Day 7

July 15, 2017

It was time to leave Winex’s house. We got some breakfast before Winex came out with her daughter, who was adorable, to send us off. She thanked us for being there and helping out and gave us a few words of advice. To always be respectful and giving to others because people will always be watching us and will remember us by our actions. And we were off to the McNary Dam. I had never stopped by a dam only drove by a couple so it was really cool to see it up close. It was finally time to go do laundry. Thank goodness because I was running out of clothes. I had told my family that we were going to be in Pasco. So, they decided to surprise me. I soo needed that. I was starting to get a little homesick. This has been the longest I have ever been away from my kids. And when I left they were all still sleeping. My little one was the most excited to see me. She ran into my arms and did not want to get down. They had to leave to my daughters’ birthday party, as sad as I was that I wasn’t going to be able to attend I was also glad that at least I got to see them.

Day 6

July 14, 2017

Today Winex took us to various spots. First one was the River Vision Model, where they do restoration programs. They plant trees at an angle so that the water will hit the trumps and so that the trees will give the fish some shade. They will call in a nursery to get some cuttings for more vegetation. Next spot was the Thorn hallow pond with Michael McLad. It holds over 3,600 fish (Chinook, Steelhead, Coho, Silver) from November to May. They have people walk the stream to count how many live and dead fish there are. They also take eggs to a hatchery, which they will bring back to grow and then release. Target Meadow was our next spot. Winex talked about a handshake agreement where one side of the huckleberries is to be picked only by natives and the other side for non-natives. The issue is that the price for Huckle berries is high that people are not honoring the agreement anymore. Non-natives like myself, don’t understand just how important it is to pick huckleberry the correct way so that you don’t ruin the crop for the following year. The mismanagement of the forest is also another huge issue. Winex talked about how before when they would walk through they would clean up all the dead wood. With all this dead wood on the ground and the weather being so hot when there is a fire it spreads out through the forest fast.

Afterwards, Jubilee Lake to have a little bit of fun. Brenda and I decided, or should I say I decided Brenda wanted to sit down, that instead of swimming we would go for a hike around the lake. It was so very beautiful. And even though Brenda didn’t want to go at first we did some little exercised throughout the hike and she was thankful that I pushed her to do it. I even got this great shot of her.

We then went to Wellness Wave to do yoga with Acosia Red Elk. As soon as you walk into the studio you feel a sense of calmness. The lights are dimmed, there is candles and pillows on the floor and a mirror from wall to wall which is rally great. At first I was a little nervous because I didn’t think I was flexible enough. But as soon as she started the class and the movements it felt as if you are one with your breathing and it controls your body. For the first time ever I was able to do a push up which was AMAZING! Halfway through the class I was sweating so much but by the end I was so relaxed and felt like weight was lifted off my shoulders.

The day of the feast was finally here. I had been looking forward to this since I knew we were going to have it because I wanted to learn the different kinds of foods that they make. Thankfully Winex had us all helping in the preparation of the meals. My mom is not a person that like to be in the kitchen a lot so to be with Winex and have her telling you how to prepare it was awesome. I always though Native food was different than Mexican food and to some extent it is but there are a lot of similarities. Like the Jell-O with fruit, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, salads (which everyone makes slightly different), cakes, brownies, etc. Fly bread and Elk meat was new to me and everyone was really open to showing me how it is made and had the opportunity to be the tester. I don't know if it was because I have been spending too much time with Brenda but I am starting to say things that she would say. When they were preparing the salmon, I told them "So it's like preparing fish?" which they then replied, "It is Fish."  We then had the privilege to have Michael teach us how to cook salmon on a stick. It was so cool!

The ritual they do before a meal was fascinating and unique. Throughout this stay I really got a chance to see how ‘Respect’ is such a huge part of their culture. How they all respect their Elders, the food, the environment. It is something that some cultures lack and everyone should have.

Day 5

July 13, 2017

Today we are going to go with Winex to learn more about everything that they are working on at the Nixyaawii Governance Center. She talked about the order (water, fish, deer, roots, berry) and the importance of it. What I found most interesting was that when they need background on places they will talk to the elders and then tell the scientist what it is that they want to do instead of going to the scientist first. Also, when she said that before they tried to put all the tribes together in Kennewick at the Columbia Point and they almost ended up going to war over their land. It is crazy that I’ve lived in the Yakima Valley and Tri-cities area and I had never heard about this.

Next stop was the Native Plant Nursery. I had worked at a plant nursery for about 5 years so I was excited to see how this one would compare. We were met by Gail Red Berg, who has been the manager for the last 5 years. Gail shared that the nursery was established in 1994, it is an organic nursery so it is kind of hard to combat diseases, how they will collect cuttings themselves or get transplants, and only grow what it is that they need. Even though it is small there is so much to do and what I found really interesting was that most of what they plant they put back. At lunch Brenda and I realized that our van was not there anymore and we had no lunch which sucked because we were really tired. We figured we would just eat it as soon as the van came back.

After lunch we then met the funniest ladies I have ever met. Brandy, aka Handy Brandy, and Marie Davis, aka Mad Dog. They are both Nursey Technicians who have worked there for over 3 years. They showed us how to transplant and how to cut cuttings and plant them. Even though it was hot it was such a cool environment that everyone was having such a good time working. After we were done they gave everyone an ice cream. It was 4 time to leave and the van never came back. But it was still one of the best times I’ve had volunteering. Definitely coming back to visit.

