St. Louis & Arrival at Dancing Rabbit

So this is Jeremiah writing for the first time. We visited St. Louis on Tuesday (June 14). We felt it was a fitting start to our journey westward to begin in St. Louis - where Louis & Clark started their westward journey over 200 years prior. For me, this is the furthest west I have ever been. From long off in the distance, we could see the gateway arch over the horizon. I have to say, it is way bigger than I ever thought!

A view of the arch from the interstate

Up close view of the arch

We took the "ride to the top" to see the views of St. Louis. It is amazing up there! 630 feet to the top (63 stories tall) - and to think someone successfully scaled the outside of it using suction cups. Wow.

Looking down from the top of the arch - each leg is pictured on either side of the photo.

While waiting for our tram ride, we browsed through the Museum of Westward Expansion. Two quotes hanging on the walls caught my attention. First is a quote from Tecumseh, the Native American. "What! Sell land! As well selll air and water. The great spirit gave them in common to all, the air to breathe, the water to drink, and the land to live upon."

 This has always been a view of mine, although a strange view for someone who has worked in real estate for the last decade.

The second quote was from Franklin D. Roosevelt - "Today we are faced with the preeminent fact that, if civilzation is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships - the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together and work together in the same world, at peace." This was in 1945, and 66 years later we are still trying to get it right.

Before leaving the arch, we decided to skip along together underneath/through the arch as a symbolic transition from east to west. Sorry, no pictures of me looking like an idiot trying to skip!

After a terrible night of sleep at the KOA campground in Granite City, Illinois (don't stay there), we drove on to Dancing Rabbit Eco-Village in Missouri. We were at Dancing Rabbit this time last year during one of their visitor sessions. It is interesting to see how much has changed - new houses being built, new additions to older houses, new faces. But also a lot of the familiar faces. We set up our tent in between two groups of visitors (families with kids), both of which have applied to be residents.

On Thursday, we helped our hosts Bear and Alyssa and their team of work-exchangers plaster the inside walls of their new house. I have included some photos of the work-in-progress.

 Their house looks amazing. It is straw bale construction, covered with earthen plaster. We helped put on a final finish coat of earthen plaster on their master bedroom walls. For decoration, they installed some tile mosaics in the window sills.

This whole process was a lot of fun and gave us many ideas for our own house someday.

The few days since we arrived at DR have also given me some time for reflection. When we left Dancing Rabbit this time last year, we felt this was probably not the place we wanted to move to. Before I go any further, let me first say that I don't mean to paint DR in a bad light. These are just my observations and feelings towards a few aspects of the community, and why I don't think it is right for us. Regardless of my opinions, it is still a wonderful and magical place, and I don't mean to sound negative or sway anyone's opinion about it at all. DR is full of many wonderful people who have become great friends and are very loving and caring individuals.

By far, my chief complaint about DR is a lack of sharing of resources. This was true a year ago, and is still true today. There are very few common ('commie') resources like tools, bicycles and vehicles. And the few commie items that do exist are poorly maintained. The bicycles are falling apart (if there are even enough parts left on it to call it a bicycle) and many of the tools are dull or broken. Because the commie stuff is (for lack of a better word) crappy, everyone buys their own bikes and their own tools. Since it belongs to them, they take excellent care of it, but no one else is allowed to use their stuff. This means that at any given time, there may be dozens of bicycles, saws, etc. sitting around unused.

All of this made me feel that in some ways, DR wasn't all that different from the typical suburban neighborhood where everyone has their own house with their own stuff. On a street of 50 houses, there are no doubt 50 lawnmowers, 50 weed whackers, etc. And there is never a time when all 50 are in use. This needless overconsumption always bothered me about conventional life.

I experienced this firsthand last year in two different ways. First, I had a commie sickle (or scithe? I can never remember which is which...) that was dull as could be. I doubt the thing would cut hot butter! I was trying to clear some weeds, and it just wasn't cutting it (pun intended). So I asked around where I could find a grinder to sharpen it with. I was told that someone had one, but it was his and no one used it but him. Yet in my conventional neighborhood, either of my next door neighbors would have been happy to let me use their grinder to sharpen a tool.

I had the same experience with a clothesline. I needed to dry some clothes, and was yelled at (with some vulgarities) when I hung a few items on a unused line. Evidently it belonged to one individual and he wasn't keen on sharing, even though he didn't have any laundry he needed to hang up. He informed me that I needed to use the commie clothes line, which was underneath the shady overhang of a shed. Two days later, the clothes were still wet. I could see why everyone erected their own line and no one used the commie clothesline!

Last night, I had a long coversation with our visitor-neighbors about this same topic. They had observed other communities where the residents took pride in the commie tools and resources. They were all well maintained. No one had a need for their own stuff with such excellent common resources. Not being one to complain without offering a solution, I have resolved myself that if we were to move here, this would be one project I would undertake - making the commie resources something to be proud of - well stocked and well maintained. I'm just not sure I want to take on such a big project right off the bat.

I'm interested to see how resources are utilized at other communities. And no doubt, we will find some things that DR excelled at, where other communities fall short. That's the fun part of the journey - getting to weigh the pros and cons of various communities and seeing what fits best for us. Another big "con" for DR is the climate - Northeast Missouri has a short growing season (zone 5) with long, cold winters. No amount of effort on our part will ever change that!

We've decided to leave here a day early, on Sunday. We'll head out for Iowa, Nebraska, and then South Dakota.  From there it's on to Yellowstone and eventually the National Rainbow Gathering!