Welcome!

Follow me every step of my journey across America, 'wwoofing' on ranches and farms to explore what life is like for those who choose to live a little bit different than we do.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Getting Closer

I have made my final plans for when I am leaving California and heading to Montana. I am leaving here on February 28th and heading to Utah first to visit a friend. I will be in Provo, Utah until Thursday, March 3rd, and then drive up to Montana. I will arrive in Montana on Thursday night, and stay there for the rest of the arranged time, until May. My muck boots arrived in the mail today! I also got my gloves for working on the ranch, and my boots were a little big, but they fit for the most part. I will probably be wearing socks because it will be so cold in Montana, so the boots should fit fine. My gloves fit too; I got everything from Bass Pro Shop. I found some shirts for wearing while working on the ranch and the farm. They are little boys t-shirts, so I stocked up because I am going to get really muddy and need tons of shirts to wear. I am still looking for jeans, but they are hard to find that fit me right. Either always too short or too big, but never long and small enough in the right way. I am still looking, and hopefully I find enough pairs before I leave. I really dont want to wear my nice jeans on the ranch! I still need to have my truck smog checked before I can get my registration tags, which are due in March of course, so I have to get all that done before I leave. And I have to have a tune-up on my truck, replace tires and windshield wipers, fluids and a bunch of other small things. And I need to pack, and get all my food together for while I am traveling. I have been researching a bunch of bars and line dancing clubs in Nashville, because I really really want to find some great dancing spots. I dont have fun at the country bars here in So Cal so it will be nice to find a legitimate place to dance and actually meet quality, nice, genuine people. But I am not getting my hopes up, so I just want to go out and explore and see what happens. I just want to leave already, but its still too cold and icy for me to drive comfortably, so I am waiting it out a little bit longer. Six months is long enough to be gone, so I can wait another month at least. Still working on my to do list, so it is keeping me busy until I leave.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Making Arrangements

I heard about wwoofing from a friend, who showed me the wwoofusa website. I was intrigued by the idea of working on a farm and living completely off the land. I loved the idea of meeting new people and learning how to live a life completely different from everything I know. So I joined the website and began searching for farms in the Southeast who wanted help. I knew I wanted to visit Kentucky and Tennessee, being a huge country music fan, and I also wanted to see what other options were available as well. I found a ranch in Montana that specializes in breeding livestock dogs, and felt that would be a great opportunity to gain the experience I will need for veterinary school. I also found a few beautiful farms in Tennessee and Kentucky. I contacted the owners, and made them an offer of my labor in exchange for room and board. After they accepted my offer, I had to research all the items I would need for my trip. I have bought a few things, like muck boots and thick gloves, but I still need jeans, socks and shirts that can be thrown away if they are too destroyed from the mud and dirt. Truthfully, I want to get so muddy and dirty that all my clothes have to be thrown away! I have been doing some research on the nightlife as well in cities like Nashville and Knoxville and Lexington. I might be able to go into town on the weekend nights a few times, and I am very excited to see some real country line dancing! I also know I am definitely going to see the Grand Ole Opry. I hope I see some authentic cowboys too :) So overall I am very excited, but nervous about the drive and what to expect. The best thing to do is expect nothing and see what comes to me. I will make the most of my time, but I hope to learn as much as I can and give myself an experience I will never forget. The driving by myself is also a little scary, but I will be able to handle it. So for now I am still making my final arrangements and getting all of my clothing together.

TO DO:
-get tune up on truck
-check tires
-get gas credit card
-make arrangements with cell phone company
-inform insurance co. of my trip
-plan driving trip with a map