Hocking Hills is hocking awesome.

It seems that the last time I updated you guys on what was going on, I had just got back from a camping trip. Well...here is another one.

This past weekend, a group of students from my Aquatic Resources class took the Bio Van aka Party Bus down to Hocking Hills State Park in southeastern Ohio. This was the same place where we did some collecting a couple of weekends ago, but this time we actually camped in the park. While we where there, we got to go to some pretty neat places and we found some pretty awesome things. We found a lot of salamanders and algae at Ash Cave and Old Man's Cave and saw some amazing views at Conkles Hollow.

The creek that flowed down to Old Man's Cave, I think.

The crew of awesomeness

Eurycea cirrigera

View from the Rim Trail at Conkles Hollow

Ash Cave

Desmognathus fuscus

Awesome people.

I know, I know...I posted pictures of salamanders last time, but I think they are AWESOME so yeah. Don't lie and say they aren't cool. You know they are.

At night, the professor that went with us cooked some delicious food. I'm so used to eating out of a box whenever I go camping, but I definitely won't say no to the potato-egg-mushroom-onion-pepper concoction that we had for breakfast. I would probably eat that every day if I could.

And I probably can, because I have been trying to work on my cooking skills. My roommate cooks a lot, so I try to watch what she does and learn about what she makes. Sometimes I will even look up a recipe online or in her cookbook. I know it sounds stupid (like I should have known this already) but with a cookbook, you can make anything! I can make home foods! So exciting! It's nothing too special, but I think my list of foods I can make is getting longer... now I just need a husband to cook for! (jk...that is definitely a falsehood.) Just so you know I'm not lying, here is a list:

--Stir fry (usually with chicken, but I am pretty positive I can make it with any meat)
--Chicken and Swiss Bake
--French Toast Casserole
--jambalaya (from a box, but whatever, it is still delicious)
--Italian baked noodle thing that Ali taught me about
--buffalo chicken
--Mawpuh Chili
--Mawpuh cheese dip
--Brownies (again, from a box, but they are too delicious not to mention)

YES. That is pretty satisfactory right there. I have also perfected my scrambled eggs, thanks to the teachings of the Camp Fletcher cooking staff.

Stay tuned for more adventures...Halloween is coming up, and this year, I am pretty sure I have a decent costume idea. there will definitely be pictures!

Catchin' dem manders.

Since there are a lot of professors that study reptiles and amphibians, as well as a lot of students in these professors' labs, we sort of our own little club, known as Herp Group. (We got herps, anyone?) This past weekend, the Herp Group took a little trip to southeast Ohio for an informal herpetelogical symposium. It was pretty awesome because we got to hear a lot of other professors and grad students from other schools discuss their research. From mapping out the phylogeny of turtles to examining the territoriality in salamanders, I really learned a lot. 

This trip also involved camping. I wanted to use my trusty hammock, but the trees in the yard we were staying in were pretty sparse, so I used a tent. The first night got really cold, but I had on like three shirts and two pairs of pants.

We had social gathering after the symposium, so I got some much needed bonding time with my lab mates, and I made some new friends. I am definitely becoming more comfortable with myself...The Laugh got to the point where people in my lab began commenting on it. Say what you will, but I always feel that this is a good sign haha!

A girl at this particular party was discussing "y'all" and southern accents. I felt that I needed to be in on this conversation, since I have a ridiculous amount of Southern/Alabama/Texas pride now that I live in Ohio. This was a bad idea because I just ended up pissed. She said hated "y'all" and that she would use a Southern accent when she was waiting tables in Texas because people "thought it was cute." She said she was originally from a city where people are very forward and in your face and abrasive and that the girls from Texas (her experience of the South) were all very timid and didn't stand up for what they felt. I tried to respect her opinion, but honestly, I couldn't. I know plenty of women in the South that are "abrasive" and "in your face"...ever been in the middle of an SEC football debate/game? Also, Texas is not a good representation of "the South." I don't count Texas as the South. It's its own state and region. YEAH TEXAS BITCHEZ. Most of the women I know are very adamant about their stances on all topics, and they will confront you about it. If anything, I would say that "knowing your place" is a better phrase than "not standing up for your feelings." The people I know just know when to pick their battles. Basically, I felt awfully abrasive right then and about put my Alabama-clay-stained foot through her face.

But yeah, just sharing.

We also went hiking during this adventure...we found quite a few salamander species, so it was pretty awesome. 

Plethodon cinerus 

(red-backed salamander)

Eurycea cirrigea

(Southern two-lined salamander) 

Plethodon glutinosus

(Northern slimy salamander) 

Desmognathus fuscus

(Dusky salamander) 

I hope you learned some things from this post. Such as the scientific names of these salamanders.