3:39. I remember the time that her mother spoke the terrible words that still send chills down my back. “ Riley, Sheryce has passed away” I dropped to the ground. My lungs burning as I tried to gasp for air.…
Colorado Life As A Miner in the 1900s I woke up to the sound of my cat jumping onto my chest. It was a work day and I was ready to go into the mines. It was dirty work, but it paid well.…
Here I am today singing songs about the south-land;because I miss 'ole' 'bamy once again. Years ago I left my home state of Alabama,where the skies are so blue and I moved to the not so great state of Montana. Many people questioned me on why I moved to Montana, and my response back is because in that moment I felt like I needed a change, but in the end I think I made the wrong choice to move away from Alabama. But soon I will be back to sweet home Alabama,oh,Lord, I'm coming home to you. Back in early March of 1974,I was working at a local convenience store.…
With the windows down, the crisp, cool summer air permeated throughout my body, acquiring every hair to stand at attention. Buffalo surrounded and granged lazily through the corn fields that shot high to the sky, as if every row was assembled soldiers getting ready to march. South Dakota is known for open fields with a consumed, laid back lifestyle with not much ever going on. Going into the trip knowing this, I was not in the least bit excited. It was when I absorbed the laid back atmosphere and appreciated every single bit of their way of life.…
Most teenagers would probably tell you that the beginning of their adulthood was marked by having to do laundry for the first time, or being able to drive alone, or perhaps no longer sitting at the children's table at family events. But for me, it happened this past summer, when I made the very difficult decision that I would not return to Coleman Country Day Camp. To those who were not fortunate enough to have grown up at summer camp, this might not seem like such a big decision to make. But Coleman was my outlet, my second home for ten consecutive summers and spending those two months anywhere else seemed inconceivable to me.…
Growing up in Vail, I would often ride the chair lift with strangers and they would ask, “Where are you from?” I would reply “here.” The people I shared the chairlift with would tell me how lucky I was, but I would just smile politely and nod, unaware of my fortune. I had grown up in mountains and didn’t know anything different. As I have gotten older and been fortunate enough to have traveled outside of my familiar mountain range, I have realized how intensely beautiful mountains are.…
Growing up in Mississippi as an African American young woman has given me a different perspective of life. As I reflect on my life, my childhood came with morals and values that were instilled at an early age. My mother and father had three beautiful children, two girls and one boy. We were taught to always be respectful to our elders. We were taught to say yes or no mam and sir.…
“Don't be afraid of change. You may end up losing something good, but you will probably end up gaining something better !” -unknown. Two years ago I moved from my home in Blue Springs where I was comfortable and serene to this new foreign small town that I’ve never even heard of before now. Back in Blue Springs I was in “the crowd”.…
Wyoming, Illinois is a representation of a small farming community. It sits among acres of old, history filled corn, wheat and bean fields about thirty minutes from the “big” city. My first childhood home sat on a corner. The old home used to belong to my great grandparents, but was currently occupied by my mom, sister and two cats. I looked over to my mom, “Can I go to the grocery store?”…
In a valley surrounded by mountains lies a small town known as Idaho Falls, where I lived in the same house for the majority of my life. The area is dominantly LDS contributing to the extremely conservative views accepted by the majority of the population. Growing up in a sheltered community I really had no first-hand experience of the realities of the rest of the world major crimes were rarely heard of, I don’t recall ever having witnessed any sort of racism or segregation. By the time I was sixteen I was well traveled, my family went on yearly trips to different countries, thus I considered myself cultured in the ways of the world. I was naïve in believing that the rest of the country would have the same fundamental beliefs that I had grown…
Clomp! Clomp! Clomp! Our boots pound the rocky Colorado trail in the middle of a cold, starry night above the massive tree line with a spectacular view of the lights of Leadville, as we hiked our first 14,000 foot mountain of the summer. Clomp!…
As the powerful Colorado River churned beneath me, as it has for centuries, and the relentless sun peaked over the top of the North Rim, I could not help but feel astounded. I was in a timeless place: a place disconnected from the society I had left behind miles ago. Down here, in the lowest section of the Grand Canyon, it was just me, my friends, and the heat. Always the heat. We had started our journey, a run from the Grand Canyon’s North Rim to the South Rim, at 4 AM in a futile attempt to avoid the skyrocketing temperature and finish before the sun became the determining factor in the success of our venture.…
It was a beautiful Friday afternoon. The May weather was perfect, with a slight refreshing breeze. Excitement was in the air as we all prepared for the 23 hour drive to Colorado. This was going to be the trip of a life time for our family. This much awaited trip had everyone on the edge of their seats.…
Every morning was like a repeat of the last, when you live in a small town with nowhere to go. Desert Hot springs, California, is just that small town with nowhere to go and not much to do. I just turned 18 in my senior year of high school and everything flipped so rapidly. “Kayla Shupe…” my mind was racing as the judge called me up to the stand. Several cases before me proceeded to show the lack of mercy from our assigned judge.…
If you ever happen to catch me in a cut off you might see that on my left shoulder there is tattoo of mountains, pine trees, and five birds leading up to my collar bone. You might ask the meaning, or you might just tell me how much you like it and compliment the artist and ask me where I got it done or ask if I have any others. You might never see a goal as a reason to get a tattoo but Mountains are my goal. My family and I visited the Rocky Mountain National Park the summer after my Junior year in highschool. I had never seen a mountain before besides in pictures.…