Two posts in 1 day? Can it be!!?? Michigan and all its beauty.....

Being someone that has seen many sunrises and sunsets from different spots in Michigan I can truly say that Michigan is amazing. It has SO many natural beauties. The dunes, national forests, waterfalls, gorges, Great Lakes, inland lakes, Mackinac Bridge and highways with tree's that canopy you as you pass. You cannot find many states that can say they encompass all of these wonders.

Let's go over one thing at a time.....

The Sand Dunes: Located along but not limited to, much of the west coast of Michigan, dense population in and around Glen Arbor area. For more detailed notes on locations and entrance points to the dunes, follow this link! Lake Michigan Sand Dunes!


The dunes ARE HUGE. They are never ending. Try and climb them, as fast as you can (only if a Doctor approves it) and not stop. It's pretty much impossible. People don't realize how big they are. They think "aww a sand hill!" No. No. Not a sand hill, sand MOUNTAIN! They are DUNES! Climb to the top of a tall one and you can see... MORE sand!! It looks like a desert. In Michigan. Yes, it is torture climbing them. Yes, that sand gets wicked hot in the middle of a summer day. Yes, there is nothing more frustrating than climbing for 5 minutes and only getting a few feet up the dune.
BUT.
There is something about sitting in that sand, your calves and thighs burning from your ascent, skin prickling from the hot sun taking in the view of Lake Michigan. Don't worry, I didn't forget the fun part.......getting down the dune. You can be lame, or awesome getting down this dune. You can either walk down the dune (lame), or leap down the dune (awesome).

**WARNING: Learn how to do this before you try it, you can really hurt your knees (or just yourself basically) if you don't do it right. Also not suggested for people afraid of high speeds or eating sand.

Leaping down the side of a dune is the closest thing you can get to free falling. Bounding down the side of the mountain of sand jumping as far out as possible with your next leap leaves you feeling weightless and you can feel gravity doing its job. It is impossible to leap like this and not have the biggest grin ever cross your face, sometimes a scream comes out when you jump out further than you thought you had and you catch air for MUCH longer than anticipated. It's ok...just calculate your landing and enjoy the ride!!

Suggestions/Tips: Stretch before you climb, wear cool clothing, bring a hat/sunglasses, wear sunscreen, bring plenty of water, TAKE YOUR TIME, find a dune that drops into a body of water (Silver Lake Sand Dunes for example), look back during your climb to take in the view (it changes every step you take higher), don't forget your camera!! Take a deep breath when you get to the top and enjoy the view!

Just in case you thought I was lying...here are some photo's from Dune's trips I have made....

The view of Lake Michigan from the Dunes, Glen Arbor, MI

Never ending climb.....

Silver Lake Sand Dunes


                    A special note about Sand Dunes....Sand Dunes are fragile, yes it seems like..."it's a pile of sand, what do you mean it's fragile?" trust me. They are. They shouldn't be abused (DON'T LITTER). 

~TAKE NOTHING BUT PHOTOS,LEAVE NOTHING BUT FOOTPRINTS~

 

Have any questions? Leave it in my comments! :)

I guess I should write something...it's only been 6 MONTHS!!!! (Be prepared, it's a long one)

Oh MY does time FLY! I can't believe it....Now I must get my synapses firing to figure out what I have done since my last post....

BOOM.

I figured it out.....A LOT. A LOT of things have happened. I moved into an apartment that is nothing short of a large college apartment. It's not my ideal place, but it will do for now.

I GOT A BIG GIRL JOB. Whatever that means exactly...other than I work during the day (as opposed to the Vampire hours I was used to at the bar). This also means I get most weekends off (pretty decent perk I must say). I now work at Michigan State University.

I must say this, I NEVER thought that I would still be in East Lansing. I thought for sure IMMEDIATELY following graduation from college (MSU), I would move out of state and never look back.
Oh how I was wrong. I DID leave the state...but only for travel. I have been to many places across the USA and almost every corner of Michigan ( I still need to tackle some of the boarder of the Upper Peninsula and East Coast).

Synapse Fire/ Something Shiny Caught my Eye: Next Post- My tribute to the Beauty of Michigan

"Being someone that has seen many sunrises and sunsets from different spots in Michigan I can truly say that Michigan is amazing. It has SO many natural beauties. The dunes, national forests, waterfalls, gorges, Great Lakes, inland lakes, Mackinac Bridge and highways with tree's that canopy you as you pass. You cannot find many states that can say they encompass all of these wonders"

Ok, back to my original post.

