by Jeannie Newell, Crested Butte, CO

With my 20/20 hindsight, I have seen a few things I would do differently for ‘off-grid’ living if I had to do it all over again.  I would definitely consider buying a second solar panel ($150 a piece) so I could plug in the fridge - we have a cooler / fridge that can be plugged in or not.  It would be easier than carting frozen water in milk jugs back and forth to the camper every other day.  This worked well in May, but July proved to be much more of a pain

Also, I would have known that our handmade tarp based awning would be no match for the Colorado winds, and would have bought something more durable, because moving our wooden chairs and dog beds in and out of the camper during the daily rains is also a pain.  I might find a little something extra for storing things - the truck occasionally gets filled with crap that we don’t have room for in the camper, and so is annoyingly full when we are driving ourselves / our dogs / our recycling around.  Bigger waste water tank — we use a pretty small one, and dish water fills up the tank so fast, emptying it is a weekly job.  Bi-weekly would be nicer.  Its funny experiencing all of the reasons people sought to live more comfortably and conveniently in the first place.  Let’s see, I would buy  travel size bottles of shampoo & other toiletries, because I need to keep them in my backpack at all times and they can be re-filled by the bigger bottles as needed.  They can be kept for future travels, too!
I would have a back up toothbrush and deodorant.

Just some random thoughts about this so-far adventure that I hope will continue through September.

The summer is coming to an end here in Crested Butte. ‘The monsoons’ roll in this time of year, cooling things off.  The camper and truck have been getting nice ‘n dirty from muddy dog paws and just from mud in general!  I now have cows on my street.  Apparently ‘the cows come home’ - seriously - around this time of year.  They drive them here in trucks and drop them off!  sometimes we drive too fast around a bend in the road and get startled by a big mama cow standing in the middle of the road, hanging out.  I am bummed that I still ride my bike less, but at least I carpool with Michael, and I vow to live somewhere (even if it’s here, just in town) where I can bike everywhere.  I would still bike with toiletries and stuff, I think, just because.

Right now I really need some rest.  I’ve been working sooo much lately.  My sister and her friend, Patti, were up from Boulder this weekend and I was busy working a lot of that time.  Also, our little dog Django has been very sick this past week, and we are waiting to hear what the vet thinks about his condition.  Please send prayers and thoughts if you can…

Love and peace,

Jeannie

by Jeannie Newell, Crested Butte, CO

This just in:

Less is more!
Also, more is less!

I’m feeling really inspired right now.  I’m sure I sound like a raging idealist on this blog, but really I’m still somewhat pessimistic and cranky.  I am happier, though, I must admit.  These less & more’s are making me that way:

More work
Less pay
Less meat
More butter
Less car
More aspen trees
More eco-daydreams

