Another Harvest, Another Hike

It is fall. Another beautiful transition into the sleepy winter months. The rice is being harvested, the colors are at their best, and the weather is taking a turn for the colder.


Below the rice combine, which runs on tracks, makes laps around the riced patty. They stop periodically to unload the rice into bags. The rice straw which remains is bailed into small square or large round bales. Sometimes if the moisture content of the straw is high enough they will wrap the bales in plastic to make haylage.

The rice goes from the fields to the roads. The farmers take over the rural roads this time of year. One has to be careful when driving because tarps are layed down and the rice is poured out to dry. The ladies occasionally rake/stir the rice throughout the day, and then put it back in bags at night.

The garden crops have changed as the weather gets colder as well. We see more cabbage, lettuce, and spinach.

Spinach for sale in a small town on the south side of the island. Chelsie and I bought a nice bundle from this cute old lady.

Kimchi crops: peppers and cabbage

It is a bit less fun to ride now that it is colder. We still put on the coats and gloves and go though. We have made a couple trips the last two weekends.

Mark teacher and Joe teacher accompanied us on a trip. Joe is a new teacher at our school. He is from New Jersey.The rides throughout the island are always filled with unique scenery. It is nice to be able to stop and enjoy it.

We took two fall hikes and these are a combination of the pictures. One hike was to the top of Mangsan which I have made a previous posting on, and the other is Nojasan. Both fantastic.

Mark and Joe teachers.

The Asian looking pine trees add to the texture of the scenery.

A break at a summit for lunch.

Chelsie Teacher

Fiona Teacher

Joe Teacher (Sweet shades)

The kids call Mark, "Marker Teacher".

And Jesse Teacher

Enjoying the view inland from the summit.

Father and Son passing by. As you may have already noticed, when Koreans smile for pictures, they say kimchi and give you the peace sign. Even the little guy hitching a ride in the backpack is well trained in photo taking.

From atop Nojasan.

One of many cloud like islands floating in the ocean. They call them a "mowendo". A no man's island.

We were glad that we stuck around for the sunset, but the ride home was brutally cold.

All is well. All is normal. We are making plans for Christmas and New Years in Japan. We are very excited as we are looking forward to a brief look into a new culture.

Seoraksan National Park

In October there is a Korean holiday called Chu-seok which is the equivalent of the American Thanksgiving combined with the gift giving of Christmas. We were given a very nice five day vacation and a bonus from our school. (Amazing school, I must say.) Chelsie and I originally had plans and flights for the Philippines, but the typhoon became a huge disaster down there and our flights were canceled. It was alright because there is plenty to do around here.

We made a trip to the northern part of South Korea, Sokcho to be exact, and took in the sights of their second most visited national park, Seoraksan.

As you may have already noticed, you cannot go too far in Korea without running across a temple or two. There are many, but this must be one of the biggest Buddhas that we have seen yet.

We met a really fun Korean man by the name of Mr.Quo. He was a bundle of energy, and with fairly good English skills, he voluntarily came our tour guide for the afternoon. He had been to the park a number of times and was very eager to be our host, which included insistence to pay for meals, bus tickets, park fees, snacks, water, and anything else he thought we needed. We have been overwhelmed with generosity, and hospitality on a number of occasions as we tour throughout Korea. It has given us a some quality insight to the culture. Mr.Quo, took us in the direction of Ulsanbowie, a fantastic climb with which included hundreds of steel stairways meandering their way up the unsurpassable rock face.

The summit was a delight in one direction we could see deep into the park and in the other we could see the vast ocean.

I hope you don't grow tired of the pictures of the traditional temples, because as long as we are in Korea, I am guessing that they will keep coming.

The lanterns are all hung from the ceiling inside the temple. I believe that the tags, which flutter in the breeze, are prayers.

The great bell found at all temples.

Old roof tiles in a pile. You can "purchase" new ones at a nearby counter and write on them. They are then stored for replacements or new construction.

Taking a break to refer to the Lonely Planet, our trusty guide.

There is a cable car in the park. We have come to realize that it is a very popular fixture in many places around here.

We couldn't pass...... up and up we went. At the top there was a coffee shop. Once again....couldn't pass.

We enjoyed a tasty lunch at the top. Homemade peanut butter and bread. Chels is quite the chief even in the outdoors.

A peek in the direction of the ocean.

Another hike took us to some nice falls.

The next day we took a bus to "Inner Seoraksan". Another portion of the park with phenomenal rock cairans.

We contributed to the multitude and built one of our own.

More hiking, more beauty. The trip was a great escape from the norm. Who can pass up an invitation to the great outdoors.

A hermitage as the map called it. It was a monk village tucked away.

Being here in Korea for a while has given us the opportunity to explore more that we could ever have in a month of vacation.