Stoner Engineers Go Wild

So, for the most part summer has been a lot of work, a lot of poker, and not much nature time. I decided I wanted to go solo backpacking for several reasons. It would be challenging, a little scary, and may lend to some awesome insight. Last minute, my buddy Roger decided to join me on my two day excursion to local Mt Pinos (haha, hilarious if you are 12). The hike was five miles each way and rigorous at times due to steepness and altitude (about 9000ft). It still didnt take very long to reach camp, so we had a lot of free time on our hands, most of which was spent napping. Roger suggested we use our free time to make 'supercamp'
me: "supercamp?"
Roger: "We could move rocks to build a couch!"
 
When I go out into the wilderness I have certain expectations for myself. I was a Girl Scout for eleven years, work at REI, and go outdoors fairly often. Both of us managed to forget one item however: utensils. I did bring dehydrated Katmandu curry, brownies, and oatmeal. So we had to be resourceful. I used sticks to stir food, and we used empty handi-snak containers as spoons (it was between that and a pot lid). It was challenging to get the curry out of the pouch however, but squeezing it like toothpaste is the most efficient method. All of this was pretty amusing to us, especially after smoking a couple of bowls.
We definitely heard animals outside the tent at night. At this point I thought, "I am sort of glad that someone is here to protect me". This thought was brief, because Roger started freaking out like a little girl, and I was promoted to the protector role. It was especially funny because earlier that day when I mentioned bears, Roger said, "I would punch him!" Overall, it was a fun trip, I know I could definitely handle myself in the outdoors, and look forward to a solo trip.

Commune meets Dude Ranch

You may have heard me mention the little town I hail from, Sebastopol. If a few UC Berkely graduates wanted a place to raise families and grow apples/vineyards...Sebtown would be that place. It is one mile in radius and has a population of 7,800, elevation 100ft. Some defining features:

1. It was the first City Council with Green Party majority in the United States.
2. All 'stop' signs in town have/had 'Bush' or 'War' written along the bottom. And I know who did it.
3. There is one main road that defines downtown...Main St.
4. On Main St., a topless parade, Breast Fest, was held. Dont get too excited though, the women who did participate; you would rather they not have.
5. My parents recieve most of their produce from a cooperative farm down the road, and have purchased half a cow when it was born, to ensure organic/proper raising.
6. There is a folk artist, Patrick Amiot, who makes huge welded sculptures from recycled garbage and convinced everyone on his street, Florence Ave, to display one of these monstorous masterpieces on their front lawns.
7. In high school, we were often bored, and the only remedy for most was cow tipping, road sign stealing, special herb(80+%), and four-wheeling in orchards.
8. On New Years Eve, the only locally advertised event was a drum circle and chant for peace at the community center.
9. Analy High School parking lot is littered with BMWs/F250s, and smells of cow.
10. Since there is no crime, Sebtown police (about three officers) are forced to be meter maids all day, and harass skateboarders/loiterers and any other young person out after 6:30pm.
11. The openings of Starbucks and Bradley Video were highly protested.
12. There is one movie theater in town. Nobody under 30 ever pays to see a movie there, since you always are at least vaguely aquainted with the box office employee. The only movie that ever sold out pre-release, was Michael Moore's Farenheit 9/11.
13. Since 9/11: On the east side of Main St., Women in Black protest the war, giving peace signs to onlookers. On the west side, a few veterans salute pedestrians and drivers. Its a weekly silent showdown of priorites.

Related Links:

pics of Amiot stuff: http://www.villagedwellers.com/patrickamiot.htm
how much Garfield the movie sucks: http://maddox.xmission.com/c.cgi?u=garfield_sucks