Boundary Waters

Paddling though a water logged canyon, I look up and am filled with wonder at the height of the cliffs. The only sound audible to me is the sound of the water hitting the side of my canoe with each stroke I take. The walls of the canyon are colored by the changing levels of the water over the years. At the ridge of the canyon is a rocky shelf with a few hardy trees. The water is a beautiful shade of blue. As I paddle farther down the canyon, I hear the shrill cry of the bald eagle. When I look up, I see the beautiful white head of the eagle soaring high above me. Shortly, I come to the mouth of the canyon; it opens up into a large lake. The shore of the lake is covered by rocks placed in a random pattern. Some of the rocks are rounded smooth, a perfect place to bask in the sun. Other rocks are sharp and jagged waiting to scrape the bottom of my canoe. When I look down at the rocks just below the surface, I see the silver traces of aluminum scraped off from canoes before me. In one of the inlets of the lake, I find a beaver’s dam. At first it looks like a large pile of sticks and mud, but after closer examination, I can see the organization which makes the dam strong and secure from the attacks of the outside.

As I paddle on looking for a campsite for the night, I come to another inlet covered in water lilies. These plants are seemingly fragile, but trying to pull one from its watery home takes some effort. Also in this inlet, I find my campsite-it is a small open space beneath the pines. As I lay down on the soft brown pine needles, I am amazed by the height of the trees surrounding me. The pines have grown straight and tall over the years. Right next to the pines are paper bark birch trees. The bark on these trees is peeling off in long white stripes. As I gaze up looking at the trees, I fall asleep because of the shear peacefulness of the area.

After my nap I wake up from the sound of the crackling fire. The aroma of the fish cooking on the fire is making me hungry. The pine wood is cracking from the heat of the fire. I cannot wait for supper. The fresh caught fish is mouth watering. Looking at the breaded fillets of the northern on my plate makes me think about the life of the fish just hours before. The northern pike is the great hunter of the Boundary Waters. Its body is shaped like a snake to slip quietly through watery channels. The nose comes to a point, perfect for eating other fish. The only real predator of the northern is me, the human trespassing in his territory with my hook and line. Now the fish is reduced to a pile of bones set out on a rock for a bird to eat and its meat is laying on my plate waiting to be consumed by me. To go along with my fish I have a drink of nectar-like kool-aid. The kool-aid is so sweet because of lack of proper measuring tools. I also have a fantastic side dish of freeze dried green beans and to top it all off a wonderful blue berry cobbler with fresh blue berries.

After dinner I rest sitting around the campfire with my companions. Sometimes we sit in silence taking in the sites of the Boundary Waters. Other times we will engage in deep conversation about whatever is on our minds. As the sun sets we move to a rock in the lake, that is perfect to watch the setting sun and to star gaze on. The stars at night are so amazing. No lights from surrounding towns hinder my view. Every constellation is present and can be easily seen. Off on the horizon I can see the eerie blues and greens of the aura borealis. Soon I turn in to a night of sound sleep. In the morning my alarm clock, the sun, wakes me up. I quickly get up and start making pancakes and orange juice.

After breakfast I quickly break camp and start to canoe again. Soon I come to a portage possibly one of the most challenging on my trip. As I come to the entrance, I plan my approach. It is a four hundred eighty-five rod portage. I divide my possessions in to several groups: first the canoe; then the packs with my food in; and finally my tent and clothes. The portage itself is beautiful. On the side there is a water fall, just perfect for sitting in once I am done crossing the portage. Walking up the portage is a challenge with a canoe on your back or carrying two heavy packs. The path is unmarked, uneven and rocky. With the canoe on my back, the only place for me to look is down. Carefully I place each foot avoiding the tree roots reaching up from underneath the ground. The rocks have become giant obstacles for me to pass. Without anything to carry I can run up the hills easily, but when having to carry something, I have a challenge even walking just a few feet. Sometimes on the portage I see singns of bear and moose: an upturned log, scat laying next to the path, and a broke antler in the trail. The birds always make my arrival known by raising their voices in a cry of warning of danger. Soon the mosquitoes descend on my arms nothing keep them away not even DEET. The last hundred steps seem the hardest. I can see my destination, the next lake, in view, but I am not quite there yet. As soon as I reach the banks of the lake, I quickly relieve myself of my burden and hurry back over the portage for my next trip. After three long treks across the portage and many breaks I reach my goal. After a short rest and a snack, I start to load my canoe again. First I put the canoe in the water. It has to be deep enough that it will not become stuck on the bottom of the lake but close enough that the canoe will not drift away while I am loading. First goes in the bags that contain my food. They go closest to the back of the canoe where I sit so I may easily get a bite to eat. Next, in the front of the canoe goes the bags with my tent in and my clothes. Finally I put in my fishing poles and water bottles all within easy reach. Now I am ready to start paddling across the lake again.

