There is no better feeling in this world than to be outdoors with nature, especially when there are numerous activities to dabble in. Often times people take for granted the sentimental value that they can experience by simply walking through a park. God created the Earth to be beautiful and peaceful, and people need to keep it that way. I have always shared a love of the outdoors with my dad and my brother. We have gone on numerous camping, hiking, fishing, and star-gazing trips ever since I can remember. It was no surprise to me when my dad decided to buy a lake house on Hyco Lake, right outside of Roxboro. We got a really good deal on the house, so my dad decided that Hyco Lake was the perfect spot.
Hyco Lake was constructed in the 1960's by Carolina Power and Light as a cooling reservoir for the steam electric generating plant. The Lake was filled in 1965 after Hurricane Hilda came through and filled the reservoir. The power plant located on Hyco Lake heats the water, but cooling units were built in the early 70's to keep the water temperature down. However, near my house on the islands of South Hyco, the water is heated so you can go swimming almost year-round. Recently, I have not been able to go as much as I would like because of the drought we have been experiencing.
This past Easter weekend my family and I went to the lake, and it was the most fun that I have had in awhile. Hyco Lake is actually located in Semora, NC, which is only about fifteen minutes outside of Roxboro. Most of Roxboro and all of Semora is country, so it is not unusual to see animals running wild. We bring our dog along so she can run wild and be one with the other wild animals. When we got to the house the first thing that I did was walk down to the dock to check the water temperature to see if it was warm enough to go swimming. I was about halfway down the driveway when I saw a huge water moccasin laying out in the sun at the bottom of the driveway. Water moccasins are very poisonous, so I know not to mess with them.
Nature has a powerful way of portraying good vs. bad, which parallels to the same concept intertwined with human nature. In the story “Greasy Lake” by T. Coraghessan Boyle, the author portrays this through the use of a lake by demonstrating its significance and relationship to the characters. At one time, the Greasy Lake was something of beauty and cleanliness, but then came to be the exact opposite. Through his writing, Boyle demonstrates how the setting can be a direct reflection of the characters and the experiences they encounter.
The narrator and his friends in “Greasy Lake” tries to make themselves look like rebels. They wanted to appear to be bad to everyone around them. Boyle writes “We were all dangerous characters then. We wore torn up leather jackets, slouched around with toothpicks in our mouths, sniffed glue and ether and what somebody claimed was cocaine” (529). The narrator and his friends also did many other things to produce the effect of being cool and intimidating. In the end of the story the narrator and his friends have the chance to keep up their false bad guy image; however they decides to choose a higher road.
T. Coraghessan Boyle’s “Greasy Lake” is a timeless tale that will leave you on the edge of your seat if it was a movie, but in this case this short story will have your eyes glued to the page. We will discover Boyle’s arrangement of incidents in this story 's as he explains the plot from the beginning that talks about “ There was a time “ which clearly states that this story was a flashback of his pass. This story takes place in 1985 when the narrator who is also Boyle was nineteen year old. This is a story of revelation. Walker states “The passage of the protagonist from water to land, and from night to morning, parallels his passage from ignorance to knowledge, from chaos to order, from naiveté to understanding. (Qtd Walker 247-255)“The
The Jump-Off Creek introduces the reader to the unforgiving Blue Mountains and the harsh pioneer lifestyle with the tale of Lydia Sanderson, a widow who moves west from Pennsylvania to take up residence in a rundown homestead. She and other characters battle nature, finances, and even each other on occasion in a fight for survival in the harsh Oregon wilderness. Although the story is vividly expressed through the use of precise detail and 1800s slang, it failed to give me a reason to care because the characters are depicted as emotionally inhibited.
We are so fortunate to live in California and have access to so many of the properties operated by the National Park Service. There are thirteen national parks in California and I have been to seven of them. Enjoying the outdoors is something that is innate to our family. Even before our children could walk they were enjoying hikes through Yosemite in backpacks. This is an amazing fact that I learned from the map given to me in Sequoia National Park; “The only place Giant Sequoias grow now is on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. The 75 distinct groves are found within a narrow band about 260 miles long and 15 miles wide, at its widest point.” (Sequoia National Park, 2012). Without the National Park Service protecting and maintaining parks like Sequoia National Park, there may not be any place like this for my children to learn about this beautiful country that we live
In T.C. Boyle’s coming-of-age short story, Greasy Lake, three rebellious 19 year old boys, Jeff, Digby, and the narrator, thought it was good to be bad, smoking marijuana, drinking beer, and listening to rock and roll, however when they were out looking for trouble like most, almost adult, teenagers, they taunted someone who ,mistakenly, was not the friend they had mistaken him for, they freaked and almost killed the “greasy” man and his girlfriend, they were startled by a car and hid because they did not know if they man was dead or not and didn’t wanted to be blamed for the incident. After seeing a dead man’s body floating, the narrators mind changes, all of the sudden the rebellious attitude disappears. Now
Wilderness is a highly idealized concept in today’s society – we simply put it on a pedestal and choose to admire it as we see fit. Nature and wilderness are considered distant and remote concepts, separate from our everyday, civilized lives. By approaching the natural realm in this sense, we simply detach ourselves from our origin, which leaves us to fantasize about the great outdoors as an escape from the artificial creations of our everyday life. This desire to escape our artificial lives has lead to the construction of locations such as national parks, which merely appear to be the natural world, yet in reality they are simply just facets of the modernized world we have created.
