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
Naturally, this unseasonably warm weather has had me itching to go on a hike in my favorite place. So a couple days after Christmas, I decided we would take advantage of one of the last wildly mild days of my time in Kentucky and check out a new spot in Red River Gorge. So my brother, Alan, my fiancé, Ryan, and I set out to Grays Arch on a 65-degree December morning.
Read More“A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”
Read MoreRecently, I've discovered a serious problem. People seem to be very confused about the type of place Kentucky is. They don't understand the people, the cities where they live, or the climate. I've noticed this problem popping up more and more since I moved up north. Kentucky often gets lumped in with all southern states, or it gets stereotyped into unidentifiable oblivion. Two examples from the past two weeks come to mind:
Read MoreBy the time my brother, Alan, and I finally arrived at the trailhead parking for Auxier Ridge Trail, my car was covered in dust. And as soon as we stepped out of the car, we too were covered in dust. It was a dry, hot day—which was strange because storm clouds rolled overhead intermittently, and we were graced with a few episodes of sprinkling rain. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful day to hike, as what seemed like an innumerable number of others thought, judging by the overflowing parking lot.
Read MoreWilmore, Kentucky, isn't exactly known for its water features. The Kentucky River cuts through Jessamine County with its muddy water and swollen banks, but if you're waterfall hunting, Wilmore often makes you come up bone-dry. You have to time your hike perfectly and know routes with likely falls along them. A few weekends ago, a couple of friends, my boyfriend, and I decided to head out to the Asbury Trails a few days after heavy rain with the idea of chasing some waterfalls in Wilmore.
Read MoreI've been a student journalist at my university's newspaper, The Asbury Collegian, for four years now, from a staff writer freshman year, to the executive editor now in my senior year. However, during the summer of 2016, I got my first taste of professional journalism, and it was eye opening. I interned at my local weekly newspaper for eight weeks, essentially joining the team for the months I was there. Here are the lessons I learned about the difference between your university newspaper position and a community newspaper role
Read MoreLast weekend, two of my best friends from Asbury, Kari and Kayla, joined me on a road trip to Red River Gorge, entrusting me with the job of navigation since they'd never been there (I'll let you decide whether that was a good idea). Our church, lunch, hiking schedule promised to play out for the perfect Sunday afternoon of adventuring.
Read MoreLast weekend, I decided to break out my new camera for a test run shooting portraits. As per usual Kentucky standards, it was overcast and on-the-verge of rain all day, but a quintessential horse farm behind our shoot and my friend Mary's natural star-qualities made for some pretty pictures. Take a look!
Read MoreAs a hard-line INFJ, I find it very difficult to do anything without extensive planning. So when my brother suggested he, my boyfriend, and I spontaneously go hiking in Red River Gorge, which we are not familiar with in the slightest, instead of Natural Bridge State Park, which I could navigate in my sleep, I had to try very hard not to refuse. As I turned left, forced to choose by the sign that indicated the Gorge could be found both ways, and my boyfriend frantically tried to find a trailhead along the new road, I had to remind myself that the best adventures are usually not created while following a bullet-point list. However, a bullet-point list can be created out of said adventures.
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