"Speak only if it improves upon the silence."

- Mahatma Gandhi

Orient Land Trust (OLT) is a magical place for first time visitors and "old timers" alike. For those who have never been here (especially city dwellers), the dark skies and quiet nights can be both enchanting and also a bit disorienting, as it's quite different from typical ambient light and noise levels.

OLT is committed to keeping it's corner of the valley dark, thus sheltering visitors from the harsh city lights that obscure the stunning beauty of the night sky. This has been and continues to be one of the rare gifts to all of us who come here. We in turn can pay it forward by protecting the gift of quiet. In doing so, we all make a contribution to what makes this place such a peaceful getaway.

A broader way we can contribute to the unique beauty of the San Luis Valley is through membership donations, which enable OLT to acquire and protect more land throughout the surrounding area. Our membership donations have supported OLT in conserving over 2,200 acres of natural habitat that will remain wild forever!

At Valley View Hot Springs, we step away from our bright lights and digital distractions, allowing space for something better to emerge. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods."

So as you step into the deliciously warm and welcoming waters, and savor the vast starlit expanse, let the loudest sound be the distant chorus of coyotes, the fluttering of velvety black bat wings, the trickle of the laughing waters, and the soft whisper of gentle voices. Dark skies, quiet nights!

~ Suzanne Mariner, External Affairs Committee Member

People sometimes ask, "What's the biggest problem?" While there are not an overwhelming number of disruptions, we do get complaints. Some are about dogs, some are about other people's behaviors that make people uncomfortable, some are about overindulgence or substance abuse. If you follow the thread far enough, the general attitude that generates a specific complaint is usually traced to behavior that is inconsiderate and self-absorbed. Problem people want to do what they want to do and are only marginally aware of how what they do might have an impact on another. While we all cherish the feeling of an unchained experience in nature, this is a shared space. How we share that space determines if it is uplifting, rich, rewarding, and positive - or not. Over the years, we have tried to define what it is that makes for the magic that pleasantly surprises people and motivates them to return. One of the basic, underlying values that contributes to the atmosphere we all appreciate is that we are becoming more skillful at sharing and treating our friends and fellow travelers with respect and tolerance.

This fall we say good-bye to several front desk staff and hello to some new friendly faces!

Stephanie left in late August for her second year at Fort Lewis College. Stephanie started her career with OLT as a 16-year-old intern and recipient of the Eiseman Grant. After her first summer, Stephanie was hired to work the front desk and has been an integral part of our family for several years! It has been our joy to watch her grow into an accomplished and beautiful young woman. We are so proud of Steph and wish her the very best for this coming year. She promises to visit often!

Zoe, who has been working reception for the past year and a half, left in September. She has committed the coming year to working with at risk teens as part of a wilderness program. She will be backpacking throughout Utah, seeing some incredible landscapes and helping the planet by being an awesome mentor. We all wish her the very best!

Diane has been coming to the hot springs for almost 20 years and has been volunteering as a Bat Host, Discovery Host and Ranch Hand. Diane accepted a seasonal position on the front desk this spring. She also volunteered at the Everson Ranch and was a great help in the garden. She will be leaving in October to travel the world! We wish her safe travels and look forward to her return in the spring.

In addition, Garden Manager Brian, his wife Dru and son Brooke will be leaving the end of September after our harvest celebration. Thank you Brian and Dru for all the beautiful additions you made to the Everson Garden this summer. We wish you and your family all the best!

Three new staff members join our family, Jonathan and Kelli, on the front desk and Trisha in housekeeping. All are local, have excellent customer service experience, friendly personalities and great smiles. We are excited to have them join our staff and the OLT family. Please stop and say hello next time you visit or call for a reservation!

On Saturday, September 29, we celebrated our third annual Harvest Celebration! Folks were able to visit the animals and pick their own veggies while touring the garden and greenhouses along with buggy rides to the Everson Reservoir.

Guests enjoyed a delicious lunch from the grill where our beef burgers or portabella mushrooms were a highlight, along with garden salad, apple crisp (from the apples at the Apple Tree Pools, thank you Peter!) zucchini chocolate brownies and even some homemade goat milk ice cream! Veggie and fruit smoothies were a big a attraction using apples from the hot springs, greens, beets and carrots harvested fresh from the garden.

Additional activities included a pumpkin patch and horseback rides for the kids. Our market stand offered our first year of Everson Ranch Honey, salves, lip balm and tea made from our garden herbs. "Yoga Under the Cottonwoods" was offered to adults and kids by our Health & Wellness Coordinator Cynthia.

Local musicians Ed Johnson and Mike Brill, The Dusty Mountain Boys, entertained us with their country/folk music. The day was warm and sunny, big blue skies, lots of friends and family who joined staff to celebrate another year of hard work, abundance and beauty at the Everson Ranch. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Celebrate! Facilities staff has completed the installation of the state required drinking water disinfection system for all OLT facilities: Main Bath, Pool Bath, Welcome Center, Sunset Rooms, Spruce House, Pavilion, Oak House, Cottonwood, Elm, and Willow cabins. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has removed their boil order. The water is tested daily for the required chlorine residual and the filters that remove the disinfectant work well so that the drinking water tastes clean and chemical free. It has been a big project. Thanks to everyone for your patience and understanding as we worked through the details of design, installation, and testing. Enjoy drinking the water and be assured in knowing that it is safe. The state has a few more requirements that we will be adding and we are working on the occasional low pressure concerns. The good news is that we no longer have to provide jugs of chlorinated water that tasted of chemical and added hours of work every day.

