July 24, 2010
7 weeks of Teach for America training under my belt,
5 friends at the best breakfast joint in Gallup,
A second carload of belongings from storage,
One trip to WalMart,
One suitcase to dodge after it fell off the roofrack of the car in front of me,
One deep, muddy wash-out that covered the road from that afternoon’s rain,
7 weeks of Teach for America training under my belt,
5 friends at the best breakfast joint in Gallup,
A second carload of belongings from storage,
One trip to WalMart,
One suitcase to dodge after it fell off the roofrack of the car in front of me,
One deep, muddy wash-out that covered the road from that afternoon’s rain,
13 cows in the road,
4 dropped calls home,
The 7th straight day of afternoon thunderstorms,
A left turn at the two Pueblo Pintado water towers,
Zero bars of cell phone service,
One handwritten sign pointing me down the gravel road to Tse’Yi’Gai High School (pronounced Say-Guy),And 93.7 miles later (43 miles from the nearest grocery store and 58 miles from the Post Office)...
I’m at home.
House 7A.
Let the adventure begin!
July 25, 2010
I guess I didn’t know what I was asking for last night when I typed, “Let the adventure begin!” The day progressed much differently than anticipated. I spent most of the day cleaning and organizing my belongings. I did take a break to paint my toenails, though. The rest of the day I sporadically watched a herd of sheep roam in my front yard, viewed the thunderstorm from my room… and enjoyed sleeping on the floor in my sleeping bag. Cleaning wore me out so I took a nice long nap after eating an early dinner. Two hours later I was woken by the doorbell. Some of my neighbors graciously brought me some desert flowers as a welcome to the community.
Even though it had been raining all afternoon, I decided to go for a drive to find some cell service…But the little dirt road bridge was covered by two feet of water. And I had no way out.
On the plus side, I got to use my 4-wheel drive masterfully for the first time. (Go Gertrude!) So I went back to the house, put on my hiking boots, grabbed my rain coat, a headlamp, my camera, water, and snacks (just in case), and started hiking on the smaller dirt roads just in case there was another easy way out. There wasn’t. But I did get some sweet pictures of the rain clouds! Naturally, I decided to walk back down to the bridge to see if the water had gone down. Apparently, several carloads of people were thinking the same thing. I arrived just as the Pueblo Pintado Fire Rescue was leaving (they had just confirmed that the bridge was passable again). BONUS! I watched a spectacular sunset from next to the bridge, saw a cow dare to cross the still raging current, and I chatted with the locals. Occasionally they’d break into Navajo…perhaps just to let me know that I was in their country now, perhaps they naturally alternate between the two languages. One man was especially helpful. He stood next to me and talked in what I assume to be traditional Navajo form (slow, deliberate, and repetitive). He informed me that it usually only floods like this once a year, but that ‘they’ said another monsoon was coming in tomorrow. He also told me that the bridge north of this one and the crossing south of us had apparently washed out completely. Then he offered to give me a ride back, which I gratefully accepted. I hope I didn’t leave a muddy mess in his truck.
Finally my roommate, Emilie, and our friends, Pete and Kimber, came back from Durango. Suddenly, I realized that I had been going mildly crazy from isolation.
Survive weekend one in the Middle of Everywhere? Mission accomplished.
I guess I didn’t know what I was asking for last night when I typed, “Let the adventure begin!” The day progressed much differently than anticipated. I spent most of the day cleaning and organizing my belongings. I did take a break to paint my toenails, though. The rest of the day I sporadically watched a herd of sheep roam in my front yard, viewed the thunderstorm from my room… and enjoyed sleeping on the floor in my sleeping bag. Cleaning wore me out so I took a nice long nap after eating an early dinner. Two hours later I was woken by the doorbell. Some of my neighbors graciously brought me some desert flowers as a welcome to the community.
Even though it had been raining all afternoon, I decided to go for a drive to find some cell service…But the little dirt road bridge was covered by two feet of water. And I had no way out.
On the plus side, I got to use my 4-wheel drive masterfully for the first time. (Go Gertrude!) So I went back to the house, put on my hiking boots, grabbed my rain coat, a headlamp, my camera, water, and snacks (just in case), and started hiking on the smaller dirt roads just in case there was another easy way out. There wasn’t. But I did get some sweet pictures of the rain clouds! Naturally, I decided to walk back down to the bridge to see if the water had gone down. Apparently, several carloads of people were thinking the same thing. I arrived just as the Pueblo Pintado Fire Rescue was leaving (they had just confirmed that the bridge was passable again). BONUS! I watched a spectacular sunset from next to the bridge, saw a cow dare to cross the still raging current, and I chatted with the locals. Occasionally they’d break into Navajo…perhaps just to let me know that I was in their country now, perhaps they naturally alternate between the two languages. One man was especially helpful. He stood next to me and talked in what I assume to be traditional Navajo form (slow, deliberate, and repetitive). He informed me that it usually only floods like this once a year, but that ‘they’ said another monsoon was coming in tomorrow. He also told me that the bridge north of this one and the crossing south of us had apparently washed out completely. Then he offered to give me a ride back, which I gratefully accepted. I hope I didn’t leave a muddy mess in his truck.Finally my roommate, Emilie, and our friends, Pete and Kimber, came back from Durango. Suddenly, I realized that I had been going mildly crazy from isolation.
Survive weekend one in the Middle of Everywhere? Mission accomplished.
yay home sweet home! those clouds are soooo pretty
ReplyDeleteBeautiful blogging! This is the first blog I have ever followed!!!
ReplyDeleteYou seem to be starting off in a very "Jess" form with your adventures!
I miss you like crazy and if you are ever on one of your hikes and find cell service you know who to call!
I'm praying for you!! I love you!
I was so close (sort of) to you last week! We were in Ouray CO...Well close in terms of the three thousand mile journey we had, what's another couple hundred? Isn't the desert fascinating? Hope you have a great day! When does school start?
ReplyDeleteBravo, Jessi! Great photos, awesome writing. You really captured it; I loved reading ... All the best to you and everybody else out there in the "middle of everywhere. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat about the rest of the story?
ReplyDelete