The more than four hundred locations that are currently recognized as national parks have been set aside because they are considered special places of beauty, character, or uniqueness. Whether visitors come from the natural state or the concrete jungle, the magnificent aesthetics of these sites can cause anyone to be astonished. As they ponder on the wonderful landscapes and the closeness to the wilderness, their souls are nourished. Some people acknowledge the planet or the creator, but all appreciate the splendor of biodiversity and gain a new understanding of it. According to Frye and Nuest, “watching other species and interacting with them helps [people] better understand and appreciate [their] place among them and [their] obligations to other living creatures and the same planetary environment that sustain both [their and the lives of other species]” (54). Furthermore, since these sites have been carefully preserved, they have undergone very little physical or geological change in centuries. The NPS claimed through its website that “by preserving biodiversity, [they] also ensure that future citizens, artists, and explorers of science experience [America’s] lands as the founders of the parks did long ago.” National parks allow visitors to relive scenes from the past and appreciate the nation’s history as expressed in these iconic sites. However,
There are many themes highlighted in the short story Greasy Lake, by T. Coraghessan Boyle. Some of these themes include being adventurous, violence, and being young and restless. However, there is a main message that stands out more than the others and is the most centered theme of the story. This is the theme of coming of age through the narrator’s journey to finding out what it means to be “bad,” and whether or not he wanted to make bad choices.
Many students will become intrigued from this place and will not want to leave. Having a field trip will be fun, and it will also be an educational field trip as well. The students will learn about the history of this caves, lakes, and possibly even how the park was first created! Many visitors of the park stated that the park was very adventures and that it can bring the wild out of you.
You know the feeling when everything’s perfect, and suddenly your heart just stops? The 1 hour 48 minute drive to Lake Ontario was just like any other. Movie playing, siblings arguing, music blasting. My family hosts our annual 4th of July party up by Cape Vincent. With the warm air filled with the scent of the grill, and the sounds of laughter and music,that weekend was turning out to be just like the rest. Or at least that’s what we thought. 1311 Failing Shores Lane was never quiet during any of the previous events, but for some reason a dead silence draped over the lot.
About 3 months ago I was sitting in my car thinking why am I here and how did I get here. I was all the way in Lake Charles, LA, about 6 hours from home. Earlier that day I had gotten so upset with everyone I got in the car and just started driving. I'm not one to let my emotions get to me or others but this had built up to the point where I was feeling tears rolling down my face uncontrollably and plunging down to my phone in my lap, I was having a breakdown. I pulled off the highway to get gas at this old dingy gas station where I saw two sheriffs searching this women's car. I dried my tears got out and tried to pay for my gas but the pump wasn’t reading my card and it started to irritate me. One of the sheriffs standing by the car noticed
and soak in the beauty of nature. In Kings Canyon you can explore the giant sequoia groves,
I used to go there to be alone or to dream with my eyes open admiring the blue sky or the clouds. I liked to go there to lay down on the grass, listen to the wind, kiss the flowers and watch the leaves moving. It was hard to go up the hill to get there, but I wanted to see everyday my seven trees, to see how the color of the leaves changed and to feel the softness of the grass.
Outdoor recreation is something that everyone needs. Finding that place within yourself that allows you to forget about everything. Whether that be playing with your kids in the nearby park, fishing with your grandfather, hiking with someone or just by yourself you learn something new about yourself. Some people use recreation to forget about something and they use being outside as a calming effect. Williams and Stewart (1998) believe that nature, as a place, creates an emotion bond, has a complex meaning to the person, and that people have this draw back to the place. To get the same feeling that someone would get while doing an activity in nature to simulate Williams and Stewart’s (1998) belief, I recently participated in an