Home > Monday, April 16, 2007

Green Five's Long Weekend

We had four days free from work this past weekend, so everyone on Green 5 decided to explore California (except for Erin who went to Kansas!).

Erin: For the awesome long weekend that we had, I took a trip to Fort Riley, Kansas to visit “the love of my life” Justin and my cousin Bobby. Though there really wasn’t much to do there, I enjoyed spending time just hanging out with them. I also enjoyed the adventures I had trying to get there, including traveling on the bus and visiting the several airports I stopped at in both Salt Lake City, Utah and Phoenix, Arizona.

Che, Vanessa, and Joanna took a lovely trip to Yosemite National Park, where they spent a beautiful weekend enjoying the great outdoors.

Che: We went to Yosemite National Park! Little fact, or “kumquat,” as I like to call it: Since my childhood, I have always believed that “Old Faithful” was located in Yosemite. I was wrong; it is in Yellowstone National Park. If you ask the Yosemite Park Rangers where you can find this famous geyser they will give you odd looks and laugh really hard. At least this is what I think they would do; I haven’t actually made the mistake of asking them. I also never lie, and I have purple polka-dotted hair.

The girls and I stayed at a great hostel just outside the park. Friday and Sunday we spent traveling, but all of Saturday we hiked and enjoyed the wonders of Yosemite Valley. A more beneficial “kumquat” is that Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in North America; truly a majestic setting. Once we stopped looking for Old Faithful, we began to appreciate the sights the park actually did have to offer.

Jared, Leann and Orlando bussed to Los Angeles for the long weekend, visiting people from other teams, both located in LA and who came down from Sacramento.

Jared: It was great seeing everyone from other teams. In Alpaugh, you are isolated from the rest of the world; it was good to see that civilization is still going strong even without us. I was mainly in Los Angeles to visit my family; my sister lives in the city, but we also went to Venice Beach with the AmeriCrew. Overall, it was a good break from Alpaugh, and it really refreshed me for the next three weeks of service here.

Back to work.

After many hours working hard in the hot sun, beads of sweat dropping like jaws at a freak show, hands blistering under the rough work gloves, and backs aching from the repetitive bending it takes to plant a tree, The Lost Tribe of Green Five found its first snake. And Orlando screamed.

We were working to clear out a levee of various weeds and dead trees, and Orlando, using the ever-popular McCloud, was raking back a bundle when he yelped and jumped in the air, shouting “Oh my God, snake! Snake! I HATE snakes” He ran behind Joanna, who looked curiously at the wild beast, and at the snake on the ground. The rest of the group bundled around it, creating a semi-circle of awed teammates. Questions were posed whether the animal was alive or not, and if we should continue to work.

Keep in mind, this was our first encounter with a snake since beginning work in Alpaugh, and after many horror stories, including the blockbuster film “Snakes On A Plane,” hesitations arose as to how to handle the situation. Our team leader, Che, was not at the worksite, off at the Bureau of Land Management’s office completing paperwork. And our sponsor, Shane, of the BLM, was retrieving gas for a chainsaw he was using at the site. His six-year-old son, Nate, was with us, and joined in our bewildered staring at the creature.

I called Che, who told us not to touch the snake and to try to work around it. So of course, the next logical step would be to poke the snake to check for signs of life. Orlando took the initiative on this one, using his handy McCloud to do the honors. Inching closer and closer with the handle end of the tool, Orlando announced that he did not think it was alive. “Look at it; it’s not moving. It’s dead.” But just as he finished his thought and poked the snake in the midsection, the reptile slithered quickly into the brush, sending Orlando fidgeting with terror and hopping back behind the group again. “It’s alive!” he shrieked.

Che and Shane arrived at the scene, the group not moving since their initial instruction to return to work. We described the snake’s colors and patterns to Shane, who determined it to be a gopher snake, non-venomous but known to be a bite-first, ask-questions-later type of animal. Feeling more comfortable with our supervisors around, we got back to work, clearing the brush again. This time, Jared, using a large rake, uncovered the animal again, and called Shane over to take a look. As the snake hid into the brush, Shane tried to locate it by sticking his hand to where he thought it would be, all to the amazed look of the AmeriCorps team surrounding him. “This guy is nuts,” Orlando proclaimed, with nodding agreement by the rest of the group.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to find it again, and the rest of the day was spent planting trees, with a careful eye fixed on the weeds and brush that could hide any one of our fears inside.

- The Tribe