Had a great hike today to Cox Arboretum and Gardens Metropark near Dayton, Ohio. Originally I wanted to hike this trail on Wednesday last week when it was 75 plus degrees, but sadly my transmission went out on my car and by the time I got my car settled, acquired a rental car and drove the distance to the park, it was already getting dark. It was around 50 degrees today for the hike, but instead of hiking alone like I would have on Wednesday, my friend Lorrie joined me so it was worth the wait! We hiked 2.83 miles in one hour and 10 minutes.
It was a really blustery day today and Lorrie and I both thought that the wind would make the hike somewhat unpleasant, but it didn't really bother us much. This was another beautiful park, one of several that we hiked this year in the Dayton Metroparks park system. I will look forward to hiking some of the other parks that were not in the book next year. There is a beautiful educational building at the entrance to the park with a couple of ponds and some amazing gardens. I was surprised by the number of people at the park considering the gloomy, chilly and windy weather. There was a young couple getting their engagement pictures taken and several families enjoying the park.
When we finally reached the hiking trail it was mostly gravel. There were signs along the route with the park maps and "You are here." Love it! Hiking for dummies! We didn't have to think much about which way we were going at all! It makes for a much more relaxed hike! I was surprised by the drastic change in the amount of leaves on the trees in just two weeks time since my last hike. Most were on the ground. Lorrie and I both commented about how it felt like this whole adventure is now coming full circle because the trail is starting to look like it did when I started almost a year ago. Many of the trees were marked with signs that had a phone number you could call on your cell phone or you could use your cell phone's QR reader and get information about each individual tree. How's that for modern technology?
It was an easy hike with very few ups and downs, and the trail was wide enough for Lorrie and I to walk side-by-side. Once we finished the wooded part of the trail we entered a wetland area. As we returned near the park entrance there was a very cool observation tower that we climbed. It had spiral stairs and when we got to the top it was swaying in the wind. It made me a little nervous. We took a few pictures and descended quickly!
As we walked along the ponds and gardens to head back toward the car, we noticed a sign that said "Working Dog in the Area." It explained that Zipp, a border collie, was trained to work in the park doing "goose patrol." We saw Zipp when we first entered the park and wondered who he belonged to...now we know. I wonder what a job like "goose patrol" pays? I hope they take good care of Zipp for doing such a thankless job!
Nearing the end of 10 months of hiking. I only hiked 6.77 miles in October. That seems like a very pathetic number. I am definitely losing steam! I have 7 hikes left that will need to be done in 3 outings because of their remote locations. It sounds doable, but I am really pushing myself at this point. I am hopeful that I can get some friends rallying behind me and come and join in a fall outdoor adventure to get me through these final trails to my goal.
53 hikes down and 7 to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Camouflage...Not Always a Safety Measure!
Throughout this entire experience I have been barraged with matters of social studies, language arts, science and mathematics! Because I'm getting down to the nitty gritty, all of these thoughts are flooding my mind. The elementary school teacher in me just can't help myself.
Related to social studies, I've visited historical sites that included Indian mounds, battlefields, pioneer villages and cemeteries. I've used map reading skills and appreciated the roles that different organizations and government agencies (both county and state) have played in the creation and maintenance of the many beautiful places I've visited.
Things I've learned and taught about in the language arts classroom were valuable as well. I did a lot of reading about the places I've visited. I used communication skills, both oral and written. I recruited my fellow hikers via phone calls, text messages and FaceBook messages. I also solicited information from locals when I was lost. Most of these skills have come into play while writing this blog. For example, I created a graphic organizer before writing this post!
Scientifically speaking, this subject was the greatest part of my graphic organizer. I visited a variety of habitats: forests, wetlands, meadows. All of the plants in these habitats were more than one could imagine. Not only were there all kinds of trees, there was ground cover, vines, flowers, lily pads and stinging nettles!!!! I saw fossils and a life-sized diorama of mastadons and wooly mammoths. The weather has factored into every hike. Will it be sunny or cloudy? Dry or Rainy? Snowy? Windy? I would be remiss if I didn't mention all of the rocks and landforms. Also, the animals! I saw toads, frogs, a snake, birds, deer and LOTS of insects. One insect that we saw on a hike this week to Beaver Creek was a praying mantis that reached an unfortunate demise. Morgan was leading with Joe following closely behind. We were walking through a wetland area and the trail was a boardwalk. Morgan shouted, "A praying mantis!" But, not soon enough. When Joe looked down we couldn't find it. It was under his foot. In this case, the science of camouflage did not work in this little bug's favor. His whole body was brown in order to conceal his appearance, thus he got stepped on. Camouflage...not always a safety measure! So sad.
