USA

We always wanted to experience a farming lifestyle so when Gouri found a website for volunteering on organic farms we jumped on the opportunity. There seems to be a revolution going on in the rural southwest USA to change the way homes and gardens are built (notions of 'permaculture' and 'energy sustainability'). We got a good dose of of it at Earth Mountain, Colorado (http://www.earthmountainfarm.org/photo_gallery.htm) which is completely off grid: no municipal electricity, gas, or water - they collect rainwater, cook on a wood stove and use solar power to run their computer and a few lights. Living in a tipi was an experience, particularly when the snow and sleet started pouring in through the hole at the top! The place was a bit "rustic" (that's the most polite way of putting it - check out the photos) but their organic carrots were the best I've ever tasted, and the heating system for their compost toilet is an ingenious modification of a solar Trombe wall.

Stacking chopped for the winter was one of the chores we participated in

Outdoor kitchen with its antiquated wood-stove was certainly an experience!

Compost toilet and solar heated outdoor shower - all homemade solutions

We spent four nights in this Teepee - it was certainly very exciting for the boys

Another charming feature - homemade outhouse

Later we went to SolarArk and met Arvo, the self taught engineering genius who built the whole thing (www.solarark.org) over the last 12 years with his own hands using mainly salvaged parts. The home is attached to a passive greenhouse and doesn't require heating or cooling despite the -25 deg F to 100 deg F temperature changes in New Mexico's high desert. He gets water from a well but the power for all modern conveniences (stove, washing machine, fridge, freezer) comes from solar panels, a wind generator and an ingenious biogas system. Why ingenious? Here is an example: when we arrived he was fine tuning the compressor system which turns on when the biogas (from the chicken poop and other refuse) inflates an old tube from a wheelbarrow that pushes a lever to turn on the compressor; when the biogas is pumped to storage the tube deflates and turns off the switch...Another example: he made the fridge from scratch using thick wood and polystyrene insulation that he found lying around. The whole place is sustainable - here is an example cycle: he was cleaning out the thick manure sludge from his biogas tank which we helped put into the earthworm buckets that make compost; the compost and earthworms go onto his outside and inside gardens to give the plants nutrients; Thane, Aidan and me harvested the sunflowers and chard from his outside garden and then we fed the chickens who ate it with glee, and the cycle was complete when the chickens pooped again. The only problem is that Arvo is a bachelor, so although the accommodation was very warm and comfortable, the kitchen was a little below Gouri's hygiene standards so I don't think we're going back anytime soon...

The Earthships (http://www.earthship.net/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=14), which we visited in Taos, New Mexico, are far more elegant (and expensive) although they require propane to run a stove. Everything else, including water (from rain runoff) is self sustainable and it felt very comfortable exploring the living spaces so low inside the earth. I never felt claustrophobic or anything like that. The idea of using the earth's heat mass is supposed to work in hot climates like Texas too, although I'll be asking Tatus to confirm that separately. Also, the tires and cans used to build the home seem a little over the top which makes Gouri and me think this could be done less expensively using conventional materials... new business opportunity?

Mesa Verde in Colorado is another building technology we saw, built by the Pueblo people 800 years ago near the 4 corners region.

More photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/sdjohannsens

It has been a while since our last post. You probably think that the Johannsens are on this long vacation and so they should be able to do a lot of things that most sane routiners (I just coined that word, to describe people who lead normal lives) have difficulty finding time for.

Ha, ha, that's what we ignorant newbie nomads thought in the begining. Only to discover that vacationing is actually a lot of work, esp if you have two hyper-active boys! We have been back to Seattle for almost 10 days after our Canadian trip, and we haven't found time to upload all our photos and post a blog entry. So what to we do with our time. I think a lot of our time is spent on the basics - planning and researching where to go next; cooking, eating and cleaning, and keeping the kids engaged.

Planning the vacation is a lot of work - we can spend hours, days on the internet researching where and what we want to do - there are so many options. We also want this to be a meaningful vacation, not just sight-seeing one beautiful place after another. If any of our ideas come to fruition we will update you on a later post.

Chores like cooking, cleaning, laundry still need to be done - these cannot be avoided when one is on vacation. In fact, these things take up more time because, it is always an adventure trying to accomplish all these in a new place.

