FMC

How is it that there's never been a name for the activity of tossing food into someone else's mouth? The CD Wind Crew pioneers of Food Mouth Catching, Kim and Jace, display their prowess. Check back for XFMC.

Youth in Elkhorn

Elkhorn, Montana is a quirky place. Home to a three-legged dog named Buff (who strolls freely down Main St.) and Montana’s smallest State Park (consisting of two adjacent buildings from the late 1800s), the “ghost town” of Elkhorn was our crew’s home for five days in June. Our task: to paint over the writing and graffiti on the walls of Fraternity Hall, a building that served as a community gathering place during Elkhorn’s heyday in the 1890s. During that time Elkhorn was a thriving mining town with a population of around 2,000 people and had schools, doctors, boarding houses, saloons, shops, a post office, and church. These days people come from all over the country to see the old buildings on Main Street, hike up to the cemetery, and sign their names on the walls of Fraternity Hall. We found names and dates from the 1950s, and also recognized the aunt of one crewmember who had added to the wall’s décor. There was some debate as to whether or not President Jimmy Carter had really visited Elkhorn, or if some other Jimmy Carter was the one to sign his name in 1976. While the “Shirley Winterson, Pennslyvania, 1957” type signatures in cursive writing were quaint and felt like a piece of history themselves, there were also many lewd suggestions written on the wall in big black marker that would not be appropriate to mention on this MCC blog. So with tarps, rollers, brushes and paint cans in hand, we painted the walls of Fraternity Hall a lovely vintage tan and “Cape Cod blue.”

On Thursday, the fourth day of our spike, forty kids from nearby Boulder, Montana came out to Elkhorn for the day on a field trip with their summer program, the 21st Century Community Learning Center. We were also joined by Amy and Ory from our Central Divide home base, and Jill and Josh from Bozeman. While the middle school aged kids went on a hike up to the cemetery, the younger group stayed back to explore Elkhorn. This was where our youth crew really shined. They became the leaders of small groups of Boulder kids, leading them on an scavenger hunt in which they searched for, among other things, “a door with a moon on it” and the old Elkhorn candy store. Our youth crewmembers were funny and patient as they walked the streets with their six and seven year olds, periodically counting heads and calling, “Levi’s group over here!” After the scavenger hunt they led the group in some rounds of “Bear, Salmon, Mosquito,” red rover, tag, and an epic game of “Duck, Duck, Goose.”

Thank you to Rochelle from 21st Century Community Learning Center for brining the Boulder group out and to Amy and Ory for organizing the day. Also thanks to our youth crew for playing games with the kids for hours and being excellent leaders themselves. If you do decide to check out Elkhorn bring your own refreshments (there is no store in town), and be sure to admire the fresh and clean walls of Fraternity Hall.

Twisting, bending, pulling clips
Around wire that sometimes whips.

It even slashed Chance in the wrist;
Better after by Jace it was kissed.

We caged trees so that they can get taller.
This restoration project was totally baller.

It rained a bit,
But no one threw a fit.

Then it was sunny for a few,
And we ended at DQ.

-Kim Appelson, Wind Crew, Central Divide

I Didn't Sign Up for This - Kirsten Vorreyer, WWCM

Last January was a low point for me, in fact the whole spring semester I felt like I had somehow slipped into a rut that had a hold on me. I was almost a college grad just one class to go (that wasn't offered that semester) and then wham bam just like that I would no longer be a student, I would be a real person. A real person with real responsibilities like a job that starts before 10:00am in order to single handily cover the bills, a person that remembers to pay the phone bill on time and check the oil. The reality that my cushy college years were over slapped me in the face and left me feeling stunned. My dad couldn't have been more pleased at last his 24-year-old daughter was on her own. When I talked to him on the phone he would exclaim in glee "Wow Kerde you are on your own now!" I had always been so optimistic during my college years, I felt like my diploma would put a job in my lap. You can imagine my disappointment when two months of job hunting didn't even get me an in at the school cafeteria. At last I did get a call to be a telemarketer and I cried, twice, first with relief and than again once the job started. Oh how I hated it. the cubicle, the repetition, the pointlessness of it all. All day I would call people who didn't want to hear from me, to try and get them to attend free talks in hopes of getting them to buy stuff they didn't need. Under the gloom of the Missoula inversion, cramped in my cubicle I could feel a restlessness stirring inside of me. I needed a change; I needed a boost of energy that could come only from an outside-in transformation. I needed a fresh path to get me to higher state of inner being. In the dark of my cubical I fumbled my way around the MCC website and grabbed onto it like a lifeboat.

