Allens final expedition

For 3 days of our expedition we went to Thermopolis, Wyoming where we went to the dinosaur center, state bath house, and Star Plunge.

For the first day in Thermopolis we went to the dinosaur center where we learned a lot about dinosaurs plants and fossils. We even saw skeletons of some of our favorite dinosaurs like the T rex, allosauras, the superosuras. After we went to the dinosaur center we went to the state bath house where we took showers and relaxed in the hot springs for 20 minutes.
For the second day in Thermopolis we went to Star Plunge which was right next store to the state bath house. At Star Plunge we went on slides , played basketball, and relaxed in the hot tubs by the pool. We also jumped off the diving board that the pool had. The water in Star Plunge was really warm and smelled liked rotten eggs.
After Thermopolis we went to the sinks and the rise in Lander Wyoming. The sinks is where the Popo Aggie river disappears into a cave that scientist don’t know way it happens and where the water goes. The rise is where the Popo Aggie river appears.

In conclusion the group had a lot of fun in Thermopolis and at sinks canyon.

Sarah Wolfe's Blog Part 5

Sarah Wolfe’s Blog Part 5




This blog is on our final ex. Here are my three favorite parts of this trip.

My first favorite part was the hot springs. Once I touched the water I felt so relaxed. The water was so warm. We all had a great time there.

My second favorite part was rock climbing. It made me a little nervous at first. As soon as I started to feel better, I climbed a little bit higher on the rocks. The weather was really nice that day. I did a lot better then when we did it in Arizona. I feel so glad that I did it.

My last favorite part was riflery. There were a lot of steps for us to follow. I listened every step and everything I heard. I know that my parents and my boyfriend would be so proud that I did it. On the first round we used three bullets. On the second round we used five bullets. We started by using a small rifle. The people that got all of their bullets on the targets got to use either Jeremy’s rifle or Wes’s. Jeremy’s rifle was really loud.

This was a hard trip for the whole group, but I’m glad that we did it. Now all we have left is the mini ex. Then we will have parent weekend.

Eagle View Ranch By: Nolan Turner

Nolan Turner

Wyoming, oh cold Wyoming. While we were in Wyoming, one of the places we went to was Eagle View Ranch. It was fun in so many ways, and mainly these three reasons.

About two miles behind Eagle View Ranch is a place called Warm Springs Canyon where we did our backcountry section of the trip. Since it is bear country, we had to put up bear bags to protect our food. We also had to set our tents in a horseshoe formation for bear safety.

One of the nice things about Eagle View Ranch is that we got to do school inside because it is SOAR’s other base. While we were there, the snow was so deep (taller than me) that we were able to build snow caves, which are much more warmer than you would expect.

Dubois, the town near EVR is where Jeremy lives. We went to Jeremy’s house and got to eat deer and elk meat. There is a shooting range in Dubois, which is where we did riflery. The guns we shot were .22’s and Jeremy’s BIG rifle (a mosin nagant).

After almost four months at SOAR, I liked Wyoming the best. Two weeks left at SOAR already? No way. Two weeks until I am back home to see my friends and family again.

SOARing in Wyoming with Chris Kiefer

We did many things on the final expedition. My favorite activities were rock climbing, riflery, and picking up trash for community service. Rock climbing was fun, even though I previously have not liked it. ON the trip I was able to work on my fear of rock climbing and managed to go about 4-5 times my height. Although that wasn't the most impressive I still did better than ever. I liked it because I had a great view of the mountain and because it proved to me that I can do anything I set my mind to.
Riflery was fun because I got to shoot a familiar gun to me. The .22 caliber rifle. I also got one of the best groupings of my group. We payed more attention to shooting in close patterns, rather than scoring. I also got to shoot a scoped .22, We had the choice to shoot a high caliber rifle or the scoped version of the ones we shot. If we got 3 or more in a cluster than we could shoot a shot or two or three with the better guns. In my experience with shooting I have learned that I prefer more accuracy than higher power. I found that I am a great shot. I also motivated well, even if I got a little competitive.
Finally, we picked up trash along the highway SOAR adopted. We had a contest to see who could find the most unique or interesting item. I tied with Alex. I had a hide-a-key box that had 4 keys in it. Alex had the back of a camouflage seat. I also found the lid of an ammo case and an unfired .20 gauge shell not far ahead. One of the staff, Maria, and I made up stories for our interesting pieces of trash. I made up a story for the ammo box and the shell that there was a major storm and the ammo box went flying out of a guys truck and exploded into several pieces. He managed to save all of the ammo except for the shotgun shell and lost the lid in all of the mud. We made up other stories for a while and it was a really interesting experience. I also enjoyed picking up trash because I know that it is important for the environment and for a better looking highway.
Final Expedition was one of the most filled expeditions and I enjoyed being able to do so much in so little time.

