Seoraksan National Park

For such a small country, Korea has quite a few national parks.  Seoraksan is probably one of the biggest and most popular parks in the country.  It is located in a small mountain range near the ocean on the north eastern coast, right near North Korea.  

We visited Seoraksan a few weeks ago, figuring it would be a great time to explore the mountains and check out the leaves changing colors.  Apparently a lot of other people had the same idea as us, so the park was pretty packed.  But everything is Korea is always crowded, so it probably wasn't too different than it normally is.  

We spent two days there.  On the first, we did one of the main hikes in the park.  It was about 5 hours or so round trip, but we made some stops and took our time taking photos.  It takes you up to the top of this rocky mountain with great views.  I couldn't believe just how beautiful it was.  We sat at the top and enjoyed the views for quite a while.  I didn't want to leave.  The trail up to the top included over 800 stairs.  The last 3/4 of a mile or so was very steep stairs, drilled into the rock face of the mountain.  Not for those with a fear of heights.  I couldn't believe how many little old ladies made it to the top!

The next day we did a little bit of a shorter hike before we had to catch the bus back to Seoul.  It followed along a beautiful mountain stream and eventually ended up at a small cave.  The stream looked like it once was a big river (and maybe it still flows in the rainy season), but now it was mostly dry.  It was a rocky riverbed, and many of the rocky valleys filled up with beautiful pools of water.  The water was crystal clear with a hint of blue, if it were summer I would have jumped right in.  It looked like the perfect place to enjoy a nice dip in gorgeous scenery.  

The cave that we hiked up to was a very small Buddhist shrine.  The cave was only about 25 feet deep, but was packed with people.  Inside, it had a few small steps that led up to a shrine where, of course, you had to take your shoes off.  High up in the mountains, after hiking for hours, take your shoes off and pray.  

My favorite thing I saw in Seoraksan -besides the incredible views of the rocky peaks- were the Chinese characters carved into giant stones.  We saw them in a couple places, once along the rocky river and another time up in the mountains next to a small temple.  The characters ranged in size from about 8 inches to about 2 feet in size.  They looked really nice set against the great landscapes and the leaves changing color.   

It was a really great trip.  The leaves weren't changing color quite as much as we expected them to, but they still looked amazing.  We enjoyed the mountains as well as the small town of Sokcho that we stayed in.  Took lots of great photos, so check them out here.

A Great Day to Be an American

Wow, we did it!  I could not be more proud of America and proud that Barack Obama will be our next president.  I really feel that this is a great day for my country.  This is giant leap in the right direction.  Obama will be a great president and will help get our country back on track.  

Only around 50 years ago, African-Americans were fighting for equal rights.  And now we have our first African-American president.  I wonder how Martin Luther King Jr would feel on this day, to know that his "I Have a Dream" speech is being fully realized in an amazing way.  To know that his children are living in a world of more than just basic equality.  50 years.  Such a short time to achieve so much progress.

 

No matter what your politics or who you voted for, you should feel proud today.  You should feel proud that our country has overcome such huge obstacles in such a short time.  I really believe that Obama becoming president is going to open more doors for everyone and help everyone achieve their full potential more easily.  To me, this says that anyone can do what they want to do and shouldn't let social issues get in the way.  Just because it's never been done before, that is not good reason to believe that it is not possible.  Of course the obvious group that will feel most affected by a black man becoming president is African-Americans, but I truly believe that this is also bridging the way for every group that feels discrimination.  Hispanics, gays, women, etc. etc. Be proud.

And I'm also proud of our country for more than just the race issue.  Everyone will agree that the Bush years have been pretty awful.  I'm proud that we, as a country, have enough sense to realize that and make a change.  A big and powerful change.  Obama is a really strong candidate and has what it takes to help turn our country back around.  He's going into office at a very difficult time and he's surely going to face a lot of criticism. But I have HOPE and I think most of our country does as well.  

And I'm so excited that Colorado went for Obama!  How great to be from a blue state!  I just wish I could have been there to experience it.  Over here on the other side of the world, the group of teachers at my school all closely watched the election online between our classes.  We were happy we were able to watch some live coverage online, and were all thrilled when we heard the great news.  It's a great day!

The World Is Just Awesome.

Best Commercial Ever.  Makes me smile every time.