I have taken on another job and now I work almost 60 hours a week.  No, I am not trying to make partner at anything.  I now have a gig as housekeeping assistant (heh) at a fantasticly cute little bed and breakfast in town, called the Cristiana Guesthaus.  The assistant job is more fun than being a housekeeper, which I don’t know if I could do.  This is actually a widely varied and super busy job.  I don’t stop moving from the time I get here to the time I leave.  Part of the point of off grid rent-free living is money savings that I really want to maximize at this point. I want to keep living the hiking / biking / camping life of leisure, but I have some credit card debt I really want to knock down.  This second job will help me do this quickly because my low-paying 30 hour a week job has been easily covering my no-rent lifestyle (student loan and cell phone / credit card payments included.)  My job at Mountain Earth pays almost $10 / hour less than I was making at my last real full time job.  So I’m working 7 days a week, but I am not working from 9am to late in the day.  I have big breaks during the day and two days that I don’t start until 2pm - which means plenty of sunshine.  At my last well-paying, full time job I would longingly stare out the window from my desk at the beautiful Durham days and wish for a tire swing I could lounge on in bare feet.
I have not resigned myself to working menial jobs for the rest of my life, and at 34 I get a little twitchy about my current lack of professional work, which I’m told is really the societal mirror talking - that is, my perception of what society thinks I should be doing.  Which, theoretically, is where people go wrong - because they choose their work to define / esteem themselves instead of really listening to themselves.  For me, for the time being, more jobs and less pay = more motion, more action, less sitting at a desk, less screwing around aimlessly online and a general feeling of purpose and happiness.  I have been reunited with the high school side of me that learned to perform even the smallest tasks with pride.
I eat meat.  I am not entirely convinced that humans should live without meat, even though I do agree that perpetuating the need for killing animals is sort of an act of violence.  My sister Anne (and one of my favorite people) gave me a book to read on the move out to Colorado, and the chapter on slaughterhouse practices - current slaughterhouse practices, not those from the days of Upton Sinclair - had me crying through half the state of Kansas.  Why would I want to be part of the gluttonous machine that drives that need for horrible suffering?  Eating less meat means I can afford to buy meat that is truly raised and slaughtered humanely and not a lot of it.  The kind of meat that is raised in such a way as to not destroy the environment.  Nancy told me three Colorado winters living in a yurt showed her very quickly that she needed meat to stay warm.  (Notably, after living in the yurt she designed the coolest and most beautiful hexagonal straw bale home for herself that she has lived in for the last 12 years.) Thanks to Steph and Nancy who made me some wonderful veggie based meals this past week, I have really rekindled my passion for making healthy food.  Armed with a little chicken broth and tamari, I’ve done some pretty good work.  When I use meat and cheese, I’ve been using them to season meals, while using salt, butter, and oils a little more liberally.  On vegetables, not on a piece of meat with cheese slapped on top.  I don’t guess the really fatty traditional butter is bad is if you’re having a little on a big old bowl of sauteed kale.  For me right now, more veggies, more fruits and less meat, more butter, more salt, less bread, less pasta = really great food that feels good to my soul.
I’m working on ‘less car.’  I’ve slacked this week because I’ve been working so much.  I’m renewing my commitment to riding back and forth now that I think I’ve adjusted.  I still have time to go on 3 or 4 hikes a week, taking in the aspens and  wildflowers that abound here.  I have to be careful, because sometimes too much biking and hiking in one day and I’m exhausted at work.  I can report that I am addicted to the biking now, because it’s like a big old happiness fix everytime I do it. (biking’s got to be the new prozac)
I’m having some trouble with the solar panel, that I’m keeping an eye on.  I’m not at the camper as much so I haven’t been minding the frozen water bottles in the fridge and if I’m not careful about what I buy, the food will go bad (I hate that!) I have less time to find for laundry and showers and I’m trying to stay on top of those things.  I take more baths in sinks these days and wear my bandanas more!  People tell me I smell fine, whenever I ask, I hope they’re not just being nice.  I still nurture my eco-daydreams, and wonder what life would be like if everyone composted, recycled paper, plastic, cans, or even better - thought about whether they really needed that drink in the plastic bottle, and only bought one when they really wanted it.  They’re something to be said for having the regular things in your life become treats. *sigh.  Someday people will realize that conservation is a happiness fix, too.  Caring for things beyond yourself has been proven time and again to improve a person’s self worth.
There’s also something hugely satisfying about falling out of your shoes at the end of the day, having the energy for nothing but a glass of wine, reading before bed while snuggling with your dog - then passing out at 9:30 for the rest of the night.  it’s been a long week!

Also, I think all this talking about myself in one fell swoop is making me a better listener.  Maybe a possible side-effect of blogging.  Peace and love,

Jeannie

(Due to living off-grid, Jeannie is posting on Monday this week - enjoy! Tao)

by Jeannie Newell, Crested Butte, CO

This is what I know this week:

Riding your bike everyday can make you feel great!  I have recently joined the ranks of the carless, and it definitely has its challenges, but is absolutely not without rewards. Living outside of Crested Butte, I ride my bike 6 miles into town most days.  I do share a car with a friend, so three days a week I have transportation.  The days that I ride in, I feel so good!  My mood is better, my outlook is better and life is grand. The first time I rode my bike home at dusk, I was leery of bear and mountain lions and all the scary things people told me I might run into.  The second time I rode my bike home late, I felt the most amazing connection to the forest where I live.  Always a chicken, sissy, afraid of everything person, I felt safer than ever.

Changing the subject briefly - I’ve met some people here who don’t work.  They are an attractive, fun, well-spoken couple who don’t have jobs (that’s right - they don’t have jobs.)  They sold their home and their cars and their ’stuff’ after 10 years of working for Intel and being professionals. Fed up with office life, they invested their money and now live on less than $20,000/yr.  They volunteer and do all sorts of creative things to make ends meet. They’ve hiked the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail and have biked all over the country. In a couple of weeks they are biking to a bluegrass festival that’s at least a 5 hour car ride from here. Last year they spent some time biking around France. I personally crave the structure that a job provides, but they are finding creative ways to have the life they want.