Kids, they take up a lot of the time too - educating and engaging them. We are trying to establish a study routine with them. Now that the school years have begun, there is more of a need to have a structure in their education. Thane is writing a journal of the things that he has experienced on this trip. This will help him with reading, writing and composing his thoughts. He also learnt to tell time, use compass, etc. Aidan is practicing his letters and learning phonetics. We are trying to come up with ways to make their learning fun and games. Tomasz makes tremendous effort in keeping the boys physically active too - biking, scootering, hiking, swimming, etc.

So, all this does not leave us much time to ourselves. Of course, we still need to exercise ourselves, sleep, etc. Sometimes, it seems that being in San Diego and going to work was simpler.

But we are not complaining. There are certainly many benefits to being vagabonds.

I hope our grand plans about expanding our horizons and reading more, etc, will materialize soon. For now we will be leaving for Yellowstone National Park soon.

We are coming to the end of our first Seattle stay. We spent some quality time with my sister, Sarada, her husband, Krish and my newest niece, Lahari. It was also nice time to visit Seattle. Even though it rained pretty heavy couple of days we were here and got gloomy, just to remind us there are other seasons here. It was glorious when the sun was out and the flowers are in full bloom.

We visited our long time friends Marshalls in Bremerton across the Pueget Sound. The boys were pretty thrilled to go on the ferry across the Sound. We had a great time in Bremerton with all the Marshall clan - their daughters and families; Susan's brother and sister-in-law. One the highlights of this visit was the time we spent on the Kitsap lake.

The kids in the tube ready to be tugged

Out on the lake

Kim gave all boys a ride on the Seedoo

We explored a few parks around the Redmond/Bellevue areas, Picked blueberries in a blueberry farm, went to Seattle downtown, did a hike in the Tiger Mountain park; cooked and ate a lot.

Visit to downtown seattle, Pike's Place Market

Thane was very good in entertaining his little cousin Lahari

Rock climber Thane

Death by Chocolate cake baked by Sharu for Krish's Birthday

Celebrating Krish's Birthday and eagerly awaiting the cake

Lahari posing for Thane

We are heading into Canada tomorrow. And so may be a while before our next entry.

As expected, exercising has been a big hassle on this trip. One of the main problems was - not knowing the area well enough to run. Tomasz bought me a small pepper spray bottle, which I carry around when I go for a run to ward off wild beasts and evil men. So far, thankfully, I didn't have to use it much. So it was a great relief to be in Seattle. My sister lives in a beautiful neighborhood. The trails and roads around her house have been explored during my runs. I also have found a Yoga studio near her house and have been to yoga several times. Now that we are off to Canada in an motor-home, not sure how much work-outs I will get.

This morning Tomasz wanted me to join him on a run in the woods close to my sister's place. This run had all elements of the Mud Run that we signed up to do San Diego in October but will miss it. First of all, to get the trail in the woods, we had to get across the residential complex and get on a path. But since it was pretty early in morning, the fence gate to get on the path was locked. Tomasz, not to be deterred, wanted to jump over the 8ft fence and asked me to go first. Of course that wasn't my idea of exercising, and so I put up a bit of a fuss to climb over, but eventually got over. After me, Tomasz did it in one smooth move. I had to hear about all the fuss I made for the rest of our run.

Next, came a dip and a uphill that rivals Mt. Rainier (of course, I am exaggerating, only a bit). Then we got to the actual woods, which are called Bridle Trails State Park - and as the name implies it is used frequently by horseriders. And you can imagine what all those horses leave behind in their wake. These were the next set of obstacles I had to overcome. In addition, it had rained pretty heavy yesterday and the path was quite muddy at places (that's where it becomes the mud run). To top it off, the woods were pretty dark and one can get disoriented in the inter-connecting trails. And still Tomasz comments how beautiful and romantic it is in the forest, and all I was thinking was how to step over the next horse poop and make a mental note of which trail we just took. We succeeded in running to one end of the forest and found our way back out. And then as we headed back up and down the crazy hill, I prepared myself to do another fence jump, hoping this time would be more graceful. Luckily, the gate was now open.

After all that was said and done, I do have to agree with Tomasz that it was certainly a beautiful run and pretty unusual.

Today was haircut day and it wasn't just the boys ... Gouri practiced on Thane and then turned her shears on me. Overall things went well except for a few deep gouges around my ears. Gouri says that those are grooves designed for my glasses to fit better but I'm not sure anyone will buy that story. In any case, she made me feel better by saying I look like Steve Jobs now.

Project has begun!

Apprehensive?

Almost there

Here's finished product - not too bad!

More photos of our Seattle stay are at http://picasaweb.google.com/sdjohannsens/SeattleStay