My place sits half a mile into Centennial Woods. Although it is on the outskirts of campus it allows me time to leave behind stress and just be engulfed in the natural world. You walk along the centennial woods path for a quarter of a mile until you veer right onto a smaller path that is not well defined. You then continue down this path for a few meters until you come along a large boulder on the shoulder of the river. Every time I visit, I begin by sitting on the large rock and observing and listening to the sounds. This rock is my favorite spot of this location because it gives me a central point to observe from and ensures I return to the same spot every time. The prominent sound in my place is of the river but as time goes on I can hear trucks along the road, birds and the occasional airplane. It is really soothing to just calm down and listen to the river rush but the sounds of human activity on the road really takes away from the serenity. It reminds me how close to campus I am.

As it is fall, the foliage is amazing and there is no shortage of beautiful colors. When I visited Wednesday 10/23 the sun was shining and there were very few clouds in the sky. During this time of year leaves are littered along the path to enter my spot and there are sticks and leaves in the river. The surrounding trees were beginning to change color, there was a mixture of green, yellow and a hint of red. Additionally, because of the rain within the past 24 hours, the path was slippery/ muddy, the water level was high, and there was water pooled around the rock. I will have to take notice if this is because of the rain or if there is water surrounding the rock always. Also I want to pay attention to the water levels and see if they fluctuate throughout the year.