Ouray

Although it has been at least fifteen years or so since my trip to Ouray, Colorado, it is a place I would love to return and shall never forget. Called “Little Switzerland of America,” because of its placement at the narrow head of a valley, enclosed on three and a half sides by steep mountains, Ouray is a tiny town of 813 people nestled in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. It is 40 miles south of Montrose and ten miles northeast of Telluride, but due to the severity of the landscape, the drive is about 50 miles. Yankee Boy Basin, only a few miles away, boasts a beautiful spectacle called Twin Falls.

Visitors can float on the Ouray Hot Springs swimming pool (open all year) and gaze at the slopes above, drive on a tour over a four-wheel-drive-only road to Telluride or to Yankee Boy Basin with its wildflower display, visit Box Canyon Falls, or just drive the highway up the gorge toward Durango. When we were there, we were creating a gorgeous bouquet of wildflowers that lined the quaint downtown plaza streets. To our surprise, someone announced that some of our lovely discoveries were the State flower, the Columbine!

In the fall of 1968 the film True Grit was filmed in Ouray County, including some scenes in the city itself and the nearby town of Ridgeway. According to the residents, autumn is truly an outstanding time of year, with aspen stands and mixed conifer forests exhibiting glorious displays of golden colors. The winter months are enchanting, and Christmas “takes on a whole new meaning.” At night when the lights meet the formations of ice and snow, they join in a shimmering dance of magical light.

This is a vacation you will want to always remember. There are panoramic vistas, mountain basins with breath-taking waterfalls and wildflowers, and an inspiring winter wonderland waiting to be captured on film, so don’t forget your camera!

South Africa

Because South Africa has natural beauty, wild life, and sunshine it is a place that would truly be a wonderful destination of vacation.

Southern Africa is a place with an immensely varied terrain supporting a rich diversity of fauna and flora offering a correspondingly diverse range of experiences. Every new year, brightly dressed troupes of “colorured” (mixed-race) men and children dance through the streets of Cape Town, singing to the quick-paced strum of banjos and thump of drums. American minstrels who came to the Cape in the late 1800's inspired this tradition, but the celebration actually dates back to 1834 when slavestook to the streets to celebrate their liberation.

Other moments that make the thought of a visit to South Africa appealing are walking through carpets of flowers (Africa boast more than 2,600 species of flowers), seeing animals that are living in their own exciting habitats (staring down a roaring lion in Mpumalanga, stalking a rhino on foot in Kruger National Park, Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Reserve, or swimming with the penguins on Boulders Beach in Cape Town), and relaxing in beautiful camp sites such as Morukura (no schedules, no rules, and absolutely no pressure on guests to do anything other than “Be Yourself.”)

Numerous activities are offered due to Africa’s beautiful landscaping. Kayaking to cape point, mountain biking through the Knysna Forests, bungee jumping off Bloukrans River Bridge, surfing the Mighty Zambezi River, or game-viewing in theMoremi Game reserve all sound thrilling and memorable.

Due to the beautiful surroundings, exciting array of activities, and uniqueculture South Africa is definitely a place I would love to visit.

Morocco

Morocco, a country slightly smaller than California is located in North Africa. Two of its borders are bodies of water: North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. When Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous released, I was absolutely in love with Kate Hudson’s character, Penny Lane. I’ve always been fascinated with the late ‘60’s, early 70’s fashion and music. In the film, Penny Lane tells Shawn they will go to Morocco together, and it was mainly the fact that a “hippie child” would want to go to Morocco that first caught my attention.

With two of its walls being water, of course Morocco has plenty of beaches and quaint little beachside villas. I would love waking up miles from home to an open patio door allowing the breeze off of the ocean to fill my hotel room with smells and sounds of summer fun. Being able to shower, get dressed and walk straight onto the beach would be so surreal.

Architecture in Morocco is very appealing. I adore the “Arbian-esque-ness” of it all. One of my very favorite movies of all time is Aladdin, and it would be a dream come true to be surrounded by buildings mirroring those I used to love at as a child.

