My Waipio Valley Lesson

When I crossed by the snow covered sign that read “Welcome to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness National Park” and looked at what surrounded me, I was beside myself. I didn’t know that trees could ever be so beautiful. The towering trees were the perfect shade of dark emerald green, and the way the snow piled on them looked like painting. I thought I was living a fairytale. It was the most beautiful sight I have ever laid eyes on.

My high school used to have a camping trip to the place called big bend national park; that was a memorable journey.We used to hike over there; we spent like two or three hours to attend the highest mountain of big bend national park; you can't imagine how was the beautiful view, it was like you are standing the highest point of this national park, you can see everything you want see of this national park, there don't have anything can impede your sight line, you can see those river as very clearly, and the river is like endless, it keep extend over and over, there also have some cliff, those cliff may have different shape, they cover all the

For years my fascination was to travel somewhere spectacular, some place that would show a dignified view that would make me say “wow.” Finally after waiting years, last year was the year that I had the opportunity to leave the borders of the United States and go to Canada. Specifically, Niagara Falls, getting there was a journey in itself. Once getting there, a scene of unspecified beauty appeared in my field of vision that was unexplainable with words. It was something that would stick to my mind forever. The flow of gentle water hitting the rocks, a originated mist that came from the falls hit my face, filling my face with joy.

My husband and I grew up together in Apache Junction, Arizona, a small town built on a legend. It’s believed that the Superstition Mountains hold one of the country’s largest hidden treasure. Jacob Waltz, the legendary Prospector, claims to have found the gold and revealed its location on his death bed however, it has never been found. The legend lives at the heart of this town and in the hearts of the people. Namely, many of the town’s attractions revolve around the legend such as the Mining Camp Restaurant, Goldfield Ghost Town and the Lost Dutchman Days. These mysterious mountains and the dirt we grew up on have become a part of our story.

“Good morning! Today we will be going to Yosemite National Park. I hope you are prepared…” Eddie, the tourist guide, announced a little too enthusiastically for an early morning after my family and I entered the bus. Taking a seat by the window, I tried drowning him out with my music, and then proceeded to sigh when I could still clearly hear him through my headphones. I was annoyed, but not because I did want to go to Yosemite; I just did not want spend time with the group of loud and obnoxious tourists on the bus. When my family and I first agreed to go on a tour of Yosemite, I was excited because I had never been there and I had heard many positive reviews about its scenery. That day, however, it was hot, I was worried about starting college soon, and all I wanted was to sleep comfortably without a Chinese tourist behind me complaining about the American government. “Great,” I thought sarcastically to myself, “what a fun trip.” When we reached Yosemite, however, my attitude completely changed. Although I was still with the group of loud tourists, I was able to mentally escape from them and my worries for the short duration in Yosemite. The immense cliffs, everlasting sequoias, beautiful waterfalls, and abundant wildlife were mesmerizing and for the first time in a while, I felt humble and small, as if I were just a tiny ant in an incredibly huge world. We, as humans, often forget our relationship with Mother Nature, but this trip to Yosemite had reminded me of this

For my place narrative assignment, I chose to focus on a place that I not only visit frequently, but truly appreciate: Mount Douglas. This is a place I value not only for its beauty, but for the calmness it allows me to experience as a result of being part of nature. As it turns out, this has been the location of many important histories, dating back hundreds of years, and is still making history today. This history is significant both ecologically, and culturally, and is something I have enjoyed learning about. Through researching this place, and its surrounding area I have come to learn its importance branches far greater than its importance to me.

We were getting tired, so we found a clump of trees where we could rest and keep an eye on the green, dew covered fields around us. After we had rested a while, we decided we would continue to hike deeper into the canyon.

