Day 4

A New Hobby
By Allison Jones
atj21@txstate.edu

Miles walked: 6.2
Work produced: one Instagram post, four interviews and two nature journals
Time: 11 hours, 30 minutes

Another early start
Most of our group woke up early to get a head start on our day. A few of us had more interviews lined up and others had classes to attend in hopes of getting good b-roll for our projects. For Jake, Kaylee and myself, we headed up to the Majestic Hotel around 7:30 a.m. to prepare for our 8:00 a.m. interview with a naturalist from the Yosemite Conservancy. 

After our initial interview we headed to Yosemite Village to get b-roll and try for two more interviews of park visitors. We were successful in both of our endeavors. By 11:00 a.m. we headed back to Half Dome Village to prepare for our nature journaling class that the Yosemite Conservancy was hosting for our whole group.

Nature Journaling 
Our group arrived at Happy Isles, which is where we stopped to meet up with our host, around 12:30 in the afternoon after a 10 minute shuttle ride from our campsite. When we met up with our host, Lora, we were all very excited. Most of us had never really practiced nature journaling before, so it was an exciting opportunity. For a while, we discussed what journaling was and what nature journaling entailed. It turns out that nature journaling is truly just combing observing and recording. Basically, nature journaling is going into nature and recording what you are observing - but in your own way. So it really is whatever you make it to be. If you see a tree in a certain way, draw it and record it that way. This is a personal art form, but inspired by the outdoor elements.

Nature Journaling
Photo by Allison Jones

Participating in something like this, especially in Yosemite, was an incredible opportunity. Taking a moment to step out of reality and focus on the small parts of life gives you a different perspective on things.

Along with the emotional appeal to this art form, it was a nice change of pace for the day to sit back and relax by drawing and using water colors. Our group sat in the middle of a trail on wooden benches and soaked in the warm air while the sun shined down on us. We painted with water colors and listened to the birds. The wind moved our paint on the paper and fallen leaves brushed our feet. We sat with nature, recorded what we saw and relaxed for two hours of our day.

Today, most of us observed small plants and the bark on the trees that surrounded us on the trail. We were given an hour to draw our observations and an hour to color them in. We showed off our drawings to one another and applauded everyone for their creativity.

A New Day
The day was successful and relaxing. The stress of the previous days seemed to melt away. Tonight, our group has even more to look forward to. We'll attend a 'Star Party' later when we all regroup around 9:00 p.m. And as each day holds new beginnings, tomorrow will too.

Day 4: Getting Used To This

Day 4

Getting Used To This 

by Kaylee Smith
kas294@txstate.edu

Best Snack: Beef Jerky
Miles Walked: 3.5 miles

It is officially Day 4 in Yosemite National Park. Or in other words, we only have one more full day left in this breathtaking place. Part of the "fun" of this trip is that we never have any idea what the next day will look like. It isn't until our nightly meetings around 8 p.m. that we know when and where we have to be the next morning.

Don't let the picture fool you, Allison Jones (Right) and
 I (left) are wide awake. 

This morning was officially the fourth morning in a row we've had to blare the lovely alarm clock going off at 6 a.m. (if not earlier). Although one might assume that we would at least be slightly used to this early wake-up call by now, jokes on them. The 10+ miles we walk every day make for some great night sleep that never gets easier to wake up from.

This morning my partner Allison Jones had an interview scheduled at The Majestic Hotel on the other side of the park at 8 a.m. Being the great friend that I am, I got up, got ready and we headed out together.

Sitting at the bus stop, I remember taking a moment to appreciate that while most of the people in the valley were still deep asleep, the valley itself was wide awake. There was beauty and comfort in the fact that even though I had no idea what was in store for me for in the day, the valley continued its everyday routine, whether I was here or not.

After the interview, we headed to Yosemite Valley and took a moment to appreciate the silence and crisp morning air. I slowly found myself thinking, "Maybe I am a morning person?" We felt energized and decided to start interviewing every other person we saw (not literally). In the past we had waited until later in the afternoon to interview, we found that the morning brought along a different, more energetic crowd.

By 10:30 a.m. we had completed four fantastic interviews. The sluggishness I anticipated to wake up to today vanished when I got out in the park. The tasks at hand are becoming more comprehensible and
attainable. The stress is escaping us. We are starting to actually get used to this.