When despair grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
— Wendell Berry, The Peace of Wild Things
If you know me, you know there are two places I love going an inordinate amount: zoos and botanical gardens. My love for plants and animals is unsurpassed (I might be trying to turn my apartment into a greenhouse—sorry Kayla). So when I discovered that there was an escape into flora and fauna in St. Paul (Minneapolis' lesser-know twin city) that was both a zoo and a botanical garden—and not only that, it was also free—I just had to go.
Read MoreFor any of you who have eczema—especially an eczema that you can't hide with clothing or makeup—know that you aren't alone. Know that someone else understands the anxiety over staying at a hotel or walking into a Bath & Body Works. Know that someone else understands the sleepless nights and four-times-the-recommended dose of allergy medication. Know that someone else understands the itch or what it feels like to watch your own skin slough off no matter how much lotion you put on it. And know that you are worth more than your skin.
Read MoreLocated off of US 41 just outside L'Anse, MI (about an hour away from Marquette), there's an unassuming turnoff to a parking lot filled with cars. Today, our adventure crew consists of Kari, Kayla (her sister and my friend/now roommate!), and Kari's newest addition to the family, Kindi, a precocious 4-and-a-half-month-old lab/border collie mix whose name means "squirrel" in Swahili (even though she was actually named after a gorilla at the Louisville Zoo). A battered map shows that "Canyon Falls" is located on a single, straight-shot trail about a mile away.
Read MoreI can't believe I've been home a whole summer, and this is the first time I'm getting out to Red River Gorge! (I guess that's what happens when you work the old 8-5 Monday through Friday and spend every weekend wedding venue shopping.) Luckily, I had a day free during my last weekend in Kentucky, and what a better way to spend it than heading out to the Gorge. We decided to bring along Ryan's parent's puppy, Daisy, and try out a new trail: Pinch 'Em Tight.
Read MoreIn the higher education system, colleges are composed of two separate yet equally important groups: The students who pay to be there and the professors who teach them. These are their stories...
These are actual things my students said to me last year. Enjoy—and kids, learn from their mistakes.
Read MoreIn the end, I came up with a list of five venues that fit my vintage mansion aesthetic and don't threaten to plunge me and my family into bankruptcy. I hope this helps someone out there in the same position I was in!
Read MoreNow, I get tons of questions about having Pyrenees because one, giant white fluff balls attract a lot of attention, and two, they require a little extra work, since there's so much extra of them. I've written about what you should know about Pyrs and what life with these babies is like, and you can read those posts here. But in honor of this blisteringly hot June and July weather, I decided to give you a glimpse into specifically what my summers look like with my giant fur babies.
Read MoreGrand Teton National Park is named for Grand Teton, the highest peak in the Teton range. The origins of the name are peculiar, dating back to 19th-century French-speaking trappers, who are said to have called the range les trois tétons, or the three teats, due to their shape. Americans anglicized the spelling and shortened it to Tetons.
Read MoreThis first stop isn't really in Yellowstone, but it's a strange sight for those who make the drive from Wapiti or Cody to the East Gate. For some reason it reminded me of Howl's Moving Castle, while Ryan told me it reminded him of the Weasley's house (the Burrow) from Harry Potter. One thing we could all agree on: it was a weird-looking building.
Read MoreWe passed this turnout every day, as the route from Wapiti and the East Gate into the park took us through Sylvan Pass, which is in the Absaroka Range. This part of the park has one of the higher elevations that you drive through, at 8,524 feet above sea level, so it's naturally chillier, hence why these photos of the Sylvan Lake look like a winter wonderland even though it was in the sixties and seventies in the rest of the park. We saw a lot of cars from California stopped around here to get out and have snowball fights, but after six months of harsh Minnesota winter, I only stopped for the photo op.
Read MoreOur first stop of the day was to see (besides Old Faithful) one of the most iconic features of Yellowstone: its Grand Canyon and staggering waterfall. Yellowstone River, the longest undammed river in the continental United States, carved this canyon through erosion about 10,000 to 14,000 years ago (making it relatively new in geological terms). The canyon walls are painted in yellows, oranges, and reds from the iron compounds in the rock--as the iron is oxidized, the rocks rust.
Read MoreLast week, I was given the amazing opportunity to travel to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park as research for a novella. This trip was funded by a grant I was awarded by the English department at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where I'm currently obtaining my MFA in Creative Writing. It was nine days in total, including four 12-13 hour driving days, and I brought along my forever traveling partner, Mary, and my brother. Using research from other bloggers' itineraries and improvisations due to time constraints and weather, we conquered almost all of Yellowstone's coolest spots in four jam-packed days. Let's get started with day one!
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