Angel Falls

How many people have seen the movie Up?  In the movie the old man flies his balloon house to Paradise Falls with his new little boy scout friend. The man and boy find a talking dog and an elephant sized bird. Most people don’t know that the actual water fall which Paradise falls was based on is called Angel falls. Angel Falls is in Canaima Venezuela and sadly is not home to any talking dogs or ginormous peacock-like birds.

                Angel Falls is named such because Jimmy Angel was a pilot who discovered this super tall water fall while flying through eastern Venezuela. I don’t know why the movie Up decided to change the name to “Paradise” falls, but the movie industries seem to do whatever they want nowadays.

                In order to get to the base of angel falls one must sit in a small canoe for 4 really long hours while the driver steers through the winding river. If you happen to go during the rainy season you will find that there are dozens of smaller waterfalls that have temporarily formed from all the water that has accumulated at the top of the plateaus. After getting to the base of the falls there is about an hour long climb to the viewing point. Once at the main viewing point there is a clear view from bottom to top of the 3212 foot waterfall, and it’s super-gorgeous.

                

                The cartoon movie does not show the full incredible-ness of Angel Falls. In order to see how amazing it is, they you should get on a plane, fly to Canaima Venezuela and hire one of the nice locals to steer you towards the base of the tallest waterfall in the world. 

Rain and Rocks

There are so many forms of outdoor recreation. One of the many that I love is rock climbing. There’s the thrill of elevation along with the joy of carrying your own weight on a rocky mountain slope. I recently went on a rock climbing excursion and I and the five other people with me had quite an adventure.

                It started out with my dad waking me up at 7:30 on a Sunday. As you can imagine it’s not the funnest thing to be woken on the days you’re supposed to sleep in till noon. Then getting ready and loading in the car with my older sister and my dad. We were going with a group from my school so we had to drive to the campus first to meet up with the rest of the people. Pretty much all the students at my school decided they were too cool to go rock climbing and so there was only one other student there besides me and my sister. The three of us were accompanied by two teachers and a parent (my dad). We loaded in the car and headed out for a short drive to the rocks.

                We got there and the teachers unloaded all the equipment and lead the way along a small path leading to the place where they were to set up the ropes. Once we got there the three girls sat and watched while one teacher belayed the other who needed to lead the rope. I don’t know how much you know about rock climbing but lead roping means that one person climbs the rock and takes a rope up and hooks themselves onto different consecutive hooks that were previously drilled into the rock. After climbing to the top of the hooks there is a more permanent attachment that the rope is thread through in order for the next climber to use that rope as an anchor (like apulley system) and then they can top rope climb (regular rock climbing with a rope at the top). My sister the other student and I all did a couple climbs and for the most part stayed injure-free. But after about an hour or so it was time to relocate ourselves to another location.

            Taking down the ropes and packing up our little temporary camp site we began to climb further into the jungle. We found a small cliff about 20 minute walk away and decided to practice our repelling skills on it. The ropes were once again set up, but this time using a tree as an anchor. We all took turns repelling down the small ledge, this time however there were a few scrapes and bruised. When we were in the middle of our repelling rotation it began to rain. Within a few minutes everyone was soaking wet and miniature rivers had begun forming on the trail that lead back to the cars. After making sure that all cameras/phones and other electronic devices were as much water-proof as we could get them we thought it would be best to get back to the car before the water rose anymore. The hike was wet and slippery. The 6 of us were freezing cold and shivering with every carefully placed step that we took in order not to fall. Finally after what seemed like a long cold trek we were back to the cars.

            Once we were all showered, cleaned and bundled up we realized that the whole trip was actually really fun and totally worth it. Now all that’s left to do is wash our shoes. 

The Hunger Games Trilogy

There are few series which capture the minds of male AND female readers along with adults AND children. Some of the few writers who have succeeded in creating such book series are J.K. Rowling with her mezmerizing Harry Potter tales and Phillip Pullman with his Dark Materials trilogy. Now a new writer has recently broken the ribbon with her rapidly rising trilogy The Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins is the writer of the Hunger Games, Catching Fire and now the last book of this short series, Mockingjay.

                This past year all the Hunger Games books have risen on the list of “Must Reads.” Throughout the U.S. in particular people of all ages have been eagerly absorbing the tale of Katniss Everdeen.

                All the books are set in the future. They take place in what used to be the United States but what is now a mixture of 13 districts and the infamous Capitol. Katniss lives in district 12. All districts have certain manufacturing or agricultural duties that help supply the rest of the districts. Katniss’s district is head of coal production. The Capitol is angry at all the districts for choosing to defy them in previous years, so in order to show the people of the districts how much power the capitol has over them they arrange the Hunger Games.

                The Hunger Games take place every year.  One girl and one boy are chosen by lottery from each district and they are all put into a giant arena. The 24 children, “tributes,” between ages 12-18 are meant to fight one another until there is only one survivor. While all the tributes are hiding in forests and plotting against one another the capitol and people of the districts watch them on television as a form of entertainment. The Hunger Games are meant to punish the districts because it is taking away the lives of their children.

                Mockingjay continues the tale of Katniss. She has many struggles with her life being a former player of the Hunger Games, and now she is being forced to lead the districts in a rebellion against the capitol.

                Will the districts succeed in overruling the capitol, or will the Hunger Games continue to take the lives of district children? Who will win over Katniss Everdeens heart, her best friend Gale or her co-victor Peeta?

Read to find out…the Hunger Games, Catching Fire and the last tale Mockingjay.

Animals on My Wrist

Over the past years I have accumulated quite a large amount of bracelets and the like on my arm. Recently this new fad of Silly Bandz has erupted. In being a person who likes to wear things on my wrist I am a wearer of these rubbery outline figures. They are the “new big thing” as some people say. There have been some concerns from teachers in parts of the U.S. about these bracelets.  Only a few weeks ago an article came out saying that Silly Bandz have been banned in some schools. Teachers claim that they are a distraction to their students, and they pay more attention to the shapes on their wrists than what they, the teacher, are trying to convey to the students. In other schools kids have begun trading the Bandz like people used to trade cards. Apparently there have been fights started by some elementary kids about unfair trades. I guess some children don’t realize that the phoenix is worth two pieces of fruit not one musical instrument.

Some people have gone to the extreme of covering their entire arm with a sleeve of rubbery figures. Wouldn’t you think that an arm full of things squeezing your skin and bones together could affect the use of your hand?? Still it is not enough to stop people from creating rainbows and collages up and down their limbs.

I do not mean to say that silly bandz are bad, but there is a line that can be crossed with the amount that you wear at one time.  The people who wear one to around ten are absolutely alright. It is only once someone gets to the point of having measurements of inches up the arm in bracelets rather than measurement of Bandz themselves that it starts to get ridiculous.

As all fads are, they come and go. Silly Bandz are at their peak right now, but who knows how long they will last. Nevertheless I enjoy rubber cut shapes and how they are so simple, yet they are making some creative jeweler a billionaire. So here’s to Silly Bandz the bracelets that have succeeded in changing the spelling of bands.