Roll Tide

We arrived in Big Bend late Thursday afternoon.  Our sponsor, Laura met us at the trail crew bunkhouse where we would be camping.  She seemed really cool.  She herself is an AmeriCorps NCCC alum and actually worked in Big Bend as a Corps Member, now she is the Trail Crew Leader in the park.  She gave us Friday off to explore the park a little and get settled in to our camp.  The view around the campsite was beautiful.  We could see the "window" where the sun sets and were camping in a basin surrounded by the Chisos Mountains.

Friday, we got up early to try and beat the heat and went hiking on the Lost Mine Trail.  It was a pretty easy hike. It was five miles round trip up to a beautiful view of the Chisos.  It took us most of the morning to hike, so we decided to just relax for the afternoon.  That afternoon we got word from Denver that we would be leaving Big Bend on Sunday to go to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to help with the recovery efforts from the tornado.  We all had mixed feelings.  Obviously we were all excited to be going to help in an area that is clearly in need, but were disappointed we wouldn't get to spend time in this beautiful area.  We decided that we would make the most of our last day on Saturday, so we got up and made a huge breakfast and headed for the Hot Spring. 

The Hot Spring is a popular location in the park.  It houses ruins to a Hotel/Spa from the 1940's.  There were the remains of a general store, what looked like rooms, and one other building, as well as one of the hot springs.  We checked out the ruins on our way to the Hot Spring, but the Rio Grande was the real high light.  It is pretty low for this time of year, but the current was still surprisingly strong.  A few of us walked across and touched the rocks on the other side, claiming we had touched Mexico even though anything in the water is considered neutral territory, neither here nor there.  It was really cool to swim there and enjoy the afternoon with the team.

We left today and made it to Stephensville, TX.  We will stop tomorrow night in Mississippi and arrive in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday.  We will be working with CitiIMPACT Ministries, through a local Baptist church.  We have orientation as soon as we get there and jump head first into work on Wednesday morning.  As a team we are going to "assume the details and enhance distribution of supplies."  We will also be helping to develop another volunteer center, which will house 1-200 volunteers at any given time.  Finally, we will also be involved in developing a long term recovery plan, including case management.  The project will definitely be emotionally intense, but I am looking forward to going down there and making a difference for these people. 

As of now, I do not have a mailing address, however, as soon as I get one I will post it.  Look for stories about the work I am doing here, the people I am meeting, and the stories they have to tell!