Or, The Peak District: Round II. If you will remember, the last time we visited the Peak District, we went to Edge Moor. This time we went to Chee Dale, a spot near Derby, particularly close to the Chatsworth House (which I'm still raving about 2 years later-- refer to my pictures labeled "Matlock Bath, Derbyshire Countryside and Chatsworth House" on facebook here).
Well, this time I got down and dirty in the forests and valleys of the Deryshire countryside, for reals. It recently snowed a few inches and even more recently melted, so this hike will be remembered for its sheer mud level. I don't know how I would have lasted with anything other than my new heavy-duty hiking boots. There was mud almost up to my knees by the end of the trip, but it was worth it! We battle all the elements in our Hiking Society, that's for sure.
This was our last hike before Christmas, so we all wore Santa hats for the occassion, and played Christmas music in the minibus there and back. Some people wore complete Christmassy outfits-- red and white scarves, festive sweaters, bauble earrings-- one guy zigzagged Christmas lights all over his rucksack, and pinned bits of holly to the pockets.
The hike went very smoothly, except for the part where I had to scale a bathroom stall like Spider-Man to unlock the door to the toilet (I had to go!)--though it was quite a lot of fun. At one point, we had to hop across stepping stones to get from one part of the river to another, and on the way back the rocks were actually submerged because of the flooding-- I was sure someone would fall into the water, but alas, this did not happen.
I must say though, because I was still feeling under the weather (still am today), and I couldn't breathe properly I suppose, this hike was particularly exhausting. I went over to Jana's house afterwards and nearly fell asleep watching Rupert and had to call it a night at around 9 o'clock. We did get a chance to finish It's a Wonderful Life, though, and the ending was just as sweet as the rest of it. A real warm, fuzzy ending. I especially liked that the movie didn't dwell on Mr Potter, or didn't even give him any kind of due for his thievery. The characters/cameras paid him no attention at all at the end, which just emphasizes the point that people are isolated who are that evil. The character was properly shunted into the background, and everything worked out for our hero in the end.
And as for today, I was able to hit my goal in EPR credits, and I completed my research proposal (at least the first draft), to boot! And tomorrow I will try to do the same for my survey write-up. My goal is to have those two out of the way before I go to Germany next week, so I have the whole rest of vacation to play!
Also today, I had a nice long conversation with my mum. She says she has sent me a Christmas stocking, which is SWEET! I couldn't ask for a better present. It is just what I need to feel connected to the family at Christmas! She's also signed up for a Skype account, so hopefully we'll be able to video chat soon.
Well, it's dinner time-- maybe I'll finish off that soup... yes, that sounds good. Soup and cheesy bread!
Night everyone!
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