A friend of mine told me she recently read an article in a literary journal that specifically discussed Crested Butte and the reasons that people here report higher levels of happiness than many Americans do. It’s a hard town to make money in, and is expensive to live here. Lots of people work 3-4 jobs to make ends meet. It’s freezing in the winter - one of the coldest places in the lower 48.  So why so happy? The trade-off is, there is a connection to the community here.  We know each others names, we chat in the grocery store and other spots around town.  We see people we know at every gathering. People know each other and support each other. People smile. Many people create work trade opportunities for themselves and find ways to volunteer, work and be creative about living cheaply. Also, people here have a much greater connection to nature. Most camp, ski, hike, walk, kayak, and get all kinds of exercise. People are riding their bikes. I’ve been outdoors so much more since I got here. I’ve lost over 5 pounds and I’m happier and friendlier. I’m camping for the summer and I’m far from alone. Lots of locals camp out for the summer just because they like it.

Some people say that getting lots of exercise balances your Chi.  Some say it releases endorphins.  The experts say we should get in an hour every day…that it’s more effective than antidepressants and it lowers cholesterol, blood pressure and all those other benefits we know we can glean from getting outdoors and playing hard.

What I’m taking from this is that whatever happens in my life, I always want to ride my bike and talk to strangers.  And find ways to live on my terms, because other people are doing it and I know it can be done.  I’m living in a town of role models, and camping in the woods nearby…

by Jeannie Newell, Crested Butte, CO

Sooooo sorry I missed posting on Sunday — I guess part of ‘off the grid adventuring’ is that you really have to plan for things, because internet access is not as easy to come by when you live in the woods. Here’s what happened yesterday in my new town:

Sunday was the 4th annual Bridges of the Butte tour.  It’s a 24 hour all ages non-stop bike ride that people take in teams & in shifts.  Some people do the whole 24 hours by themselves to win pretty sweet prizes like ski passes, but others just do it for the fun.  Also people wear their everyday garb or outrageous costumes!  This town is very into playing hard and wearing costumes whenever possible.  Michael and I took a couple of shifts for the fire department’s team, so I threw on a weird looking outfit, feather boa and went riding!  I realized 5 minutes into it, that it was just good for the soul.  The loop is an easy 2.5 miles and you take it as many times in your hour as you can, my legs were burning by the end of it!  And that was just one of the several races that have been going on here this week - Ride the Rockies, Fat Tire Bike Week and The Wildflower Rush are all going on….

This is a place all it’s own.  It’s a place where a person can be as normal as they want to be, or really nurture their inner weirdo.  All transitional moments aside, I think I might like it here.

Off-grid living is part of our future evolution. There are as many reasons to do it as their are ways to do it. Most involve a desire to live more simply, more authentically and more sustainably. My friends, Jeannie and Michael, have recently embarked upon their own off-grid journey in a camper. Jeannie is going to share some of her experience here, on Tao of Change - posted each Sunday for the Summer. Tune in and share the adventure each week. Jeannie’s introductory entry below:

From Jeannie:

Michael and I decided to camp for the summer outside of Crested Butte, CO (~9000 ft elevation) in a 14.5 foot ‘57 camper that we purchased, that’s right, on Craigslist. Michael knows a lot about remodeling, so he was able to perform all kinds of electrical and interior maintenance on our little summer home. We painted & fixed her up and now it’s time to live the dream.  We decided on this course of action for several reasons including, but not limited to:

we are tree huggers and we love to run around in the woods
mountains impress us
we are experimenting with reducing our impact
we are attempting to be mindful about what we use / waste
we are re-defining materialism & consumption for ourselves
we want to save $$ for skiing this winter

Our disclaimer is that we are not self-proclaimed environmentalists and we apologize for faux-pas we may commit.  Suggestions are welcome!

Entry 1:
Michael and I finally found a camping spot - Cement Creek, just south of Crested Butte (right out of CB South) and have been out in the camper the last couple of days.  It is super cozy, but it snowed all day today so we came in to town because we had a little bit of cabin fever (camper fever.)  Really, we wanted to hit up Thomas’ hot tub!  It’s warm and comfortable living in the camper, though, and we really like it.  We’ve been hiking and biking around a lot, and making food in the original 1957 camper oven / stove.  Michael is killing me with some of the hikes we’ve done!  Everything around is beautiful though, hiking or not.  When more of the snow around town melts, we will camp closer in, and we’ll be a 20-minute bike ride from town, which means we can keep our dirty little wheels off the road and those gas dollars in our pockets.

Crested Butte is a really cool town where people are ALWAYS outside - biking, hiking, paddling, etc.  It has a very young, but rustic and old-timey feel.  Many of the people here are very friendly and will talk to strangers, which is always cool.

And so the adventure begins..