During this trip we cloth diapered and had a potty trainer on our hands! The condo at Bass Lake had a washer and dryer and while camping in Yosemite we used the laundry mat at Curry Village. I only did the washing at Curry Village and let the diapers & undies air dry in the sunshine on a tree branch at our site. We were prepared to use a bucket and gloves if we did not have access to a washer! It worked out nicely though. My 2 yr. old loved being in nature and really enjoyed boat rides on the lake. He saw tons of wildlife including a BEAR! While driving back to our campsite, our first day in Yosemite, we watched a bear eating in a meadow through the car window. It was neat. Tristan also saw a “Big ole Buck” on a bike ride first thing in the morning around the campground.

It was so amazing to see nature through his eyes. He chased the squirrels to their holes and around the campsite and collected specimens to put into his bug kit. Our hike to Vernal Falls was quite a journey and I think he understood it’s significance. My husband and I consider ourselves experienced campers. We’ve done a lot of camping. Every time I walk away from a campsite, I have a new perspective on life. Unplugging for the few days and recharging your soul with Mother Nature is a must! Getting away from all the stimulus and “roughing -it” for a few days makes you appreciate the things we have in life.

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I like giant music festivals- what’s not to like? Well, the mud, the cold, and the total lack of privacy for starters. And what about all that waste? Glass bottles, plastic containers, and empty potato chip bags (that’s “crisps” for you Brits!) can lead to a major case of eco-guilt for festival attendees.

Thankfully, 2009 brings good news for eco-concious festival goers. Not only have major music festivals like Glastonbury and Bestival gone green, but the clever folks behind MyHab have come up with a better way for you to recuperate in style. 

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…Inhabiting it uses no energy–neither heating nor cooling is an issue.  While it might seem like it at first, a tent is not just a summer option…  Look like cramped quarters?

Well, it’s big enough to sleep in and to store my clothes in.  And that’s all I need.  It means I will be spending more time outside, in nature…

Plus, unlike in an apartment, I have the ability to develop my home in unlimited ways!  Stay tuned for later episodes that show how I modify and enhance my living space to be more and more manageable, including temperature control, comfort and additional amenties.”

Dear Readers,

Sust Enable was my dearest fantasy.  Sust Enable meant that I would solve the entire world’s problem of environmental sustainability all by myself.  In an urban setting and with no money.  What’s more, I’d do so while producing a film about it!  Take that, thousands of years of environmental degradation!

For those of you who have followed my tumultuous three-month sustainable living experiment through my blog posts here at Sustainablog, you may think the quoted text above is a strange thing to say, or even bizarrely humorous.  Indeed it is.  Above is the exact wording of my original script to the Sust Enable episode on Shelter, last updated sometime in May.  As I sit in the video editing suite listening over my previously recorded voiceover, I cannot help but laugh out loud at the absurd, unsubstantiated statements I am making.  But these are sour laughs.

Because once, I believed these statements were true.

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Thank you for welcoming me back after an extended hiatus travelling our great American countryside.  Burned out from the stresses of the Sust Enable project, my partner Scott and I took off for the great wilds of U.S. National Parks in early August.  I haven’t written a blog since, as my adventures swept me far from the reaches of the Internet, for the most part.  Now I am back in Pittsburgh, not living sustainably, yet still reeling from the life lessons reaped from the past four months.

I anticipated having a slew of breathtaking photographs to offer you, alongside commentary from the trip in which I reflected on our often-severed connection with nature, and the deep wisdom such a connection provides.  Instead, one night while we camped in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, our video and digital camera were stolen from the glovebox of Scott’s car.  In the middle of a peaceful campsite, in which the sense of goodwill invoked a dozen campers to leave their car doors unlocked that night, a band of thiefs took advantage, slipped in after dark, and robbed a handful of people… not only of material possessions, but of their precious trip memories.

I wept inconsolably when I learned that the camera which held our trip photographs had been taken from us.  I cared little for the money-cost of these items, but I couldn’t stop hurting from the void that the thief left in me–having robbed me of the potential for life-long memories.

Memories surely live on in one’s mind… but as an avid student of the sciences, psychology easily reminds me that minds distort experiences.  I was hoping to use the photographs from our trip as a guideline for revisiting the feelings and sights that this wonderful trip stirred in me.  That hope is gone now, exchanged for a fleeting handful of cash to another.

And so, in the middle of my meditations on how the entire human race might be unified if we each and all had the opportunity to pause in the arms of nature’s bounty… I was sharply reminded with a single malicious act… that we have much further to go before then.

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I spent the weekend on a camping trip with three of my buddies from college.  

Camping?  Yes, it’s a bit redundant: I live in a tent.  What is appealing about a weekend doing the same?  Well, I envisioned a change of pace, a change of scenery, and some good times with old friends.  What I got instead transcended that simplistic vision, but it was a powerfully emotional experience.

Their comfort levels--with bugs, rain, and physical discomfort–differed vastly from mine.  

Their concept of “camping“–purchasing huge amounts of camping junk, like metal pokers and lawn chairs, then tossing many useful things out at the end of the weekend–clashed with my own.  

