mlehnerd

So this entry is a bit out of date (I wrote it in January), but figured it was worth posting... To offer you a short recap, Thanksgiving went well despite the very hectic nature of it all. We handed out about 400 boxes of food and served Thanksgiving dinner to over 200 Alamosa residents and their families. AND Billy Fettweis graced Alamosa with his presence for a short 48 hours. We had a wonderful time, though, and I was so happy to see someone from home. We went on a beautiful hike near the Sand Dunes on the Mosca Pass Trail, and he got to experience some of what life is like in the Valley. It was a very different Thanksgiving for me, not being with family back East. We spent the morning prepping and serving ... read more

It's been a while since I have written, and I'm sure all of you have been waiting on the edge of your seats for my next entry... It's going to be pretty long because a lot has been happening, so get ready to procrastinate from whatever you were doing! Almost 3 weeks ago, Sarah, Brandy, and I decided we were going to go to the International Hot Air Balloon Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Well, actually, Brandy decided we were going this past summer before she even met us, and needless to say, we all had been waiting for this for weeks! We decided to leave on Friday night after work and drive down to Albuquerque. Because we are volunteers on a budget, we were hoping to stay over in NM for two nights for as ... read more

So, my latest adventure occurred over Labor Day weekend, when two of my new friends (Sarah and Ben) and I decided to go backpacking. This was going to be another first for me, as I had never been backpacking before. We were headed to Wheeler Geologic Area, which is known for its amazing rock formations and other beautiful scenery. We awoke early on Sunday morning and drove about an hour and a half to reach the parking area near Creede, CO. While this was my first backpacking experience, it was also the first time I had been hiking in a while. AND to top it off, my first all-out camping trip (and by all-out I mean pitching a tent, cooking over a fire, and peeing in the woods). I was really excited to get started, even ... read more

An unbelieveable amount of things have happened in the two weeks since I left Maryland, so much that it’s hard to believe it has only been two weeks. After arriving in Alamosa and getting settled at what will be my new home, all of the volunteers spent the first week doing orientation at all of our service sites. To brief you a little, Alamosa is located in the San Luis Valley (which is roughly the size of Connecticut). Alamosa and its surrounding counties rank as some of the most impoverished in the nation. La Puente Home, Inc. is the organization with which I will be working for the next year. Due to the lack of social services in the Valley, La Puente has services that cover a lot of areas and encompass large amounts of Valley ... read more