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My First and Last hike in Poly Canyon
I knew it was coming. A couple weeks before, I received an introductory email from my instructor explaining the textbook we needed and providing a link to the class website. I selected the link and navigated curiously around the site, arriving at last at the class itinerary. To my horror, I saw planned on the third class day a “moderately strenuous hike over steep, rough ground.” Subsequent readings of this statement produced the same result, and so I resigned myself to impending doom.
And so it was that I found myself standing on a dirt and gravel road, surrounded by equally sleepy classmates at 7:30 am, Monday morning. We all huddled within our baggy jackets, unconsciously mirroring one another in loose jeans, gray or black t-shirts and scuffed, dusty running shoes. In contrast the instructor appeared wide awake and put together, standing before us in a green sweater, pressed khaki slacks and well-worn yet well-maintained hiking boots. He perkily welcomed us to the threshold of Poly Canyon, and with other preliminary descriptions of the upcoming landscape turned and headed down the long, winding service road.
Being so close to the pacific coast- a mere ten or twelve miles- a thick marine layer had rolled in during the night, and the waning summer sun had not yet mustered the heat to dispel it. We moved to the crunch and scrape of rubber sole on loose stone, passing ancient monoliths of serpentine stone that jutted from the mountain on either side. Vague silhouettes of live oaks and yucca plants loomed from the morning mist, and occasionally a hoarse crow would cry out. Above and beside us power lines carried electricity to private homes hidden down the road, occasionally...
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...e distant than ever surrounded as I was by other life forms. What, I pondered, was my purpose there? Was I predator or prey, virulent or benevolent, useful or worthless? In nature, the strong and necessary survive and prosper, while the weak and redundant are mercifully removed for the good of the system. I solemnly asked myself which I was, and was relieved when like deer the answer retreated from view, filed away in the archives of my mind for future perusal. Giving Poly Canyon a final glance around, I followed their examples and left that ethereal place to meld once more with the world of Man.
I did not see my instructor nor my classmates again that day, and was content to be left alone with my meditations. It was an experience I would not trade, though I will admit that I am never setting foot in Poly Canyon again; once is definitely more than enough.
...sion Native Americans made a connection with the earth that was an ongoing affirmation to be close to nature. To witness the beauty of the land and all it had to offer them. Seattle’s address took a strong and powerful stance against the Americans, not only did he stand up for his people but he showed the wrong in the Americans. The essay and art work have affected the progress and solidity of the Native American culture in the past and the present. Each piece possess vitality, power and a drive to move forward, they also coincide on different levels where as to the message, that they bring forth understanding the environment and relationship between land, and man.” At night when the streets of your cities and villages are silent and you think them deserted, they will throng with the returning hosts that once filled and still love this beautiful land” (Seattle, 57).
The first impression of the Valley-white water, azaleas, cool fir caverns, tall pines, and solid oaks, cliffs rising to undreamed-of heights, the poignant sounds and smells of the sierra, the whirling flourish of the stage stop at Camp Curry with its bewildering activities of porters, tourists, desk clerks, and mountain jays, and the dark green-bright mood of our tent-was a culminations of experience so intense as to be almost painful. From that day in 1916, my life has been colored and modulated by the great earth-gesture of the Sierra. (Fischer 9)
John Steinbeck was a major literary figure in the 20th century and continues to be widely read in the twenty-first century. Steinbeck was born on February 27,1902 (About John Steinbeck) in the Salinas Valley of California. (Laskov) "His father, John Steinbeck, Sr. was the County Treasurer and his mother, Olive Hamilton Steinbeck, was a former school teacher. As a youth, he worked as a ranch hand and fruit picker. (John Steinbeck [2])". "He attended the local high school and studied marine biology at Stanford University between 1920 and 1926, but did not take a degree" (John Steinbeck [1]). Steinbeck's fascination with science and biology is evident in most of his works such as in this quote from the Grapes of Wrath: "Man, unlike any other thing organic or inorganic in the universe, grows beyond his work, walks up in the stairs of his concepts, emerges ahead of his accomplishments." (Steinbeck 165) As Steinbeck began his writing career, he took many other jobs to support himself. For a short time, he worked at the American in New York City, and then returned to California where he worked various jobs such as a painter and fruit-picker before taking a job as a caretaker for a Lake Tahoe Estate. (John Steinbeck [1]) His job as a caretaker allowed him time to write and by the time he left the job in 1930 he had already published his first book, Cup of Gold (1929) and married his first wife Carol Henning (John Steinbeck [2]). After his marriage he moved to Pacific Grove, California where, in the early 1930s, Steinbeck met Edward Ricketts, a marine biologist, whose views on the interdependence of all life deeply influenced Steinbeck's novel To a God Unknown (1933). (John Steinbeck [2])
Fox, Lauren. “Study: Immigration Reform Would Boost Tax Revenues,” US News. U.S.News & World Report, 10 July 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
The drive to cross the Kentucky border had taken hours and hours of strenuous patience to finally arrive in another state. The view was by far country like as hints of cow manure could be smelled far from a distance. We drive through small towns, half the size of our hometown of Glen Ellyn had been the biggest town we've seen if not smaller. The scenery had overwhelmed us, as lumps of Earth from a great distance turned to perfectly molded hills, but as we got closer and closer to our destination the hills no longer were hills anymore, instead the hills had transformed to massive mountains of various sizes. These mountains surrounded our every view as if we had sunken into a great big deep hole of green pastures. Our path of direction was seen, as the trails of our road that had followed for numerous hours ended up winding up the mountainous mountains in a corkscrew dizzy-like matter.
