Harris Rekon Valley Center

Harris Rekon in Valley Center, in my opinion, was one the best trips our class has taken all semester. Just the whole vibe of actually going out to a site, and planting native, indigenous, plants and making a difference in the community and the environment was a great feeling. The trip started out with the meeting of the "OG", original group, Matt, Carrie, Amanda, and of course Zane. We all piled into Carrie's rockin Explorer and we were off. We drove past yet again, another all you can eat buffet, with a hint of gambling cassinos and to what looked like an elementary school. To our surprise there was alot of students and researchers already at the location and the planner provided food , water, and shovels. We all seperated into groups and we were off to start planting and plaving the future for this trail area. We found that the various plants, and trees, needed certain amounts of distance and spacing, but be close enough to the watering system for not to up root on the trail or kill off the surrounding plants around it. I haven't personally worked on a project like this in years, since my Eagle Scout Project, and it was great to know that I was making a difference and that in a couple of years, I would be able to come back to this same location and know that I planted the vegetation in that area. I think one of the highlights of the trip was when Deborah took us out along the border of the Indian Reservation and we looked at all the other native plants that have been growing around the area. It is crazy to think that there are so many plants that are native grown in the area and have been living and growing around the area for hundreds of years now.

Pechunga Tree of Life

This trip was one of the craziest and most interesting Indian Reservations that we visited on our adventures of our class. I was under the impression that we were going to park at the gas station next to Pechunga casino and have to walk from place to place, looking at all the interesting and Native pieces and spots they had to offer on their reservation. But to my surprise, there was a bus that sho-fered us from spot to spot and helped us not freeze to death in the chilling wind. As we started out tour, we first stopped at the Tree of Life. This was a sacred spot off the golf course the casino had, and it was unlike any other tree i have ever seen. It was like it's own little forest with roots that grow abovethe ground and were as wide as most large size trees that you seen in in parks today. The great canopy of leaves and branches looked and stretched at least 60 feet high and the diameter of the wide circle we stood in had to have been at like 100 feet. The tree was massive and really up held and represented the name it was givenz, "The Tree of Life". The vibe and emotions that you felt when you walked underneither this ancient creature was undescribible and unlike another thing I have felt. Just the history and I change this tree has been through is crazy to think about and the fact that the tree is still standing and growing shows it is among God's greatest creations.

Sally Mann pt.2

Sally Mann is a very abstract and dark person with a different point of view on life. She is very passionate about life and death and the beauty of emotion and different ways of expressing it. Her background on these feelings comes from her relationship with her father growing up, showing no emotion and not expressing anything to his kids. Her passion for expectance from other people and audiences outside of her view drives her crazy and she is worries constantly about what other people think of her art.

Quiz Pictures

Quail Botanical Garden

The Quail Botanical Garden was quite an experience and a place that I have never been before. It is located in Encinitas, in the middle of a neighborhood and across the street from a Johovah Witness Church. Blake and I drive up into the driveway and as soon as we saw the fee of $7.00 and a dollar for parking, our college instincts kicked in and we decided to park and sneak in and snap some pictures. The plants and area was amazing and as we ducked away from the guard tower, we snuck out and realized that were more amazing pictures on the outside of the garden than inside.

Quail Botanical Gardens

This trip was our co-vert operation fieldtrip. Unfortunately, Blake and myself missed the memo that the Quail Botanical Garden was free every first Tuesday to the public and we definitely went on that Monday before, so since we were already at the location and were not about to spend $10.00 on parking an other $6.00 per person to walk through, we parked down the street and slipped our way into the park without being noticed. The garden was one of the larger displays of indiginest plants that I have been to and it was a peaceful and quiet the area for being located across the street from a Jehovah's witness church. We saw many catus and native grown trees in the area as well as various insects that pollunate the plants. We found that there were many other interesting plants outside of the entrance as well that intersting and photo worthy to add to my book and blog.