The Blogs

I guess I've been volunteered to tell the first campfire story of the trip. I know some people like to hear scary tales around the campfire, but I prefer telling inspiring ones.

You probably think it sounds fun to go camping for a few days with nothing but a tent and some snacks to get you through. But what if you went camping for over two years, and instead of you're tent being on the ground it was way up in the air on the highest branches of a very tall tree? Well, one girl did just that, but it wasn’t just for fun. She was trying to save the forest, and this is her true story.

The girl’s name is Julia Butterfly Hill, and the tree she lived in is named Luna, which means “the moon.” Julia climbed into the tree to protect it from being cut down. She expected to be up there for only two weeks, but she stayed for 738 days (over two years), and never once in that time did she touch the ground.

Luna is an old-growth redwood tree that is hundreds of years old and two hundred feet tall. Trees as old as Luna are rare in America due to heavy logging. Julia went up into Luna on a “tree-sit” to prevent the tree and the forest around it from meeting the same fate. The loggers can’t cut down a tree, or those near it, while someone is sitting in it. So, that’s just what Julia did! Because living in a tree is so difficult and tiring, tree sitters normally change places with each other after awhile so they can rest and relax. After a few weeks in Luna, Julia formed such a strong bond with the tree that she promised not to set foot on the ground until she did everything possible to save that forest.

Now, living in a tree sure sounds like fun, but it is a very hard place to survive. Julia had a small wooden platform on which she lived, cooked, and slept. It was covered with a plastic tarp that kept the rain off her, but it wasn’t any good at protecting her from the cold and wind of the Oregon winters. She also had to go to the bathroom in a plastic bag and save it until someone could carry it down and throw it away for her. She was totally dependent on friends on the ground for food, water, and clothing.

Aside from the physical strain, the loggers themselves harassed her. They wanted her out and tried everything they could to remove her. They sent a tree climber up there to try to physically carry her out of the tree. And when that didn’t work, they tried to starve her out by preventing her friends from giving her food and water. They even tried to scare her out by flying a helicopter very close to the tree, and they constantly shouted and jeered from the ground.

Throughout all this, the tree gave Julia strength. In her book, The Legacy of Luna, she describes the beauty of waking up each day in the tree, calling it a “fairy tale.” She would climb all over the ancient branches, and would even go all the way up to the highest branch where she would sing, dance, and just sway in the breeze.

After all this time, she was becoming quite famous. She had a cell phone with her and got constant calls from reporters, radio shows, and magazines. Celebrities even climbed up into Luna to visit her. Julia was finally being recognized by the world, and help for Luna seemed within reach.

Negotiations with the logging company were long and hard. For many months she was busy working out an agreement with them, but it all paid off. Protection for the area was finally passed, and Luna was safe. Julia was sad to be leaving Luna, her best friend for those two years, but happy that through her total dedication to the forest she had accomplished what she set out to do!

Illustrations by Joda Thayer /  Colors by Ryan Wilson

Building a good campfire is one of those things that can seem easy until you actually go to do it. Moo-Cow happens to be a campfire expert, so on the first night of camping he gave us all a lesson that we'll share with you. Before we started Moo-Cow made us all promise that we would always be safe and responsible with our campfires and never build one without permission or supervision from an adult. We promised, and we need you to as well. Okay, good. Now you can check out Moo-Cow's tutorial "Campfires the Cow Way."

1. Before you build a fire you'll need to gather a good supply of dry tinder, kindling and logs.

Tinder is anything dry that will ignite easily and hold a flame. The best tinder is dry grass, leaves and tiny twigs. It's best to get a little of all of them.

Kindling is usually made up of very dry sticks that are the thin enough to catch quickly but thick enough to burn for a while.

Logs are dry sections of tree trunks or very thick branches that can burn for a long time.

Only build your fire in a "fire pit" that is enclosed with rock or a metal ring and never build it near dry brush!

2. Start building your fire by laying down the driest most flammable tinder (dry grass and leaves) in a small, loose mound in the middle of the pit. Then take your smallest twigs and surround this mound with them in a "teepee" style. Leave an opening in the sticks to light the tinder.

3. Light the bottom layer of the tinder.

4. If your flame is not catching well, blow gently on the tinder to help it spread.

5. When the flame really catches lay your smaller pieces of kindling over the burning tinder in the same "teepee" style.

6. Then, when the small kindling is going good, add your thicker pieces of kindling.

7. When the kindling is really burning hot, it's time to add your main fuel. You can use logs if you have them, or you can use very thick branches if that's all you can get (you'll just have to feed the fire more).

8. There you have your perfect campfire! Now it's time to bust out your marshmallows and your roasting stick and enjoy and evening around the fire.

Remember ALWAYS put your fire out (with water or sand) when you're done with it and never leave it unattended. Careless treatment of campfires is one of the leading causes of forest fires, so be smart and safe!

If you don't have a spot to make a campfire, but still want that camping atmosphere, head on over to our MCFC virtual campfire!

Our home for the next two weeks is actually pretty nice. It's a great spot, and it's completely surrounded by trees (when you are going camping with Moo-Cow and the gang it's best to have no other sites too close because a marshmallow fight can erupt at any time). We've also got an incredible view out over a nice big pond, and we have a picnic table and fire pit. What more could we possibly want?

The first thing we did when we got here was set up our tents. I'm sharing the medium tent with Ryan, while Keby, Moo-Cow and Kiweenie are sharing the big tent and Ramses and F.W. are sharing the small one. Rhetorical said as a bear he'd be embarrassed to be caught sleeping in a tent and then he walked off into the woods. We each picked our spots, argued a little over who got the rockier bits, and within a few minutes had our tents set up. Well, almost all of us did. Despite having only two poles and a small tent Ramses and F.W. had a hard time figuring out how it all went together. I'll share some of the pictures I took of them as they worked it out.

They are already having trouble roughing it and we've only just arrived! I can't wait to see how the gang reacts to the camping life over the next couple of weeks. I think they'll do okay. I know they have a lot of great activities planned for us all, and who wouldn't be happy spending time in such a great spot! Well, whatever happens I'm glad you could join us for some camping!