Shooting with Jeremy Alex R (the Icebreaker)

On Wednesday we went riffling with Jeremy. We had to get up fast and push hard so we could go shooting. I was really happy to shoot because I thought I would like to shoot big guns. I had fun talking to Wes about guns on the way there. 

When we got to the range I was scared to shoot because of the kick. I have never shot a rifle before, but I did go shoot pistols with my step-dad. Once it was my turn I got into prone position (LAYING DOWN!) I was afraid of how hard the kick would be, but there was no kick for the 22 caliber.

Our first round we got to shoot a 22 caliber and it was really easy. Our second round some of us, including me, got to shoot a mosin nagant which is a World War 2 gun. I also got to shoot a 22 with a scope on the gun. 

At the end of rifling Jeremy and Wes looked at our targets and whoever had the best score got a medal. The winner was the kid who’d never shot a rifle before (which was me)! I had a blast shooting guns and I hope I can go shoot guns when I get back home. 

hotsprings, frozen toes, and cargo skirts.

This EX we went to Wyoming. It was really cold and snowy, not my kind of weather at all. We went to the SOAR base at Dubois; the hot springs at Thermopolis, rock climbed at Lander, and came back to Dubois.

The first time we were at Dubois, we didn’t do much except backpacking in warm springs. It was a short trip (both in days and mileage), but it was in the snow. We also got to do school in the buildings at base.

Thermopolis was my favorite part of the trip. The campground was warm (NO SNOW!) and we had a pavilion for when it rained. It was a very nice campground, with some nice views of the river, a lot of open space, many trees, and 2 playgrounds. It was a lot of fun just being there.

On the first day of Therm-Op (the nickname of Thermopolis), we went to the Dino Center. It was a small building, but a very interesting one. My favorite exhibits were Jimbo, the huge Gigasaurus (which is like a gigantic brontosaurus, the long necked ones), and the Gastonia Burgei, (similar to an anklosaurus, the armored thing), and its close relatives, the cheese burgei and the bacon burgei, and, the only plant to have an animal relative (or as my sister would call it, a planimal) the veggie burgei. There’s another relative that their not quite sure what it is, called the tofurkey burgei.

We also went to the hot springs that day. It was very warm, and we did an outdoor pool. Too bad it started to drizzle while we were out there. It was more than warm enough, even with the drizzle.

The next day we went to star plunge, a hot spring water park! We jumped off the diving board and made huge splashes, and we went into an incredibly hot hot tub, called the lobster pot. We also went down a water slide. I got stuck several times. Once I had to scoot down half of it, and another time I got stuck at the bottom, so I practically walked out. It was really fun.

Lander was a fairly short trip being a drive-in day, climb day, drive-out day kind of trip. Not much happened, to be honest, but it was fun to climb.

The second Dubois trip was fun. We did rifleing on the first day. I found out I’m better with the heavy gun because I got a bulls-eye when I used it. Scopes made me worry too much because every little movement is magnified.

We also did snowshoeing, which I’m not a big fan of. I’d rather just hike on solid ground.

All in all, it was a pretty good trip. Snow isn’t really my thing, but I think that’s just me. The end of the year is coming fast and I can’t wait! I’m ready to go home, and see my family again.

Cedric got a lot of new friends recently, so if you see people with a little gnome, don’t be surprised!

Random thoughts:

Quotes of the EX: “Connor: I want to be in a room full of hundreds of girls so I can be lost in a sea of emotions.” “Chris: don’t worry; being around me and Kyle for about 10 minutes has the same effect” “me: I’M TRAPPED IN A GLASS SEA OF EMOTIONS!” and, just to note, I wear cargo pants all the time “me: look! I found a cargo skirt!” “Chris: it’s just your color too!”

Gnome hats. Phear them.

Knights VS. dragons dual deck… more alara cards!

Allen's 2nd California Coastal Adventure

The first week of our expedition, we flew into Los Angeles to Carpentaria state beach. It rained a lot but we still did lots of activities.