So I have found this job at MSU in the Outreach department. What does this mean you ask? I am a part of the Residence Education and Housing Services department. We are responsible for distributing knowledge to incoming students and parents regarding living on campus as well as making them aware of the academic and social resources you have access to while living on campus. I was the lead on the creation of the Residence Hall Tours for Academic and Parent Orientation. The planning began in mid- February and we wrapped our final our last friday. It was a VERY long,tedious and tiring project. The challenge was awesome and I can say that it is very satisfying starting a project and seeing it through to the end!

Other things I have done since my last post.....oh ya...I ADOPTED A CAT!:) I had been looking at the Humane Society for weeks at different cats, waiting for one to jump off the screen and into my heart. Yes there were many cute faces, but you don't know until you are there in person. I visited with the point of  adopting an older cat (Older pets and black pets are the last to be adopted, people don't want a pet that's "just going to die soon anyways" and black pets are "intimidating"....I call BULLSHIT). When I showed up and tried to say hi to the older cat I had been looking at for weeks, I could feel this cat was terrified. She was NOT ok with fast movements, loud noises, being surprised, or anything that would elevate her heart rate. I was so upset that I couldn't comfort this cat, all I wanted to do was love it and take care of it. After sitting for an hour outside this lovely cat's crate, I had a heart to heart with her. Yep, with a cat. She needed an older persons home to live in, she needed an elderly to move slow around her, and not have many people in and out of the house. My heart broke, I knew that it was a no-kill shelter but the idea of these animals having to live in a shelter another night was too much. I burst into tears. After calming down and having a talk with my mom over the phone about her, she consoled me and said "why don't you take a look around at the other cats, they ALL need a home you know!"....so that's exactly what I did.

I opened a few of the play area's and saw a ton of kittens, I didn't want a kitten, I knew they get adopted first, and I didn't have the time or ability to commit to a kitten. So I moved along. I entered the last room and approached a lounging tabby, she purred like a chainsaw when I pet her, she came up to me immediately and sang the song of her people. As soon as that happened, I heard a "thump" and looked up at a black and white face staring down at me from a high perch. He galloped over to me and stopped and sat to stare at me, sizing me up. I kept paying attention to the tabby girl, but kept this guy in my peripheral vision. He looked at my again and went back to climbing as high as he could go. The bell sounded and it was closing time. No cat for me. Sad again, but determined to find a feline friend, I threw up the white flag for the day and went home......until 2 days later.
Tarzan was his name, being my cat was his game.
The next time I stepped into the cat area of the Humane Society, he galloped up to me again and as soon as I sat down, he hopped into my lap like "quit screwing around and take me home already". My parents were with me and looked at me and said "Samm. This is your cat".
After filling out paperwork, learning about medical history, and buying a few necessary items, Tarzan was mine.
First thing that needed to happen? Immediate name change....I read over his story, because each shelter pet has a story.....
"Tarzan is a pretty lucky guy. He came to CAHS through our trailer park grant; the residents at the park said that there was a black and white cat that had gotten a flea collar looped around his neck and one of his front legs, but no one was able to get him for us. On the second to last surgery day for the grant, they finally got him! So he came into the clinic to take a look at his wounds. They were pretty extensive; the collar had slowly worked its way into the skin under the arm, and left a pretty large gash. Given that there wasn't anyone to care for him, and the severity of the wound, we spent a long time talking about what might happen to him. But, when CAHS agreed to take him once he was healed, a volunteer stepped up to be his foster mom throughout his healing."

So Mr. Tarzan had been through alot. He has a scar on his neck and his underarm from where the Flea collar embedded its self. He loved high places and needed to explore every closed off area, so I chose a new name for him...... Ladies and Gentlemen let me introduce you to.....

Traveller

"Trav"

He is the most amazing cat ever. I seriously lucked out. With the exception of his wake up calls 5 minutes before my alarm goes off in the morning, he is even tempered. He has a great sense of humor. He LOVES catnip toys, he loves cuddling, and chirping at birds, squirrels and anything that moves outside. He will find his way under fabric until he is surrounded like he is camping. He still climbs anything and everything. Literally. We have chairs at home that have what look like steps as the back rest and he climbs the thing like a ladder until he is up as high as possible. This cat and I were meant to be. Best friends for life. I am SO glad I adopted, and he as much rescued me as I did him :)

*As for the other 2 cats, the older cat was adopted by an elderly lady just looking for some companionship, and the tabby went home with its sibling to a couple looking for a friend :)

Last but not least, I decided since I no longer compete in competitive team sports it was time to start doing some more races.....So this summer I have completed 3! I plan on doing more this fall, so I will keep you updated!

Mackinac Island Lilac Festival 10k

  

TOUGH MUDDER 12 Miles

Lansing Color Run 5k



Ok, that was a really long post.....sorry. I will continue writing, lots of posts, just shorter ;) Hopefully. I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!!!