John Steinbeck was born in February of 1902 in the town of Salinas, California. He would be the only son of four children (Millichap). He was an avid reader and writer from a young age, and would attend Salinas Valley High School, where he graduated as the president of his class (Bergquist and Millichap). After high school, he would enroll in
Earlier this summer, my Mom decided it would be a fun idea to hike the Grand Canyon. After four hours of sitting in a plane and another four hours sitting in a car, we finally passed the “Grand Canyon National Park” sign. It was verging on dark, and the sun peeked just over the flat, desert horizon, slowly disappearing past the endless line in the sky. We quickly checked into our room in the hotel, unpacked our overstuffed suitcases, and zipped on outside to get a good view of the famous gash in the earth’s surface. As I went outside, I could feel the coolness of the air on my skin, the fresh smell of desert nature coursing through my nostrils. The wind had picked up, and was now whistling through what little trees there were, covering the chirping chorus of crickets and other insects hiding for the night. Suddenly, my hat blew off my head, and I hastily sprinted to recover it.
3."Music Thought To Enhance Intelligence, Mental Health And Immune System." Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. .
Years ago my family took a trip to Yellowstone National Park. I chose this common experience for this memory assignment. First, I made a list of all the things I remembered from my trip at Yellowstone. I remembered we traveled in our motorhome and got halfway to our destination and parked on the side of the road and slept there for the night. I remember seeing the famous geyser; Old Faithful, in addition to seeing lots of bison, and bears. I recall one night that we stayed in a campground bears were in the campground and we were being told to stay in our campers. I also remember during the trip my dad would give me all the spare change and I would collect it. I saved the change up to buy souvenirs or candy. I also remember going to a shirt
In A Walk in the Woods our author, Bill Bryson, hikes through the deadly wilderness along the terribly long Appalachian Trail with his humorously witty companion Katz. Throughout the journey it becomes embarrassingly obvious that they will not be able to hike the entirety of the trail. The idea that they will not completely finish it begs the question; have Bryson and his faithful companion Katz actually hiked the Appalachian Trail? Katz gave his own account of whether or not they have hiked the trail when he states,” As far as I’m concerned, I hiked the Appalachian Trail. I hiked it in snow and I hiked it in heat. I hiked it in the South and I hiked in the North. I hiked it till my feet bled. I hiked the Appalachian Trail, Bryson.” (Bryson 271). Bryson and Katz have had both terrible and amazing experiences along the trail, thus it should be said that they have in fact hiked the Appalachian Trail.
As we turn onto the cracked cement that is Oceanside Drive, my mood immediately lifts. Houses stand aligned like train cars, facing the frigid Atlantic. Closer to the end of the street is an evergreen cottage where our wheels halt in front of. The second my feet touch the ground that familiar, classic, salty air tells me I’m home. The wooden steps creek under me as I race up them to the door. This house holds so many memories of roaring laughter, crowded couches, and delicious food. Even inside I can hear the steady crashing blows from our closest neighbor: the ocean. One short sprint down the splinting boardwalk and I’m where I love to be most. The fine grains of sand slide through my fingers while the teal ocean, where my siblings and I have
To make the model, he attached a rotating paddle to nail brushes (“Alexander Graham Bell Inventions”). As a boy, Bell wondered if when dogs bark if they are actually saying any words. With this curiosity, he invented a robot like item to go down into the dog’s throat to see if the dog says words or not (“Lemelson-MIT Program”). At the age of sixteen, Bell created a windpipe that when blown into it the mouth it would make random words (“Famous Scientists”).In 1881, Bell created a metal jacket that helped people breathe better and more efficient (“Alexander Graham Bell Timeline”). As another way to help the deaf, he created a device called the Audio Meter to tell how well a person’s hearing is. Then in 1881, when President Garfield was shot , they called Bell for help. They called him due to his inventions of the metal detector which would tell the doctors working on President Garfield where the bullet was in his body (“Alexander Graham Bell
Sitting in the back seat between two towering piles of clothes and snacks we drive up the abandoned streets of Adell. I see vast open fields of corn and dense wooded forest filled with life, along with the occasional, towering grain house. We pull into a dry, dusty, driveway of rock and thriving, overgrown weeds. We come up to an aged log cabin with a massive crab apple tree with its sharp thorns like claws. The ancient weeping willow provides, with is huge sagging arms, shade from the intense rays of the sun. Near the back of the house there is a rotten, wobbly dock slowly rotting in the dark blue, cool water. Near that we store our old rusted canoes, to which the desperate frogs hop for shelter. When I venture out to the water I feel the thick gooey mud squish through my toes and the fish mindlessly try to escape but instead swim into my legs. On the lively river banks I see great blue herring and there attempt to catch a fish for their dinner. They gracefully fly with their beautiful wings arching in the sun to silvery points.
With Enlightenment came the idea that Man is capable to understand and shape the world that surrounds him. Human beings no longer rely on an all-powerful God that decides everything; in...
On the edge of a small wood, an ancient tree sat hunched over, the gnarled, old king of a once vast domain that had long ago been turned to pasture. The great, gray knees gripped the hard earth with a solidity of purpose that made it difficult to determine just where the tree began and the soil ended, so strong was the union of the ancient bark and grainy sustenance. Many years had those roots known—years when the dry sands had shriveled the outer branches under a parched sun, years when the waters had risen up, drowning those same sands in the tears of unceasing time.