Pink Painted Skies and the End of Round One

my team, green 7 at agua caliente park with our sponsors

Green 7 seized the moment.

Agua Caliente park is the only place I can count how many shooting stars I see in one night, spot Jupiter, and lay under the huge Milky Way every night. I'd never camped before and now I am sleeping outside, under the stars, among coyotes, scorpions, quails and bobcats.

Green 7 built memories.

Although, our projects at Camp Stevens and baking Christmas cookies in the Shelter Valley community were a blast the general consensus of our favorite independent service project thus far has been volunteering with 20 others on Thanksgiving at the Julian Town Hall, feeding 420 senior citizens, lower class and tourists who arrived with hungry bellies for a fresh cooked meal.

green 7 in julian, ca feeding the hungry on thanksgiving

By working and laughing together the team came a long way as a community of their own. I couldn't have asked for a better first project.

myself and lindsey laugh while we rock- line a hot springs stream

Green 7 built communication and leadership skills.

While planting over 100 palm trees and cacti, removing 750 pounds of invasive species, excavating 3,500 pounds of sand for soil erosion control, using the sand for trail work, rock-lining trail and streams, building horse corrals and clearing hiking trails, Green 7 learned the urgency of finishing projects in a short amount of time. Because we did so well at Agua Caliente, no other teams are needed this year!

kayla and jenna building horse corrals

myself, helping to extend a trail

It can be frustrating being within arms reach of ten other people at all times but I learned to love. Personally, I wasn't sure if I could endure 6 weeks of camping in the desert but it is funny how quickly my comfort level adjusted after just 5 days out in the dust bowl. The scenery is phenomenal in the Anza Borrego, whether it be sunrise, mid-day, or my favorite, sunset.

me, shauna and the beautiful pink sunset after a long day of service

Despite my crazy dreams of vacuuming it, I never thought I would sleep so well, in a tent, in the desert. I'm saddened to leave San Diego County but I leaving my footprints in the deep desert sands of Anza Borrego.

at camp stevens

Half Moon, Half Full

It's nights like these when I can hear the frogs belching, feel the redness on my cheeks from the brisk breeze, and watch the half moon rest on it's back in the sky; Knowing I've only got two more nights in somewhere so beautiful that I'm reminded to ask myself, is my cup half empty, or half full?

My cup has always been half full.

We Are All Right Where We Belong

I am right where I belong. It's the truest statement. I wrote it on the white board on the fridge as a motivation for the team. I'm really happy hear and I hope that can inspire people. With only 9 more days in the desert, I can actually say, I'm going to miss it here. I want to know where we are going next but I want to finish this project strong.

my team, green 7 high atop the anza borrego desert

I talk about Meme a lot but I'm sure she is enjoying watching what my team is accomplishing from above. I spoke about her to the team on Thanksgiving which started a sharing circle. It's nice that she has inspired my teammates in different ways during this first project. They even dedicated the project portfolio to her!