Habitat For Humanity - Las Vegas

In my year contract, which I signed with Americorps and the Great Basin Institute, I am required to "volunteer" for 3 service days out of the year. Our first one was at Red Rocks National Park aiding in maintaining trails and decommissioning social trails. Our second just past on MLK day. We worked with Habitat for Humanity of Las Vegas.

It was a lot of fun and a great experience with a great organization. My family has worked with Habitat for a while, including my Nana, who was a huge advocate and also my brother who has done a lot of work with them over the years. I have worked with them here and there over some spring breaks in college and have always had a wonderful experience so it was fun to get back with them and work. For those of you who don't know very much about the organization, Habitat For Humanity is a nonprofit housing organization that builds decent, affordable housing for people in need.

There is a site, in a not-so-great neighborhood in Las Vegas, that is being worked on and this is where we started our day in remembrance of MLK and his wonderful idea of community service. There was about 70 of us from GBI along with other Americorp participants and regular volunteers.
We did some exterior and interior painting along with moving palates and palates of roofing shingles from the ground to the roof. It was a big media event, mostly because Gov. Sandoval was there helping out with us. We also picked up the trash around the house and site. The future homeowner was also there lending a hand with her house.


They really appreciated the work we did and giving our free time to them to help a wonderful cause. They even provided breakfast and lunch for us, which says a lot. Feeding 70 GBI staffers is no easy task! It was a great, successful day and I know I had a lot of fun.

Lake Mead St. Thomas

Hi! Miss me? :) So my last two tours and, I believe, the next two tours are going to be in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LMNRA) at the St. Thomas site. St. Thomas was a small town that was established by Mormons in 1865. The town eventually became abandoned when the Hoover Dam was built. It caused the shores of Lake Mead to rise and flood the town, so much so that the last resident had to leave by rowboat in 1938. Since the lake levels have been steadily dropping, the town of St. Thomas is now back above water.

Since the ground used to be covered by the lake, it remains moist and a perfect place for the invading species of tamarisk to grow. It has just completely taken over the area. Our job is to clear a 50 acre section of tamarisk to allow visitors to see the whole town at once. We're still trying to figure out what the LMNRA's long term plan is to keep the tamarisk at bay, in hopes that our work is not in vain. It's tough work since the tamarisk is still so young, we have to chain saw either bending down or on our knees. It's doing wonders on our backs!


A crew shot in front of the ice cream parlor!

Mud, Mud, Mud

My first tour back from our Christmas break, was out to Ash Meadows. If you remember, I went there once before and I wrote a lot about the Pupfish and the 26 endemic species. We were doing some planting last time, however, this time around our project was to remove meter after meter of old barbed wire fence.


This fence was put there by the Native Americans years ago when they lived on this land. They used it to fence in their livestock and poultry. The refuge actually had to get permission from the elders of the tribe to remove the fencing. It was becoming a hazard for the visitors of the refuge and the people who work for Ash Meadows since they often have to roam the land. One stipulation about the removal of the fencing, was that we had to leave everything else. We were to only remove the barbed wire itself and the fence posts. There were a lot of other items such as metal bed frames, metal sheeting used for roofing, cans, bottles, etc. Anything 50+ years old is considered historic and is not to be removed. We joke when we come across a piece of "historic trash!" Don't touch it!

It was fun collecting the barbed wire and by the end of the tour, I became pretty good at coiling it with little, to no stabs! (Hope I'm up to date with my Tetanus shot). One part that was less enjoyable was the mud. Oh the mud! If you didn't hear, Las Vegas and the surrounding area got a lot of rain (a lot for the area) right before Christmas. This caused a lot of flooding and left most of the desert just one huge mud pit.

There was one day where I had to hike about 3/4 of a mile, one way, in shin deep mud, carry steel T-posts across my shoulders. (Yeah, yeah, I know, it sounds like what your parents told you about how they had to hike to school in 4 feet of snow up hill BOTH ways!). Since this section of the fence was so long it took numerous trips back and forth. I honestly felt like I was in boot camp. It was hard work, but definitely a good workout! It is a really beautiful and unique area in the desert and I'd suggest giving it a visit if you're ever in the area.


One evening it even looked like the sky was on fire!

Happy Holidays!

Well, I'm back from my short 4-day tour to Ash Meadows and it was a chilly one. But first I want to tell you about my first trip back home since I moved out here!

I was able to be home for about 10 days and it was so relaxing. One of my friends from high school managed to get a bunch of us over for a night before the holidays. I was able to catch up with a lot of them and it was so good to see them. My girlfriends, Cassie and Vanessa and I were able to have a good girls night catching up too, watching Wall-E and eating our fav - Taco Bell! Yum! Love those girls and miss them so much!

Every year on (or around - depending on schedules) Christmas Eve my family gets together at either my parents house or my Aunt Martha's house. This year it was at my aunts. It was the typical Johnson holiday though - yule tide and flu shots. :)


I love this time of year because family is able to get together and there are so many different kinds of amazing food to eat! I ate so much food that didn't involve beans or a propane stove! It was such a treat. :) I loved seeing everyone that I hadn't seen in so long. I wish we were able to get together more often than once or twice a year. However, now that I live out here and am rolling in the big bucks (ha!) flying home more than that would be difficult.

Christmas day was spent with my parents and it was fun! We have our tradition of keeping it easy and relaxed on Christmas day and I couldn't ask for anything more. We wake up, listen to the Oakridge Boys Christmas album while opening our stockings and presents. We have an amazing breakfast, which this year was orange french toast which my mom prepared! Delicious!

We pick a movie (easier said than done) and head to the movie theater. My mom and I fill up on over priced snacks while my dad waits patiently- joking about how much change he'll get back. After the movie we go out to dinner somewhere that is open. This year we went to a little place called The Vernon Diner. It was great! I love our tradition and it means so much to me. :)

The rest of the week was spent catching up with friends, spending time with my brother and parents, avoiding the snow, and not leaving my parents dog alone, ever! I needed my dog fix.



I headed up to Boston with Todd a few days before New Years. I spent one night with my friend Andi and we had a night out on the town just like old times. We also met up with our friend Kim who I haven't seen since I moved away. It was so much fun to have some girl time with them!

On New Years eve, Todd, Amanda and I, along w a few other friends in the area, took a Boston Harbor Cruise. It was great being out on the water again and it allowed for an awesome viewing of the fireworks and cityscape.

Luckily before I had to leave to head back to Vegas, I was able to see Amanda's family! My family and their family met right outside Providence for dinner. It was wonderful to see them again and spend some time with the kids! Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of all of us, but here is one of Danny and I and me and my family (we just have to accept that Dad cannot keep his eyes open during a picture.) :)


It was a wonderful break and I was so happy to spend time with my family and friends! Love you all! Xoxo.

Real Quick..

Hi! Hope everyone had a great holiday season and new years! I am back in Vegas, however, haven't really had any time to update this and am leaving for tour tomorrow. It's only a 4-day so I'll be back this weekend to catch everyone up on my absolutely wonderful trip back to CT.

Stay tuned! :)