Friday, July 9, 2010

It's the Green House Effect

Despite weather forecasts that made the Trinity River in Hoopa sound like a stormy and miserable time, David Chris and I set out for a Native American swimming hole called Tish Tang for a day of fun. After we gathered supplies we left the chilly overcast Ewok village of Arcata in my roommate Peter's royal blue Pontiac Vibe (affectionately referred to as the Vibe). After riding for a minute or so while still in Arcata the sun warmed interior rose doubts to why we were leaving such a cozy and warm town. This illusion was quickly corrected by David who stuck his hand out the window into the cool fog and said, “It’s the green house effect, its only warn in the Vibe.” Sure enough as I joined David and suck my hand out the window I remembered that despite the possible Thunderstorm in Willow Creek we most assuredly would have better luck at the river, where the weather has been around 80 to 100 degrees for the last month.



As we rolled along highway 299 towards Willow Creek, Chris opened an extremely noisy compostable bag of Sun Chips. With every handful Chris pulled out, an irritating racket would follow as the bag shifted in his lap. Chris being the poster boy of politeness gave David and I his sincere apologies, then while rustling the bag as if testing us says, “is this going to be a problem?” David replied, “Not at all, It’s the sound of progress.” At first I thought, really? But then it dawned on me that this new-school eco friendly Sun Chip bag is quite progressive and controversial. On the one hand it reduces landfill waste, but on the other it draws a tremendous amount of negative attention. However, this bag’s noisy nature is exactly the wake up call passive junk food eating Americans need. Now, when an environmentally conscious consumer brings a bag of Sun Chips to a Middle American potluck he or she will be put on the spot by their agitated peers.


Irritated Potlucker

“Don’t you care that you are bothering everybody?”

Conscious Shopper

(Eager to answer)

“ Well, this bag may be noisy but, it’s the future, pretty soon every bag will be like this so you should get use to it.”

Irritated Potlucker

“You have got to be fooled if you think this bag will catch on.”

This 100% compostable bag is LOUD and PROUD. It even says so on the back, “This bag is LOUDER BECAUSE it is Compostable!” Needless to say, this bag has the potential to stir up arguments on both sides.

We soon arrived to 80-degree partly cloudy river weather at Tish Tang. It was a bit of a let down for Chris because I had promised him a significant improvement from Arcata's weather. However, after getting out of the Vibe it only took about five minutes before we all were in our swimsuits and lathered in sunscreen. I was first to flop into the river with my car inner tube and float down the mild rapids. I also took a few Tarzan style rides on the rope swing, which immediately caught Chris’ attention. We had a picnic, sang some originals along with White Winter Hymnal in three-part harmony, and then took a nap.


The sun finally emerged from behind a thunderhead, this lifted everyone’s sprits. David had a close call on the swing but over came his fear, Chris was flipping off the swing, literally but may have wanted to figuratively after he back flopped from twenty feet. We befriended a group of three that was camped out next to us, and had a great time overall. On the way home we even were forced to take the scenic route because of a fire, this proved to be a blessing. As we headed back to the coast we spotted the fog that permeates through Arcata and were thankful for the warmth we had just experienced. Tomorrow will surely be even warmer at Tish Tang, and because of this Chris can’t wait to return.

Thanks for reading;)

2 comments:

  1. I love reading every word! I will admit that sun chips certainly are a guilty pleasure of mine, and I would willingly put up with the obnoxious rustle for a little garden salsa :X

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