Paddling Adventure

 This weekend I had the opportunity to join Dr. Williams and his daughter on the water at the Fort Worth Nature Preserve. I had the pleasure of taking out one of his kayaks. Growing up, I raced kayaks for a few years in the Puget Sound, but it has been quite a long time since I last went out. As of late, I have primarily used stand up paddle boards (SUPs).  

    Heading to the Nature Center, I had fairly low expectations to be honest. I imagined it would be like paddling on the trinity by campus. While this still would've been great, I had this picture in my head. I could not have been more wrong. 

    We started out by moving through a marshy like area where the river was filled with lily pads. It felt like I was in Florida or some sort of tropical area. I found it really unique how the water beaded on the lily pads when they were splashed. As we continued on, we saw a plethora of large birds and a surprising number of turtles. While this was great, the highlight was the amount of allegators we saw! I think we saw over 4 and I had never seen one before. 

    This trip unlocked the memory of paddling for me. I grew up going on trips quite a bit but I have since forgot how much I enjoyed it. I feel like most people jump to hike over paddle, but it is arguably more enjoyable with a similar nature experience. With my upcoming training in Missouri, I plan to incorporate paddling more into my nature expeditions

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Field Training Exercise

    Recently, Army ROTC conducted a Field Training Exercise (FTX) in Fort Wolters, Texas. We conduct these twice a year, one each semester. The spring FTX is always much more intense as we partner with around 3 other schools. This is the final chance for the juniors to run tactical lanes before their month-long assessment this summer. As a "Battle Captain" my job was to help the platoons stay on track while they run missions. While I was told I needed to stay inside the Tactical Operations Center (TOC), I took that as more of a suggestion and walked with them all day.

    It was supposed to be hot that weekend but ended up being overcast and windy, really great weather for running missions. I enjoyed hiking through the woods and the dry creek beds. Unfortunately, we had many cadets fall into cacti fields and get covered in thorns. The coolest thing I saw was a live rattlesnake, I had never seen one before! I then took the time to explain the Abbey story to some of my fellow cadets, they actually found it pretty cool. 

    Something weird I have noticed at many Army bases is a substance informally called "moondust". This is sand or dry dirt that has been driven on so many times by heavy vehicles that it turns into this powder-like substance. It coats absolutely everything and gets kicked up easily when it is windy. 

    Overall, FTXs are some of my favorite parts of being in ROTC. It gives me the chance to spend time outside and analyze the terrine for a purpose. I like that we usually have little to no cell service so I can fully invest into the activities I am taking part in outside.