Ridgecrest, CA

Tonight is the fourth night I've spent in California.

How fortunate I am that I have the opportunity to be doing exactly what I want to be doing with my life. I regret nothing. I am happy. I will be able to spend my nights lying out under the desert stars, surrounded by joshua trees and people who love the outdoors in the same way I do. Though I was hesitant about coming out here before I arrived, I am convinced that environmental work is for me, if simply for the people with whom I can associate.

Two days from now my crew (we like to call ourselves a tribe) will join the six other desert restoration crews located all around southern California. We will all meet in the desert, fourty two interns, to get Wilderness First Responder training and restoration technique training. My crew lives in Ridgecrest and we work in the Rand Mountains. There's another crew also living in Ridgecrest but they work in Jawbone, another mountain range.

I am happy.