Deepest slot canyon.. IN THE WORLD.

Spring Break whooohooo!! This is honestly a heaven sent blessing that Universities participate in. Here at Utah State you have ENDLESS choices for spring break. This year Tuck and I went to southern Utah, and hiking the deepest/longest slot canyon.. IN THE WORLD. Yep, right here in Utah, who knew! It was 100% candy to the eyes. Not only that, but it had real Indian hieroglyphics, lizards for catching, and snakes for smashing.  Now, maybe slot canyons aren't your thing so I would like to mention a few other places around that are just urking to be explored.
- Jackson Wyoming (Aka white water rafting)
- Logan Canyon itself
- Promontory point
- Moab Utah
- Wind River mountains
- Countless State parks
- The 7 NATIONAL parks within 6 hours from Logan

- Email me if you want more, I'm not afraid!

Here's just a glimpse of what we saw in Buckskin Gulch.

Literally paradise huh? Don't take my word for it...

Aviation Legends, Spider Silk Goats, and Suction Climbers: That's Engineering, That's Utah State

ENGINEERING WEEK 2014

Engineering week 2014 was OFF THE CHAINS! If I was to compare USU's College of Engineering to an NBA legend I would choose John Stockton because it will BLOW YOUR MIND with it's shear awesomeness! Check out all of this incredible stuff that we showcased for Engineering Week:

Dick Rutan - The FIRST MAN TO FLY AROUND THE WORLD nonstop without refueling. Yes - it took him 9 days to fly around the world, yes - he flew himself into Logan Regional Airport to speak at USU, yes - I got to be his chauffeur for the day, yes - this dude is an aviation legend and a total stud!

Spider Silk Goats - USU Biological Engineers have successfully genetically modified goats so that they can extract spiders silk from their milk. Don't ask me how it works (I'm no biological engineer) - but somehow they get spider silk out of those cute little goats. Spider silk is stronger than kevlar, stretchier than nylon, and friendly to the environment. YES - WE'RE DOING SOME PRETTY COOL STUFF UP HERE!

Suction Climbers - Check this out. Aggie Mechanical Engineers invented a device that allows a climber to scale a wall via vacuum suction. This was a Senior Design Project that took FIRST PLACE  at the AIR FORCE DESIGN CHALLENGE.

A few of the other features of Engineering Week included:

• NO RULES PINEWOOD DERBY - the winner crossed the finish line in less than 1.5 seconds (they had an RC airplane propeller strapped to the car)
• EROSION TABLE - this was basically a giant sandbox where you could build dams and watch water come and destroy it
• AGGIE BAJA DUNE BUGGIES
• AGGIE ICE CREAM (a must for any real USU event)
• MUCH MUCH MORE!

Check out these bonus pics:

C'MON - YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO BECOME AN AGGIE ENGINEER!

Holla to the Miss USU pageant!

Caitlyn here! So recently I've had my hands full with a little pageant going on here at Utah State. That's right! I am representing the college of Education in the coming up MISS USU pageant. It's not in my typical range of things to do, but I've decided to jump out of my comfort zone for just a bit. Surely there is more to come, but just to get a bit of sugar on your tongue, feel free to watch my video to get a small sneak peek into the pageant! Wish me luck! 

 

Saved By the Bell!

I'll be honest here, Tuck and I are what some may call nerds, geeks, learning fanatics,or what have you... We absolutely love school and enjoy stepping foot on campus everyday. If it isn't the ravishing campus that gets us out of bed each day, then it's the unbelievable faculty that Utah State has. Not only are they brilliant beyond compare, but they genuinely care about the students and do all things in their best interest. We are thrilled to go to class each day because we know that our time will be well spent...

HOWEVER, even though we thoroughly enjoy school, we really live for the Cache Valley weekends! We'll tell you time and again, there is a NICHE for everyone here at Utah State. This particular weekend we had the splendid opportunity to go to a cabin up at Bear Lake. Tell me, what other University has a huge natural lake less than an hour away?...... I could go on about the endless adventures waiting to be had up here, but the best way to truly experience them, is to quit reading this blog and get up to Logan! 