One of the first things I see is a mother and father loon taking care of their babies. The loons have a pitch black head and spotted body. Their babies look like little gray balls of fluff floating on the water. Suddenly the father loon spots me and makes a cry of warning. His cry is sharp and shrill often described as the cry of the insane. The babies quickly swim to their mother or father and climb on their backs for protection.

As I paddle on, I think back on all the sights and sounds that I have experienced in the past week. The reasons why I put myself through the torture of the hard and long portages, my aching arms and shoulders. While I am at Boundary Waters, I figure out who I am as myself with out the conveniences of the modern world. I am reduced to making my own fire and scavenging for food. Looking up from my thoughts, I see a beautiful waterfall waiting for me to enjoy its splendor¾ another little oasis reminding me to take each paddle one stroke at a time.

Free write

This is a writing log i wrote for my college writing class. Enjoy!


Wow I finally moved in to college. What a change it has been for me. At home I have my own room, my own bathroom, my own everything. At home it is just me and my parents; at Northwestern it’s me and probably 20 other girls all living on the same wing. I have to share a room with someone. The only time I have ever shared a room would be at church convention. Now I have to share a room with someone for the rest of the year. At home if I want to bake something I just go in the kitchen and bake something. At Northwestern I well I am not sure if I can bake something. At home if I want my wash done I just put it in the laundry room. At Northwestern I have to go wash it myself.
It’s not that all these changes are bad. I love having all the people around. When I am bored or sick of doing home work I can always find someone to go do something with me. My roommate is pretty cool and we get along great. As for not being able to bake well that’s a good thing because when I bake I eat the sweet stuff and its just better for me. Oh and the laundry part. I’m going home every Sunday so mom will still do all my laundry for me.

My posting or lack there of

When i started this blog I was going to post everyday. Well its summer and i have only made 6 posts. What have I been doing that cause me not to post? Nothing.... Yes I have been working somewhat but usally I spend a good 2 hours online everday plenty of time for a post. Today I put some work into my guitar. Im going to finish by my birthday. I spend alot of time talking on MSN, looking at Facebook or waiting for my cousin to post another blog. I should do the same.

Senior Salute

Dear Class of 2007,
Wow its been four years. Remember freshmen year all crowded around the lunch tables. I was so afraid of high school back then. I was so sure i was going to hate school. By sophomore year i was more comfortable with myself and i enjoyed my self more. Junior and Seniors year were a lot of fun as well. But as I'm looking back I wondering. What if i did things differently? Hung out with different people, was involved in other actives. What would have happened? In the last weeks of school I saw different sides of people that i have misjudged earlier in our high school career. For all of you that i did that to i apologize. I hope you will forgive me. Finally I want thank you for a four years of high school.

Love
Beth Hunter

Europe Trip

DAY 1 Monday, June 18 Overnight Flight
- Departure from the United States.

DAY 2 Tuesday, June 19 London
- Arrival in London. Take time today to familiarize yourself with this wonderful city and maybe check out one of their many parks. Dinner.

DAY 3 Wednesday, June 20 London
- A local guide shows you St. Paul's Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard, if availabe. The afternoon is free to visit the Tower of London if you please. Dinner.

DAY 4 Thursday, June 21 Caen
- Visit mysterious pre-historic Stonehenge, then continue to Salisbury, to see the tallest Gothic spire in England. It's a short drive to the seaside town of Portsmouth, where you board the ferry to France porterage included. After dinner aboard the ferry, drive to Caen for a night's rest.