The second day of our expedition we went surfing and boogey boarding. We wore wetsuits to keep us warm. We exercised before we surfed we jogged and did some yoga. I never surfed before. We enjoyed it and had fun being in the water. On second day the waves were twice as big as the first. I rode a wave on both a surf board and a boogey board.

                                              

On the third day of our expedition we went to Morro Bay state beach and walked on the beach and picked up rocks and shells and kept them. On the fourth day we climbed on a really slippery rock, did school in the library because it was raining.

On the fifth day we went to Big Sur state beach. In Big Sur we went hiking in the Ventana wilderness. While we hiked on the trail we saw some banana slugs and some us put them on our faces. It rained the whole time we were in the back country. Jeremy came and stayed with us for a couple of days.    

 In conclusion the trip was really fun and pushed us to our limits. We were challenged a lot by the weather.

White waters hurt the best of us by A.C. Berry

On the first trip we were supposed to go surfing but we could not because “CHIPPER BRO” went on a vacation without telling us. So for the last three days on the first trip to California we were all waiting for CHIPPER to call us. But he never got back to us which were a huge disappointment. Then all of us thought hay we go two trips to California so I bet we could do it the second trip. When we arrived in California the second time we saw Wes and the first thing that Alex and I asked was has chipper called yet. And Wes said nope he has not and we are trying to find other options for you guys.
When we were riding to camp Wes got a call from Jeremy saying he found a different guy. Keep in mind soar has used CHIPPER BRO for a while so we were all grateful that Wes and Jeremy found someone else. It was actually really close to the campsite that we were staying at for the first second and third night. So Wes called the guy as soon as we got to camp. This guy wanted us. Because he found out that soar dose summer course with chipper so he was yea come by tomorrow and we will hook you guys up with surf boards. Before we could go to surfing we had to finish all of the work before we went to play. When I found this out from Wes I just dropped the football that I throwing with Alex and went to help out.
Threw our hard work that night we got to go surfing. The morning of the surfing we had to wake up at six o clock and just get up and go. I think it was totally worth it though. I mean I saw everyone having fun and getting hit by the huge waves that were forming. So for the first day Wes told us this is a white water day. We could only surf the waves that broke before they got to us. That was a good idea because some of those waves were just twice as tall as me and I am 6 foot 3. I think Alex was the first one to ride a true wave but I was the first to stand up on the board. Wes was the one that was teaching everyone that day. He did a very good job and I think almost everyone came close to standing up.

In conclusion when things do not go your way just look at others our just wait until your plan comes. I am saying this because that is what happened to us. And instead of waiting we used our recourse to find another surf shop. And the owner said that CHIPPER BRO is thinking about selling his surf shop. Also that’s why he wanted us to come to him so he could make a good first impression. The group altogether had great time weather it was chilling on the beach our catching the waves we were all positive about surfing and just to everyone in generally. And when someone stood up everyone would cheer and when some got hit buy one of those big waves we would give a helping hand.

Sarah Wolfe’s Blog Part 4

This blog is about our second California trip. We now only have two trips left to go. I can’t believe that we are almost done. Here are my favorite parts of this trip.

My first favorite part was going surfing and boogieboarding at the beach. The water was cold but we had wetsuits to keep warm. The weather was very warm.

My second favorite part was going to Julia Pteiffer State Park. During the whole time we were there it was raining hard. There was a pretty cool lodge not far from the campsite. Since it was raining outside we had to do school and other things under a pavilion.

My last favorite part was going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was a great thing for us to do on a rainy day. We all had a fun time. We saw lots of fish and other creatures. We saw seahorses and jellyfish, which were really cool. We also saw otters and penguins.

We all had a good time. We are looking forward to our Wyoming trip. We all hope it goes great.

California blog trip Connor Newton

On our second trip to California we participated in a lot of activities that were near the ocean. It was very rainy at the beginning of the trip but we still camped out in the rain.
We got to surf while we were at Carpentaria which was a lot of fun. We got to wear wet suits and carry surf and boogie boards, which was a very fun experience because I have never carried one around before. We went surfing twice and it was more fun on the second day. I will come back again to surf so I can get a lot better.
Other ocean activities were at a place called Montana De Oro Bay. We collected sea shells and had a lot of fun running around on the beach. We also saw a bunch of sea lions that were roasting themselves in the sun sleeping soundlessly.
Julia Pfeifer Burns State Park was where I got my 6th patch. I like collecting patches from National Parks so I was excited. Big Sur was very rainy and wet, but we got through with determined faces. On the first day of our backcountry trip it took us all day to hike the 8 miles. The redwoods were huge and had very thick trunks. The trail was loaded with them and they would have taken half the team just to reach around one. There were banana slugs that we were putting on our faces and hands. Bright flowers gave the trail a more lively feel.
In conclusion I loved both of the really fun places that we got to go. The first beach that we got to was where we went surfing for two days, and the second one was where we got collect all of the shells. The other really fun place was our back country place. This was where the massive redwoods and the large yellow slugs were on the sides of the trail. I would love to comeback because I love to be in the middle of nowhere and breathe in the silent air. I would love to comeback because I had a blast.

