Our first stop in the glorious town of Olympia was Evergreen State College, a campus that holds acres of deep green forest. We met up with Molly's friend Kyle, who took us on a walk with his dog, Luna, through the forest to the student-run organic permaculture farm. It was really beautiful, and there was even an aquaponics component. Check out more on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Grg-QapzupQ It was really amazing to see, yet again, the kind of work that can be accomplished by cooperative young people. Another example right on the Evergreen campus is The Flaming Eggplant, a student owned and operated cafe. It had a very friendly atmosphere and delicious food options for all palates. |
Olympia Food Co-op
Despite our satisfaction with The Eggplant, we continued our never-ending search for delicious food at the Olympia Food Co-op. Like many of the co-operatives we have already visited, it had a wide array of produce, non-perishables, and bulk items. Additionally, the informational boards out front seem to be great places to find housing, free things, or fun workshops. We stocked up on necessities (mainly chocolate) and continued on our way. |
Woodard Lane Co-housing and adventures in the woods
On the morning of the 5th, we decided to make a quick stop before we left for the Olympic Peninsula, so we drove along tiny streets to find Woodard lane Cohousing. Taking some photos of the area and wandering around seemed to be all we were going to get from the quiet circle of houses, but we finally saw someone coming down his stairs and asked if he knew anyone that could give us a tour. Within 10 minutes we had been invited and had accepted to join him and two other Woodard lane women on an adventure to Goldmyer hotspings! Our adventure is detailed below, but we did come back to learn a lot about Woodard Lane Co-housing. 30 people live there, ranging in age from tots to grandparents. They have a luscious community garden and hold meetings, work days, and dinners together intermittently. We were able to meet many of the residents, all of whom were very kind and inviting. Ultimately, Woodard Lane proved to be yet another example of how people can live in harmony with each other and the natural world. A panorama of the lovely community garden | Our friend Paul, a computer science teacher, with his thoughts on community |
Goldmyer Hot Springs
After throwing our overnight and hiking stuff into some backpacks, we climbed into the car with these friendly strangers. After a few hours of driving and a stop to grab some camp food, we finally arrived at a parking lot. The parking lot signified the beginning of a 5 mile hike to our campground, followed by another steep half mile to the actual springs. The hike was refreshing- the air was crisp, the leaves kept falling in front of us, and mosses covered every branch they could. We passed a few waterfalls and followed the river for much of the way, and when we set camp we ate like royalty. (Especially if you count crushing up goldfish crackers into a quinoa-chicken-bean stir-fry as "gourmet" - we do).
We hiked our way up to the springs as the sun was setting, and both felt the joy of breathing in sweet, mountain air, far from any highway or light pollution. After a good long soak, we stayed in the tent for 13 hours, half of the time enjoying the fact that we didn’t need to be anywhere at any time, and the other half struggling with our cold and miserable placement due to lack of sleeping pads. Regardless, we hiked on out in the morning with our three new friends and drove back to stay in Olympia, that “black hole” that we had been trying to leave for three days.
Other bits and pieces
So other than the actual intentional communities, co-ops, and farms we’ve been going to we also have been taking care of business. “Business” can mean getting ourselves to a place with wifi to write on this blog, or taking a trip to the nearest shopping center to prepare ourselves with more/better gear for the rain and cold.
We had a discussion yesterday in the car about finances and where and how we spend our limited resources. We do feel the need to utilize our purchasing power in places that will create positive change (like supporting REI, a co-op and great business with quality items that has wonderful impact on its community). We also have the desire to be generous, especially with the food we are buying, and Cassie even suggested creating “homeless snack packs” to give out to the countless homeless people we see on the roadsides. However we also recognize that we don’t have an endless supply of cash and that we do need to be living cheaply, which sometimes means buying a Chipotle burrito when our blood sugars drop beyond where they should have. Another aspect of the conversation, however, was other peoples’ generosity. Almost everyone that we’ve stayed with has allowed us to get comfortable in their home, including offering us food. We have been spending a lot on food but also been working out balances where we all contribute to the meal in some shape or form.
Whether it be Evergreen's campus, Goldmyer hot springs, or Woodard Lane Co-housing, everywhere we go we learn something new. It is hard to believe that we are almost 30 days into our three month journey. Sometimes it feels overwhelming to be meeting so many people doing such wonderful things in such rapid succession, but we are so incredibly grateful to be learning and experiencing all that we are.
We had a discussion yesterday in the car about finances and where and how we spend our limited resources. We do feel the need to utilize our purchasing power in places that will create positive change (like supporting REI, a co-op and great business with quality items that has wonderful impact on its community). We also have the desire to be generous, especially with the food we are buying, and Cassie even suggested creating “homeless snack packs” to give out to the countless homeless people we see on the roadsides. However we also recognize that we don’t have an endless supply of cash and that we do need to be living cheaply, which sometimes means buying a Chipotle burrito when our blood sugars drop beyond where they should have. Another aspect of the conversation, however, was other peoples’ generosity. Almost everyone that we’ve stayed with has allowed us to get comfortable in their home, including offering us food. We have been spending a lot on food but also been working out balances where we all contribute to the meal in some shape or form.
Whether it be Evergreen's campus, Goldmyer hot springs, or Woodard Lane Co-housing, everywhere we go we learn something new. It is hard to believe that we are almost 30 days into our three month journey. Sometimes it feels overwhelming to be meeting so many people doing such wonderful things in such rapid succession, but we are so incredibly grateful to be learning and experiencing all that we are.