Snowshoeing at Bear Lake

Embrace the Cold!

Some might compare Logan to Narina: Always winter but never Christmas. Unless you are an avid skier/boarder, the Abominable Snowman, or Old Man Marley from Home Alone, you probably dread this time of year due to the cold. Now, to address the elephant in the room... yes Logan is on average 5-10 degrees colder than most cities in Utah. HOWEVER, let me assure you that, not only is Logan absolutely breath-taking when it is snow filled, but it can feel like Christmas everyday when you take advantage of the opportunities that it has to offer . Allow me to share some...

Ski the Beav 
Snow shoe up Logan canyon (get shoes from the USU ORP for a few bucks!)
Sled down Old Main Hill
Do donuts on the snow covered streets
Have a snowball fight
Ice skate at Merlin Olsen Central Park outdoor rink
Ice fish at Bear Lake
Cross country ski up Logan Canyon (get skis from the USU ORP for a few bucks!)
Play snow football
Build a snowman
Take pictures for a Christmas card
Go to USU hockey games
Cut down a Christmas tree
Go see Christmas Carol the Musical
Hike to Utah State Yurt & sleep over
Build snow forts and play WWII
Etc. etc. etc.

Needless to say, there are endless ways to EMBRACE the winters in Cache Valley. We all have the choice to mope in our room for 4 months or get out and indulge the snow, but either way it's still gonna be winter! EMBRACE IT!

2 Things Cache Valleyers MUST See

There are two things that everyone residing in Cache Valley must experience during the month of October. Although Halloween parties and Zombie 5k's are great, I can guarantee that you will not regret attending the Annual Weston Idaho Pumpkin Blast and the Annual North Logan Pumpkin Walk. Let me explain...

Pumpkin Blast (Explosion)

Sometimes in life when small town folk don't have much to do, they blow stuff up. Every year, on the Saturday after Halloween, the town of Weston Idaho (30 minutes from Logan mind you) gathers all their pumpkins together, packs them with DYNAMITE, then shoots the pile. To be quite frank, words can't explain the feeling that comes from watching this. So have a look. 

Pumpkin Walk

Leonardo Da Vinci and Picasso don't stand a chance against Logan locals when it comes to aesthetically pleasing the human eye. These people create entire scenes from home grown vegetables, hand-me-downs from Deseret Industries, and pieces of scrap wood. Whether it's with your family, a date, or by yourself, DON'T MISS the A.N.L.P.W. 2014.

THE actual actor in Wreck-It Ralph

   M*A*S*H Classic 

 He's 100 times cuter than Gru

Beat Bowser like...infinity times.

 Just another picture..

 "Lumos"

Utah State = THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH

Perhaps you thought that was Disneyland... Don't worry, it's a common misconception. Just come visit Cache for one day - we'll show you that USU is the true mecca for happiness. Space Mountain and the Matterhorn don't hold a candle to Old Main Hill and Romney Stadium.

What's so great about USU, you ask? Allow me to explain:
Meet Matt Meaker. We became friends with Matt through an Aggie service club called Best Buddies. The purpose of Best Buddies is to pair students up with people in the community who have disabilities. We've been paired with Matt for over 2 years now and we can honestly say he is our best bud!

Best buddies is just one in a plethora of ways to gain service and leadership experience at USU - that's what makes this place so magical! As a matter of fact, Utah State practically wrote the book on  providing students with excellent involvement opportunities. Cait and I agree that some of the most important pieces of knowledge that we have gained during our college experiences have come from outside the classroom: in team leadership and service settings.

We've gotten ourselves involved through:

• Student Government (ASUSU)
• Freshmen Orientation (A-Team)
• Freshmen Recruitment (Ambassadors, BlueCrew)
• Undergraduate Research 
• Service (Best Buddies)

And this is just scratching the surface! 

If you're looking to make a difference in the world... If you're looking to unveil the greatness within yourself... If you're looking to dare mighty things... Look no further than UTAH STATE!