Scott Davis Anderson

First off, I want to thank Kevin and Therese Bonesara for putting up with me this past week.  Since coming back from Yellowstone National Park, I have been in bed sick and they have taken good care of me.  Kevin and Therese have been wonderful hosts to both Jeremy and I and we are both extremely grateful to have them as friends.

Secondly, I want to thank Kim Plunkett and her fiance Brett for the personal tour, and hosting us during our stay at Yellowstone National Park.  We had an amazing time and met many amazing people.  Super special shout outs go to Darci and Harley.  You two are the wildlife of Yellowstone.

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Today I received an update from the Peace Corps offices.  The process has been slower than I had anticipated, but has afforded me the opportunity to partake in some incredible experiences.  By the looks of the form letter Peace Corps has sent me, I am in for another long waiting period.  I have included the letter for those interested, and updated my Peace Corps Time-line.

Greetings from the Peace Corps Placement and Assessment Office!

We wish to congratulate you on receiving your medical clearance, and achieving one of the most important steps on your way to becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer. We will soon be screening and reviewing your application materials and you will be notified if any additional technical, suitability, or legal information is needed for your file at that time. Once we have initiated the review of your file, we will update you on the next steps of the application process.

Upon completion of the assessment process, you may be considered for an invitation. Please keep in mind that this stage in the process is competitive as there are typically two applicants nominated for each spot available. Given this, an invitation is never guaranteed and applicants should make no plans regarding Peace Corps service until an invitation has been issued and you have spoken to headquarters staff to accept your invitation.

It is important to note that due to programmatic changes in the Africa region and in all other regions of Peace Corps programming, the number of assignments has decreased as well which will result in a more competitive process this year for all programs.

We understand that you might be eager to receive more information from the Peace Corps at this point and we greatly appreciate your patience. In the meantime, you can prepare for Peace Corps service and make your application more competitive by: continuing to gain experience through working or volunteering within your nominated field; attending Peace Corps events; talking to Returned Volunteers; and reading books, articles, and other resources about the Peace Corps. You can also find resources and learning activities on our website and in My Toolkit.

The Africa Placement and Assessment Team would like to update you on the timing of our review for your application. We are currently reviewing applications for the April-June, 2009 timeframe. We will be reviewing applications for the July-September 2009 time period in the next 7-8 weeks. Once those programs are completed, we will shift our efforts to the programs leaving after September 2009.

Please be advised that during your application review, you may be contacted by our office if any additional technical, suitability, or legal information is required for the assessment of your file.

We appreciate your patience and look forward to working with you in the near future. Please do not respond directly to this e-mail due to the high volume of messages being sent at this time. If you have questions that have not been addressed in this letter, please contact our office at (800) 424-8580, option 2, extension 1850.

Warm Regards,

Peace Corps Assessment and Placement – Africa Region

After my trip to The Great Sand Dunes National Park, I decided to make my own energy bars. My friends and I regularly buy Clif Bars and it got me thinking of ways to make them myself without the additives and preservatives found in Clif Bars. Thanks to Camilla V. Saulsbury at http://camillacooks.com, I found a recipe that tastes amazing.  I do like the taste of Clif Bars, but if you aren’t a fan, this recipe might not be for you.

You will need the following ingredients to make 6 almond-cherry energy bars:

• 1 and 1/4 cups of Rice Krispies
• 1 cup of uncooked quick-cooking oats
• 3 tablespoons of ground flaxseed meal
• 1/4 cup of finely chopped dried cherries
• 1/4 cup of finely chopped roasted almonds
• 1/4 cup of brown rice syrup
• 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup of almond butter
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the Rice Krispies, quick-cooking oats, flaxseed meal, dried tart cherries, and chopped almonds.
2. Combine the rice syrup and dark brown sugar in a saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat. You will want to stir the mixture the entire time, it will only take around a minute to boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the almond butter, vanilla extract, and almond extract until your mixture is blended.
3. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry mixture, and stir until evenly coated.  As the liquid cools, the mixture will become stiff.  I used my hands to combine the mixture, like kneading bread.
4. Spray an 8-inch square pan with nonstick cooking spray and press the mixture into the pan.  Use wax paper to help press the mixture flat and even across the pan.
5. Allow the pan to cool for about an hour and cut into 6 hearty-sized energy bars.

To store the bars, wrap them and store them in the refrigerator.  For long term storage, you can freeze the bars.

I brought these bars with me this past weekend on a trip to Yellowstone National Park.  They were the perfect snack when I needed a bit more energy and they filled the void left by not having any Clif Bars.  I did miss the variety I enjoy when I normally pack my bars, so I want to make some carrot cake, apricot, and an apple cinnamon bar to go along with this amazing almond/cherry recipe.  I will amend this post when I get around to making them.  I have a couple of things on my plate right now, so that will have to wait for an opening in my schedule.  Next up, photos of an amazing trip to Yellowstone.

