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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt">Dear Climate March Friends,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)">May 23, Friday, </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)">Overnight it
rained and was still raining when we got up today. We had breakfast and made lunches under a roofed-in patio.
The route had to be scouted out so the vehicles had to wait. We knew that there
was a very steep climb on today’s March. I think it was called The Step. There was a request for a show of hands
of those that wanted to be shuttled up the hill. At 10 o’clock we headed east on Hwy 75 and N on Hwy 516. It went over a climb and had a scenic
overlook. It is amazing how mountains
surround Taos, NM. Our campsite
was at a Southern Methodist University outpost. The SMU campsite was at 7300 feet elevation and I think the
road over The Step was 8500 ft. I
got to talk to a botanist who traveled from SMU in Texas to do a course for
students here.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)">It was
overcast all day. There were
periodic thundershowers all afternoon and the temperature dropped. Given the weather I decided not to get
shuttled back and do the March to the mountaintop. The Marchers had to be very careful because there was very
slim shoulder. I set the solar
panels up, but we got very little solar energy. The kitchen area behind one of the buildings at the SMU
campsite had a large patio with a roof. It had room for us to cook and have our meetings. Immediately before dinner we worked on
Objectives. During dinner a steady
rain began. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)">After dinner
we had a celebration that was intended to be a send-out for Pablo. He’s leaving
the March in Taos. His departure will require finding an alternative for
pulling the commode trailer. A
fellow who calls himself CB joined us in Santa Fe. He plans to help us find
alternatives. We had the
celebration but Pablo had left during a rainstorm for dinner in Taos. Kat, the Mistress of Ceremonies, called
for volunteer presentations, while we waited for Pablo to return. I introduced my version of <u>The
Impossible Dream</u> again and invited the group to sing it with me, and they
were delighted. Before I could sit
down Izzy insisted that I sing my version of <u>Yesterday.</u> I sang it and when it came to “…one of
us must wear Depends…” I pointed to him. Izzy and I ride bikes together and he’s labeled us the Elders’
Bike Brigade. Since Phoenix we’ve
regularly been volunteering to do the enablement of driving the Gear truck and
the Kitchen truck. It was raining
again. Some have tents and sleeping bags that are very damp. I spread out my
air mattress and sleeping bag under the roof in the meeting room.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)">Our <b>Saturday, May 24</b>, campsite was at a
Hindu Temple. The beauty of this
location is that it’s so close to downtown Taos. We put up a big tent, unloaded our gear into it, and took
the Gear truck to a mechanic. Quite
a few marchers made a trip out of town to Earthship where we toured the
sustainable housing they are creating <a href="http://www.earthship.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(16,60,192)">www.earthship.com</span></a>. They have an enormous task
and are demonstrating what it takes to make housing sustainable. If we had planned way ahead when Lin and
I moved from Iowa, we might have built one in Carson City. I suspect the zoning regulations would
have required us to build out of town. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)">By the time
we got back to the Visitors’ Center the rain was turning to snow. It didn’t stay as snow, but there was
continued precipitation. The Marchers had a plan to join a Taos March
demonstrating against Monsanto for chemicals that are killing bees. It was a March I should have been on,
but I didn‘t have my rain-gear with me so I caught a ride back to the campsite.
I had seen the sign for Dreamcatcher
B&B <a href="http://www.dreambb.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(16,60,192)">www.dreambb.com</span></a>
very near to where we had dropped the gear off. Given the continued afternoon thundershowers, I inquired
about a stay at the B&B. Since
it is Memorial Day weekend and there was a Motorcycle Rally, they were
full. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)">Prudy, the
owner, called other B & Bs but they were also full. She then offered a room that is not
designed for B&B guests—2 single beds in a room down some steps off the
kitchen. I took it anticipating
that Bob Cook would also appreciate a stay in the B&B. I was correct and he
joined me. I went up to the tents
and tarps to collect my luggage—a hundred yards away. One bag was in the tent. It was damp. The other bag was under a tarp with other
luggage. The covering tarp was collecting puddles of water. I found the bag and brought both bags
plus my computer to the B&B. It was a wonderful alternative to sleeping in
damp equipment in the rain. The Temple provided us an evening meal. I slept in a real bed!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"><br></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)">Peace, David</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"> </span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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