Tree of Life - First and Second out-of-class Fieldtrip

Getting up at seven o'clock in the morning has never been more excruciating then after a full night of video games and mindless chatter with friends. I was in a complete daze when I got up to get ready, and I managed to forget not only my cell phone but my camera--which required two trips back to the house before I got far.

Cameron and I carpooled up to the Tree of Life Nursery; I'm glad he drove because I had no idea where it was. We used a TomTom to guide us--it probably wasn't an actual Tom Tom now that I think about it, but I'm so accustomed to calling Navigation systems TomToms that it's hard to think of them as anything else--and it led us up the correct path without ever talking, which was disappointing in its own juvenile way. I was obscurely tired, even after a Red Bull, a good thing for Cameron because I never got the chance to fiddle with, and probably break, the gadgets in his new car.


We initially missed the entrance to the Nursery, it was my fault because I had the TomTom in my possession, but I made it sound like the driver's fault when I told him to make a U-turn. It was an illegal one, mind you, but we won't go into that. When we pulled into the parking lot we made the mistake of assuming we were early because not many other cars were in the immediate area. We wandered mindlessly into an area neither one of us found familiar, and while Cameron tried to charm some information out of a woman that worked there I studied the few flower pots that riddled the ground. We were definitely in the right area.


After briefly bumping into our professor, we ventured further into a path that led to a tree getting assaulted by a mob of hungry hummingbirds. It took me a moment to adjust my eyes to their movement as they darted back and forth in their attack, but Nikki and Andy seemed to have no trouble following them with their cameras. Speaking of which, I was never able to check out a proper camera from school so I ended up bringing my own digital one. I felt absolutely ridiculous standing next to the three of them with their fancy cameras, like I was the only girl at school without the new barbie doll-- or the only boy without the new Nintendo DS game. The latter was probably closer; I hate barbie dolls.

I followed them when they abandoned the attacked tree for a larger one off to the left, but I broke off from the pack soon after to follow the trail further North. I didn't see anyone in the area I ventured into, but signs warned me of unsteady cliffs and rattlesnakes as I slid in further.

I found a small grove to the right with a fallen pipe subtly pointing the way in; there, an old rusty gate along with the help of barbed wire cut off a section away from the rest of the trail. I figured the gate was to keep people out, but it hung ajar so I dared to pass its invisible blockade. More grass greeted me on the other side, along with trees and bushes that rattled with wildlife.

As I tried to capture the beauty of the nature around me with my camera, a persistent shuffle in the bushes followed me. I spun around several times to catch the culprit in the act, but every time I was too late. It continued to rattle against the branches and fallen leaves, only quieting when I turned in its direction, and although I was always poised with my camera in hand I never did find out the identity of my stalker. I did get some good pictures, though.

I went further down the path until it cut off at one of the cliffs that I had been warned about earlier, and even though there was an amazing tree with branches stretching down the short fall I didn't approach the edge any further. Instead I turned to go back with worry that I might have missed the lecture by the famous basket-weaver Abe Sanchez.

Thankfully, I hadn't. I joined my classmates inside a hut to listen to Mr. Sanchez as he went into detail about basket-weaving, its history, purpose, and importance. I was a bit disappointed that he never demonstrated the art of basket-weaving in front of us, but it was still very interesting to hear about the different plants used to make the baskets so sturdy and beautiful at the same time. After the lecture we dispersed one by one, retreating back to our cars. I had had my own little adventure and I left satisfied with the evidence of my journey inside my little camera.