Marrakech is known for its beautiful natural waterfall. Surrounding the cascade itself is lush plant life which is, in itself, worth seeing. Djemaa El-Fna, Marrakech’s town square, has plenty to keep you busy. Dancers, musicians and market vendors line the streets during the day.

Dar Jamai Museum in Meknes offers tourists market vendors, a lovely garden, and famous Moroccan painted wood art pieces and other crafts. Below are photos of two incredible Moroccan ceilings.

Whether a family vacation or a romantic getaway, there isn’t much that Morocco doesn’t have to offer. Beaches, historical museums, and town squares bursting with culture appeal to anyone who is amused with legends of Arabian Nights and magic carpet rides.

What is blogging?

Blogging is a way for people to express their personal thoughts, ideas, knowledge and viewpoints about a variety of subjects on the internet, in simple terms. Unlike magazine or newspaper journaling, blogs are available as soon as the individual posts them; anyone with access to the world wide web can write one, and anyone with a special interest or hobby can, almost certainly, find a blog on that subject. Readers can subscribe to particular blogs that peak their interest, or, if there isn't one-create their own. If you wanted to keep up with your favorite movie or rock star, sports team, or any special group, blogging is the perfect way to do so. Blogging brings people together, even internationally, on the same subject-it has revolutionized the way we, as humans journal, and even interact with one another. Not only do blogs keep people updated on personal, it is also a very powerful political, and even economic tool. Since quite a few blog writers are professionals, either in their field of study or at writing, they can be very persuasive, especially if you're a follower of the writer.



The term "weblog" was first used in 1997 by Jorn Barger, editer of Robot Wisdom. When people hear the term "blog" today, its so common and widely used that no one really has to think about what blogs are anymore, which is why this post's prompt is definately the hardest for me to tackle. I remember when Xanga was the cool thing in Jr. High, which I guess is really just blogging for pre-teens and teens, so how can I define a term that is as common as hearing someone say they just ate a cheeseburger?





It's hard. Google even has a search engine (Google Blog) just for looking up specific blogs. Some of the most popular blogs (according to mpdailyfix.com) are those written by widely known people, such as celebrities, or people who are well known for exceptional writting.



I recently changed my major to Biology, and when I typed in "biology" to the Google blog engine, there were 753,000,000 results. Before the internet was widely used, scientist would conduct experiments, gather data, etc., and then wait for someone to post their study in a science journal, or publish it themselves for other scientists to review and use. Now, if you wanted to find a published article about the genetic predisposition for autism, you would not have to wait or even search journals yourself. Simply typing in "genetic predisposition for autism" yield 4,475 results. With just the click of a button, you have what you need at your fingertips.



Modern medicine has the potential to greatly benefit from blogging as well. Results from tests conducted on patients with any disease or disorder can be shared almost instantly with medical researchers across the globe.



My mom taught elementary school for sixteen years. I remember times when the school would ask her to start teaching a new concept. Days would pass with my mom racking her brain for lesson plans that would effectively get the point across without boring her 8-year-olds to tears. Blogging would be excellent in this case. Experienced teachers post blogs on, say, multiplication, write and report lesson plans they used in their own classroom that taught the students the lesson in an interesting way. My mom is now the Director of Nursing at Canyon Lakes, a rehabilitation center for pre-teens and teens in Lubbock. These kids are very troubled because they have had such hard lives, and sometimes they are a little hard to handle. There are literally thousands of blogs with advice on how to best help these teens so that my mom and her staff could get helpful pointers from specialists or even parents who have been there and seen results from the actions they advise you to take.



I can't think of a single profession where blogging would not prove useful. Not only is it an easy way to find what your looking for with only a few words or a short phrase, but it's an excellent way to learn something new that could be very useful to you.



Hobbies are also easy to follow blog-wise. I love yoga, and though I'm just beginning, I know I will want to continue practicing for a long while. Lubbock is not exactly crawling with yoga studios, and though most gyms do offer a class, it's simply not the same experience I get when practicing the way I like to practice. By following yoga blogs, I will be able to learn new poses, find out how to get the most out of my practice, and read up on how to maximize time I set aside for yoga.


I think that anyone in modern times could find several different uses for blogging and, though maybe not willingly, has been effected by it's effects on society.