Denise and Joseph Part Ways

Denise and I are splitting up. She's staying in Pueblo, Colorado while I continue on to Yellowstone National Park. Don't worry, we'll reunite in late August to continue our journey to Washington state. After that, we'll come back to Pueblo to run an arts and gardening program at a community space called Pueblo House.

Pueblo House and La Familia Community Garden sit side by side on Pueblo's East Side.

Exhausted, But in a Good Way

We arrived in Pueblo, Colorado on April 22 to visit with Janet Wilson of Pueblo House. Janet is the founder of the OTR Foundation. The foundation owns and operates three houses in Pueblo dedicated to helping the local community. I met Janet during the Occupy Movement and later helped her work on the original house, known as The Pueblo House, for about 2 months. Now Joseph and I are helping her with the organization's music house, which includes a radio station and a place for musicians to play.

Activism, Generosity is the New Advertising

Giving has become as valuable, if not more prized, than regular advertising. As we travel full time in our RV and give to causes we support, we’ll have to be mindful of how we promote and benefit from our efforts. I had a brush with using activism to earn money for a nonprofit. A recent article has made me think about the ethics of activism and social media on the road.

In late 2014, I was named a RecognizeGood Legend for the work I did with food rescue nonprofit Keep Austin Fed. The honor made me question the ethics of asking others to give. Photo courtesy RecognizeGood

 

What If I Hate RVing?

"Aren't you scared?" "You're selling your house to live in an RV?" "What if you hate it?"

Activism means growing, sharing food

Photo by Chris Coxwell

Encouraging people to grow their own food, turning food waste into compost, and getting surplus food to people in need is the sort of activism I've practices over the past few years. I'm also a bicycling advocate. I've occasionally joined marches and participated in rallies, but that doesn't compare to directly putting tools into people's hands, then watching the change.


Raising chickens and growing veggies is rewarding is so many ways. Nurturing plants from seed to harvest fills me with such a sense of accomplishment. It's hard work and so much can go wrong. When it goes right, few things are sweeter than enjoying a harvest and sharing with others.


That feeling is magnified 10 fold when I share that knowledge.