Thursday, July 24, 2008

Midweek Update

This is a day late because of our ongoing ag. projects; my group took the majority of last night to work ours. But I can still give you an idea of what we did yesterday.
After breakfast we took the vans to Rock Bridge State Park. The park was gorgeous with a system of walking trails that ran in loops all leading back to the parking lot. There we met Dr. Vaught, who introduced us to hand-held GPS. But first he dished out handfuls of bubble gum, and we were instructed to see who could blow the biggest bubble. I think John won when it ended up in his ear and on his hair... Dr. Vaught explained to us the uses and limitations of GPS, asking us to keep in mind the effect this technology has on the human population.
Then came the fun part, we split up into groups of 4-5 and were given a set of clues for landmarks to find along the trails. Each landmark was described and then had coordinates that we had to use the handheld GPS to find. While we were wandering through the park, we came across The Devil's Icebox, which is a kind of gorge with a spring or creek running through it. Its called the Devil's Icebox because the air is cool around it.
After our hike (no worries, no one fell off any cliffs or was permanently lost), we came back to the dorms, went to lunch at the plaza, and got ready for the float trip.
Once we arrived at the launch site, we split into two groups; the first went on the Missouri conservation boat for the first half of the float. We paddled (some kayaked) the first stretch and then stopped at the foot of a natural spring that fed into the river. The entire group climbed the bank and we splashed around in the chilly spring which flowed from a wide mouthed cave. Here we switched groups and my group went on the conservation boat. We whipped around the river and took a cruise down one of the places where the river is being re-routed. It was interesting to learn about how the river has been changed in the last two hundred years, how it will continue to change, and what efforts are being made to salvage some of the original ecosystem.
After a good hard Missouri river mud fight, we all ended up back at the dorm, cleaned up and headed to dinner. But, surprise, instead of dinner at the Plaza 900, we were taken to Eckle's hall where we were served a fantastic dinner by the hotel & restaurant faculty and students. It was really yummy and a nice break from the cafeteria. After dinner we slaved over our urban agriculture awareness projects until we eventually crashed. Another day well spent.
Allison

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