Their idea of how to start a campfire–lighter fluid and plastic packaging–baffled and bewildered me. 

Whenever I tried to offer an insight, which had been gleaned directly from my six weeks so far of using many of the same techniques, I was ignored.  It soon dawned on me that they didn’t want to know efficient or respectful techniques for fire-starting or cooking or understanding the plants around them.  

They were “playing camp.”  

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You might want to try Ecoflame. Their Warming Gel serves the same purpose, but is made from sugar cane derived ethanol, rather then coal or petroleum based as many conventional options are, and the packaging itself is recyclable, the label made from sugar cane. The first question that comes to my mind is, where does this sugarcane come from? Is it harvested sustainably? Yes it’s a renewable resource, but does it consume more then its fair share of resources to be made?

That said, it’s non toxic, and has no toxic emissions. The same cannot be said for the others, that require ventilation in order to not be damaging to you.

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When was the last time your dad went camping? If he is like my dad, he hasn't slept in a tent since he visited me and I was living in a tent on South Fork Mountain! The last time my dad took a real camping trip was when I was a child. Depending on the age and health of your father, you may need to go car camping or find a short trail for the adventure. Remember, it is hard for older bones to sleep on the ground, so an air mattress may be necessary. If camping is too big of an ordeal, how about taking dad for a hike or bicycle ride. My father was very good at taking us into nature frequently, despite our suburban upbringing. Revisiting one of our favorite childhood hikes would be a nostalgic moment we could share with the next generation. A bicycle ride would be a similar adventure, reminding Dad of the times when he taught you how to to ride a bike. When was the last time you made your dad a card or a gift? A gift made with your hands will bring a smile to his face. You don't have to be super crafty or an artist to accomplish this task. Find your talents, whether digital or by hand, and create something your dad can hang on the refrigerator! If you are musically inclined, write dad a song or sing him one of his favorites. If you feel you must spend money to honor your dad, there are plenty of ways you can show your green love. You can make a donation to No More Victims, a non-profit that brings injured Iraqi children to the US for medical treatment. Or, you could buy Dad a plant and help him put it in the ground. If you can't be there with Dad, Tree2MyDoor will send a living gift for you or a tree gift pack that supports a conservation project throughout the world. This gift includes a GPS map of the site, so when Dad takes his next trip to Chile or Belize, he can find his gift! Holidays, such as Father's Day, should not always be about buying gifts. Remember what your mother said, "It is the thought that counts," so be thoughtful this year. Let Dad know you love him and appreciate him by giving a truly sustainable gift.

Of course, there is plenty you can do to help before you even arrive at your destination. For starters, consider exploring your own backyard. Forgoing that cross-continental plane ride and taking a local bike tour instead will save literally tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Camping is another option that, if done conscientiously, can be both extremely low impact and extremely rewarding; REI has some simple advice to minimize your camping impact.

But let’s be realistic: sometimes you just want to hop on a plane during the dreary months and end up basking in the sun on a beach somewhere. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; the less you move from destination to destination, the lower your impact is likely to be on the environment. Just be sure to do a little legwork before you arrive so you can laze around guilt free: Environmentally Friendly Hotels rates thousands of hotels worldwide according to their green practices, allowing you to select accommodations that meet even your high green standards. Go even further by searching Green Globe 21’s listings of eco-friendly accommodations, transportation, activities and attractions.

Maybe beach bumming it isn’t your cup of tea. If you’d rather a bit more speed and adventure, you might want to look into eco tours, trips that are carefully coordinated to either produce little impact on your destination or even improve the sustainability of a given locale. And as Preston Koerner recently pointed out, the Green Mountains aren’t just in Vermont anymore. More and more ski resorts, like Sugar Bowl in California and Mount Sunapee in New Hampshire, are operating exclusively on green energy.

Traveling either locally or abroad can be an eye-opening experience: getting away from your worries and exposing yourself to new places and people can bring a renewed energy and perspective on your daily life. So when planning your trip, choosing your hotel, or figuring out how to get there, take advantage of all the eco-friendly options that are cropping up around the globe. It’s easier than ever to expand your horizons without expanding your footprint.

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About Jess Sand:

Writer and designer Jess Sand is the founder and principal of Roughstock Studios. Born and raised on the East Coast, Jess has been living and writing in San Francisco for the last ten years. Former lives include stints as an office overlord, line and prep cook, poet, number cruncher, honky tonk DJ, bartender, teacher and wrangler of chaos—in no particular order.
These days Jess keeps busy providing writing and graphic design services through Roughstock, focusing primarily on the hospitality and alcoholic beverage industries. Roughstock is committed to producing meaningful messages for its independent, nonprofit and corporate clients while operating as sustainably as possible. She is the author of two blogs, including Small Failures: Sustainability for the Rest of Us and Bar Stories.
Whether camping with The Captain, furiously scribbling in any number of note pads, or enjoying a nice craft beer, Jess works hard to find balance in everything she does. She finds it much easier said than done.