Note to me:
Okay, the academic stuff first. This week, the reading went really well. I was surprised how much I enjoyed having a collection of stories like that, and they were all very readable and interesting. Definitely still going to need some practice on reading like a writer, but all in all it went well. The writing assignment went fairly smoothly as well-- I essentially built my retelling on the emotional response one of the stories elicited from me (in this case, anger at what I viewed were the innocent deaths of some fish). I haven't yet looked at other people's writing, which is something I know I need to start doing.
In terms of other classes, I'm doing okay keeping up with them, but still not really ahead of the game on too many. Still finding the groove of the semester, but that's what this week will be for for sure.
Outside of school is the most interesting part, and why I wanted to write this post. My roommate and I decided to take a road trip to South Dakota, because we'd never been, and wanted to go on a longer adventure since we had a long weekend.
The drive itself went really smoothly, and driving-wise was extremely easy: Fast, long, open roads, with some nice scenery, cows, and mostly a whole lot of nothing. I taught my roommate how to drive a manual transmission a couple of days before, and I must say, she did pretty well with it.
We camped out in the Black Hills National Forest, and started Sunday off with a 2 hour zipline tour of the forest, with 1500 foot long ziplines, and incredible views of the forest and Mt. Rushmore. After that, we went on a hike to Black Elk's Peak, the tallest peak east of the Rockies, or so they say. It really takes your breath away to see just how expansive the land is, and the trees that smelled like vanilla (Ponderosa pines), and huge boulders that form mountains without you even noticing them.
The next day, we drove the scenic route through the Badlands before really beginning the journey back. The Badlands were so different from the Black Hills, and so different even within itself-- there were parts that felt like prarie, parts that felt like the Grand Canyon, parts that looked like clay that you could just crush in a giant fist and would crumble.
Shown below, from top to bottom: Personal photos from the Badlands. 1, the Yellow mounds, 2, canyons, 3, a more open, plain-like feel.
It was an incredible weekend, and I loved the chance to explore a part of the country I had never seen before with one of my best friends. Going into next week, I'll need to be more on top of classwork, but it was definitely worth it to use my long weekend this way.
Okay, the academic stuff first. This week, the reading went really well. I was surprised how much I enjoyed having a collection of stories like that, and they were all very readable and interesting. Definitely still going to need some practice on reading like a writer, but all in all it went well. The writing assignment went fairly smoothly as well-- I essentially built my retelling on the emotional response one of the stories elicited from me (in this case, anger at what I viewed were the innocent deaths of some fish). I haven't yet looked at other people's writing, which is something I know I need to start doing.
In terms of other classes, I'm doing okay keeping up with them, but still not really ahead of the game on too many. Still finding the groove of the semester, but that's what this week will be for for sure.
Outside of school is the most interesting part, and why I wanted to write this post. My roommate and I decided to take a road trip to South Dakota, because we'd never been, and wanted to go on a longer adventure since we had a long weekend.
The drive itself went really smoothly, and driving-wise was extremely easy: Fast, long, open roads, with some nice scenery, cows, and mostly a whole lot of nothing. I taught my roommate how to drive a manual transmission a couple of days before, and I must say, she did pretty well with it.
We camped out in the Black Hills National Forest, and started Sunday off with a 2 hour zipline tour of the forest, with 1500 foot long ziplines, and incredible views of the forest and Mt. Rushmore. After that, we went on a hike to Black Elk's Peak, the tallest peak east of the Rockies, or so they say. It really takes your breath away to see just how expansive the land is, and the trees that smelled like vanilla (Ponderosa pines), and huge boulders that form mountains without you even noticing them.
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| View from the top of Black Elk's Peak, SD (Personal Photo) |
The next day, we drove the scenic route through the Badlands before really beginning the journey back. The Badlands were so different from the Black Hills, and so different even within itself-- there were parts that felt like prarie, parts that felt like the Grand Canyon, parts that looked like clay that you could just crush in a giant fist and would crumble.
Shown below, from top to bottom: Personal photos from the Badlands. 1, the Yellow mounds, 2, canyons, 3, a more open, plain-like feel.
It was an incredible weekend, and I loved the chance to explore a part of the country I had never seen before with one of my best friends. Going into next week, I'll need to be more on top of classwork, but it was definitely worth it to use my long weekend this way.
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