My First Month

Hike to Hot Springs

The southwest is an interesting place full of sand, sun, and vegetation that would love nothing more than to poke you viciously.  I was unsure how I would get along with such a place, but so far I have been pleasantly surprised.  I've had the opportunity to sleep under a never ending sky full of millions of twinkling stars, witness the most beautiful sunrises while sipping black coffee- fervently chewing on the grounds in between each gulp, and talk amongst friends while watching a breathe taking sunset fall behind the chocolate mountains.  I'm slowly falling in love with my new way of life and have a crew of great people to share these new experiences with.  So without further ado I will introduce them...

Rise and Shine

My Crew, rightfully dubbed as Los Hobos, consists of two crew leaders (Kristen and Jake) and six corps members (Meghan, Emily, Chase, Jared, JR and myself).  We are a mix of 22-26 year olds from all over the United States.  So far we have travelled to Blythe California, Needles California (neither of which were too exciting) and Boulder City Nevada working in conjunction with the Bureau of Reclamation monitoring vegetative plots around the Colorado river.  Our project partner Phil was a super cool older man who is awkwardly silly.  He loved to watch us play ninja (one of our favorite games while waiting on directions), and loved donuts so brought them to us frequently.

Epic Ninja Battle

A typical day in the life of Los Hobos starts at 6 am with frozen work pants, breakfast and stretching then winds down with dinner around 6pm accompanied by a warm campfire, music and sometime games.  When we aren't hard at work our group is very active- going for runs, hikes, yoga, slack lining, ultimate frisbee, super happy fun time (a combo of 4 plank holds and 100 push-ups), playing music, cards or creating any type of fun game. Everyone on the crew is uniquely amazing and has something to offer.  I've learned so much already and its only been a month.  I've had lessons on looking fancy while pooping in a hole in the desert, LNT (leave no trace), knots 101, and local vegetation/wildlife in the area.

Happy Los Hobos

I'm looking forward to where we will go next and what I will learn.  In all experiences lies a greater understanding to be had, a new way to view the same old thing or a character building opportunity.  It took me forever to decide what I wanted to call this blog and what my purpose was going to be in writing it.  But I finally landed on The River Beneath because no matter what I do, where I am or who I'm with my ultimate goal is to find the life giving water that is in everything and everyone.  Its been a pleasure.  Until next time...

                                                                                                 Danielle