*spring* 2026 semester !!!

National Parks: -Mesa Verde -Carlsbad Cavern -Big Bend -Death Valley -Sequoia -Kings Canyon -Pinnacles -Channel Islands -Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monuments: -Petroglyph National Recreation Areas: -Glen Canyon -Curecanti Other: -Skiing at Purg -Snowboarding at Purg -Christmas at Home in MN -MN Arboretum -Archery -Pagosa Springs Rocky Mountain Wildlife Park -Face Masks -Tattoo -Gudy's Rest on Colorado Trail -Northern Lights -Olive Garden -Ate at Los Pollos Hermanos from Breaking Bad -Lunar (penguin) Shadows at Big Bend Astronomy Talk -Circumnavigated Lone Mountain -Dinosaur Fossils -Nothing More Concert -Picnic at Oxbow Lakes -Learning Lifts -Guitar -Valentine's Day at Purg -Bob Ross Nights -Skiing at Wolf Creek Ski Area -Grandpa Doug Visited -Tree Plot Field Trip -Lemon Reservoir Camping -Motorcycle Riding -Trampoline Park -Wave Behind Gas Station -Horseshoe Bend -Pretty Utah Towns -Las Vegas Strip and Sphere -Artist's Palette -Badwater Basin -Zabrinski Point -Dante's Point -General Sherman Tree -Congress Trail -Cheif Sequoyah -Ice Cream in Three Rivers -Big Cat Rescue in Dunlap -General Grant -Big Stump Trail -Blackbeard's Family Entertainment Center Mini Golf -Bear Gulch Cave -San Francisco -Golden Gate Bridge -Tram Sushi Restaurant -Mirror Maze -Alcatraz Prison -Pier 39 -Campsite View was GGB -Santa Monica Pier -Feet in Pacific Ocean -Hollywood Walk of Fame -Madame Tussade's Hulk -Chinese Theatre (Twilight Hands) -Fancy Restaurant with Lexi -Ventura Highway -Potato Harbor -Staying at Lexi's Place -Monument Valley -Lion's Den -Soil Layer Field Trip at Oxbow Lakes -Last Day at Purg With Barely Any Snow -Old Fort Field Trip -Homework at Oxbow Lakes -Red Mountain Pass -Dontea's Chickens and Other Pets -Grand Mesa National Forest -Pagosa Springs Hot Springs -Soarking Hawks Hike -Reading In My Car -Bottom of Black Canyon -Bowling -Axe Throwing (wild) Animal Sightings: -Mountain Goats outside Carlsbad Cavern -Deer on Campus -Snail outside Hotel in Dinuba -(heard) Condors in Pinnacles -Chipmunks in Pinnacles -Seal below GGB -LOTS of Sea Lions at Pier 39 -Coyote at GGB Campsite -Sea Lions on Boat Ride to Channel Islands -Dolphins on Boat Ride to Channel Islands -SHARK on Boat Ride to Channel Islands -Seal off Channel Islands -Island Fox on Channel Islands -Sea Lions on Boat Ride back from Channel Islands This whole school year kind of desensitized me to long car drives. Anything under 10 hours seems doable now in a day's ride. It's crazy just how many locations are accessible from Durango! I got to live deserts dreams, California Dreamin' vibes, and rugged mountain and canyon cliffs. I also finished with all A's this semester! Don't know how that happened?! Very grateful for this school year. I feel like I am very proud of the person I am becoming and am protective of that. Off to more adventures...!