Gathering the Last Bits of Data

3 plots in one day! It was amazing how after each plot we finished, we got faster and faster! Our plotting technique was more precise each time, and our counting method was faster as well! I'm so proud of our team! At the beginning of the day, we knew we had to act fast in order to finish today. We had a total of 3 plots to do today, and time was a'wastin! We changed our plotting technique. According to Judy, she suggested that we plot the 2 diagonal lines first. This worked out perfectly because it was faster and easier! We first sent Kim into the forest to be the designated center. Then we took our nylon string (which was 70.7 meters now) and used the compass to plot an "X". This created a triangle, and each of us got to count on of these triangles. This method was perfect.
The sunny weather definitely made a difference in everyone's mood and will power. It was way easier counting the trees, climbing through the dense brush, and recording our data without the harsh rain and darkness!

We finally finished the labor intensive work portion of our project! Hurray! And it was only 3 pm! We had a while until dinner was served and we have been working hard the whole day, so we haven't have time to actually explore the Experimental Forest. So after gathering all our equipment, we picked a trail and off we go! Our destination was the Giant Tree near the end of the trail. This tree is a red cypress, whose height is 46.2 meters! The trunk was recorded at 5.5 meters, and finally it is estimated to be 2,800 years old! We hiked another trail, with more steps this time, so more of a workout. Our destination was the rainbow bridge! It wasn't anything too spectacular, but it still was a nice hike and chit chat time.

Me in front of the "Giant Tree", it sure was huge!

"Somewhere over the rainbow..."

 



Aren't my roomies pretty!?

 

 After our hard day of work, it was our last night in Sitou, and we haven't explored the surrounding villages! There was a small Japanese style village which translates into "Monster Village." With a name like this, I didn't really know what to expect! But after a short walk up the dark hill, we come upon the town, which is brightly lit with lanterns. The red hue from the lanterns were everywhere, which lit up the various monster statues. The whole thing was very animated. We even came across a stage where there were 2 people in a monster costume... I wasn't really sure what they were doing, but some music came on (which included Gangnam Style.. lol) and they proceeded to dance.

The audience seemed to get really into it, as people danced along with them. It was sort of comical to me, but still entertaining!

Interesting dancers?

(left) me and my green tea + bamboo charcoal flavored ice-cream! And (right) some friends playing around in the shops!