An awesome group of people gathered to help send us off last night at a Methodist church in Carlsbad, beginning with a hearty and delicious meal along with honest discussion about the challenge and deep call to care for our common home - lands, waters, air, and one another. We were touched by the ways folks shared about their experience. After dinner we went into the church sanctuary and wrote prayers for our world, lit candles and spread the flame from one to another, and had a laying-on-of-hands blessing of the pilgrims to send us on our way. What a gift to share in community in such uplifting ways!

We spent the night in that very same church sanctuary warmed by the fellowship and prayers we had just shared - a warm and cozy spot for our first night on the road! We didn’t need our zero degree sleeping bags in the warmth of the church, but we will need them tonight!

In Carlsbad, we met a retired oil & gas worker, who shared that he worked in oil and gas for more than forty years, that he is grateful for his pension, but also has friends whose health has been impacted by the toxic chemicals that go along with the industry. He particularly emphasized the dangers of hydrogen sulfide which accompanies the flaring of gas. Later in the day, we would see multiple flares, as well as a DANGER sign warning us about the very same chemicals - “hydrogen sulfide, poison gas.” 

We set off walking north this morning, through and beyond the town of Carlsbad, entering into oil and gas extraction zones. We were surely a strange sight with our bright colors and backpacks, but workers in trucks courteously moved around us and even gave us kind waves. Even in areas desecrated by extraction, most people, of course, we were reminded - are kind folks just doing what they need to do to provide for themselves and their families. 

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