Getting started

A view of Holden From atop Martin Ridge, with Copper peak dwarfing the village, which is in the lower left corner. We live in the building with the green roof.


7/12/10
Moving isn’t very fun. But in the midst of the process we trust that God’s hand is guiding us and love supporting us (part of the Holden Prayer). As we were packing, I kept thinking that the only way to shed the stress and worry of the move was to go for a hike and start exploring the beauty around Holden. So on Saturday, my first day off, I woke up at 4:30 and went to Copper Basin, a place that is already one of my favorites. I came back refreshed, renewed, and with a peace I haven’t had for a while. Tara and I then took the bus down to the lake and swam, slept and read in the sun for a few hours.

As far as work goes, I help manage the village’s water, sewer, and electricity. It is amazing how much goes into maintaining these things. Lately the power has been going out once a day leading to much troubleshooting on 100+ year old machines (That generally run incredibly well). Also the late spring melt is clogging up the water filters at a time when the village is at capacity and using a lot of water. Plus there is the daily monitoring of both of these systems. The fun never ends!

bvl

7/14

The system works.

Holden is a former copper mine, and mines leave ugly scares on the land. While at NCI a few weeks ago there was a giant satellite photo of the N. Cascades, and Western Washington, Holden was very easy to find because of the very apparent tailing piles (take a look on google’s satellite map). The Holden mine has also done serious ecological damage to the portion of railroad creek downstream from the village.

Tonight was the Forest Service’s informational meeting and public comment time for the proposed remediation to clean up the Holden mine. It was a breath of fresh air to see how our National policies value ecological health and state that the environment, God’s creation, needs to be taken care of. While it is lamentable that it takes this long for someone to clean up their mess, it is encouraging that it is getting cleaned up, encouraging that as a nation we are concerned about stewardship of the world we live in, encouraging that the democratic process seeks and listens to comments from the public, and encouraging that Holden is fully on board with this plan that has been designed with the village’s short term and long term sustainability in mind. I never thought a meeting in the wilderness would put me in a patriotic frame of mind, but I guess that is part of Holden, being open to what this place and its people have to offer.

God bless America (and everyone else too).

bvl