Oh, I thought I’d share this picture that they had posted up in the bathroom.

When we got back we went with Lavita Red Elk to do some glass art. It was so crazy and scary to see how she cut the glass. I felt like it was going to shatter. And to see all the amazing art she had all around. She gave us all a chance to cut some pieces and then decorate our own. It was great seeing everyone’s different designs.

When we got back we went with Lavita Red Elk to do some glass art. It was so crazy and scary to see how she cut the glass. I felt like it was going to shatter. And to see all the amazing art she had all around. She gave us all a chance to cut some pieces and then decorate our own. It was great seeing everyone’s different designs.

Day 4

July 12, 2017

Today was our last day at Deschutes Bridge. We woke up and packed up. Now we were on our way to the High Desert Museum. I usually always seem to pass by museums not realizing how interesting they are. Everything was really cool especially the eagle. And off we were to Umatilla.

But before that we had to stop by Walmart to get some things. After that we went to Safeway to use their wi-fi to upload our blogs. Since they didn’t have any wi-fi we had to walk across the parking lot to Starbucks. It seemed to take forever to get the blogs uploaded but once they were up we were ready to go towards Umatilla. But of course, we can’t drive up there without something happening. Since there is so many vans following each other some took a wrong turn and while we turned around Jessica stayed in the roundabout while she waited. It was the funniest thing ever!

We drove what seemed like forever until finally getting to the Umatilla Tribe. We set up our tents and got some dinner ready before sitting around the campfire to do an introduction gathering. Winex had us introduce ourselves, our education, and what we wanted to learn. Her sister Acosia also talked about herself, how she got into yoga, how it has helped her, and how she is trying to help others. When Michael talked about how he saw the climate change as a nightmare, Acosia referenced that to our body and how just like climate change we must take care of our body and soul to be able to help others and the environment. I never thought about it like that but it makes so much sense. I always hear older people say that they wish they would have watched what they ate when they were younger or exercised and taken care of themselves better yet none of the younger generations listen to them until they are already sick and in pain.

Day 3

July 11, 2017

Today we went to North Twin Lakes and helped clean the trails. It was soo much fun being able to hike and help clean at the same time. It is amazing how much time and effort is put into these trails so that people will be able to walk and enjoy nature without harming the environment. They talked to us about how people will want to get off the trails and start making their own trails. So, they must walk these trails regularly to close any trails anyone tries to make. Just seeing how much effort they were putting into keeping these trails clean really motivated us to feel the same way and try as hard.

After wards we went to Spark Lake, which had a beautiful view of the broken top mountain. This place was pretty cool. Our job was to do creek restoration. We got a couple of big logs that had to be carried by almost everyone. It was great seeing all the teamwork and everyone lending a hand. Afterwards we went to Little Lava Lake to get wet. It was great to hear how much people cared about the environment and how much hard work they put into it.  I was able to learn so much and get a great workout in.

Day 2

July 10, 2017

We arrived at Deschutes National Forest and even though the drive was long and tiring the view was amazing! We got here setup our tents and had some dinner. I wanted to soak in all the nature so Brenda and I woke up at 5:30am to go for a job. It was so relaxing and beautiful. After that we ate breakfast and got ready for our next adventure. We were headed for the Lava Land Visitor Center. I was excited because I had never journeyed this far from Sunnyside. As soon as we got there we were greeted by Jim Elliott the Lead Ranger who then proceeded to take us to the others we would meet. One of the persons we met was Katy Chipko. She is from Kentucky and graduated from the University of Colorado. She is now the Executive Director for a Non- Profit organization called Children’s Forest of Central Oregon. Katy mentioned that the organizations goal is to get kids and families outdoors. Initially when I started school I wanted to get a degree in business and education. But was advised that they didn’t go together. So, I stuck to Business. But hearing Katy talk about the organization it makes me want to go back to my original plan and get a degree in education so that one day I can help run or do an organization that helps support kids and families in our community because there is nothing like this close to Yakima. This not only helps family spend time together but also helps get them moving. Someone else that made an impact on me was Cassidy Kern. Cassidy is the Public Affairs Specialist and she shared with us some of her past jobs that she has had like CBS, publicist, and making commercials for big brothers. She said that she finally asked herself “what do I want to do?” And that led to her taking risks and being flexible on the jobs she had, which led to her current job. So, I go to sleep asking myself “ What do I want to do?”

Day 1

July 09, 2017

What seemed like forever finally arrived. It was finally the day that we were going to start our adventure. Sunday. I We started our day bright and early meeting at the Heritage campus at 8am. We started helping the High schoolers from White Swan set up their blogs. Once that was done we started getting our sleeping bags, tents, hiking bags, water bags, dirty laundry bags, and making lunches to go since it was going to be a long drive. Since we still had to wait for the professors to finish some things up we all started on our lunches. As hectic as it was around 12:30pm we were finally on our way. We were told there was going to be on stops but indeed we made about 3 stops and I think at each store I would get off to get some snacks for the road. I was able to get some sleep but by the time we finally made it to the campsite I was ready to get my tent up and go to sleep. We had a chance to walk around the campground a bit while one of the groups was preparing dinner. Right after dinner we all went to sleep to be ready for tomorrows adventures.