Day 803 Stone Forest Gorge- on the glass!

BNDS took all of the kids and faculty off campus yesterday on a field trip to Stone Forest Gorge, and one of the highest glass platforms extended over a mountain cliff.  I am SO IN!!!  This is the article that circulated around our school when the trip was announced: Glass platform on a mountain top cliff  Clink on the link for a preview of my day :)

The park's entrance...it's a long haul UP!

Ok, we can do this...how much time do we have?!

So we begin the ascent...through beautiful
crevices and creeks as we wind our way up.

Two roads, diverged in a single wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by...

...and hit a dead end.  Climbed another
mountain and had to turn around.

The scenery was breathtaking.  I could not reach the
waterfall to put my head in....but I would have if I could have!

Ms Ellen and I split off from the other group,
looked at the far mountain ahead of us and
realized that was where we needed to be.
We hiked back down to the base to catch a
ski lift cable car going up.  We were afraid of
running out of time and we wanted to get on
that glass platform! 

Look, Ellen, there's a lake behind us!

What a picture perfect day- cool, crisp & breezy, and a
simply gorgeous blue sky.  Is this really Beijing?!

Riding up the gondola we saw this reservoir behind us. The
sunlight sparkling on the water made me soooo homesick for sailing.

Though we sprung the 100rmb for the ride up,
we had AT LEAST another 30 sets of stairs still to climb.

  

Each time we paused to catch our breath or to
take a drink of water, the view was incredible.

We kept our eye on the prize- the glass platform!

The top of the mountain had a park area for resting,
with these beautiful bronze statues that represent
the Chinese calendar.  My birth year is the rabbit.

Ellen's birth year is the dog. 

Pete had his ticket and looked ready to go out on the glass
platform behind him.  It was the perfect day to do such a crazy thing!

The crazy Irish lads, James, and Ciaran,
thought nothing of walking about the glass!

Some sillies took to laying on the glass- Deanna!

Rebecca and Dequilah seemed content, too.

I, on the other hand, shuffle footed along like an old woman.
Surprisingly I felt safest sitting down!

Many teachers and students expressed a fear of heights, and several opted out of walking out on the platform.  My friend, Robert Sax did it, though!  I was so proud of him, we high fived afterward!!!!

Click on the link for a video of clip of his accomplishment!  Robert Sax did it!

Chinglish signs help bring a smile...thankfully I
did not fall down today!  I was worn out afterward.
At the end of the day, Ellen's fit bit said we climbed
76 flights of stairs, nearly 10k steps, and almost 4 miles.
It felt like much more than that today- it was challenging.

It literally has been a day of highs and lows, as I am still driving the struggle bus daily.  I am trying to get back to happy, but I just do not feel like myself. Days like today help- to put my face to the sun- to be out in nature- and to think of happier times, but I am not THERE yet. I am trying; I guess that's about all that counts. I keep facing forward, I keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when it takes me up mountains and back down again.  I keep praying for peace to restore my soul. Until then,

G'nite, y'all 

Day 798 Climbed a mountain, then I turned around

One of the best things I did for myself when I moved
to China in 2014 was to join the Beijing Hikers Club.
This is Tina, a guide for the company, and we
have been on many, many hikes together.

While I generally hike different sections of the
Great Wall with BHC, this time I decided to do
something different.  This hike was called "Tomb
Raiders" which took us through several little
villages, up a mountain, and we ended up at
the Ming and Ding Tombs. I am fascinated
by how much of China still scrapes together
an existence through agriculture.  This woman
had picked and was shucking all the corn in her
patch by hand. No modern farming equipment here.

Mules are often the primary source of 'machinery',
if you are fortunate enough to own one. The
average annual wage in rural China is 6000rmb/yr.
To put that in perspective, parents spend five
times that amount for their children to attend BNDS.

It was a cool, crisp fall day, perfect for hiking.
While the leaves are just beginning to change
here, many flowers are still blooming.

This is how we roll, through the briers and brambles,
often times on a goat path. The lead guide marks the trail
with flags in case you lose the group. You may need
 to stop for a breather, to take a photo, or simply
take a 'private moment' off the trail a ways, lol.
The end guide picks up the flags as we trudge along.

As we climbed the mountain, each lookout point was more
beautiful than the one before it.

Time for a breather! You meet some of the coolest
people on these hikes, like Dan here, who works
at the US Embassy.  We also had an Australian
lawyer working in Beijing, a couple from Chicago
on vacation, a German family, and several others.

Still climbing..

Ms. Ellen and I made it to the top!

If I can't be on the sailboat, or on a beach somewhere, then
climbing a mountain and being out in nature is the next best thing.
I am working my way back to happy :)

It was overcast all day, so the photos really don't
do the scenery justice.  It was really beautiful.

Ms. Ellen is one of our newbies- an AP Art teacher from
Charlotte, NC. She's a hoot! We had a great afternoon together.

After the ascent to the top, we came down the
mountain on the other side to a beautiful little
reservoir.  It was spectacular :)

For the fifteen minute rest we had by the lake, the sun broke
through the clouds, and for a few minutes we basked in the
warmth of the sun. That little dose of Vitamin D felt glorious!

We hiked through several persimmon orchards,
and again, the Chinese were out gathering up
baskets of persimmons. I never tried one before,
but they insisted on giving us all some.
I love this photo- it sums up my existence
here in China:  Have backpack, will travel.
To think of all things I have seen, and all of the
places me and my backpack have been to together <3

The persimmon trees were LOADED with fruit.

When hiking with BHC, you finish up with a traditional
family style Chinese meal served at the end of the hike.
The food is always so delicious and fresh.

As we left the restaurant, in this little village, there were
some artisans set up along the street peddling their wares.
Since it is my last year in China, I decided to 'spring' for
this beautiful wooden vase that had been turned on a lathe.

I am not sure what the wood is, though it looks a
bit like birds eye maple.  I paid $50usd for it,
but back home something like this would have
cost hundreds of dollars.  It will look perfect in
my Florida home.  I love it!

The second half of our afternoon was a walk
through the Ming and Ding tombs.  A few
thousand Chinese also had the same plan in mind.

The Ming Dynasty was between the
1300-1600's, and thirteen emperors are
buried here.  Only the 11th emperor's
tomb is open to the public.

What is it, you say?

It's patio furniture, Ming Dynasty style!

"You can't stop Mother Nature", said Ellen.
So very true- the trees were thriving with
their roots entwined in hundreds of years
old fortress walls. Amazing.

Inside the "Underground Palace" was the Emperor's throne.

This is the Rear Chamber, where the coffins of the 11th Emperor
and his Empresses were laid on either side of him.  The additional
boxes stored burial artifacts of  jade, pottery, and such.  Of course
much of it was destroyed in the cultural revolution, so these are 'copies'.

Oh, you know I have a 'thing' for doors...this one
was made of marble, likely 500 years old or more...
who has passed through these doors???

...or through this beautiful copper door???

The Underground Palace was at least six stories
below the surface...so interesting.

Soon we popped back up to the outside world!

Minglou, the Soul Tower, is an architectural
masterpiece of carved stone, even the flying rafters.

Our day ended with a walk through the museum
which displays what few artifacts have been recovered.

My day ended with making persimmon pudding,
which was a first for me.  My apartment smelled
incredible as it was baking.  I gotta say, it
was DELICIOUS!  The hike up a mountain,
the walk through the villages and orchards,
the cool, crisp air, the changing leaves, and
the taste of fall was just what this girlie needed. 

G'nite, y'all!