March 27, 2010

Another classic Sunday was spent in and around the hopping town of Leadville (well, usually we go into town on Saturday, but this week was special since we de-issued from the winter expedition on Saturday). We spent part of the day cruising the various shops and eateries of Harrison Avenue. A popular spot and hangout was the amazing local pizza place, High Mountain Pies. Also on Sunday, we washed our clothes at the Laundromat and went to Safeway to purchase various foods. A laundry day was well needed after the winter expedition, because most of our clothes were pretty ripe. Finally, at HMI we brought out our inner lumberjack/jill and chopped wood for our cabins. All in all it was a great day, especially after coming back from expedition.

Since our return from the winter trip, classes have been busy. English was a favorite this week because we had a special guest, Mrs. Gladys Hoenmeyer (English Apprentice Caroline, dressed in a grey wig, misbuttoned cardigan, and skirt, donning a bad British accent), who taught us some important grammar lessons. We were reminded about how to avoid run-on sentences and comma splices. We also started preparing for our next essay assignment for which will be writing an analytical essay on A River Runs Through It. Intermediate Spanish spent some time cooking up some comida latina deliciosa -- Columbian arepas, Mexican tacos al pastor, and Cuban pan con lechon. Ay ay! In science this week, we analyzed the data we collected on the winter expedition in preparation for submitting our final field reports. There were a variety of different things that we chose to study. For example, most people gathered data on the snow pack, including its impact on the development of trees, the strength of the snowpack on north vs. south facing slopes, and the temperatures at different depths. In history, we have been debunking some of the myths about Native Americans, including talking about how as a whole, they are not necessarily nature-loving or environmentalists by the current definitions. It was also interesting to learn that there used to be 15 million bison in the great plains, a number that dropped to about one thousand before slowly growing to today's numbers.  

In addition to classes, everyone participated in several fun and exciting activities. One activity was swimming at the local pool in Leadville where we enjoyed ourselves sliding down the water slides and jumping off the diving board. There was also an intense scavenger hunt around the HMI campus where people worked out problems to get to the next question. Meat lovers participated in an activity making "bacon explosions." They spent time in the kitchen creating a delicious snack after activity. Others spent time on the rock wall, creating new, challenging routes to climb in the future. Still more activities involved knitting, baking cakes, reading children's stories in the library, and tutoring kids at the local middle school. Seems like a lot for one week, but we really do a lot here in a short amount of time!

By: Jack Pantalena, Andrew Spina, and Maggie Harwood