The MCC started out like a good summer camp complete with games, light instruction, and most importantly a healthy energetic crowd, a real rarity around the office. I loved it. With the sun in my eyes I could feel my sprits were already lifting with anticipation. The following day we got assigned our crew, 5 dudes and two chicks (including me). It was a trip trying to imagine this odd mix of men plus girl as my new surrogate family. During my first interactions I felt like an anthropologist, trying to get the dirt on everyone. Words like yoga instructor and mediation lead me to visualize the whole lot of us as Zen masters waking early to chant to the gods in the morning. One could only guess what it would be like.

1st Hitch
What did I get myself into!? Oh the rain, no wait snow! This is summer!? I didn't sign up for this! Transformation, however necessary, is rarely easy and the first hitch was no exception. The first night was so cold Amanda and I stood under a tarp holding the big dinner pot sucking the last bits of heat out of it in a kind of survival mode desperation. It was a bit dramatic, but she is from Florida and I haven't been camping in awhile. After that I ran to my tent and in a fetal like position sandwiched myself into my sleeping bag all the while chanting like a mantra, “what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.” Looks like there would be chanting after all. The next day I woke to a damp fog and started rolling barbwire fence with my crew. There we were in the clouds making tight wire wreaths all with surprisingly high sprits. It was beautiful. The sun lifted that afternoon and dried me out so completely the rain seemed like a distant dream. It felt so refreshing to be doing something that mattered. With each wreath I rolled I pictured the animals running free and I felt a relief in myself.

Being surrounded by so much beauty and so much space lets one see beyond the rat race of traffic, shopping, standing in lines. Those daily frustrating parts of city life can’t touch you out in the sanctuary of the woods. Out here, if you forget to pack underwear (hypothetically speaking – well not really) you just deal with it you don’t have to endure the hell of Reserve Street. Frankly I think I would rather wear dirty underwear then go out there anytime soon. Life is simple out here, you have less clothes and less choices. In the evenings your options are basically reading, stretching, sitting, eating, and sleeping. Oh and of course hanging out with the crew, whom I must say I am becoming increasingly fond of. Our crew comes with a Zen master, a yoga instructor, two of the chilliest guys I have ever met, a witty upbeat leader, and a steady hard worker. I feel in good hands for the upcoming 5 week hitch. Today we bought more food than I have ever seen outside of a grocery store. It will be an adventure to remember – so I better go finish packing.

First Hitch of a New Beginning - Paul Twedt WWCM

The mornings were chilly and Carhartts were downright cold, but fresh coffee and a stretch circle do wonders to wake us up and get us ready for the day. The mountains surrounding our camp are a phenomenal backdrop for our viewing pleasure throughout the work days. Working hard to remove brush from an overgrown trail has been tough, but fun at the same time because we get to use tools (brush-cutters and chainsaws) that we would probably not be using if we weren’t here with the MCC. We have rotated duties each workday so that our crewmembers have gotten a variety of work including digging trail re-routes, falling and bucking trees with chainsaws, and clearing brush. Our crew is comprised of a very broad spectrum of people, but we all seem to communicate well because we are all open to new ideas and differing points of view. Our crew leaders gave us a very thorough demonstration of how to properly and safely fall a large tree at the end of one of the first days. They had a very funny teaching point about remembering to always use a sharp saw to drop a big tree. Rain plagued us for a few days mid-hitch, but didn’t slow down our work. We were even able to enjoy a night around a fire despite the rainy weather. Evening hikes around the surrounding mountains really enable my crewmembers and I to experience the beauty of our location and appreciate the work we are doing here at Grizzly Creek. We are able to expand our sense of place by gaining knowledge of the area by navigating with topographical maps on our hikes. By seeing and experiencing the area, we learn more about it and begin to feel “at home”. On our last day of the hitch we were surprised to find moose tracks following the trail we were working so hard to clear. It was really exciting to follow the tracks down the trail we were working even though we didn’t see the moose itself. It’s great to see that while we are benefitting the human trails users, we are also not disturbing the wildlife. With the excellent crew dynamics we have shown each other, I am excited to see what this summer’s experiences will bring us.

