[Oe List ...] Fwd: GMCA May 23-24

[David Zahrt via OE]

Dear Climate March Friends,



*May 23, Friday, *



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.



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.



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 *The Impossible
Dream* 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
*Yesterday.*  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.



Our *Saturday, May 24*, 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 www.earthship.com. 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.



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 www.dreambb.com 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.



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!


Peace, David
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