California trip #2 alex r

Surfing

When we first flew into Cali I was super excited because we were going to go surfing. I wanted to go surfing last trip but we couldn’t so we went this trip. I have never been surfing, but I do skateboard and snowboard, so it was easy for me.

When the first day of surfing came we got up early and we drove over to A-Frame Surf shop. Before we could go surfing we needed to know how. First you paddle out on your board. Then you can either sit on your board or try to catch a wave. When you want to catch a wave you turn your board around. Then you start paddling toward the beach. You get in cobra position and then you hop up on your board. If you don’t get in cobra position you will get sucked  under and it hurts. The first time I tried to stand up and I ate i (fell). I stood up on my forth try, and from then on I could get it.

  We went surfing for two days and I really hope I get to go again because it was really fun and funny. Overall I thought this trip was really fun, but the surfing was the best part.  

Nolan's California trip #2

Trip #2 in California, and this expedition was full of rain. We went to the Ventana Wilderness in Padres National Forest. It was wet, dry, and full of new experiences.

         In the Ventana Wilderness, it was a mixture of wet and dry because it rained a lot while we were there. It was dry because we had 2 fires to dry all our clothes off. It was also dry because we had to tent while we were there, so I got to have a tent all to myself. There were many new experiences, but the biggest one was getting to see Jeremy again. I had heard that he was the President of having banana slugs on your face. I challenged him by putting 2 of them on my face. It was disgusting (slimy and cold). Lastly, while we were there, there had been so much rain that the river flooded. We were able to catch salamanders and iodize water to drink. Sadly, we didn’t get to go in the hot springs because they were also flooded.

         Final expedition is up next. It is in Wyoming where the other SOAR base is. There are only six more weeks left in the semester and then home to chill for the summer. 

SOARing in Northern California with Chris Kiefer

During the Northern California trip we went surfing. That was my first time surfing and I was definitely nervous. I had no idea of what to do nor how to do it. The staff gave us a basic lesson and then we got in the water. I paddled out and then once Wes was done getting another student on the waves, I went up. After a few small waves passed Wes told me to start paddling and I rode my first wave, and then I wanted to catch many, many more.

When on the waves I felt like I was riding my bike, both the object I'm on and I are moving. Several times I kept moving even after my board had stopped. I didn't wipe out too much, and every time I did, I got right back on the board and rode another. One time while riding, by complete accident and in no way planned, seven of us all rode on a wave, thus making the biggest party wave of our time surfing. A party wave is a wave that several people are all on at once. The best wave I had was one that the first part carried me a little ways, then a bigger one right behind it took me all the way to the beach.

I loved surfing. The adrenaline when you get a big wave, the feeling of almost flying when you go flying off, and the fun we had as a group. I would love to go surfing again, especially if it was the same waves we had on my favorite days of the expedition.

Kyle: Schnitzels's innapropriate joke

We went on a second California EX this time. We had a lot of fun, though we had many a challenge with things outside of our control.

We had a lot of fun surfing in Ventura. I had a ton of fun going out the farthest on a boogie board and getting to ride in several waves that beached me. I, seeing as I am insane, even enjoy wiping out and being rolled around in the waves.

We also went to Morro Bay. We got to go to a cool beach which had an awesome rock (I’ve been there before, but it’s still cool.) Sadly, we didn’t get a chance to check out the town, or to go to one of the best (and cheapest) saltwater taffy shops known to gnome-kind.

We stayed at Big Sur before we went backpacking. Not much happened here, but it’s worth mention.

Then we went backpacking in the Ventana (not Ventura) wilderness. It rained every day we were there, and for a while afterwards. Luckily, the group handled it really well. I’ve seen groups flat-out fall apart when it rains in the backcountry, but our group held it together quite well.

We had some really long hikes on that trip. It’s 8 miles in and out, with no campgrounds in-between. It felt a lot like last semester, at least in terms of the physical challenge.

