February in the Rand Mountains means clear skies and 60’s- I would compare it to autumn in the Midwest, which is great because fall is much better late than never. We had exciting things happen this hitch. First and foremost, we welcomed out new project leader, Jon, to our family. HI JON! We also celebrated the birth of our beloved James Kennedy with chocolate lava cake (compliments of Ju), mandolin playing, birthday hats (made of recycled materials), and pin the tail on the monkey! We were fortunate enough to enjoy a birthday dinner with some gentlemen from the local placer mine. The gold miners showed us how to pan for gold in the Rands, made us a delicious meal, and exchanged stories with us. We awoke to a presentation on canning and all made our very own jar of habanero pepper jelly! The Rands crew completed a lot of great work this hitch and will be relocating to the other side of the Mountains for the remainder of the season—hooray for Joshua Trees!!!! The hitch ended with a rendezvous through Death Valley National Park, accompanied by the 4 other crews, for a desert conference in the town of Shoshone. The conference allowed us a nice opportunity to further educate ourselves on pressing issues within and around the areas that we are working. The crew was also able to visit a date farm (and enjoy date milkshakes) as well as submerging ourselves in the local hot springs! All in all, we’re trucking along- continuing to learn and appreciate one another as well as our surrounding environment.
Hi mom!
Peace and lentil sprouts,
Alex
