It was a beautiful Friday afternoon. The May weather was perfect, with a slight refreshing breeze. Excitement was in the air as we all prepared for the 23 hour drive to Colorado. This was going to be the trip of a life time for our family. This much awaited trip had everyone on the edge of their seats.…
Most teenagers would probably tell you that the beginning of their adulthood was marked by having to do laundry for the first time, or being able to drive alone, or perhaps no longer sitting at the children's table at family events. But for me, it happened this past summer, when I made the very difficult decision that I would not return to Coleman Country Day Camp. To those who were not fortunate enough to have grown up at summer camp, this might not seem like such a big decision to make. But Coleman was my outlet, my second home for ten consecutive summers and spending those two months anywhere else seemed inconceivable to me.…
I don’t think anyone else saw him because he was in the most unrealistic spot. He had somehow gotten up to the very top of a white pine tree, and he was literally watching us like a hawk. With his eyes peered and neck pivoting as fast as you can imagine. At the same time Da Beak seems to have one of those looks on his face, one of those looks that says I can’t wait till I’m through with you. I close my eyes and recap what is going on and the moment I open my eyes Da Beak is gone.…
If you are a vacation fan you need to read this story. I will tell you about my trip to Minnesota. Ill Tell you about were you can swim and fish in. I will mention stuff like, swimming, fishing and about my aunts and uncles wedding. There will be awesome stuff like catching Northern, Walleye and Gar.…
Anyone that knows me will tell you that fall is my favorite season. From the vibrant fall colors, to just sitting around a crackling fire with family and friends. I love so much about the fall season. When the air gets cool and crisp, I just cannot help thinking about Halloween and all things frightening. My favorite place is Six Flags, it is a yearly necessity, for lasting memories, great food, and Fright Fest.…
One of the first things I remember about going on that trip is looking down at my feet and thinking that I would die if I fell. I was nine and very light-headed at the time. It was the winter of 2009 and one of the first times I had ever gone to Colorado. The drive there took about 6 hours from our house so you can imagine my excitement at finally getting out of the car as an inpatient nine-year-old. We were renting a small two story log cabin with a hot tub on the second- floor balcony from a family that had a winter home somewhere in Florida.…
Two thousand five hundred eighty-seven. I could take an eight-hour flight or a casual thirty-seven-hour drive, but no matter what, I am still two thousand five hundred eighty-seven miles away from my home in New Haven, Connecticut. Being a college freshman, trying to juggle class, homework, projects, studying, sleeping, eating, and athletics; finding the travel time to go home is an almost impossible task. Add in the cost of the $600 flights round trip and there is no chance a student can go visit home when they feel a little homesick. I on the other hand had never even fathomed being homesick from the frozen tundra I called home.…
Today I was looking at some old pictures from my 1993 trip to Death Valley National Park. When I was a kid I hated camping, but now I have fond memories of these trips, which just does to show how time can change our perception of things. We visited Echo Canyon, and camped there for the night. There is a ghost in Echo Canyon, which I photographed at the time. This canyon is true to its name-sake as you can shout and your voice will carry on the wind for miles and bounce back off the mountains in the distance.…
When I was very little, walking up the trail with a pack on my back and the dog at my side, I would reach out and pull leaves from the bushes and trees. I would tear off corners, smooth the edges, and they would be turned into spaceships, flying across a lush alien world. Sometimes the trail, worn down into the ground over time by paws and hooves, would climb its way up onto the crests of ridges and meander across the moist, mossy fringes of muskegs. The rough, black and gnarled spruce branches that grew there were pirate spacecraft, pursued by the sleek birch branches from beyond the muskeg's soggy borders. As imaginary lasers and rockets exploded against the ships' hulls, I would rip off little pieces of bark and let them fall to the forest floor.…
Venturing off-campus to the nearby Dutterer Family Park, I was despondent. Perhaps it was because I was thinking about how and when I was going to complete this assignment or maybe it was that I was missing home. Whatever the case, I was melancholy. Upon arrival, I sat myself on a nearby wooden bench, took out the assignment sheet, the photo mat, a piece of paper, and a pencil. Still feeling gloomy, I closed my eyes and took a few minutes to clear my mind.…
We were hiking in Amicalola falls state park. While we were hiking I was being eaten alive by mosquitoes. Then I remember the candy cane lotion I put on this morning. Samantha ¨”said do you hear that it's coming from those trees¨. Tamara ¨ said let's go check it out.¨…
I was smiling the whole time as the skin around my neck was being ripped off. Well I wasn’t actually smiling and as brutal as I made it sound, it wasn’t as horrific an event now that I look back on it. The incident occurred while I was on Spring Break during my freshman year in high school. My family and I were vacationing in Gatlinburg, Tennessee;which if I might add we’ve been there about eight times since I was seven years old. I remember clearly that day down to the exact temperature.…
Clomp! Clomp! Clomp! Our boots pound the rocky Colorado trail in the middle of a cold, starry night above the massive tree line with a spectacular view of the lights of Leadville, as we hiked our first 14,000 foot mountain of the summer. Clomp!…
My vision started to fail on mile four of the six-mile hike. Small white specks flickered across my field of vision. The next thing to go was my hearing, followed by my ability to walk in a straight line. My platoon sergeant saw the signs of heat stroke and forced me to stop. I should have stopped myself, but all I could think was: you will finish this, or you will die trying.…
Its kind of hard to imagine a place pure and free of teenage issues and dramas. I never thought I would be able to escape my problems in the real world. I never thought I would be able to let go. But know as I sit on this rock, staring at the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen, feeling the wind blow my hair back, and smelling the wonderful scent of nature, I know I've escaped. I have finally found a place where I can let go of all my worries and all my stress.…