DAY 5 Friday, June 22 Loire Valley
- This morning, experience the D-Day Beaches, then continue to the awe-inspiring island monastery of Mont St. Michel. This medieval abbey and village perches precariously atop a rocky island, surrounded by sandy flats at low tide and by the sea at high tide. Continue to the Loire Valley for dinner.

DAY 6 Saturday, June 23 Paris
- Today, visit some of the most impressive castles in the Loire. Your first stop is Chenonceau, a jewel of Renaissance architechture. Next drive to impressive Chambord, the giant hunting lodge of Francois I. Continue to Chartes to view the magnificent cathedral and its stained glass windows. Arrive in Paris for dinner.

DAY 7 Sunday, June 24 Paris
- Morning service at the American Church with bus transfers included. In the afternoon, see Louis XIV's palace at Versailles. Return to Paris for dinner. (meal vouchers will be preovided for dinner tonight). Evening services with metro transfers.

DAY 8 Monday, June 25 Overnight Train
- A local guide shows the city's most famous monuments - from the Notre Dame Cathedral to the Arc de Triumphe. This afternoon use your ACIS Walking Tour to discover the beautiful Louvre. Transfer to the station to board the overnight train to Munich, couchettes provided.

DAY 9 Tuesday, June 26 Munich
- Arrival in Munich. Breakfast, followed by sightseeing, which shows you Nymphenburg Palace, the summer home of Bavaria's Wittelsbach kings. Walk through old Munich to the Glockensspiel. Reflect on World War II this afternoon at the Dachau memorial.

DAY 10 Wednesday, June 27 Munich
- Full day excursion to Salzburg for sightseeing with a local guide including a ride up the Hohensalzburg funicular and a visit to Mozart's Birthplace. Lunch. Afternoon visit to Hallein Salt Mines (time permitting). Return to Munich for the overnight. Note: Lunch instead of dinner included.

DAY 11 Thursday, June 28 Munich
- Today's excursion takes you to Ludwig II's fairyland castle of Neuschwanstein and Oberammergau, where the famous Passion Play is performed once every decade.

DAY 12 Friday, June 29 Departure
- Transfer to the airport for return flight to the United States.

American Puzzle

Like a puzzle America is made up of many different pieces. Each piece is as important as the piece next to it, no matter what the size. Each different piece makes America unique, and each makes America a whole. Each of us need to find our own special piece in the American puzzle. Just as a puzzle is not complete without every piece, neither is America without every person.

In the year 1776, the American puzzle was just beginning to take shape. Fifty-six patriots, ranging in age from thirty to seventy, came together to build our nation. Each of them had a different background, but all had one purpose to build the United States of America. Their Purpose is clearly stated in the Constitution. "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." The Framers’ pieces laid out the border of our American Puzzle.

In 1804, a group of daring explorers left St. Louis, MO for a trip into the unknown. Lewis and Clark began to fill in the northwestern border of the American Puzzle. They gave the American people a reason to become pieces of the puzzle. The explorers came back from their adventures with stories to tell and wetted the American sense of adventure.

Only forty years later, the American people started to fill in the southwestern part of puzzle. They packed up all they owned and started on their own new adventure. They crossed our country on the Oregon Trail seeing new sights and settling new places. The American Puzzle was starting to take shape.

In the year 1861 the American Puzzle was tested. Did we really have all the pieces in the right places? The American Civil War broke out. After the deaths of 620,000 of our men and boys and of our beloved President Abraham Lincoln, the American Puzzle stood the test of war and time. Our nation was complete again. As a major piece of our puzzle Lincoln did many things—He issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves. He gave the Gettysburg Address to our nation at a time that we were greatly divided. In his speech Lincoln states, "That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. . . that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. . . and that government of the people. . .by the people. . .for the people. . . shall not perish from the earth."

On August 3, 1914, another Great War broke out; not on our soil but this war would also involve us. On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany and we entered World War I. The men and women that fought over there brought the world to the realization that America was a fighting force and that we were here to stay. America’s presence also told the world that the American people fought for democracy and that we wanted to share our freedoms with the rest of the world.

