OMAHA RULZ

The guys here are really awesome, and we're having a good time. Good people, good food. People do tend to stare here and shout weird things at us, but besides that its nice and easy to travel around the city. The only problem is you definitely need a car to do that, walking around through most of Omaha is looked at strangely.

Mel and I got bored and I cut our hair. Mel just got bangs, I hacked mine to pieces.

We're leaving for SD tonight- we're gonna try and do an all nighter. Lets see if we make it! We just want to make sure we can get a free campsite.

Anne Carson: Excerpt from Anthropology of water-
"I packed my rucksack with socks, canteen, pencils, three empty notebooks. I took no maps, I cannot read maps--why press a seal on running water? After all, the only rule of travel is, Don't come back the way you went. Come a new way."


My Journey's Journeying
By Kenneth Patchen.

I am descended from a traveling people. Nothing would do but they go! They would travel any time of year, anywhere. "Let's go...Get going!"
A kind of fermentation, a rash to the feet. But all I like about travel is getting out of places; the better the place the better I like scramming.

OM A HA!

It's turning out to be pretty dang awesome. Tym hooked us up with some sweet dudes to shelter us in their wonderful punk house. We bought them some beer and hung out til the wee hours of the morning.

Aaron, one of the guys, wrote us out a "Stuff to do" list for here. I have a feeling we're going to be spending tons of money, but I'm ok with it. I've been wanting to come to Omaha since high school, and it feels good to be here.



Theres a ton of food, plenty of shops and record stores, and Tyler might leave work early and come hang out with us. We're gonna go by the riverfront and maybe check out Lewis and Clark park later.

We're at a cute coffee shop called the Blue Line in the Dundee neighborhood. I'm a fan of right here. We'll see how downtown is. Its a strange feeling to be smack dab in the middle of the country right now, almost halfway done with our trek to Portland.

South Dakotee later this week...

The Hunting Song

http://www.myspace.com/tinysheeps

We just recorded it. Sang it in front of a group of wonderful East Winders, who asked if they could have the lyrics to sing it at campfires.

Enjoy!

North of Kansas City

We have departed the commune. Unfortunately we couldn't quite handle the tight living space and desperately wanted to be on the road again. We've both got quite a case of the wanderlust and hate to be tied down.

Driving through Missouri today was really wonderful. We encountered a few rude people, including one 6 foot tall cowboy at 7:30 this morning who declared we must have been lost, but also were reminded of the extreme hospitality of some. One man at a gas station south of KC showed us how to check our oil, and other people were just very wonderful and cheery.

We're about 3 hours south of Omaha now, and will most likely be heading towards there tomorrow afternoon. We'll camp somewhere if we can't get in touch with Tym and check the city out. I'm compiling a list now of things to do in Omaha.

While East Wind was a wonderful experience, I'm glad to be out of there. There was some serious baby mama drama going on this weekend, and the tension was greatly felt. Babydaddy ended up with a black eye, and confrontations were rampant.

After the first few days at East Wind people were finally very friendly to us, as we were respectful and proved to be hard workers. We tried to get as many hours in the garden as possible every day, and learned a ton from our managers Richard and Lauren. Both were extremely interesting characters who were very passionate about their jobs and the gardens they had to tend to. Not many East Winders helped them on the farms, so thankfully we received some positive reinforcement for our work.
For the most part we weeded one overgrown part of the garden. We also harvested tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, garlic and basil. Harvesting is time consuming, but definitely one of the more enjoyable parts of gardening/farming. We also helped pickle 70 jars of cucumbers, where I ended up seriously hurting my right wrist/forearm. After a long day of weeding, I attempted to use my wrist while ladling brine into the jars, which made me realize my wrist was getting sore. But, stupidly, I attempted to pick up a heavy bucket of cucumbers and ice water, and ended up pulling the muscle on my wrist that had felt sore. Its gotten worse the past few days and I plan on going to a doctor in Omaha to get it checked out, just so I can get some suggestions on what I did to it and how I can quickly allow it to heal, since not using my hand is out of the question.

We are currently at Mel's uncle Phillip's house just north of Kansas City. We had a lovely dinner outside in their great backyard, hanging with their 4 dogs. Missouri is without a doubt an absolutely beautiful place. The Ozarks in the south are filled with tall trees and rolling hills, and the north is flatter but much more spacious.

I'm incredibly excited for Omaha tomorrow. I've been waiting to go to this city since high school.

Sayonara East Wind

Our home sweet home for one week.

Us giddy to go!

On our way to Kansas City.

Hit the wall...

And its begun, I'm beginning to feel overwhelmed.

The more we befriend people here, the more we get mixed up in its politics and gossip. Communal life is definitely frustrating, and I'm feeling it right now. There is virtually no space to be alone in, and people are very nosy.

I love gardening though. It feels good to work in the dirt and help plants grow food. Today we took care of some seedlings, weeded paths and rows, and harvested some garlic. When I'm in the garden, I'm totally there- my mind isn't wandering and I don't wish to be elsewhere.

The schedule we're on is nice for me though. We're both morning people, and have decided we aren't going to drink while at East Wind, so we go to bed with the sun and wake up with it as well. We get most of our work done early, after a long and relaxing breakfast, before the sun gets too hot. The morning is when I'm most efficient.

We're trying to stick through this. I'm anxious to get on our way to experience new things, and find comfort in simple things we're missing here. Like ice cream, or a flushing toilet, or deodorant. We have 8 more days, and I will try to enjoy them as best as I can.

Last night Melanie and I stayed up late making up simple songs. We probably wont be able to record them until we find another guitar [since I left mine at home :( ], but once we do I'll be sure to post them!

East Wind, East Wind!

Edited from an e-mail sent to my family.

So, I'm at East Wind Community in Missouri. Its a commune that was started in the late 1960s, some of the founding members are still here. We work in the garden and should start on the ranch tomorrow, but not many community members work with us. Most of them work in a nut butter factory that supports the community financially.

Its nice here, we're staying in a tent underneath a mimosa tree where little hummingbirds hang out in. There's a river to go swimming in, and plenty of hammocks to rest in. We get every meal for free, and they're pretty plentiful. We make breakfast and lunch on our own, but dinner is made by a group of people for the whole community. Last night there was quiche, a few nights ago there was pizza. Its always tasty.

For the most part Melanie and I have just been weeding a garden that is very overgrown. We've harvested beans, cucumbers, tomatoes and today we should be gathering some basil grown in the garden. Like I said, not many people work in the gardens because its pretty hard work, so most of it is done by the managers and the visitors.

We've been finding out more and more about the community as time goes on and people are more willing to open up to us. Originally East Wind was an offshoot of a community in Tennessee called Twin Oaks, and they both made hammocks sold at Pier One. But after 25 years of hammock making, P1 pulled out and East Wind began to rely on their nut butter company, which quickly expanded.

People are definitely hippies here, but, for the most part everyone is very accepting and friendly. I'm having a good time! I haven't worn deodorant in days, I'm rolling around in the mud all day and constantly using my body. I go to sleep at 9:30 and wake up at 6:30. Life is good down here in the Ozarks. I'm like a child again.