Don't Mind the Time

It's 1:30 am and I'm sitting in my living room, eating a banana in my pajamas, and really wishing I could fall asleep...but, alas, I can't.  I have these nights every now and then. I'll start thinking about a series of different things and I just can't turn my brain off!  I desperately want it to be quiet, but when I tell myself: "Think nothing..."...something else pops into my head! For example, I was thinking about some things I need to take to the post office and send off this week, and I had told myself that it was going to be the last thing I thought of before falling to sleep. Then as I turned my brain off and rolled into the crook of Matt's arm and looked at his slack-jaw, dead-to-the world, blissfully sleeping face I remembered: "Post Office...Matt...Passport Renewal. You really need to do that before you go on vacation this summer. Which reminds me, we really need to plan that trip." Ugh! So, since I had all of these thoughts running through my mind, I figured: "Why not put all of this energy to good use? Go blog." So, here I am...

Perhaps I'm hyped up from all of the fresh air I got yesterday.  Who knows?  I did go out and do a bit of exploring on Wednesday, and took some pictures of the abundant Ozark scenery.  I will say, this area of Missouri is really pretty.  Unfortunately, in the winter-time, no matter how pleasant the vista, it all starts looking the same around here.  I took a lot of pictures.  I got shots of the flowing rivers, the rolling hills, dramatic cliff faces, and the abundant farms.  However, when there are no leaves on the trees, the sky is clear but tinted with the hue of winter gray, and all of the animals are hibernating, everything looks a little bit like oatmeal; pleasant and warm, but brown.

I had decided that I would make Wednesday my "Erica the Explorer" day, and took a cue from a Pulaski County website and it's "Things to Do" page. There are roughly 60 items/places of interest on the webpage which one can visit.  I figure, every week I'll pick a place or two, go venture to the location, take pictures of the site and explore the surrounding area.  This way I hone my photographic skills, while also getting more acquainted with Pulaski County, MO, pop. 52,274.

My first stop was the confluence of the Roubidoux and Gasconade Rivers.  You may wonder what made me chose this locale as my first spot; a few things. First off, I was a Geography major, and physical geography is very important in the shaping of cultures. For all we know, the Roubidoux and the Gasconade could have been 18th century demarcations of land ownership. Thus, when the two rivers combined, did this muddy the proverbial (and literal) water as to what parcels of land belonged to whom?  Methinks land wars could have erupted between settlers, or perhaps even the local Osage Indian population!  Secondly, having seen other awe-inspiring water mergers in my life (the three rivers in Pittsburgh, the joining of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence Seaway in upstate New York, the Hudson meeting the Atlantic at the tip of Manhattan), I've always enjoyed a good confluence. Finally - and most importantly - it was the closest one to my house...only 1.5 miles away (walking distance in the spring and summer)! And even though the Roubidoux and the Gasconade can't really compare to the Allegheny and the Monongahela joining to make the Ohio River, it was nice and picturesque.

Following my exploits along the rivers, I made my way into town and ran some errands, and then finished my day at the local shelter for abused women and children. I filled out an application and will be meeting with the shelter manager next week to discuss working with the residents and completing some mandatory training.  I'm going to start by volunteering two days a week, focusing primarily on tutoring children, assisting with adult education, and leading discussion groups. I'm sure after next week I'll have a better idea of what I'll truly be doing. No matter what it is, I'm pretty optimistic that it will be a good experience for us all.