On November 13th, Gold 1 and other AmeriCorps teams were inducted as Corps Members! This means that we completed our training and are no longer on our probation period. The Corps Training Institute went by fast! It was stressful with all the information we had to learn quickly and having long work days, but worth it because now we can go GET THINGS DONE.
 Gold 1 after induction ceremony |
Our first project was at Camp Lodestar, which is located outside of Wilseyville, CA. Wilseyville has a population of about 400 people, and the camp is far out in the country. The camp is owned by the United Methodist Church, and managed by the United Camps Conferences and Retreats. The camp has a lot of property and places to stay, which felt weird at first being the only people on the camp grounds. It was weird going from the craziness of CTI back in Sacramento to the empty, quiet woods. Although it felt weird, the change made me happy.
Entrance to Camp Lodestar
The cabin where we stayed
Jeff Clark was our sponsor at Camp Lodestar. Him and his wife, Kathie, live on the property. If you ask me, they have it made living there. It is a beautiful campsite with a lot of area to explore. Jeff and Kathie are some of the nicest people I have met, and I speak for the whole team saying how happy we were to be working for them. We missed them the moment we left!
Jeff and me on our last day!
Most of our work at Camp Lodestar involved being outdoors, which I LOVED. Before coming to AmeriCorps, I hoped that trail work and conservation work would be a project I was assigned to. Gold 1 cleared and widened a hiking trail, removed invasive species (Bear Clovers to be exact), split firewood, and raked leaves and pine needles. Additionally, Ryan and I had a lot of practice with the chainsaws. We are the sawyers for Gold 1! We always have a lot of fun working the saws, and it is nice to have each other for input on cutting techniques. Poor Ryan always has to use the big saw because I'm too weak for it, but hopefully I will be able to handle it comfortably with more practice (and muscle!). Aside from the outdoor work, we worked inside a couple days painting a cabin and waxing the dining area floor.
I'm a chain sawyer!
Elena and Emily splitting wood
Elena and Jessi painting
We had the chance to complete Independent Service Hours during our stay in Wilseyville. The place we worked at was Rail Road Flat Elementary School. Every month, three women at the school host a community dinner. The meal we helped serve was their Thanksgiving meal. Along with the Thanksgiving dinner, there was a coat drive. This school was really cute, and quite unique. It was a small school of only fifty students, but they had some of the best test scores in the area. This school teaches hands on skills such as knitting, cooking, and gardening. They actually have a school garden where they teach the kids gardening skills and they use food from the garden to teach them how to cook. The women were so thankful to have us there helping out. It was awesome to get out in the community and help with something that Gold 1 has not done before. We were very happy to be there.
Between our work days, ISP's, team positions work, portfolio work, and team meetings, there is not a lot of free time. We are busy non-stop Monday through Friday. We have to wake up three times a week for physical training, start our work day, and then do work that needs done after the work day. Gold 1 is staying busy a lot of days until bed time rolls around. Usually when I mark one thing off my to do list, three more things are added to it! I remember my mom saying this once, and now I truly feel her pain (by the way, I really miss my mama!).
With all the work we have to do, you can imagine that we were all happy that we visited Lake Tahoe on one of our days off. It was AMAZING! It is so beautiful in northern California. I was extremely happy to go, especially because this is one of my top places I wanted to visit while being in California. We enjoyed the view of the lake and mountains, went shopping, and had lunch at a great pizza place in the mall. I was happy with my purchases of three hats...I just couldn't choose one. This trip made me realize how in love I am with California.
The gang at Lake Tahoe!
We ended our time at Camp Lodestar celebrating Thanksgiving with Jeff, Kathie, AJ (a camp employee), and her two children. I missed celebrating with my family, but was so thankful to be where I was. I have so much to be thankful for, but I was especially thankful that I finally made it to California and for the opportunity to serve with AmeriCorps. Thanksgiving was a great day and I was surrounded by wonderful people.
Thanksgiving meal in the camp dining room
Gold 1 is now in Petaluma, California working at Walker Creek Ranch. This is another camp where we are mostly doing trail work. It is SO beautiful here! I will be updating on our project here soon!
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