Walker Creek Ranch, Christmas Break, and Boise, Idaho

Happy new year everyone!

I have been really bad about keeping this blog updated! It has been hard without a computer to update it, but I now have my laptop and plan to update it every week.

My last update was about my time at Camp Lodestar (which I miss SO MUCH). After Camp Lodestar we worked at another camp in California called Walker Creek Ranch. W.C.R. is such a beautiful place. Just like at Camp Lodestar, we did trail maintenance at W.C.R. I love being outdoors and doing trail work, but what really made this job difficult was all the poison oak we had to come in contact with. Basically our job was to remove poison oak from the trails, so there was no way to avoid it. There are nine Corps Members on Gold 1, and eight of us got poison oak! It was such a pain and very uncomfortable. It took me almost a month to get rid of it.

One day we were able to take a break from trail work to go on a nature hike with a group of kids and the naturalists. It was cool to see the outdoor education program and to have the interaction with the kids. We hiked two miles up to Walker Peak and then back. The view from the top is amazing. From the top of Walker Peak you can see mountains for miles and also see Tomales Bay. Besides the beautiful scenery at Walker Creek Ranch, the garden was my favorite part about the camp. We were able to use the vegetables from the garden for some of our dinners. We mostly would get kale from the garden, but we also used kohlrabi. I have never even heard of kohlrabi before I tried it at W.C.R. It is similar to broccoli and it is AMAZING. Sean, nature name "Potato", worked in the garden and was so passionate about everything in the garden. Speaking with him and just seeing the garden makes me want to be involved with a community garden whenever I leave AmeriCorps.

Part of the garden!

Me at the top of Walker Peak

We arrived back to the AmeriCorps campus in Sacramento on December 19th and then Christmas break began. I unfortunately did not get to go home, but I got to do things I could not do back home. On Christmas day I volunteered at St. John's Women and Children's Shelter all day. About twenty other Corps Members were there as well. We passed out presents to the families, helped children assemble their new toys, and serve and clean up lunch and dinner. The time that we were not doing these things, we played with the children. It was a great way to spend Christmas. The children were all so well behaved and happy that we were there to play with them. This is certainly the most rewarding Christmas I have had.

Christmas Day at St. Johns Shelter

On New Years Eve, I went to San Francisco with Fin, Hal, and Sheila from Silver 5. We stayed in Bernal Heights, so that night we did some bar hopping in the area. We mostly relaxed on New Years day, and then the next day we visited the Golden Gate Bridge and Berkeley. While standing on the Golden Gate Bridge, I thought how unreal it was. I had seen the bridge in plenty of movies and TV shows, so it was cool to actually be there! San Francisco is hands down the coolest and most beautiful city I have visited yet. After walking across the bridge, we went to Berkeley and walked around the University of California campus. The campus was beautiful!

Me on the Golden Gate Bridge

View from the Golden Gate Bridge

Golden Gate Bridge

Christmas break ended on January 6th, and I am currently in Boise, Idaho starting Round 2. Gold 1 will be working with the Community Action Partnership Association of Idaho doing taxes for low income families. We have training the next couple weeks to become IRS tax certified. I am not going to lie and act like I am thrilled about this project, but I am trying to stay positive and assume I will end up enjoying it. The only reason I am some what excited for this project is to help people and to learn how to do taxes. I do not know a lick about taxes, so it will be a good experience!

Sorry for the late update family! If I do not keep up with this every week, you are more than welcome to nag me about it. I will let you know how this week goes soon!