Just this past weekend I went hiking up in Big Bear with my high school friends. It was my second time going to Big Bear and we ended up hiking on the Castle Rock trail, which I also hiked the first time I went to Big Bear. But this second hiking trip included watching the stars at night as part of the agenda. Once we finished our hike in the late afternoon, we killed time by getting food and exploring the local area until it was late enough to see the stars. We parked our car on a road surrounded by a relatively empty field of grass where we decided to watch the stars from. We sat on the ground with our backs against the car and were observing the stars to see them populate the dark sky. As the night grew darker, the sky gradually cleared up and we began seeing stars fill up the sky. My friend would exclaim that he saw a shooting star and the rest of us would miss it, so we would always wonder if another one would shoot across the sky if we kept watching. The temperature was cold and the area we were posted up at was completely silent where we could hear nothing but the air, but we had proper clothes so it wasn’t an issue. There were several houses lined up at one end of the empty field with lights coming from the windows. Our eyes were glued to the small white dots scattered all throughout the sky, and the longer we stared, we would notice new patterns formed from the alignment of the stars. The tall trees became more darker than the sky, causing the stars to look even brighter than we remembered. It felt as if the stars were lighting up the whole area, since there were no light sources other than a couple houses off in the distance.

It was a great experience to have given that I’ve lived in the lit up cities and suburbs for most of my life. I have faint memories about the last time I spent time looking up at the stars at night since it is impossible to see any when there are nearby light sources. It is in my interest to spend more time observing the stars at night and other parts of nature that can offer such fascinating sights. Spending time with friends while doing so is also a plus. My friends have been more active in traveling since they are on break from their schools, so I may be able to have more opportunities to explore other beauties of nature which others may often take for granted. I find that the specific adventures involving me going out far from home to explore nature are very memorable to me, since I don’t often get the chance to do so because I live in the middle of California. The next trip I take out in nature will be more interesting. I want to observe what I hear, see, listen, and any other noticeable traits during my experiences so that I can think back and remember what it was like going to any specific location.