Monday, July 26, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Every End is a New Beginning
The end of our AmeriCorps NCCC year is upon us. There is a lot of paperwork that needs to be done and we are awaiting our graduation ceremony on Tuesday. It’s hard to believe that just 10 months ago we were boarding planes not knowing what the year had in store for us. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience. The goals we shared coming in were to travel, meet new people, and help as many people as we could. Water Four accomplished that with flying colors.
Looking back at the experience, a few things come to mind. I can’t help but think about the communities that the team supported with our efforts. We built houses for Hurricane Katrina survivors, we were mentors for children, we built trails for people to enjoy, and we helped others get $1,000s from tax returns. We learned many valuable skills, but what we will take away most are the smiles we put on those we served. The experiences were different for each project but the most important thing was that we had a blast making a lasting impact on those communities.
Our team was very lucky to be a part of this blog and the NBC documentary, which is expected to air sometime this fall. It may have changed our experience a little because of the cameras that followed us during our first spike project. However, we understand the impact that sharing our experience with the public in that way will have on AmeriCorps NCCC and on others interested in serving. Service to our country is on the rise and it comes at a crucial time. The need for people to step up and lend a hand is urgent. AmeriCorps is a prime example of that need. Because of the Serve America Act, the amount of people able to serve through NCCC may increase in the coming years. Also, other AmeriCorps programs have already added thousands of new opportunities to help communities in need.
We are blessed to live in this great country. What makes it great are those who have served before us. That is why everyone should serve whether it’s at home or abroad. There are many ways to serve but sometimes we find an excuse not to. Everyone has the ability, so it is not a question of 'can I,' but 'will I?' Our team is a great example of that, since we didn’t have all the specific skills we needed going into each of our projects. However, we were able to succeed and overcome that with our strong determination to learn the skills we needed to help others.
In the end we are all separate: our stories, no matter how similar, come to a fork and diverge. We were drawn to each other because of similarities, but it was our differences that ultimately made us a great team. The greatest lesson from this year is that it doesn't matter what your age, gender, race, or political views are because we all share the common goal of Getting Things Done! We thank you for reading and stay tuned for our video goodbye.
- Jeremy and Water Four
PS: Don't forget to watch for Water Four’s documentary on NBC coming soon...
Looking back at the experience, a few things come to mind. I can’t help but think about the communities that the team supported with our efforts. We built houses for Hurricane Katrina survivors, we were mentors for children, we built trails for people to enjoy, and we helped others get $1,000s from tax returns. We learned many valuable skills, but what we will take away most are the smiles we put on those we served. The experiences were different for each project but the most important thing was that we had a blast making a lasting impact on those communities.
Our team was very lucky to be a part of this blog and the NBC documentary, which is expected to air sometime this fall. It may have changed our experience a little because of the cameras that followed us during our first spike project. However, we understand the impact that sharing our experience with the public in that way will have on AmeriCorps NCCC and on others interested in serving. Service to our country is on the rise and it comes at a crucial time. The need for people to step up and lend a hand is urgent. AmeriCorps is a prime example of that need. Because of the Serve America Act, the amount of people able to serve through NCCC may increase in the coming years. Also, other AmeriCorps programs have already added thousands of new opportunities to help communities in need.
We are blessed to live in this great country. What makes it great are those who have served before us. That is why everyone should serve whether it’s at home or abroad. There are many ways to serve but sometimes we find an excuse not to. Everyone has the ability, so it is not a question of 'can I,' but 'will I?' Our team is a great example of that, since we didn’t have all the specific skills we needed going into each of our projects. However, we were able to succeed and overcome that with our strong determination to learn the skills we needed to help others.
In the end we are all separate: our stories, no matter how similar, come to a fork and diverge. We were drawn to each other because of similarities, but it was our differences that ultimately made us a great team. The greatest lesson from this year is that it doesn't matter what your age, gender, race, or political views are because we all share the common goal of Getting Things Done! We thank you for reading and stay tuned for our video goodbye.
- Jeremy and Water Four
PS: Don't forget to watch for Water Four’s documentary on NBC coming soon...
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Big Bend in Pictures
Those who had been following the Official NCCC Blog this past winter and spring may have noticed Team Water 4 has been largely silent the summer months. That's because the team has been serving in Big Bend National Park in Texas since May 17th. Water 4 has been doing great trail and conservation work. Unfortunately, since the team has also been camping during this project there hasn't much opportunity to use a computer or the internet. As a result, they blog has been pretty skimpy lately but hopefully these captioned photos can help tell part of the story you've missed. Enjoy!
