Heading West

January 20, 2006

One of the things I love about EMU's location is it's diverstiy of surroundings. All you need to do is choose a direction. If you head east on 33, you will find strip malls, restaurants, and highways. Head north on, and you'll discover residential communities and developments. Venture south on 42, and you'll encounter downtown Harrisonburg. But go west, and you'll find something that is a stark contrast to all these things: the open countryside.

Even though the date is January 20, somehow the weather still manages to be unbelievably beautiful. Today it was over 60 degrees and sunny. I finished classes around 3:30 and just knew that I had to take advantage of this gorgeous day. Next week's homework could wait. So, I got out my bike, pulled my helmet out of the closet, and headed west on Mt. Clinton Pike. I didn't really know where I was going or where I would end up, but I think that was part of the fun of it. I mostly took back roads, and just kept a general idea of where EMU was in my mind.

What I found was some amazing, open land. I felt like I was in a completely different world. Once I got far enough and over enough hills, the traffic thinned out, and I eventually saw more dairy cows than cars. I saw cows grazing lazily in the pastures, goats chomping away at the grass, ducks standing proud by their reflection in a pond, a seemingly stray black dog prancing happily about, rustic fences, quaint churches, old rundown chicken houses, stately farms, and more.

I finally came to a rest at the top of a hill by a rusty barbed wire fence overlooking the next small valley. I knew that I had to turn around soon if I wanted to make it back to campus before dark. But the place I stopped at was so amazing that I didn't really want to leave; I stood there for a while just taking in the beauty. The hills seemed to collapse in from every direction, pointing to a little farm house and barn that sat in the valley. The hills were decorated with designs from the farmer's plow, various clusters of trees were backlit by the sun, and the sky was blue and clear in the distance, hung above the far-off, fading mountains. The fence that seemed to guard this radiating landscape framed the view, leading my eye up and over the hills and into the distance.

I think that the hour between 4 and 5 PM is one of my favorite times of day. There is still daylight, yet the sun is low enough in the sky that it casts long shadows behind everything it touches, and hits the earth at an angle that seems to make the grass, trees, houses, and everything glow. It is amazing. It's as if each color is emphasized, drawing out the innate beauty of the landscape.

I look forward to the next time I will be able to venture west on my bike. Next time, though, I will allow myself more time to explore and discover. And, most certainly, I will take along my camera.