Thanks to everyone for another enjoyable summer. This year, there were some challenges: County wide Fire Ban, dry weather, reduced volume of water from the springs, and skies that were sometimes smoky from the many fires throughout the region and the entire west. We've had some welcome rainfall in the past few weeks and the fire ban has been lifted. We are in a desert and fire is always a danger but it is less like a tinder box since the rain. Reduced water volume from the springs made for a longer fill time for the swimming pool after each cleaning every Wednesday. We did use the diesel generator as back-up as we repaired the collection box and that did help fill the pool more quickly for those weeks. Switching from hydroelectric power to diesel and then back does interrupt power and cause some electronic devices to require re-setting. We apologize for any problems that may have been caused by that.

The days are shorter, the nights are cooler. We would like to see more snowfall this winter and if we could get some more rain in the next few months, we could recover a bit from the nearly year long drought. Thanks to all for the extra care with smoking and fire this summer. Your thoughtfulness saw us safely through thus far. Finding cigarette butts along paths or at the pools is unsightly and disappointing. Please smoke only inside the Smoke Hut or inside your vehicle

We've been relishing the rain. Even brief showers help to ease the anxious tension from so many dry months. Saguache County has ended the fire ban. However, we ask that you use only propane or gas stoves and grills. No open fires or charcoal grills are permitted anywhere. As always, smoking is restricted to inside the Smoke Hut or inside your vehicle. This is for everyone's safety and to show our respect for those who do not smoke. None of our guidelines are arbitrary. They are the result of careful thought and are meant to provide an atmosphere that works for all with minimal impact. This is a guideline that has evolved over many years. There are many people who have contributed to establishing and maintaining this guideline. We appreciate everyone who has accepted their responsibility in this regard and have demonstrated that we can coexist harmoniously. Thank you for smoking only at the Smoke Hut or inside your vehicle.

Food is not just fuel. 
Food is about family, 
Food is about community, 
Food is about identity. 
And we nourish all those things when we eat well. 

-- Michael Pollan

There's something magical about watching food grow. What starts as a tiny seed in the spring first emerges from the soil as a seedling and, by summertime, blossoms into a full, thriving plant. What appeared to be a barren field of dirt in March is now a thriving garden. Walking out to the garden to pick your next meal is a ritual nearly lost in our modern world of convenience.

The Everson Ranch garden continues to provide the opportunity for guests, visitors and volunteers to learn about sustainable food growth. Our garden is thriving under the watchful eye of garden manager Brian Ross. Brian has filled the hoop houses and the garden space continues to grow with the completion of several new trellises. With a passion for learning and seed saving, there are several varieties of well loved favorites planted so he can determine which will grow best in our high valley desert. Tasting the different types of basil was a learning experience for all of us. We had no idea they could each taste so different! We're waiting in anticipation for tomato season to see which of the heirloom varieties will win the taste test.

The garden also provides much needed nourishment for our volunteers. We couldn't be more grateful for all of the hard work provided by the folks we've had the honor of hosting. There's always so much to be done and having the summer help makes so much more possible. Thank you volunteers!!

One of our volunteers, Dorothy Lessem, wrote this about her day at the Everson Ranch:

Volunteering at the Everson Ranch (also known as playing in the dirt)

Who says you have to be on "FarmersOnly.com" to have fun? Instead try volunteering for a half day at the Everson Ranch. Recently Mark Allen and I volunteered to "weed and seed" at the Ranch. It may be a bit hard on your knees, but playing in the dirt (aka pulling weeds and planting seeds) is very therapeutic, and a throwback to the mudpies some of us made as children. When we finished planting a variety of beets, I helped prepare lunch for the volunteers, students, staff and others who also work there through a variety of programs. Picking the fresh vegetables for the salad was a real treat since I used to do that myself when I had a home garden. Other benefits include feeding the weed scraps to the chickens and visiting the other animals that live there. And .. next time I'm there I can check on the growth of the beets we planted. So, try volunteering, either at the ranch or the hot springs. Besides the intrinsic rewards of working in such a beautiful, peaceful environment, you will also get a pass for the hot springs. The staff's accomplishments rejuvenating the ranch are amazing and the environmental friendly approach is what this land is all about.

Over our members appreciation weekend, the ranch crew set up the first farmers market stand near the pavilion for Valley View guests. With fresh produce and a variety of goods created using food grown both on the ranch and throughout the valley, we hope to build our stand into a lasting part of the Valley View experience. We strive to provide fresh, organically grown food to our guests and community. The market stand also allows us another outlet to share with our guests the ideals that drive us; protecting the land and water, responsibly raising animals, improving the soil, and encouraging a culture of sustainability. Be sure to stop by the market stand for local produce, meat, eggs, ranch products, and to set up a tour to visit the ranch.

Our community Field to Fork meals are still being offered throughout the harvest season. Join us on Saturday for the "Market Stand & Grill from 10am to 2pm or on Sunday for brunch at 10am. Take a tour, visit the reservoir and stroll through the gardens. Our community of animals grew larger this June with the birth of piglets! Watching the baby pigs play is sure to brighten your day, but they won't stay little for long so be sure to stop by soon!

If you see a cigarette butt, a twist tie, a corner of a candy bar wrapper, a straw, a store receipt, a shiny bit of cellophane, or some other small bit of trash, pick it up and throw it in one of the new bear proof trash cans. If you notice it and walk by, it's like throwing it on the ground again. The Conservation Committee is targeting micro trash and encouraging all visitors to be aware and stoop to the occasion. Thank you for helping keep OLT clean. It's encouraging that micro trash is the problem instead of big pieces of debris.