A walk in the woods

Homesickness hit hard this last month.  Learning to live in a new place, with new people and new experiences has been pretty tough.  But I've realized that in time, no matter where you are, or what situations you find yourself in, you need to have a place to go to that makes you feel better about everything.  For me, that place is the Tanalian Falls Trail.  I've spoken of it already, but I have to tell you all, this is the place to go when you need to quietly reflect.  When you need to get away from it all, and have a moment to yourself.

Every Tuesday I'm supposed to be leading a Falls Trail Hike, going over the botany of the region and fun facts, and well, so far, I've only had 2 participants in the last 3 weeks.  So this week, when nobody showed up, I went alone.  Yes, alone.  Not the smartest thing to do I know, what with the fact that there are bears in the region, and well, I haven't been given bear spray yet (yeah, that's a thing, weird I know).  But I needed to get out of the V.C. and have an adventure.  So I took to the trail.  Walking alone, the best safety measures you can take are to make as much noise as possible, and make yourself known.  I'm not the most vocal person to begin with, so I was happy to play my iPod and sing along.  No bear in its right mind would try to come near me.  I just don't sound very appetizing (at least that's what my hope is).

The trail provided a level of comfort out in this strange environment that I didn't expect.  I found that I really enjoyed the exertion of climbing the trail (it's mostly uphill), and of stopping every now and then to look around and really admire what was around me.  Part of the reason I chose to go into the environmental field was the desire to protect places like this.  Nature makes you feel better.  It's a fact.  Having a bad day, cooped up in an office environment?  Go outside for a spell.  Even if it's raining.  I guarantee you'll feel better after you breath in some fresh air.

 Plus, when you go outside, and really look around, you may surprise yourself with what you find!  I had stopped for a moment on the way up to the falls, and turned around, and there was this red squirrel chilling out in the tree.  Usually they freak out when they see a human.  Nothing like the squirrels back home.  These ones want you to know you aren't wanted.  But this one was different.  He sat there, looked at me for a bit, and decided I wasn't a threat.  He held still for a picture.  And was on his way.  Doing squirrely things I'm sure.

I guess what I'm trying to say with this post is that although I've been feeling down about the whole being away from home thing, moments like these remind me that I'm lucky to be out here.  Walks like these help me to get back on track.  I just needed some air in my lungs, some sun in my face.  I just needed to get outside!  So if you are ever feeling down, take a trip outside.  You'll feel better.  I sure did.