In the roaring twenties, American women won a great freedom: the right to vote. If they could work and help over seas, why should not they also have a voice in our American Puzzle? This struggle started long before in 1800’s. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton Cady formed the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1896. Over the years many protests and pickets took place for the cause of women suffrage. Finally in 1920 on August 26 the 19th Amendment was signed into law giving women the right to vote. This alteration in the puzzle allowed for more choice and more changes in the upcoming century.

In the year 1929, the American Puzzle withstood another test to see if all the puzzle pieces were in the correct place. The Great Depression tested our perseverance. During this trial, the American people had to come together and help each other through the tough times. They lived on the motto "Fix it up; wear it out, make it do or do with out. Could we live like that today?

Ten years after the Great Despression started, another war broke out in the world—World War II. Soon the United States joined the war campaign when our own country was attacked by Japan. In his address to Congress, the need for resistance to the Japanese forces was clearly stated. President Franklin Roosevelt said, "Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan….Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God." We began the war by fighting the Japanese and soon joined the Allied war effort in Europe. We overcame the Axis foes on August 3, 1945, and soon the world was at peace again.

At home, all was not well. There were pieces of our puzzle not in place yet and they so wanted to be a part of our nation. Our puzzle was also colorless; we needed color added. Those pieces were the African American people. The Civil Rights Movement started on December 1, 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus. The Civil Rights Movement leader Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. In his speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom he said, "I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers." In the 1960’s the public schools became integrated. And the African Americans have had a large part in our puzzle ever since.

Also in the decades of the 50’s and 60’s our country was at war. Our husbands and sons were once again separated from us in a war that seemed never to end. How bravely they fought in Korea and Vietnam protecting the world from the spread of communism. Our puzzle time and time again had proved itself that it would remain whole. This war must have been another sign to the other nations that the United States of America was here to stay and would stand up for democracy at home and away.

On September 11, 2001 our freedoms were attacked again this time on our own soil. The World Trade Center was destroyed by radical Islamist extremists. Thousands of lives and pieces of the puzzle were lost that day. Hundreds more have been lost during the War on Terror. President Bush in his address to the nation reminded us about the strength of our nation joining together. He said "Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve." But we keep on fighting. We will always fight for our American Values for if we stop all the progress on our puzzle will cease.

Now we are up to the present day. The American Puzzle will never be completely finished. It will always be changing. What is your part in the American puzzle? Are you the piece that will go over and fight the war in Iraq or in a war that has not begun yet? Or are you the piece that will stay at home and support those overseas protecting our freedoms? Maybe you are the piece that will be the next person to represent the American people in Washington. Whatever piece of the puzzle you are you are important and America will never be the same with out you. So go out and do your part and one by one more puzzle pieces will come together.

Sunday Afternoon

Today as I was thinking of what to write in my blog I realized that my Sunday activities often fall subject to a pattern. I get up in the morning, get ready for church, go to church, talk to my friends, come home for lunch, sleep from noon to 4, get on the Internet, go to church again, go to Grandma's and finally go home and go to bed. And this happens week after week. Maybe it is time for me to revamp my Sunday activities to have more meaning. I don't know but now its time for the next thing in my Sunday pattern.

Blogs

Yesterday I started my blog, Rose-colored Glasses. I hope you will enjoy it. I have several things I want to accomplish with this blog.
1.)Keep my friends updated on my life for the next step. Seeing that I only have 14 days left with my fellow classmates I need a way for them to leave me messages and comment on the things happening in my life. Yeah guys I'm not going to forget you ;)
2.) I always wanted to have a place to write down my thoughts and trying to write things down on paper just usually does not last to long.
3.) I wanted a place to publish my eassys, poems, speeches and other things that I write. Coming soon the American Puzzle

When I was your age.....

I swore I never was going to say those word to my kids. Well today I said those words. While at work my Candystripers were to tired to do the simple tasks(passing trays and pushing residents to their room) that we have to do. Ask of them to go visit with residents and they make it sound like capital punishment. My co-worker and I both ex-candystripers groaned at their complaints because when we were Candstripers we had to do many more tasks like feeding the residents and make sure they had everything that they needed. In after-thought maybe my thoughts on parenting will change a lot in the coming years.