Visiting the city of Portland, Oregon and the waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge invigorated my thinking about taking classes outside. Hiking part-way up the Eagle Creek trail reminded me that being comfortable in a natural area can take practice. As I held onto a cable while rounding a bend in the path high above the creek, I was feeling something between anxiety and acute awareness of the consequences of tripping on the rocky path. Now when I take a group of city teachers and children into a nearby city natural area, I will be more understanding of teachers who caution children not to step off the paved path or those who flinch when insects whiz by. And I resolve to get outside with the classes more often.
Here is Latourelle Falls, seen from the base at a distance and then up close to show the columnar jointing of the basalt volcanic rock. It is a short walk down a paved path from a stop along the Columbia River Scenic Highway.

(Click on the photos to see a larger view.)
Peggy