Last weekend’s iRenew Energy Expo was delightful. The weather was amazing and we had a really fun time talking to people…both young and old! The couple in the above photo found relief from the sun under our awning…they hung out for quite awhile, chatting with Bella and telling us stories.

The expo ran for two days, and featured all kinds of renewable energy…alternative fuels, solar, wind, tricked out bikes, hybrids, and more. When we arrived, we parked and walked over to the main tent where we enjoyed a delicious meal catered by New Pioneer Coop. During our meal we talked with Scott and Rebecca, the founders and owners of Northern Sun, and also Richard, who was on the original editorial staff of Mother Earth News “back in the day”. We continued to meet interesting people all weekend.

• The old guy with the solar and wind powered RV who also happens to have a PhD in Theology. Preach on brother!
• The gal with sweet dreads who is building a straw bale house and does vegetarian/vegan catering.
• The high school kids who built a little electric car.
• All of the people from Fairfield! There were so many people telling us to come there on our tour, that we added it to the route. We’re looking forward to checking this gem of a town, named by Mother Earth News as one of “12 Great Places You’ve Never Heard Of…”

We really enjoyed meeting David and Eileen Wetzel, from Decatur, IL. They drive a little VW Rabbit that runs on veggie oil. You wouldn’t guess it by looking at them, but they’re quite the criminals They got into a little scuffle with the IRS in Illinois over taxation issues and veggie oil. You can read more about it here. Luckily, it’s being overturned and it’s all working out in their favor…but they have some great stories! We enjoyed hanging out with them throughout the weekend and hope to meet up on the road sometime! (*if you want to read more about veggie oil taxation issues in general, check out the FAQ section and read Charlie Anderson’s response).

There were many, many workshops all weekend. We were so busy talking with people about the RV and car that we didn’t have time to make it to any…but maybe next year! We were also interviewed for a couple newspapers, a radio station, and a TV spot. Of course, we can’t track down any of them…but I’m working on it

Here are a few other things worth checking out:

• Big Green Summer: This sounds like SO MUCH FUN. I would love to go through this program someday.
• B.S. in Sustainable Living at Maharishi University: The first college in the U.S. to serve only organic and vegetarian food in their dining hall!
• Sustainable Ecological Economic Development – Iowa: This conference which will be held on Oct. 26-28 has tons of great speakers! Wish we would be around.

More photos of the Expo here.
**Photo note: You can see our temporary banner on the side of the RV in the above photo…we are back in Minnesota this week finishing the vinyl wrap and will post photos soon!

We are holding a kick-off party/potluck in Des Moines on Sept. 16 to say goodbye to our family and friends. Our first stop after that will be at the New Pioneer Coop in Coralville, IA on Sept. 17 from 3-8 p.m. Everything else is still in the works…if you are in Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago, Grand Rapids, or Ann Arbor…don’t worry! We haven’t forgotten you! We will be contacting you in the next week or so with more details.

More big news…we have had more sponsors join the Live Lightly Tour!

• Ecolips
• What Cheer Creative
• Vintage Remedies
• Ink Tank

We will be sharing more information about them soon…as we launch our new website (which will hopefully be within the next week). Weeeeeee! Lots going on…we are so excited to tell you all about it!

Stay tuned…

Some highlights:

• We met a delightful couple who remodeled their Airstream travel trailer to be completely off the grid (even a composting toilet…yay!) …pulled by their biodiesel-fueled truck.
• We chatted with Paul House of Bozeman Biofuels…who has been spreading the biofuel love in the Gallatin Valley for nearly 3 years now.
• We laughed at the adorable alpacas.
• We stood in the yurt. Yurt = Love.
• We saw Kermit the Pod.
• I drooled over a really cool Dutch bicycle.
• I played a little game called “Count the Chacos“. It seems to be the national shoe of the Bozeman area. Don’t get me wrong…you won’t catch me without my trusty Chacos. Best shoes ever. It’s just a fun game.

You can see photos of all of these things and more by clicking here.