Blog

Last summer I was working at the restaurant at the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park. I was chatting with one of my tables and told them I was a musician. In response, they said, “Oh, well you’re not going to make any money doing that.” Another table once told me, unsolicited, “You should really find a job after the season ends.” What?? These were people I didn’t even know. Why were they so concerned? Were they projecting their own fears and beliefs onto me about what it means to be an artist or taking risks to follow your […]

Life is kind of like shaving. I’ve been thinking a lot about shaving since I’ve been living at Snaggy Mountain Farm. There is a lot of hair here, one of the stereotypes that I suppose comes with living naturally. I’ve shaved my body hair pretty regularly for most of my life, but I decided to try an experiment, a sort of “When in Rome” thing, to see what it would be like to have hairy armpits and legs and feel a little more like a part of the community. I also just haven’t really felt like it and there hasn’t […]

Today I went to Mexico. Just a little day trip with a friend to Tijuana, for a new experience (and food!). I walked across the border with $40 cash, my passport, and a tube of chapstick – you know, the important things. We had fun checking out the kitschy shops and getting a feel for the city. As much as I love adventures, I was pretty nervous about this one. I’ve heard a lot about the dangers of going to Mexico. Crime, food poisoning, “don’t drink the water!” Et cetera. As we were trying to find a place to eat, I saw four people […]

Do you ever get so overwhelmed about your future that you want to just stop what you’re doing, run out into a field and scream, “WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH MY LIFE?!?” Yeah. That’s about where I am right now. I left Yellowstone National Park three weeks ago, where I was working seasonally. Since then, I’ve resumed my nomadic lifestyle and have been travelling the southwest. I have to admit that it’s been a bit difficult for me. Really? You’re about to complain about getting to travel all over the country completely on your own schedule with no […]

I’ve been the token Jew for much of my life. People have referred to me as “my Jewish friend, Amber” and some have told me that I’m the only Jew they’ve ever met, especially out here in Wyoming. Since I went to Israel for the first time 7 years ago, I have successfully lived up to the title, subsequently returning to Israel 4 more times, receiving a Judaic Studies minor in college, working for multiple Jewish organizations, leading services, studying at a yeshiva…the list goes on. But within the past year, something changed. I got tired of it all. I was working full-time […]

I live in a pretty scary place. Yellowstone National Park rests atop the one of the world’s largest volcanic systems. The Yellowstone Caldera, or Supervolcano as it is often called, produced the largest eruption in the history of the earth about 2 million years ago. In recent months, there has been hype about a new eruption, like this past spring when people recorded some bison running down the road as if they were sensing volcanic activity. The area experiences over 1,000 earthquakes a year, and there’s a good chance there have been a few (that I haven’t felt) since I’ve been here. There are thermal pools everywhere that, if […]