Farewell

Now that my semester in Idaho has come to a close, I look back and realize I have learned very much: about Idaho, the west, and myself. Coming to Moscow, Idaho as a 'misplaced southerner' was definitely a culture shock to begin with. I was at a large state university as a second semester junior and didn't know anyone. Enter the Beta chapter.

After briefly exchanging emails with the president of the Gamma Gamma chapter of Beta Theta Pi last semester, I knew that I had the potential to be among brothers, even if I was 2500 miles away. At the beginning of the semester, I felt like a freshman all over again, having to learn dozens of names as fast as possible. However,  I got along with all of them so easily because they reminded me so much of my Upsilon brothers back home: they were men of principle. I was on the house meal plan, so I got to eat with them every day, which helped with name memory. Through them, the greatness of my experience increased tenfold. I made so many memories with the brothers of the Gamma Gamma chapter.

I went skiing for the first time ever, traveled to Boise, traveled to Jackson Hole, camped in Montana, and so much more. I was shown 'southern hospitality' by my brothers and their parents, which was so comforting for me. This has been such a great experience for me, and it has been surprisingly difficult to say goodbye to the guys here. Being an honorary member of their chapter, I will definitely be back, I'm just not sure when.
During senior testimonials, where the seniors of the chapter share their experiences and give advice to the underclassmen, I picked up a piece of valuable advice that I have started to really embrace. Life is about making memories. Do whatever makes the most memories.

I plan to.

Arboretum

Now that the weather finally became spectacular (as I'm about to leave), I got to go to the UI Arboretum to take pictures. Taking a tree class this semester has given me a new-found appreciation for trees, and it was cool being able to recognize a few of them. The arboretum itself was located in a pristine dip of land next to the UI golf course. Did I mention, I went on a beautiful day?

The arboretum was divided into different geographical sections of the world. Part was Europe, part was Asia, part was the American West, and the last was the American East. I got to see a bunch of trees from all over the world.

I had been to the arboretum a couple of times with my forestry class, but this was probably my favorite visit.

PCEI

Every Thursday afternoon this semester I have been volunteering at the Palouse Clearwater Environmental Institute. It is a nature center in Moscow that focuses on restoration projects and sustainability. Many times it would be covered in snow or soaked in rain, but now that it is getting to be nicer weather here, I can appreciate the beauty of the landscape even more. This is a shot of it when biking in.

I would do various projects around the facility, such as painting, planting, potting, and landscaping. The people running the place were hard-working, nice people, many of whom were in AmeriCorps.

The sustainability of the center was incredible, and being an environmental science major, I greatly enjoyed it. All of the plants they and their volunteers pot go to stream restoration, to be planted on the banks to prevent erosion.

The restroom on site is completely sustainable. Lights are powered by the solar panel, the water in the toilet and sink are rain runoff, and all of the waste goes to composting bins in the basement of the facility. I've never seen a restroom like that before, but I would definitely like to see more like it everywhere.

Once all of the snow melted off of the hills, I got to take some good shots of the whole facility from the highest point.

Volunteering at PCEI has been a rewarding experience for sure.

WSU

I recently took a bike trip to Pullman, WA, which is a mere 8 miles from the University of Idaho. That is the home of Washington State University. Lucky for me, the cities of Moscow and Pullman have a paved bike path that runs between the two, which was nice. The day was bright and sunny, but the tough part about the ride was the eastward blowing wind that was constantly whipping. At times my bike would slow down considerably because of the wind. At least I had nice scenery.

Once I got on campus, I was amazed at its beauty. Idaho does not have near as big a campus as WSU, but then again WSU has more students.

 Of course, I made my way to Martin Stadium, where the WSU Cougars play football. There was even  a statue of a cougar outside.

After seeing the stadium, I biked around Greek Row until I found the WSU Beta house. It is very cool being able to have a nationwide connection like this, even when I'm so far from home.

My visit to WSU was very cool. It is a great campus, and close to where I'm staying. The ride back was not as difficult because the wind was at my back, but I was still exhausted afterward, having accomplished a lot for one day.

Boise

After we got back from Jackson Hole, we spent the rest of the break in a suburb of Boise called Meridian. The guy I was staying with spent the next few days showing me around town, and there were quite a few many sights. The first place we went was Bronco Stadium, where the Idaho rival Boise State plays. They are known for having a blue field, or "smurf turf."

After that, we went went to a place called Table Rock, which was at the top of a large hill overlooking the city. Riding up the switchbacks to Table Rock reminded me of the Hollywood Hills because of the way the houses looked situated in the hills. At the top, Table Rock was surrounded by rolling hills on one side and a valley on the other.

After Table Rock, we went to an old jail called the Old Idaho Penitentiary, which is a place I had seen on tv to be haunted. Of course I wanted to check it out. I didn't see any ghosts, but it was a very cool place that seemed to be stuck in time.

After that, we drove through downtown and saw more sights, like the state capital building, which looked similar to South Carolina's.

I really enjoyed my spring break. It seemed like we were constantly on the move, which was good because I only have a limited time out here. Hopefully I'll be back someday.

Spring Break Pt I: Jackson

My spring break started on Friday, March 14 after my last midterm. I was heading down to Boise with one of my Beta brothers and his friends who had a car we could ride in. It was a 6 hour drive, which is much longer than I am used to, but it was very scenic as well.

After we got to Boise, we went to my brother's house, which was in a suburb called Meridian. The next day, we picked up one of his friends, and headed out towards Jackson Hole, WY. Another Beta lived across the border in Tetonia, Idaho, and was letting us stay at his house so we could ski at the #1 ski resort in the nation for two days. The ride out east to Tetonia was not as scenic, but still cool because of all the windmills I saw.

When we finally got to Tetonia, we were astounded at the house we were staying at. His backyard view was amazing as well. The Grand Tetons were rising out of the landscape.

We got up early to go skiing the next day, and it was a huge mountain. The slopes were very steep, and this was only my 3rd day skiing ever. I had a lot of fun though because there were just so many trails to get on. The next day, it was heavily snowing the whole time, which was really cool, just hard to see anything.

 

We spent the first few days of spring break skiing and exploring the town, basically going non-stop. It seems like we spent a whole spring break there,  but I am going back to Boise for a few days to explore there and spend the rest of my spring break.