We had one camp day there. It was fun because the rain let up for a bit and we made a fire. We also got time to work on reading or just chatting.

After we hiked out of the wilderness, we went up to Monterey bay. Both state campgrounds were closed, so we stayed at a KOA (Kampgrounds of America, not killed on arrival). We went to the aquarium there, which is the largest (and coolest) in all of California. I’ve been there a few times, and I always enjoy it. I love the jellyfish exhibit. Sadly, the huge tank (my favorite) was closed for renovations.

On the last day, the van broke down when we were going out to eat dinner. We stopped at a different place for dinner and we had the van towed. We used a rented car to shuttle back to camp. It was a late night, but we did really well and no one made a problem because of it.

Cedric has been acting weird recently. He wasn’t with us for the first couple of days, when he came back he claimed he went to Hollywood and starred in a movie. If he’s telling the truth, Hollywood has gone to his head, because he’s denying to have his picture taken.

All in all, it’s been a fun EX. I’ve had some awesome times, and while the rain was tough, the group did really well. Next up is Wyoming, where the group will run the show. It’ll be tough, but I’ll do my best to get working well.

Random thoughts

Quotes of the EX: (going through TSA, also, I store my chopsticks in a corked PVC pipe) “sir, what’s in here?” “Chopsticks.” “What?” “Chopsticks.” (TSA agent opens corked pipe) “… chopsticks.”

And

“ra rawda, ra rawda rada, ra rawda rawda rawda, ra, ra rawda, ra rawda rawda rawda!”

Working on new magic deck titled “nervous wreck” as both a reference to the Neurok and the mental games it’s meant to play with the opponent

Feel the burning stare of the gnomes and change your ways.

Connor 3/3/11 California Coastal Blog

Connor

Newton

3/3/11

Hi again. On this trip we went to the Joshua Tree National Park and the Channel Islands National Park. At Joshua Tree we saw many different types of plants, including the Joshua Tree and the Beaver Tail cactus. My favorite plant was a cool Barrel Cactus that had these pretty red needles. There was also a cactus called the Jumping Cholla, a cactus that if you even touch it, the needles will stick to anything. While we where there we saw an old gold mine that was once a place where a bunch of gold and silver was pulled out. We also saw a rock that was a skull and called skull rock. It looked like something out of a pirate movie. The next park that we went to was the Channel Islands National Park. It was a lot of fun an awesome park where Alex and I caught crabs on the rocks. I taught Alex how to properly hold and catch a crab. We also saw starfish, held hermit crabs and saw sea urchins. While we were on the islands we did some fun hikes. My two personal favorites were Potato Harbor and Cavern Point Overlook. I really loved all the places that I went to and will plan to come back in the future.   

The activities that brought the team together By A.C. Berry

This was my very first expedition with this team. We had two main activities that we liked while we were in California. One was a game called camouflage, and the other was rock climbing.  I felt like these two activities brought the team together.

 Camouflage is a game that we played in the Channel Islands. This game is similar to hide and go seek, only the seeker cannot move at all out of his spot; he has to use his eyes to see the people hiding. One time Wes, our staff member, was hiding behind a small tree. Now, know that Wes is a dude with one large manly frame. Chris barely saw Wes. He saw his pants by an inch. At first he thought it was a fox but then Wes came out and Chris, shocked, asked “How did you fit behind there?” Camouflage is a very fun game to play, but sometimes you can get battle wounds from it. I do remember this one game where Nolan did not have enough time so he jumped into the grass. In the grass there was a rock and he cut open his leg.  He tried to still play but the pain was too much for him. Nolan is a trooper for trying to continue after he cut open his leg. Once he got a Band-Aid on it he was like ok guys who want to keep playing, like nothing happened. I think that this activity is a great team building activity. I say this because for one, if you are the seeker you have to trust that the people moved forward. If you are hiding with someone else you have to trust them to not give away your spot. It is also fun and a strategy people use to get out there frustration.

The next activity that we did was an indoor rock climbing gym. We chose this activity, one because it was raining outside, and two we did not want to get all wet. I think rock climbing was fun. Everyone tried to at least get on the rock and climb as high as they could. Chris is afraid of rock climbing because he thinks the rope is going to break on him.  Since it was inside he decided to try it out and overcome his fear. He got up on the wall and got 80 percent up the wall and called it off. I thought it was so cool that the team was just cheering him on because we all knew that he did not like this activity but just him going up on the rock and having the mindset really got the team going. Alex is really good at rock climbing so Wes gave him a challenge along with me to complete a 5.11, the highest level rock climbing goes to is a 5.15 so he was trying to see how good we were. We could only get up halfway but Wes was impressed on how we would not give up.

