(no subject)
This past weekend I went camping for my Environmental Studies/Nature and Society class. We camped out in a state park about a mile away from the shore of Lake Michigan, near the Platte River mouth. 17 other classmates, one professor, two "rambling naturalists," and myself were out there for about two days, and it was bittersweet blast. It was a cold trip to say the least, but sight of the Great Lake was inspiring. I want to explore more in the northern area of Michigan, especially around this time of year. The tree colors were phenomenal, and the diversity of the wild/plant-life was much more present during the Autumn time compared to the summers up north. There was glow-in-the-dark fungi, possum-holes, several loons and other gulls, giaaant ant mounds (one as tall as my waist), and literally, a shoulder-to-shoulder wall of salmon in a river we visited. There must have been at least four or five hundred fish, just waiting for a DNR regulated fence to open so they could lay eggs. It was almost eerie how all of them were sitting completely still in the water, facing this fence, just waiting for it to open.
The experience was very eye opening. The Lake itself was enough to chill me to the bone (the wind/water temperature, and the view). We saw two of the three endangered species in the park, both were the plants. The other was a small bird, that was to be honest, an idiot. It would hop around on a pretend broken wing to lead predators away from it's nest, but at times, the predator would leave, then come back, and the bird would try the same move again. Obviously it's wings were not broken at all, and then 'poof!' there goes the eggs in the possums mouth.
We also hippied-ed out a bit, and collected any trash we saw during the weekend into a single full sized trash bag. By the end of the weekend, we had filled the bag 3/4ths full, with tons of weird stuff. A couple of sandals, a few old and broken plastic toys, lots and lots of twist ties, straws, beer cans, plenty of plastic wrappers and junk you would find down a plain city street. It was pretty sick, and disheartening, speaking we only hiked about six miles of trails, and northern Michigan is a huge place.
The rest of this month is looking pretty positive. Grand Rapids tomorrow to see Farewell Flight with Matt, CMU/WMU game this weekend, Hanging out with the moped gang next weekend, then Halloween in AP at the end of month. Tons of reading and classwork inbetween, but whatevs, I should expect that.
The experience was very eye opening. The Lake itself was enough to chill me to the bone (the wind/water temperature, and the view). We saw two of the three endangered species in the park, both were the plants. The other was a small bird, that was to be honest, an idiot. It would hop around on a pretend broken wing to lead predators away from it's nest, but at times, the predator would leave, then come back, and the bird would try the same move again. Obviously it's wings were not broken at all, and then 'poof!' there goes the eggs in the possums mouth.
We also hippied-ed out a bit, and collected any trash we saw during the weekend into a single full sized trash bag. By the end of the weekend, we had filled the bag 3/4ths full, with tons of weird stuff. A couple of sandals, a few old and broken plastic toys, lots and lots of twist ties, straws, beer cans, plenty of plastic wrappers and junk you would find down a plain city street. It was pretty sick, and disheartening, speaking we only hiked about six miles of trails, and northern Michigan is a huge place.
The rest of this month is looking pretty positive. Grand Rapids tomorrow to see Farewell Flight with Matt, CMU/WMU game this weekend, Hanging out with the moped gang next weekend, then Halloween in AP at the end of month. Tons of reading and classwork inbetween, but whatevs, I should expect that.