A taste of Washington

Howdy everyone.

Work at Full Circle Farm - Largest CSA (Community
Supported Agriculture) farm in North America

I just got back into town after a 12-day trip in the Seattle area.  Seattle is the biggest city in the northwest and it is a relatively new city in terms of how long it has been a big city.  The timber boom that started in the 50's and the .com boom that the city gradually morphed into after timber reduction in the 80's has kept the city growing at good rates.  It has Microsoft, Amazon, and Boeing to keep it booming and it has a fresh feeling to it.  About half of the days this time of year are accompanied by rain but the days of blue skies are tough to compare in any other American city.  To the west, over the sound, you are able to see the snow-capped mountains of the Olympic Peninsula and take in the peaks from the top of the many hills in Seattle. To the southeast you will see the biggest mountain in the Cascade Mountain range, Mt. Rainier.  It is over 14,000' tall and it is a girthy snow-covered volcano that sticks out like a giant.

Picture I took while canoeing in Trout Lake.  That is Mt.
Adams which I am lucky enough to stare at every day.

The close proximity of nature to the city is one of the biggest draws and it is part of the city's culture to get out and appreciate the nearby nature that surrounds them.  A sunny day on the weekend will draw the entire city out to the mountains to rock climb, hike, bike and every other activity you can imagine.  I don't know why I'm promoting the city but it was just refreshing to see that everyone is eager to be active and it shows because so many Seattleans will contribute their time to volunteer to a lot of the non-profits that are affiliated with my AmeriCorps program.  They use the land for their recreational benefit and in return they donate their time to improving the trails and nature around them.

Part of my job as Intern Leader is to visit all of the 25 Environmental Interns that are placed around all of Washington and Oregon.  I planned out during this trip to the Northwest part of Washington to visit all nine of the interns in that region.  Here is a synopsis of those 9 visits.

Hitting a 2' foot jump down a huge hill!  Sweeeeeet!

Visit 1 with Rianne who works at the National Wildlife Federation - We went to a vegetarian thai restaurant in Seattle and then we walked downtown to the Folklife Festival that takes place in the Seattle Center just below the Space Needle.  There is folk music by crazy vagabonds, magicians, reggae, Capoeira, contra dancing and you get to see the craziest people in the country.  Seattle definitely has some crazy folk out here.  Very artistic and unique and it expands your thoughts on how people choose to live their life.  Not so much the direction I'm taking but it is a good way to learn.

Visit 2 with Alex who works at Stewardship Partners - We drove out to Full Circle Farm (picture above) and we pulled blackberry bushes that are in a trail they are building for interpretive purposes.  The trail will be used to bring students out and tell them the history of the farm, area they live in, and fun facts about the nature that surrounds them.

Mowing the lawn of a housing project that houses citizens
that are recovering drug addicts for minimal rent and helps
them in the transition back into society.

Visit 3 with Brian who works for the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance - We went mountain biking and it was ridiculous!  I have never gone that fast on a bike and I was able to do some sweet jumps and crazy ramps and I'm super surprised I didn't fall at all.  I must be a natural!  I got to play in two coed soccer games that same night and ripped it up playing some ball.  My ankle is getting stronger!

Visit 4 & 5 with Kailyn and Alison - I went up to Lake Stevens just north of Seattle and Kailyn and I walked around the lake and the downtown area and talked about the environmental teachings that she does with local schools.  Alison and I had coffee at a French restaurant in downtown Seattle and I had the second best cup of coffee of my life.  The best cup of coffee was the day before at a diner in the University district in Seattle.  I am currently addicted to a couple cups of coffee a day because the northwest has such great coffee brews.  They also have incredible microbrews in every city so I'm sure you could guess that I'm also addicted to the beer out here.

Our AmeriCorps rock climbing crew.  Climbed my first
crack!  This was back on Friday the 13th.  Good crew.

Visit 6 with Stella who works at the U.S. Forest Service - Stella just got accepted into the Peace Corps so she is heading out to Western Africa this next spring so we basically talked about that for a couple of hours of coffee.  My job is to make sure that everyone is doing well and that their work/life balance is healthy and if something isn't going great then I will help come up with possible solutions to make their AmeriCorps experience more beneficial and align with their expectations and goals.

Visit 7 with Brenda who works for the North Olympic Land Trust - She lives in the town of Sequim, WA which is out on the Olympic Peninsula.  The Olympics are a magical place located between Seattle and the Pacific Ocean.  It is mostly rain forest and mountains that has rivers and lakes galore.  I drove over there this past Wednesday and we went out for oysters while we looked at Canada in the distance.  You have to keep your eye on the Canadians at all times.  You just never know.  We drove out to Forks, WA (yes, the location of the Twilight series) the next day to do some trail work and help out with some trail projects.  I can hopefully get those pictures from my other memory card and get them up here as soon as possible.

I thought I would give everyone an update on the length
of my red beard.

Visit 8 with Anna who works for the Mountains to Greenway Trust - This company is huge and they protect an insane amount of land and keep up the trails for the public.  It was National Trails Day so we did trail work for 6 hours out at Little Si, which turns out to be an insanely popular hike for the Seattle folk.  Had a great time working with another AmeriCorps NCCC program based out of Sacramento, CA.

Visit 9 with Julie who works at the North Cascades Institute - I drove up to Bellingham, WA which is where Western Washington University is located and it is one of the coolest towns I have ever been to in America.  It is probably right around 100,000 but the entire population is into the outdoors and they are surround by the San Juan Islands to the west and Mt. Baker to the North.  Everyone bikes around and I jumped off a 40' cliff into a pool of water which was like a half mile from Julie's place.  That is just an example of what their city parks are like...they have 40' waterfalls!  It was Julie's birthday so we played bocce, drank mojitos, ate shish kabobs, and then went square dancing.  The North Cascades Institute partners with Western Washington University for a Non-Profit Management masters program that is one of the best outdoor non-profit programs in the country and I have some interest in getting my Masters there.  Who knows?

To sum it up I think I may have one of the sweetest jobs around.  I knew that I would be able to do these visits coming out west again but I had no idea that I would be visiting some of the most inspiring peers that I have ever met.  Each one does great work out in their regions and we all have the bond of community service and improving community-based environmental programs.  We like to joke about the miniscule amount of money we make but on the flip-side we can brag about the great programs that we are able to implement and the wonderful people and volunteers that we are able to spend our work days with.

I miss ya'll back in Wisco.  Shoot me a phone call if you ever want to catch up.

Luke Davis