The team when we first got to Big Bend
Leia working on picking out some grasses that were growing in the trail at Santa Elena's Canyon
The team working on gathering rocks to dump onto the turnpike being built to help the trail from continuing eroding
Ian working on the turnpike
The ending product of the turnpike on the Pinnacles trail
Derek, Christina, Sarah, Jo, Jeremy, Leia, Ashley, Jenna and Ian up on The Lost Mine Trail at sunset
Ashley, Sarah, Jeremy, Shiny, Derek, Ian, and Jenna climbed Casa Grande
Christina, Jenna, and Jo removed a giant rock, named Lucifer, while installing a check on the Window Trail. (a "check" is a log that sits right below tread level on the trail to help keep the trail from eroding as hikers walk by.)
On our first hitch to Emory Peak, our campsite was infested with thousands of little flies. We had to move to another campsite on the mountain.
This is a part of the new Emory Peak trail that we built from scratch.
We had to fill 5 gallon buckets full of dirt for a couple of retaining walls we built on the trail.
Joseph, our mule guy, brought the mules up to transport the dirt further up the trail. Jenna and Jeremy load the buckets into the panyard on the right side of the mule while Colin, our supervisor, loads another bucket on the left. The mules have to be loaded in this fashion to keep the weight evenly distributed on the mules, making it easier for them to walk.
The team's kindergarten picture at our campsite on Emory Peak
On our first shopping trip at Porter's in Alpine
Our base campsite at the Remuda Bunkhouse
We've picked up a new hobby in Big Bend...Hula Hoop!
The mules carrying all our equipment to our campsite on Emory Peak.
The team when we first got to Big Bend
Leia working on picking out some grasses that were growing in the trail at Santa Elena's Canyon
The team working on gathering rocks to dump onto the turnpike being built to help the trail from continuing eroding
Ian working on the turnpike
The ending product of the turnpike on the Pinnacles trail
Derek, Christina, Sarah, Jo, Jeremy, Leia, Ashley, Jenna and Ian up on The Lost Mine Trail at sunset
Ashley, Sarah, Jeremy, Shiny, Derek, Ian, and Jenna climbed Casa Grande
Christina, Jenna, and Jo removed a giant rock, named Lucifer, while installing a check on the Window Trail. (a "check" is a log that sits right below tread level on the trail to help keep the trail from eroding as hikers walk by.)
On our first hitch to Emory Peak, our campsite was infested with thousands of little flies. We had to move to another campsite on the mountain.
This is a part of the new Emory Peak trail that we built from scratch.
We had to fill 5 gallon buckets full of dirt for a couple of retaining walls we built on the trail.
Joseph, our mule guy, brought the mules up to transport the dirt further up the trail. Jenna and Jeremy load the buckets into the panyard on the right side of the mule while Colin, our supervisor, loads another bucket on the left. The mules have to be loaded in this fashion to keep the weight evenly distributed on the mules, making it easier for them to walk.
The team's kindergarten picture at our campsite on Emory Peak
On our first shopping trip at Porter's in Alpine
Our base campsite at the Remuda Bunkhouse
We've picked up a new hobby in Big Bend...Hula Hoop!
The mules carrying all our equipment to our campsite on Emory Peak.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Happy Birthday America!
Water Four is just wrapping up a nice six days off before we go back up on hitch to enjoy the work and views at 8,000 feet on Emory Peak. Work is nearing an end and we will be out of Big Bend on the 16th. Even though this experience has been amazing, I think everyone is excited to get back to civilization and wrap up the AmeriCorps year. Highlights for me so far have been many of the hikes that we have done on our own time. The views from the peaks in the park are just absolutely amazing. We also saw a bear while we were up on Emory Mountain and it was just 10 yards from where we were camping. The last highlight has been hanging out with the team. Our time together has almost run out and we all realize that we need to enjoy it while we can.
Last weekend we were able to celebrate the Fourth of July together which was a lot of fun. We went to Alpine, Texas for two nights. We went to a flea market and saw a parade. It’s also legal to buy fireworks in Texas so we were able to set off our own. The Fourth of July is probably one of my favorite holidays right next to St. Patrick’s Day. I really enjoy seeing fireworks and the celebrations that go along with it. We are blessed to live in the greatest country in the world. So thanks to all of you who have served our country in the past and who do so presently. I support you!
Lastly, we have lost a member of Water Four. Shawn has gone back to Denver to take care of some things but will rejoin us in two weeks when we are back in Denver. We miss him already. But we do have more food to go around :). That’s all for now.
~Jeremy
Last weekend we were able to celebrate the Fourth of July together which was a lot of fun. We went to Alpine, Texas for two nights. We went to a flea market and saw a parade. It’s also legal to buy fireworks in Texas so we were able to set off our own. The Fourth of July is probably one of my favorite holidays right next to St. Patrick’s Day. I really enjoy seeing fireworks and the celebrations that go along with it. We are blessed to live in the greatest country in the world. So thanks to all of you who have served our country in the past and who do so presently. I support you!
Lastly, we have lost a member of Water Four. Shawn has gone back to Denver to take care of some things but will rejoin us in two weeks when we are back in Denver. We miss him already. But we do have more food to go around :). That’s all for now.
~Jeremy
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