This past weekend, I had the privilege of staying at The Elkhorn View Bed and Breakfast.  The lodge is located in scenic Clancy, Montana and is surrounded by places to hike, climb, bike, and relax.  The three-story lodge boasts a work-out room, sauna, hot-tub, and spacious themed bedrooms.  The attention to detail in this beautiful lodge captured my interest as soon as I walked through the doors.  The lodge is constructed with 14″ diameter logs and has three large stone fireplaces.  The “great” room has a 30-foot high ceiling with a full bar and a spacious kitchen.  I crashed in the Cowboy room for the weekend, so my nights were surrounded by the decor of the wild west.

The Elkhorn View Bed and Breakfast is surrounded by gorgeous mountain scenery, including a view of the Elkhorn peak.  The lodge sits on 440 acres of wild playground, filled with rock formations, Ponderosa pines, Douglas firs, and Aspen trees.  My friends and I spent our weekend climbing the rock formations and exploring our surroundings.

The trees in this area of Montana have been hit hard by the bark beetle.  I had not heard of the bark beetle prior to my visit, so I was surprised by how much damage and how wide spread the problem is.  The bark beetle attacks trees that are weak or dying, but in large quantities can overtake healthy trees as well.  Adult bark beetles bore through the bark of trees, and once the beetle is successfully established in a tree, it emits a pheromone which attracts other beetles to the same tree.  The females tunnel between the bark and wood to lay their eggs.  When the eggs hatch, the emerging grubs burrow away from the egg tunnel and feeds on the live bark and outer layer of wood until the tree is dead.  According to an article I found on the New York Times website, the beetle infestation has killed millions of acres of trees in North America.  It seems as though the lush forests have grown too thick and the trees that are competing for the same nutrients in a depleted water table are unable to combat the ever-growing population of beetles.  One suggestion made in the New York Times article is to cut back the forests’ trees by up to 75% in hopes that the remaining trees will have enough water to fight off the infestation.

Mark Runkle, the owner of the Elkhorn View Bed and Breakfast, has been employing aggressive techniques to help save many of the trees that inhabit his 440-acre property.  Currently, infested trees are being cut down and slowly removed from the property by private loggers.  Healthy trees are being sprayed by an aggregation pheromone, as well as insecticides to hinder the beetles’ advancement.  These measures are being taken not only to help save the property for folks like myself who love rock climbing and hiking in the outdoors, but to save the habitat that sustains a wide range of species, such as deer, elk, moose, antelope, eagles, coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, and many more.

If you find yourself in Montana and are looking for a fantastic getaway or a scenic adventure, I highly recommend stopping at the Elkhorn View Bed and Breakfast for an experience that you will not soon forget.  Find out more about the bark beetle and support those who are fighting to save these dying forests and the homes to so many animal species.

In lieu of making kefir, I have been traveling.  My travels have taken me to The Great Sand Dunes National Park, where my friend Jeremy and I camped for two wintry nights.  The high temperature was 31°F and the low was 6°F. The wind chill was reported to be -10°F.

Upon arriving at the park, we explored the base of the dunes before heading out to set up our campsite.   The majestic contrast between the dunes, the mountains, and the national forest were breathtaking.  We ended up exploring for a little longer than we had realized, and as the sun quickly set behind the mountain tops, darkness consumed us.  We set up our tent with the use of a headlamp and a mini flashlight, and celebrated shelter with some freeze dried beef stroganoff and Redstone Mead. The stars were immaculate.  Orion appeared as usual, entangled with hundreds of stars that would have been indistinguishable had I been looking to the heavens from the city.  The sky looked less familiar as I hesitated to find the big dipper among so many unfamiliar constellations.  Sleep did not come easy in the frigid night air, as our haste caused us to miss closing some of the tent’s many zippers.  Nonetheless, we awoke happy and content on continuing onward with our adventure deeper into the dunes.

The second night Jeremy and I hiked toward a large mountain that stared at us with its two avalanche runs like giant white fangs.  It felt as though the mountain had been summoning us since our arrival at the park.  It became a mission of mine to get as close to it as possible, so I could better understand the power behind them.  In a hikers trance, we continued pushing further and further until we found ourselves on the tallest peak directly in front of the mystic mountain.  The dune peak we set camp on was around 8500 ft, and we arrived just as the sun began to set.  We were able to snap a few photos as we set up the tent, but the sun was soon swallowed up by the horizon.  We settled into the tent and ate some freeze dried sweet and sour pork and swallowed down a mixture of vodka and Kool-Aid, introduced to me by a camping buddy on a previous adventure.  The night temporarily seemed less frigid, but the wind continued to whip and howl throughout the night.  We soon realized we were sleeping on frozen ground as our body heat began to melt the ground beneath us.  The morning arrived and we emerged from the tent shivering with excitement as we were greeted by a new day, blessed with beautiful surroundings.  We packed our gear into our backpacks and soon found ourselves running down the sides of the steep sand dunes, laughing and smiling at the beautiful hand we were dealt.

Jeremy and I attempted to document our adventure by creating videos and snapping photos, but we found ourselves frequently saying “photos can’t do this place justice!”  I would also add that words can not replace the experience either; photos and words can only begin to describe it.

I leave this morning for Bozeman, Montana.  The plan is to visit Yellowstone National Park and visit with friends.  I will be traveling with my Mead and Vermicompost bin, so I will seek a cozy spot for my pets to rest while I head out for the next winter adventure.

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