find out the essentials (probably shortly) before we leave. I will probably be mostly out of contact during that period, so don't expect too much of this blog!

In other news, the people on the ERT seem pretty cool. I don't know anyone very well yet, but it's neat to think that everyone was selected for the team (as my boss, Quinn, reminded us today) for a very specific reason. I'm excited to find out what all those reasons are.

This is going to be quite an experience for me - it seems pretty intimidating now, but that usually means that great things are in store. I'm looking forward to learning skills that I wouldn't learn anywhere else (firefighting, anyone? Car repair?) and to having some experiences that will stick with me for the rest of my life. I think that this is the kind of thing that makes you a better person when you leave. Despite a looming shadow of uncertainty, I can't wait.

***

Before I sign off, I hope I do get to spend some time in STL because of these cool facts I learned so far this week:

• When Obama visited STL, he ate at Pi Pizzeria (STL-style pizzas) and said that it was better than Chicago-style. It's true, AmeriCorps gave us all a slice on our first day of orientation and it was most excellent.
• STL was built upon a complex of natural caves, where early German brewers lagered their beer.
• Both Lewis and Clark lived in STL after their famous expedition in 1805.
• The first daily newspaper in the country was the St Louis Herald, founded in 1834.
• Four foods were popularized by the 1904 World's Fair in STL: hot dogs, hamburgers, iced tea, and ice cream cones.
• 7-Up was invented in STL.
• There are more free, world-class attractions in STL than in any other US city except for Washington, DC.
• The Wainwright Building in STL was the world's first skyscraper.
• Tower Grove Park (near my house) has a coyote named Gal living in it. Gal has a Facebook page.
• STL ranked as the second safest city from food borne illnesses out of 101 metropolitan areas by Men's Health magazine in February 2008.

Plus, this is the home of Anheuser-Busch and the largest Mardi Gras celebration outside of New Orleans. Where can you go wrong?

xoxo Liz

Welcome to the Gateway City

Dear Internet,

Chris and I spent my first week in St Louis (or STL) looking around, getting comfortable, and getting moved in. We did some touristy things, like visiting the art museum in Forest Park (a really nice area that has several museums, a zoo, and lots of space for jogging/biking/ice skating in the winter), and of course the famous Arch.

Fun fact: the Arch is the tallest monument in the US
and is exactly as tall as it is wide (630 feet).

The Arch, the famous old Court House, and a
statue of Jefferson.

With our friend James we also visited City Museum, which doesn't sound nearly as cool as it actually is. The building is an old shoe factory converted into essentially a giant jungle gym for adults.

Approaching the building. You see the roof and
are... intrigued.

It's full of recycled materials that you can climb on, slide down, shimmy through or squeeze under.

Chris and James in one part of the museum that seems
to have an Arctic theme

Squeezing through small spaces

Stairs are for chumps.

I can tell you how cool it is but really, you have to see it to believe it, and pictures don't count. It is easily one of the coolest places I've ever been, although the elephant necklace I've been wearing for 2.5 years broke while we were there :(

So excited to be flying this stripped-down plane!

The outside portion of the museum

For those of you wondering about the "Museum" part of the name, there are a few (rather neglected) exhibits about the city's architecture, ecosystem, and history upstairs. Where it's nice and quiet.

Chris and I also did some slightly less touristy things during that first week, like finding a favorite coffee place (called Mokabe's) about a mile from my apartment, a rad vegan bakery only 3 blocks away, a yummy Thai restaurant, and testing out a few farmer's markets. Now that I look at this list, I guess all of our research had to do with food... oh well.

As far as farmer's markets, there is a really huge, really famous one in the Soulard neighborhood not far from where I live, so of course that's great and sells everything from potted bamboo to pomegranates, but there's also another really nice one in Tower Grove park a couple blocks from my apartment on Saturday mornings. They have, of course, plenty of fruits and veggies for sale, but also vendors selling things like gelato, cheese, coffee, and cupcakes. I love walking around and doing my shopping at places like those (especially because they are super cheap), so it's good to know what's up.

Chris and I also went camping for a night in the Ozarks. As far as good camping goes, we were not terribly successful, but it was a fun trip.

Putting up a tent: success. Other things: not so much.

For example, good campers would probably: bring enough food (we brought lunch. Why we didn't think to bring more food is a mystery); bring enough warm things (also failed); know how to start a fire (it's not easy, okay?!?); and remain uninjured (nope. This evil tree-spike-thing went through my sneaker and foot while I collected firewood for the ill-fated fire that never was).

Evil tree-spike-thing that went into my foot

But, none of them were very serious oversights or emergencies. We made it through and still had a pretty good time hiking around and hanging out. And the area was really beautiful:

On our way out, we drove Skyline Drive in (this is for you, Dad) Mark Twain National Park. He was from this part of Missouri so everything is all Twain-ed up in his honor.

