I stumbled upon Shadowcliff literally.  I stubbed my toe while climbing the stairs going to guest registration and I’ve been hooked on this Cliffside lodge ever since that day in 2007.  When I found out that I could volunteer for a Memorial Day weekend and receive free board and meals, I signed up and took my husband along for the adventure.  We are just two people with two hands and a willingness to be part of something bigger than ourselves. 

The chronicles of my volunteer exploits began in January 2009, and for over a year, I’ve been volunteering in many capacities for many causes, both in my neighborhood and farther.  I’m always looking for new and creative volunteer stints that I can share with others in the hopes that more people will have fun connecting to their community in new ways.   And, I’m thinking about community in the broadest sense of the word.

All I have to do is look bedside to my stack of books and I see “Volunteer Vacations, 10^th Edition” and I think I’d really like to go and then I’d really have something to write about.  I’d take my readers on an adventure like they’d never imagined.  We’d go to the Amazon rainforest where I would have helped preserve the jungle or I’d show you all how brave I was to go to a strawberry farm in Azerbaijan.  And I’d write something like, “You, too, can do this and love it!” 

The reality is I don’t have the wherewithal to do that.  I have the yearning and the willingness to really push myself out of my comfort zone.  But I also have a very skinny wallet and the truth is most of the vacations charge the volunteer a steep price for this type of adventure, not to mention additional travel costs.  I hope to someday be able to report a story or two from a place far, far away but for now, I canoodle what’s possible and available to me.  When I heard about an opportunity about four hours outside of Denver which I could call a volunteer vacation, I signed myself up and enlisted my husband’s strong body as a second.  I wasn’t quite sure about how he’d react to the part where we’d have to work at the lodge in exchange for a free weekend in the mountains.  So I hemmed and hawed and finally told him, “You’ll love it there.  The lodge sits on top of a cliff next to the river and there’s a beautiful view of the little town, which we can walk to, by the way.  It’s free.  They feed us.  And, I don’t know what kind of work we’ll have to do but we’ll have plenty of company.”  All of which was true.   

ABOUT SHADOWCLIFF

Shadowcliff, located in scenic Grand Lake, Colorado, is part lodge/part hostel and 100% nonprofit (501c3 and all that).  Typical guests might include cross-country backpackers of all ages and nationalities.  I’ve been there when a solo female trekker told me about her hike from Mexico as she headed north.  I’ve seen the guy who wore a different skirt everyday (some looked like they were made of plastic) and sported a white beard that touched his chest.   It’s not just hikers but there are more than a few.  There are workshop groups of writers, healers, environmentalists.    Quakers are frequently seen at the community dinner table but they stay to themselves.  I don’t know their story and I am judging by their clothing as their Quaker-ness.  A Shadowcliff vacation is also one of eco-tourism.

LET’S TALK ABOUT HIKING

There are so many hiking opportunities for the beginner to the avid extremist.  Taking young children on a nature vacation?  This is the place to go.  Hiking across the Continental Divide and need a rest?  This is the place to stay.  So, starting with some easy suggestions and building to more ambitious, here is an idea of all the potential hiking opportunities you will find:

-          Shadowcliff staffers lead at least one interpretive hike each week which is free for guests.

-          Shadow Mountain Lake provides an easy walk along the east shore that goes beyond the edges of osprey nesting areas and wildlife habitats.

-          Within 100 yards of Shadowcliff lie the RMNP trailheads for the North Inlet and Tonahutu trails which join the Front Range and western slope. With great destinations from one mile to 18 miles, these are major hiking and camping opportunities.

-          Rocky Mountain National Park offers numerous nature and wildlife hikes and lectures only a few minutes drive from Shadowcliff.

-          East Inlet Trailhead is one mile from Shadowcliff. An easy half hour walk takes visitors to beautiful Adams Falls, fifteen minutes farther to a flowering meadow. East Inlet also offers more intensive destinations such as Lone Pine Lake, Lake Verna and other alpine lakes.

-          Shadow Mountain Trail to the historic fire lookout at the top of Shadow Mountain is a three to four hour hike offering a spectacular view of the valley and three lakes.

Needless to say, breathtaking doesn’t begin to describe the beauty that surrounds Shadowcliff.  A feast for the eyes and ears – if you’re lucky you’ll see a moose or two.  They like to come for breakfast and eat the new spring aspen leaves that surround Shadowcliff’s driveway. 

IN EXCHANGE

Day one, Saturday: We did work our butts off.  We quickly discovered that laying carpet tile wasn’t one of our talents and we needed to split up in order to realize our full volunteer potential.  I discovered what an effective wood polisher I could be.  I spent hours in the main lodge, Rempel, oiling up the carved doors to the main lodge and all the wooden beams on the main floor. Once again, this involved taking my two feet of the ground (climbing a ladder which scares me quite a bit – for reference, see my “Got Poop?” story). 

On Sunday, I again used a ladder to dust the book shelves and organize the extensive library on the main floor.  In the afternoon, I assisted in the complete cleaning of the guest kitchen in Rempel: that time, letting the other volunteer do all the ladder-climbing. 

As for my husband, he made a new friend and two of them cleared dead trees, chopped them into firewood and together they stacked plenty of wood to be used for bonfires and the like.  His other job?  Going into town and drink with the guys. 

Other volunteers gardened, painted, replaced floor boards, caulked and sealed, varnished, washed dishes, ad infinitum.  There was a lot to do before Shadowcliff could open for the summer season.

All in all, the weekend was a total blast.  The husband forgave me for tying up our vacation with “work.”  The people at Shadowcliff, the staff and volunteers, were mostly long-timers.  Some had been coming to Shadowcliff for more than thirty years.  As newbies, we were welcomed and made to feel at home immediately.   

INFORMATION ABOUT SHADOWCLIFF

You can find all the information that you need on the website www.shadowcliff.org.The difference between doing chores normally considered “housework” or “yard work”, comes from doing activities as part of a group effort, as part of a community, even a new community.  I found it more fun to organize new books in new spaces, or for Edward, it was more fun to cut down dead trees with a group of new friends than take a hacksaw to his own tree in solitude.  As for organizing my own book shelves? If I had to choose between dusting my own home grown dust off a bunch of old books (that remind me they are waiting to be read) and doing the same thing in a mountain lodge, you already know the answer.  What can I say?  These deep thoughts are par for the volunteer course. 

Next adventures: July – TBD, August – Greyhound Rescue, September, Teenage Suicide Prevention.