Each day the scenery takes you back through time millions of years ago as the Colorado River cuts its path through the uplifted material. Visible in the Grand Canyon are the Supergroups, Vishnu Schist and the Zoroaster Granite, exposed once again.
A day on river begins at dawn, as the moon hides its glowing features behind the red rock cliffs surrounding the campsite. The sky softly brightens and the birds start their songs. During breakfast, coffee and tea water was the first priority and everyone would gather for a mellow start to the day.
We would load the boats, preparing them everyday for a flip in the class 1-10 rapids. The pace is different, as river time is like no other pace on earth. Once each boat was ready and our crew had attended to the morning grooving, washing, sun lotion application and goofing off, we’d push off from shore and say goodbye to another amazing section of the Canyon.
The river maps that give reference to our locations are checked frequently by those new to the river, like me, where others used it as a reminder to the many times they had been fortunate to be here before. Over and over again my friends told me “it’s a trip of a life time” – yet some had been here as many as 13 times. They knew the magic and would return any chance they got to experience it again.

We travel 7-10 miles and find a beach to stop for lunch, preferring river left to get into a little shade. The food we eat and company we enjoy it with made for many healthy meals together. Each crew revealing their strengths in food prep, boat rigging, story telling, natural history and river running as the trip went on. 16 people living in harmony with the river as our guide.
Most days provided us with opportunity to hike the side canyons and be surprised all over again by the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon. I saw pure fresh water cascading out of the cliffs, sinuous canyon walls, water falls and clear pools. Each day was a mind blowing experience of Mother Nature’s glory. Truly amazing.
One day part of our group hiked Thunder River to Deer Creek Falls, leaving a boat to be rowed down to the next camp at Pancho’s Kitchen. Not sure why I volunteered, not only was this my first river trip, but I had never rowed this type of boat before. Well, once I got a taste for rowing through some rapids and a few gentle riffles I was hooked. The next morning I eagerly searched for a boatman who was willing to let me take a turn at the oars. Lucky for me, my friends like to share. I now have a new taste for the river life, and a deeper appreciation for all the work the boatman/boatwomen go through in a day.
I am truly honored to have been chosen by my friends to go on this trip and to have a family who encourages such an adventure. My eyes have been opened and my life is richer because of it, thanks for the journey.

More pictures to follow.

I’ll need months of contemplation and reflection before I can fully and
coherently discuss everything I’ve learned on this walk, but I think the two
most obvious lessons are these:

1) Have some faith in this world. Things aren’t as bad as they tell us. We
may all have different political opinions and different religious beliefs
and different cultural norms (I’m a liberal atheist Jew. Did you know that?
Does it matter?), and many of us probably couldn’t stand to be around each
other on a regular basis, but most of us would, as it turns out, extend a
helping hand to a stranger in need. I walked 3100 miles across this country
and didn’t encounter a single person who tried to hurt me, or steal from me,
or damage my possessions. Maybe this isn’t a place that needs to be feared.
Maybe it’s a place that needs to be explored, and appreciated, and
celebrated.

2) There’s beauty everywhere. Keep your eyes open, and keep your
mind open, and you’ll be amazed what’s out there, right under your
nose, just waiting to be discovered. You don’t need to go to the Best This
or the Most Spectacular That; just take a stroll around the neighborhood. I
blindly followed directions from Google on my walk, making no effort to see
anything special, and look at everything I found that I thought needed to be
shared with the world!

But enough with the blabbing. Let me just send out a sincere “Thank you!” to
everyone who helped me on my trip. Your generosity astounded me, and I’m
extremely grateful for every bit of kindness I received. And thanks to
everyone who followed along online and offered words of encouragement. It’s
always heartening to know other people are interested in what you’re doing.
Thanks for making me feel special!

Okey dokey. Stay strong, people!

Is it time to create a network of local sustainable businesses in Spokane?  Learn and share what a BALLE network could do for you!  Guest speaker, followed by group discussion of whether a BALLE network in Spokane could provide the support our local businesses needs to succeed while going green.

Event Date:   September 20, 2010, 11:30 AM – 1:15 PM

The event will be in the Cutter Dining Room of the downtown Spokane Club, 1002 W. Riverside Ave.  A delicious lunch menu is planned, including locally grown baby lettuce with basil dressing, fresh made fettuccini, Oregon wild mushrooms, fresh herbs, American parmesan.

Tickets are $15 and available in advance from SLIP (209-2861), or at the door.  Tickets may also be purchased online from Brown Paper Tickets ($1.99 service fee applies) at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/123962.

See you there?

Made from a mixture of clay, compost, and seeds, “seedbombs” are becoming an increasingly popular means combating the many forgotten grey spaces we encounter everyday-from sidewalk cracks to vacant lots and parking medians. They can be thrown anonymously into these derelict urban sites to temporarily reclaim and transform them into places worth looking at and caring for. The Greenaid dispensary simply makes these guerilla gardening efforts more accessible to all by appropriating the existing distribution system of the quarter operated candy machine. Using just the loose coins in your pocket, you can make a small but meaningful contribution to the beautification of your city!

Several things must happen for a coffee to be certified organic.  Some roasters feel that all you need to do to have an organic coffee is to say that it is organic.  This, of course, is not the case and it is actually illegal to sell a coffee as organic if certain requirements are not met (fines can be something like $10,000 per violation)!

First, the farm that the coffee comes from must be certified as an organic producer.

According to the USDA, to become certified a coffee farm must meet the following requirements:

How can you tell if a farm is certified organic, has been inspected and meets the standards defined by the USDA National Organic Program?  Simple…you just look for the Certification for the farm.  Every farm that produces organic coffee has one of these.

We have copies of the organic certifications for every farm where we buy organic coffee. This information can be downloaded by our consumers at “coffeepath.com”  Here is a sample of the certification from KBQB, the producer of our organic Sumatra:

(Click the image to Look Deeper)

Second, the roaster must be certified organic.

This means that the roasting facility has been inspected by an independent certifying body.  The inspecting body makes sure that the standards of the USDA’s National Organic Program are being followed.  Records must be kept and procedures in place for prevention of cross contamination by non-organic materials.

If a roaster is really certified organic, they must have a certificate from the certifying body that states that they meet all requirements of the USDA/NOP.

Here is ours (click the image to Look Deeper):

Finally, each organic coffee a roaster buys must have an Organic Transaction Certificate which must be kept on file at the roastery.

This certificate can be matched up with the numbers stamped on each bag of green coffee and provides traceability and further assurance that the coffee is actually organic.  All of our Organic Transaction Certificates can be viewed online at “coffeepath.com” if you want to look deeper.  Here is what one looks like from a recent purchase of our organic Sumatra (click on the image to Look Deeper):

This may seem like a great deal of stuff to have to keep track of, but if you are concerned about the products you consume you should not be afraid to ask questions.  Most organic suppliers will be happy to answer any questions you have about their products.  Look deeper!

Next time…how Fair is your Fair Trade coffee?