Skyline Drive // Mark Twain National Park

A few days later, James, Chris, a few of James' friends, my roommate Kate, and I went to Meramec Caverns, about an hour outside of STL. We spent some time hiking and exploring a few free caves (I felt weird being unattended by a guide, like what do I do if this cave falls on my head? I dunno). Hiking is not so great in the rain, but caving is perfect!

My roommate Kate, James, and James' friends
Jeremiah & Erin in Sheep Cave

Chris left from Meramec, heading on to Tulsa to stay with his aunt and uncle for about a week before he continues westward (hopefully ending up in Seattle in a few weeks; his plans are very loose). It's strange saying goodbye to someone I've spent so much time over the last two weeks with, especially when he's leaving me in a new place - but we both have (as cheesy as it sounds) paths to follow, adventures to plan, lessons to learn in our own ways. Hopefully our paths will cross again before too long!

So that was week one of STL, the Gateway City. Over the course of the week I gradually acquired some furniture and organized my room, so here you go Dad, some pictures of my new place:

My room. The lighting came out kind of yellow and
it looks sort of bleak, but I promise it's pretty cozy.
An HD TV and DVD player wouldn't be out of place,
though, if you wanted to send them.

Our living room, soon to be the home of a potential new
roommate, Saul (in addition to roomies Joe, Jenn, and Kate).

Our huge dining room/common space, and the doorway into
the kitchen. Again, it looks pretty bleak but is really very nice.
It's just because the walls are a weird color and we don't have
any artwork up yet.

So the apartment is really nice, we have a lot of space for what we're paying. STL was actually named the #4 "most affordable place to live well" by Forbes magazine. Also, I just found out today that the building was built in 1908, so it's 103 years old (this is a cool thing, to me at least. Despite all the plumbing/electric/rodent problems we've already had...). My roomies are really nice and clean and I like the neighborhood, so it's a good situation.

Overall, STL has surprised me by being a very cool city with more to offer than I expected. I can't wait to explore some more over the next year!

Guess what you guys? Fall is coming.

xoxo Liz

A road trip in (mostly) pictures

Dear Internet,

I've wanted to do a road trip across the US for some time now, so moving to St Louis provided a great excuse to do the first half of that trip. I've been lucky to travel internationally a great deal, but haven't seen much of my own country - and most of what I have seen has been on the East Coast. Luckily, my friend Chris (who I met while studying abroad in Germany) was planning on road tripping to Seattle at the same time, so he drove down to DC from Pennsylvania so we could head west together.

We spent last Monday walking around Georgetown and the National Mall with my brother Ben and his friend Josh. It was a fun day, though it had more rain and fewer cupcakes than I would have liked (the line for Georgetown Cupcake was very long). So long, DC!

Josh & Ben and the Washington Monument

The next day, Chris and I took off on the first leg of our trip: Pittsburgh! We stopped in Maryland at the Catoctin Mountain National Park to hike for a little bit (in the rain). We drove the rest of the way through what was probably Hurricane Lee, arriving in time to meet Chris's friend Michelle. Michelle, her boyfriend Nick, and roommate's boyfriend Corey were really nice. We baked zucchini bread and chatted about Pittsburgh (unexpected: it's a city of bridges, you have to cross one to get practically everywhere) and AmeriCorps (Michelle worked with AmeriCorps at a community garden over the summer). After dinner, Nick drove us all up to Mount Washington overlooking the city - what a great view!

Pittsburgh, viewed from Mt Washington. It's not really this orangely sinister-looking, or this blurry.

Chris, Nick, Michelle & I at Mount Washington

Michelle and Nick gave us some great recommendations for things to do and see in the city: a book shop, coffeehouse, CD and record stores, the Andy Warhol Museum, the Mexican War Streets neighborhood (a nice area where all the streets are named after places in Mexico). We walked around most of the city the next day and managed to see most of the places they told us about. What a cool city! Neither Chris nor I had expected much from Pittsburgh (I must admit, the name is a big factor for me - kind of gross), but we found a very relaxed, funky, friendly, interesting city.

Michelle's neighborhood

A city of bridges - yellow ones!

The next morning, left on the next leg of our trip: Tiffin, Ohio to see our friend from studying in Germany, Nadia and her son Tripp.

The drive was really pretty even though it was raining.

Of course I didn't take this picture while I was driving. Why would I do that??

We had a great overnight visit with Nadia, Tripp, and their family, visiting the drive in where Nadia worked as a teenager and reminiscing about friends and experiences in Germany. Then the next day it was onward and westward to... Chicago!

Nadia, baby Tripp, Chris & I. Tripp makes the best faces!

Chris and I arrived in Chicago, and while waiting to meet with Emma (another friend from our time in Germany), we found these lights on the side of a building!

Chris

Me

When we found Emma, the three of us went to a GREAT vegan/vegetarian diner. The waiters were really fun and the food was awesome, as was the pitcher of vodka lemonade (pictured below with some weirdo).

Vodka lemonade: check.

Emma, me, Chris, & our waiter.

