While spending three months in Kenya this summer it wasn't all work. A safari to the Maasai Mara and later to taking my parents to the Ark and Lake Elementaita. Giraffe Leopard cape buffalo It was the start of wildebeest migration so they were everywhere. elephants lions ostrich zebra At the ark. with a waterhole bringing the animals right outside the window. Lake Elementaita #kenya #travel

Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and California. Yosemite, Crater Lake, Redwoods, Lake Tahoe. All in a week. Seeing old friends, exploring galore. #travel

From out of the sagebrush the sheriff did ride, after so many miscreants he surely must die. Or he was just after a speeder on the interstate. Just back from the desert southwest, 5 national parks, 1 state park, and a national monument all in 5 days. 9 days in a car. Road trip indeed. #southwest #travel #utah

Everyone always hears of the beautiful landscapes and the abundance of wildlife that fill the national parks of Kenya. Iconic names that fill your mind with images even if you’ve never seen them in person. Maasai Mara perhaps the most well known, the Kenyan side of the Serengeti. But the standards of beauty in a country where you’re surrounded by the Rift Valley and Lions, and Elephants are just a different as the land. With 42 tribes making up the Kenyan fabric though sa

So I'm back, and having picked up something on the plane home almost back to normal now so its time to finally update the trip I took. The purpose was to build a composting toilet for the Axim Catholic JHS. Composting toilets have started to become a popular way to build toilets without a water supply. Ours in this case was built to accommodate 350 students about double what the school currently has enrolled so that it can grow over time. 8 stalls and a male and female urina

Driving south toward Kamburu dam on the only paved road you will soon enter the traditional area of another tribe. Mbeere The Mbeere are a close cousin of the Embu and share many cultural traditions. Mbeere district is divided up into 4 divisions with major market centers in Siakago, Kiritiri, and Ishiara. There are several smaller ones as well. Siakago is by far the most cosmopolitan with English and Swahili being spoken readily. The others however will be manned by thos

South of Embu, Kenya about 30 kilometers is the small market town of Kiritiri surrounded by bright red soil. Shaped like a square with the market in the center, a ring of shops circle the sellers of everything available in the area. One side of the only paved road in the district holds all the food while the other covers the used clothing market and everything else. Radiating like spokes off each corner are the only other streets that vanish into the scrub acacias not far out

Plane ticket check or almost. Visa need the plane ticket, insurance need the plane ticket. Shots check. Traveling to another country food is always one of the first things you wonder about past sight seeing. Since I'm not going to sight see though food seems more of a concern right now. Kenya many things weren't that unusual, at least not in the area I was. Ghana seems to be a bit more exotic. Western regions' main dishes are akyeke (cassava-based, similar to couscous) s

This last week we headed down the coast to Oregon, my first time to the state. Coming from the Midwest I'm still trying to make it to all the west coast. Astoria, Fort Clatsop where Lewis and Clark camped, Seaside, Gearhart, Cannon Beach. Misty, foggy, cool, beaches as far as the eye can see and so hard packed you can drive on them. Then the skies would clear and the rocks in the water would appear. The rocks from the Goonies even. It gave me the idea for a story though so I'

So for those of you who don't know I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya during the late 90's. I was doing agroforestry and met my husband there. I always joke that I went to school in Minnesota, but I had to go to Kenya to get a husband from Minnesota. He's an engineer and he's been involved with Engineers without Borders for about 2 years. The local chapter needed help with the education portion for a composting toilet facility they were designing for a school in Axim