Every week I was using mathematics to estimate, calculate, and reflect on the journey. I figured how long it would take to travel to each location and the time it would take to complete the hike. This allowed us to determine what time we would leave. I measured the distance of each hike to see how far I traveled and kept a running total. I counted the number of hikes down and the number of hikes left. I studied the elevation changes for the hikes on graphs included in the book. I also studied the graphs for this blog that show statistics for page views and visitor information. I know there is so much more that I could include in this post about all of the different disciplines that were part of this journey. But the constant integration of all of these subjects over this experience makes me wonder, why do we teach each in such isolation in schools?
One of the hikes this week was to John Bryan State Park. I took over 70 pictures. The fall beauty was overwhelming and I think it has put me in a very reflective state. I have completed 52 hikes and have 8 hikes left. There are some challenges that remain. One of these is the far distances necessary to get to the remaining hikes; they involve doing more than one hike in a day. I am finding it hard to carve out this kind of time. Another challenge is the weather. It is unpredictable in the fall and I'm hopeful that the blessings I've had with good weather will continue. Finally, I have some weekend commitments that will make it difficult to hike. So, even though I have only 8 hikes left, this is all still taking quite a bit of effort. I will take a deep breath and trust that this can be done.
Related to social studies, I've visited historical sites that included Indian mounds, battlefields, pioneer villages and cemeteries. I've used map reading skills and appreciated the roles that different organizations and government agencies (both county and state) have played in the creation and maintenance of the many beautiful places I've visited.
Things I've learned and taught about in the language arts classroom were valuable as well. I did a lot of reading about the places I've visited. I used communication skills, both oral and written. I recruited my fellow hikers via phone calls, text messages and FaceBook messages. I also solicited information from locals when I was lost. Most of these skills have come into play while writing this blog. For example, I created a graphic organizer before writing this post!
Scientifically speaking, this subject was the greatest part of my graphic organizer. I visited a variety of habitats: forests, wetlands, meadows. All of the plants in these habitats were more than one could imagine. Not only were there all kinds of trees, there was ground cover, vines, flowers, lily pads and stinging nettles!!!! I saw fossils and a life-sized diorama of mastadons and wooly mammoths. The weather has factored into every hike. Will it be sunny or cloudy? Dry or Rainy? Snowy? Windy? I would be remiss if I didn't mention all of the rocks and landforms. Also, the animals! I saw toads, frogs, a snake, birds, deer and LOTS of insects. One insect that we saw on a hike this week to Beaver Creek was a praying mantis that reached an unfortunate demise. Morgan was leading with Joe following closely behind. We were walking through a wetland area and the trail was a boardwalk. Morgan shouted, "A praying mantis!" But, not soon enough. When Joe looked down we couldn't find it. It was under his foot. In this case, the science of camouflage did not work in this little bug's favor. His whole body was brown in order to conceal his appearance, thus he got stepped on. Camouflage...not always a safety measure! So sad.
Every week I was using mathematics to estimate, calculate, and reflect on the journey. I figured how long it would take to travel to each location and the time it would take to complete the hike. This allowed us to determine what time we would leave. I measured the distance of each hike to see how far I traveled and kept a running total. I counted the number of hikes down and the number of hikes left. I studied the elevation changes for the hikes on graphs included in the book. I also studied the graphs for this blog that show statistics for page views and visitor information. I know there is so much more that I could include in this post about all of the different disciplines that were part of this journey. But the constant integration of all of these subjects over this experience makes me wonder, why do we teach each in such isolation in schools?
One of the hikes this week was to John Bryan State Park. I took over 70 pictures. The fall beauty was overwhelming and I think it has put me in a very reflective state. I have completed 52 hikes and have 8 hikes left. There are some challenges that remain. One of these is the far distances necessary to get to the remaining hikes; they involve doing more than one hike in a day. I am finding it hard to carve out this kind of time. Another challenge is the weather. It is unpredictable in the fall and I'm hopeful that the blessings I've had with good weather will continue. Finally, I have some weekend commitments that will make it difficult to hike. So, even though I have only 8 hikes left, this is all still taking quite a bit of effort. I will take a deep breath and trust that this can be done.
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