Day 4: Recharging our batteries

Today was a much needed rest day. After all the adventures we've been having this week we really felt drained, so we took this morning off and caught up on some sleep. While yesterday's endeavor we felt like we wanted to keep today to a few easier hikes, so after Daisy's emergency doctor's appointment (http://bewleyda.blogspot.com, don't worry she's fine now) we decided to try geocaching again. Daisy's house leads to some very cool trails, so we explored for a little while. We also tried to find four different geocaches, but unfortunately we did not find any. I am now very convinced that someone took the geocaches at some locations because we really did spend a lot of time trying to find them to no avail.
We still enjoyed our hike though, and we then headed back to the house and caught up with our reading. Our original plan for yesterday was to reach Mount Monadnock's summit and then spend some time reading and reflecting. Because we were unable to reach the summit though, we did not have time to read. It was nice to finally spend a significant amount of time reading, it felt good to pay attention to our books. I was also able to start reading The Jungle Book, which I've been meaning to do for a while. We read it last year in my English class, but we did not get to finish it and it's been on the top of my reading list since then. With homework and classes though I didn't find the time to start during the school year. A couple of weeks ago I saw the new movie that just came out, and I absolutely loved it. That really reminded me of my goal to read the whole book and I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity that senior project offers me to be able to take care of my reading habits, which have been pretty much nonexistent since I started school (personal reading list I mean, not school-assigned books). I don't think I've read a book just because I wanted to since Thanksgiving, so I was very excited to start The Jungle Book today.
The book is absolutely amazing. I love every page, and I think it might be amongst my top ten favorite books (I''l get back to you on this one as soon as I finish it). I really love the references to the 'law of the jungle' because they show that although we may not always understand it, there is a reason why things are the way they are, why we behave the way we do. And it is so nice to be able to live in a society that cohabits with other groups, other cultures. In the book the pack of wolves are the "free people," and I love the interactions between the animals because they are based on simple facts, on this so very raw and sincere synergy. I look forward to keep reading this book and write more of my own thoughts about this. The book is small and light, so I'll be able to take it with me on our next hikes.
We ended the day watching Wild, a movie that I had heard about but never seen. Daisy had read the book before, but we both enjoyed watching the connection between the main character and nature. I personally hope to feel that way by the end of this project, and I'm already feeling more in touch with my surroundings although it's only been four days.