OVH Trail - Charlsey Thornton GYCL

On Monday the meteorology crew from the Greater Yellowstone region ventured up telephone ridge in the Gallatin National Forest to begin work on a new OHV trail with the Bozeman Ranger District. The journey up was a long and bumpy one with astonishing views of the Gallatin Mountain Range. As I drove our white suburban, Casper, up the old logging road, I heard sounds of satisfaction and excitement coming from the members behind me. Unable to take my eyes off the rough road to enjoy our surroundings, I continued to feed off the positive energy coming from the crew. We finally made it to the ridgeline where the old road ended and the new OHV trail began. Immediately we jumped out and began searching for the perfect tent sites in our new paradise. As I walked around, I heard one of the Forest Service employees shout, “Hey! Continue walking up the ridgeline and you will find some great spots!” I did as he said and continued to hike up further and further away from the crew. Just when I thought I had wondered a little too far away from everyone, I stopped and took a good look around me for the first time. I realized that I had stumbled just far enough. To my right was a lush canyon surrounded by tree covered peaks and wildflowers, and to my left was the same, yet each canyon was unique to the creeks that carved it(Smith Creek and French Creek). I took the time to take a picture of my view to the right and I knew I wanted my new tent to be housed here for the next few days. My eyes immediately searched the land looking for any sign of a rock-free flat spot. As my eyes scanned the ridgeline it didn't look promising, but then something orange caught my eye. Could it be what I think it is? I hurried over to check it out and sure enough it was a small patch of Indian Paintbrush! Wow, I thought, I wish someone could be here to share this moment with me, my first Indian Paintbrush sighting of the year! I decided a picture would be the only attempt of capturing the moment, so I whipped out my camera, took the second picture of the hitch, and then my camera died. Distracted by my failing technology and unable to review my only chance at capturing the moment, I glanced away from the flowers and the canyons for a moment just in time to see the most incredibly perfect tent site of my life! The site literally sat no more than two feet away from my favorite flower. I began assembling my squeaky new tent and I felt welcomed to the neighborhood by my neighbors, the intriguingly beautiful Indian Paintbrush and the friendly peaks and ridgelines of the Gallatins. I was greeted by their liveliness and comforted by their warmth. I thought to myself, this moment is as close to perfect as perfect gets. And for once in my life I knew how the moment could be perfected, with the smiles of satisfaction from those I care about complimenting my smile of accomplishment. I knew that next time I would drag the crew up with me when I knew I was on to something like that. I look forward to experiencing moments like these with my crew for the next four months as we continue to get things done for America!

The Regulators - Christie McShea NRCM

This past week our crew worked for the Tally Lake Ranger District of the Flathead National Forest with the goal of planting 3,400 shrubs. We managed to plant all 3,400 Willow and Elderberry shrubs in two different burn areas totaling 36 acres. Despite planting not being the most thrilling of tasks, the Regulators were able to pull together and maintain a productive and positive dynamic. We saw a lot of wildlife including a herd of elk, an osprey, a loon, a beaver and a family of black bears (with which Morgan had a close encounter). Overall the week was filled with a lot of ups and downs but because the Regulators is the best crew ever… we prevailed and will do it again this upcoming week.