Chris & I went dancing that night (Emma didn't come since she had to be up early for her new job the next day), then woke up early and walked almost the entirety of Chicago - at least 10 miles. Let me tell you, it is a pretty great city. We passed through several crafts fairs, a huge farmer's market by the lake, and lots of other cool little places. It was a LONG walk that our feet did not appreciate, but walking is my favorite way to see a city, so it was worth it.

Walking, walking, and more walking.

Nadia's mom had told us about the skyboxes (plexiglass boxes on the side of the building) built into the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower, which intrigued both of us, so we stood in the long lines and paid the exorbitant entrance fees to ascend 103 stories. It was a beautiful day, and the views were great!

Of course the lines were really long for the skyboxes... but here it is:

Aaaahh, I'm falling! Just kidding. Don't worry.

Let's not talk about how dirty my hair is in that picture.

Then we hit the pavement again to do our favorite thing, walk some more. We ran across the Cloud Gate (a big legume shaped mirror... who thinks of this stuff??) in Millenium Park, which had huge crowds around it, including our or five wedding parties and quinceañeras.

We bought some lunch and ate in Grant Park, then walked to the Navy Pier, which was more crowded and carnival-y than I expected.

Towards the evening we left Chicago and drove to Champaign, IL to see my friend from home, Philip, at the University of Illinois. It was a great overnight visit and really nice to recuperate from all the walking we did in Chicago. Champaign/Urbana were neat little towns - Chris and I keep being pleasantly surprised by all the places we visit.

Finally, we drove to St Louis! We met up with our friend James (another Germany buddy), got my stuff moved into the house, and will spend the rest of the week getting acclimated - more on that later!

My new home!

As for the road trip, it reminded me why I like traveling, especially through people. I feel so grateful that between us, Chris and I knew somebody everywhere we went - it made our visits so much better than if we had just done internet research and gone on our own.

That exhilarating feeling of impending adventure is - what shall I say? - empowering. It reminds me of the fact that I'm young, that I can travel, that I have no real responsibility. But settling into a new place; installing furniture and finding a regular coffee shop, that makes me feel like an adult, like I have my life together. As with so many things, I think the magic is in moderation. So after this year of being - for whatever that might mean - a grown-up, I think I may finish this road trip to the West Coast. Who knows?

xoxo Liz

P.S. You can all now officially come "meet me in St Louis."

Leaving (on a jet plane)

Dear Internet,

What is it about moving that always makes me feel like I need extras of everything? I'm leaving with my friend Chris on my road trip to St Louis tomorrow morning, so tonight I packed two packs of dental floss, five coffee mugs, an extra pillow, and far too many clothes hangers. As if they don't sell these things in other places.

But when it comes to dismantling the things that make my room at my parents' house feel like home, I find myself unable to take the posters, the map, the photographs down. My knickknacks are just the way I like them, thank you. I know my walls and shelves will be bare when I get to St Louis, but at the moment that doesn't matter as much as keeping my room here as a safe haven.

I feel like I'm going on a long trip or to summer camp, not moving out of the house for what is hopefully the last time. Not that I'm planning on staying in St Louis forever, but I'm just not planning to move back home after my time with AmeriCorps. I'm a grown-up now, I guess. It's weird.

Maybe part of the mental block I'm facing has to do with the fact that my job in St Louis isn't exactly what I picture as a "real job." Real jobs have cubicles and elevators and pantsuits. What I'm doing with AmeriCorps is officially volunteering, though a monthly stipend is provided to cover the cost of living. I'll be working with the Emergency Response Team (ERT), responding to natural disasters or other assorted calamities. We also do some environmental conservation work on the side, when Mother Nature is a bit less overexcited. I don't know a whole lot of details about this job (more on that later), but it definitely doesn't fit in with my office building image.

I'm glad to be taking this job and moving to St Louis - I feel like it's the right direction for me to be taking my life. But I don't know if I'd say I'm excited. Trepidation, yes; excitement... I'm not sure. I think I will be more excited when I get there, meet the other volunteers, settle into my apartment, and start training. Right now it's kind of overwhelming.

In the meantime, Chris (a friend from when I studied in Germany) and I will be road tripping our way to St Louis (for me) and Seattle (for him)! We leave DC in the morning for Pittsburgh, where we'll stay a couple nights with some of his friends through CouchSurfing (check it out if you haven't!), then on to Ohio where we will stay with our lovely friend (also met in Germany) Nadia and her son Tripp. On to Chicago (where we still need somewhere to stay... let me know if you have ideas!), then hopefully stopping in southern Illinois to see my friend Phil at the University of Illinois. Finally, St Louis, where we will meet up with our friend James (ALSO from Germany!) to hang out for a few days and (hopefully) get me all moved in. Phew! Then I start my first day of work on the 14th of September. Chris will probably hang out for a bit, then continue on his way to Seattle.

I can't believe I'm leaving in the morning... I better get some sleep before I wake up in six hours.

See you all in St Louis!
xoxo Liz