Alamosa - Habitat (7)

Last Day Blog

             Today we all hopped out of bed around 8 am—by hopped, I mean dragged our still exhausted bodies out of the bunks to start reluctantly getting ready. We were still a bit tired after last night's adventures, but once we were all loaded into the van, the group was as perky as usual.
            Though everyone was tired and groggy as usual, the backseat of the van was in full chatter (as usual). We got to our worksite and were a bit surprised to find that Lawrence, our Habitat for Humanity house builder and leader wasn't there. However, being the adaptable troopers we are, we decided to head straight into the house to work, using the most of our last day. Thankfully, our friend, Lawrence, walked in shortly after to guide us in the right direction. Having spent the last three days applying drywall over the wooden frames of the house, it was pleasing and fulfilling to see the house finally nearly all adorned in white drywall. With a crew finishing putting up the drywall, another taping the walls, and another finishing putting up corner beading on the wall, a small team was able to begin applying mud to the walls to cover up the screws and nails. The inspector, whom we could all tell that Lawrence was a bit nervous about, finally came for the second time to finish his inspection of the house. Lawrence had to leave for an appointment around 12, our usual lunch time. Instead of taking our usual break at our usual time we decided to continue to work to make sure to put up all the drywall pieces so the inspector wouldn't have to come back another day to check the final sections of the walls. Coming back from his appointment, Lawrence was pleased to see that we were still working. From the look on his face, Lawrence was thankful that we had gotten our job done and that finally he wouldn't have to deal with setting up another inspection.
            The inspector had arrived at just about the time we were starting to take our lunch break, a little after one. After we greeted him we filed out of the house and ate our lunch, chatting the day away outside as Lawrence nervously followed the inspector in the house. As we laid out and ate our lunch, we saw Lawrence come up with a smile on his face and a paper in his hand, saying, "We passed," with a full grin (even with a few missing teeth). It was so fulfilling to see how much we accomplished on the house in just one short week. After working on the house we sat on the porch talking in the sun and playing with one of the neighbors' puppies.
            Finally the time came to leave "our house". We were all disappointed to be leaving the house for the last time, but filled with joy to know that our hard work had paid off. Wanting to keep our memories alive, we made sure to take MORE pictures of us by the house, on one of our phones and also on Lawrence's phone. We parted ways with Lawrence, offering a final shake of the hand and even a hug or two, thanking him for his help, patience, and teaching.
            After work we rushed to the church to change clothes, grab some more grub, and fill up water bottles before heading out to the sand dunes once again, this time at a warmer temperature. Thinking it'd be fun to experience the sand dunes with a sled in hand, we decided to check out a local camping store on the way to see if we could buy or rent any. Unfortunately, that plan didn't pan out, but we didn't let it ruin the fun that we'd be experiencing shortly.
            Once we got there, we all approached the treacherous waters only to realize that there was a much shorter path we could have taken last night to avoid freezing our feet. One of our group members had a fear of crossing the water that lined the edge of the dunes, but she was finally able to overcome her fear and everyone cheered for her victory. If anyone had seen the whole team together, they would think we had been friends for months before this trip considering all of the laughter and such.
            Unlike last night, we all banded together and climbed up the dunes for a quite a while, taking rather frequent breaks (blaming our exhaustion of the altitude of course). Eventually Joe, Imani, Summer, and Shannon decided to stay back and enjoy the view. As you can see from the pictures, the four had a blast hanging back, talking, and appreciating their surroundings. The rest of us, itching to get to the second tallest peak, trudged on up the dunes. The journey was far from easy but we were all determined to overcome the rolling hills and wind that pelted us with sand to reach our destination. After a few breaks to catch our breaths, as well as enjoying the view, we reached the peak (at 691 feet). Reaching the top of the peak, we were in all awe of the view and our breath had been taken away, literally and figuratively. With the wind whipping our faces and legs, we took selfies, panoramic pictures, and recorded videos, wanting to somehow hold this moment with us forever. Finally, we ended our gazing and headed back down, running down the hilly dunes, exhilarated from the views. By about dusk, we had finally arrived back to the van where the others were waiting.
            When we arrived back at the church we made breakfast food for dinner to everyone's excitement and had a grand feast of bacon, eggs, cinnamon rolls, and pancakes. We enjoyed our final meal together before we had to get working again to tidy up the church, hoping to leave it in a better condition than when we first arrived. Unlike other nights where we ended with a card game or friendly talks, the night ended on a flat note, as everyone was exhausted. But we figure that we can make up this lax moment in the morning when we gather to watch the sunrise over the mountains and reflect on our week. We are all sad to leave the town and sad about our trip coming to an end, but it is an experience that we will never forget.

Now, time for 2 hours of sleep.
  
Yours truly,
Imani, Gerard, and Alysa​