The first time I every experience the Wildcat Hills was during a difficult time in my life. My parents were going through a custody battle over my siblings and me. They were also both in the process of being remarried. So, when my step father brought us to the Wildcats to explore for the first time I realized how amazing our earth can be. Here in the county known for the Scotts Bluff National Monument, sits over 1,000 acres of land. It wasn’t just the sight at the top of the escarpment that took my breath away. It was the fact that whether you were at the bottom of the hills or the top, when the wind blew that’s all you can hear. It isn’t overwhelming, it is

As we were one hour into our journey, I began seeing the huge Appalachian mountains. The mountains looked surreal. The closer that we got to Lake Placid the larger the mountains were. We passed a waterfall that was crashing down against the clear blue lake. The lake was a puddle that casted a reflection of the bright sun. It took a long drive to get there, but once we got there it was sunny and bright. We brought up our loads of clothing and then went down to the beach on Mirror lake. There was boundaries on the beach of where you could go. The boundaries were marked with a rope and buoys. We had not known about those boundaries, so we crossed them. Each time we crossed them we would get yelled and whistled at. We saw a rock that was underwater. We really wanted to go explore it, so we ended up being complete rebels. We would hold our breath underwater and go explore the rock, and once we ran out of breathe would swim as quickly as we could up to the rope and pull ourselves inbounds. It was fun swimming, but we got tired very quickly. We headed back to the hotel, and took a

I look up from my phone after the clock turns from 11:59 pm to 12:00 am and gaze upon Honey Pot Lake as it mirrors the pink and gold clouds illuminated by the setting sun’s rays as they bend over earth's curvature. I take in the beauty of the sunset and await the soon to come sunrise. As i, for the last time, experience the beauty of the pristine nature that bethel alaska has to offer, turn my head towards my adjacent friend and proclaim in a gloomy yet glad tone, “I never want to leave this place.” My experiences in bethel alaska from my two school immersion trips truly formed who I am today.

I live in a small town that goes by the name of Lafayette. The population is 4,500. Everyone knows where everything is, when everything is, and what everything is. As a child, my mother and I would go to a beautiful waterfall on a small back road when the sun was shining, when the trees and rocks were just right, and when it was damp and perfect for four wheeler rides. The Union Camp waterfall is majestic. The scenery makes a person speechless. We would always go when the weather was perfect. The waterfall is one childhood memory I will always remember. The activities my mother and I would do were always a blast. My trips to Union Camp waterfall are memorable because of the scenery, the weather, and the activities.

Flashes of beautiful wildlife and unbelievable mountain ranges filled my eyes as our youth pastor showed us the destination of our next mission trip, Yellowstone National Park. I remember looking at these pictures and thinking there was nothing more I wanted to do than see this amazing wonder. I wanted to be fully one with nature and experience it with some of the people I loved most, my youth group. While planning for this trip, I had no idea that by the end of it I would have hiked eighteen miles into the deep backcountry of Yellowstone with a forty-two pound pack on my back. That I would have slept outside with only a simple tarp over my head and a can of bear spray by my pillow. That I would have helped remodel a dilapidated home so children living in extreme poverty could have a place of safe haven. That by the time I returned home, I would have a new desire to seek adventure and help people in need.

Not even a mile above the valley floor there are three stunning waterfalls. At this time there were many awe-inspiring natural wonders like Niagara Falls becoming popular American tourist destinations. There were many early settlers that tried to make profit from the wonders of Yosemite Valley, by charging tourists with expensive fees. Thanks to Albert Bierstadt’s popular paintings ,and Carlton Watkin’s photos, Americans who would never see the valley in person could see it in paintings and photos. These people could call for its preservation from crash commercial development.

My connection with nature that were unveiled during my observations can be summarized in four ways, the first being memories. When I was a kid my first experiences with nature where having fun playing outside and spending time with my family. I had a really vivid imagination in my youth, along with the large property my family owned, I had a vast area to have as much fun as I desired. My family has direct connections with the Mojave Desert, moreover that allowed me to spend a decent block of time in either, the National Park, or learning about our area. During my observations, just being in that similar environment brought back several memories from my youth. Furthermore, that will be something that sticks with me for the rest of my life.

Walking through the trail full of mud and leaves always made me think about my life. It was always there when I needed to walk and get things off my mind. Looking around watching the leaves fall off tree after tree flying like butterflies, all different colors. When they stopped, they immediately died and they were not coming back alive again. Piled leaves filled up under trees and children ran and jumped on them like they were pillows. These trees tripled the height of humans with numerous branches holding hundreds of leaves. While walking the river flows and it is such a beautiful view with the sun shining right off of it. The ducks and little birds chirping and floating through the smooth water puts a joy to my face.