Nate's Blog

To start out, as a disclaimer, These pictures have no real order whatsoever. After more than 13 months as a UTK Blogger, 45 Blogs
written, and hundreds of pictures uploaded, I still haven't figured out a pattern for this thing.

So, to clarify for you all, we left thursday morning, and went to Elizabethton, TN. Boys and Girls Club, and then Cherokee National Forest to a Hostel where hikers stay. The next morning,
we met up with Mr. Peoples, aka "The Mr. Peoples." We worked on the Appalachian Trail, fixing parts and widening it. (quick note, these guys to the left are hikers that have about a month left until they complete the journey that starts in Maine and ends in Georgia. They were awesome, and we're all
friends now.) I'm sorry Juliann, but I had to include this awesome picture of you in here. Can't resist a Ginger in Yella Boots and an Ax.

I guess I can clarify in this little space I have here, Alternative Fall Break or AFB is a four day adventure in the Fall for UT students to volunteer their weekend to give back to the world in various ways. This Year, Three teams went all with about 25 volunteers (volunteers double meaning) each. Every year they go to various places around the Country, and It is one of the Greatest Experiences UT has to offer. besides becoming friends with 25 great people, I got to see some new parts of the Country and experience some strange stuff. Anyone can go, and this is one of the great times where I get to influence

current UT students about a great opportunity. Look into it, I promise you won't regret going.

This guy over here is Aemish, and he is sort of my hero, just because of his experience right here. He cleaned out a very gross Bird cage on our Third day (Saturday) where we helped out at a
Wildlife Refuge. This was outside the Wildlife Refuge area, where I managed to convince a group of girls to let me get in their picture. It was a beautiful area, and since it was mid-october, the leaves are changing, and It was amazing. From left to right, It's Ali, Meg, Malory, Katie, Blair, and Courtney. They're great, and I'm pretty sure none of them know they are now on UT's website. Hope they don't mind! To answer your Question, Yes, I wore a Yankee's fitted the entire weekend. It was great, and I'm wearing it now. So I can tell you now, after Elizabethton, TN, we
went to Boone, NC. It is high up in the Mountains, and it's Cold there. I have learned that its a great place to go snowboarding though, and its only a few hours from UT. Now all I need is my board.

AHH! so this is Mr. Bob Peoples and I working on the Appalachian Trail. Our Goal was to widen the trail, level it out a little bit, clear "Duff" which is the organic material that collects on top of the trail and becomes slippery, and to cover roots with dirt to protect them from people walking on them. He was awesome, very friendly, and one of those people in the world that has found exactly what they love in life and gets to live it every single day. He was great about helping us find community work to do. It was awesome, and now I really want to hike at least

.........................part of the AT before I get too old.

These are the Furry Jacket Girls. They had these Jackets that all looked very warm and snuggly, and someone took a picture. I stole it and Boom! Its on the Blog. Left to Right, Blair, Sam, Ashleigh, Lindsay. In front of the girls is our Journal, which I still haven't contributed to quite
yet. But I will. Here to the Left, are our Fearless (emphasis on Fearless) leaders. Left to Right, Bridget, Britta, Zac. Bridget can be found in "Ignite......Teams!" from last October. Britta was Bridgets Partner, and they set up the whole trip, and did Work. Zac is quite simply, The Man. He amazes people with
Magic tricks, and his mustache has been in place for a year.

Here are the Girls, and Aemish, rockin Volunteer Gear. Left to Right, Dede, Ali, Pamela, Aemish, Charity, Courtney, Nia.

Why was this Trip awesome? I mean, thats a reasonable question, so far, for all you know, we worked the whole time. This was my favorite moment of the trip.

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We screamed "Eye of the Tiger." Everyone in the car. You know its a good crowd when 12 people can sing together and everyone has a great time. I loved this trip more than anything else since I started college.

This was just a great picture of the three of us. Aemish, Dede, and this is one picture where I smiled on demand and didn't look like a goon. victory. Alternative Spring Break is the Spring Version, and applications are out now. Preference is given to Students who haven't been able to attend before, and they want a diverse group of people, so
please look into it and apply, It's a great time.

Finally, of course, we had to paint the Rock to end the trip. Luckily, it ended up at the bottom. The names written on here are all of our "trail names." Hikers on the AT don't usually go by their real names, the ones we met were Sea-Monster, Disney, Star Trek, and a couple more I can't remember right now. My trail name is under the A in green, and its because of the second picture in this blog.

Couple Random Notes:

1) Jason Witten, former UT Vol, Current Dallas Cowboy, is awesome. He donated a big chunk of money to the Boys and Girls Club for computers and other great things for the kids in his Hometown of Elizabethton TN. While I know he will never read this or hear about it, I still want to thank him and throw him some credit for that, its a great thing to do.

2) I didn't get to explain Dinner on Saturday night. (yea, the picture where I'm getting into some chicken.) It was at a wonderful restaurant called The Dan'l Boone. Its all you can eat, served family style, Southern Cooking. Meaning, they bring bowls of fried chicken, potatoes, apples, gravy, everything good, and you pass the bowls around the table and get all that you want. When the bowls go empty, they bring you a new one. Great restaurant in Boone, NC. Check it out if you find yourself in Boone sometime.

3) I didn't get a chance to have everyone in a picture, and for that, I'm sorry.

4) Thanks to everyone who helped to make this Trip happen, and helping this great opportunity make itself into a true UT Tradition.

"Work Hard, Play Hard. TeamVOLS."