In conclusion I think this has been one of the best expeditions I have ever been on. Why, because this team loves to work together and cheer each other on and give positive feedback.  I think this was a great start for me coming into the group and that it is going to be a great semester.

Allen 3/7/11 Southern California

Allen 3/7/11

During the first week of our expedition we went to Joshua tree national park where we did some rock scrambling.  Joshua tree is located in southern California

The first place we did rock scrambling was at a spot called Hidden Valley. Scrambling is climbing and moving around on boulders. To get there, we had to hike about half a mile. The rock that we scrambled in had a big crack in the middle and we had to go inside the rock. A couple of kids got stuck climbing through the rock

The second spot we did rock scrambling was at a place called Mastodon Peak which was 5 minutes away from our camp ground. In order to get to the summit of Mastodon Peak we had to hike 1.5 miles and scramble on some rocks.  Once we got to the top we took a group picture and there was a rock that looked like Pride Rock from the Lion King movie.

The last time we went rock scrambling we went to a place called Lost Palm Oasis. We had to hike 3 miles but we didn’t make it all the way to the oasis. Instead we stopped early and climbed on a bunch of rocks, one of which looked like a diving board. Once we got to the top, we took a group picture. After we had our group picture taken we went back to our camp ground and had dinner.

In conclusion I really enjoyed the rock scrambling and I hope to do more in the future.

alex R cali trip 1

Throughout these two weeks I have seen a lot of things. On our first trip to Cali we went to some pretty cool National Parks. our first stop was at Joshua Tree National Park. After we were done with Joshua Tree National Park we went to the Channel Islands National Park. Both of those National parks were very fun.

Our first stop was in Joshua Tree National Park. When we were there I saw a lizard and a very fat mouse. The next day we went rock scrambling. Scrambling is jumping around on rocks. On the last day we were there we went on some really cool hikes.

The ferry ride was very fun when we were going to the Channel Islands. I saw a shark, a sea lion, and a dolphin. I saw those animals on the ferry ride. I was surprised to see that many animals on the ride. The boat ride was very nice and relaxing. When we came out of the fog, we saw the Channel Islands and they looked like “King Kong's “ Island.

The Channel Islands were super fun. I got to play a lot of games there. The game we played most was camouflage. We saw a lot of foxes there and they were really cool to see. I also helped Connor catch crabs. I thought catching crabs was a really fun part of the trip. went hiking and we were all on an edge of a cliff. That was pretty cool.

This Cali trip was very fun, even though we didn’t get to go surfing. I really liked the Channel Islands because every morning I woke up to the sound of the ocean hitting the rocks. I hope we get to go surfing next trip but I still really liked this trip.

Nolan Turner California trip #1

During these past two weeks in California, one of the places we went to was Channel Islands. They are a group of Islands off the coast of California and are really cool and fun.

During the four days in the Channel Islands, we went to the biggest Island in the Channel Islands, Santa Cruz. While we were there, we got tons of rain. Also, I learned this really cool game called camouflage (camo). We spent a lot of time at the beach. We played a game where someone would set a tower of rocks and you would try to knock down the tower. Whoever knocked down the last rock, would win and set up more towers. The water at the beach was REALLY COLD. I didn’t go in the water very much for that reason. The Island had these foxes that were about the size of cats, and they were really annoying because they would always try to steal your food.

After all of this, I am starting to miss the Channel Islands. For the four days we were there, I had as much fun as I possibly could. The next expedition is in California again and I still love the warm and moist air.

Sarah Wolfe's Blog Part 3

Sarah Wolfe’s Blog Part 3

Our first California trip went great. We all had an awesome time. We just can’t believe that another trip is over.

My first favorite part of the trip was landing in LA. I felt great when we got there. Seeing the city for the city for the first time was pretty amazing. When I saw all the different cars I realized that people never walk in LA.

My second favorite part was going to Joshua Tree National Park. We stayed at a wonderful campsite. During the days we were there, we went on day hikes which were nice. We also went to see Skull Rock, which was really cool. Skull Rock is a huge rock that’s shaped exactly like a skull.

My last favorite part of this trip was going to the Channel Islands. It was raining on our first day there, but the next day it cleared up. They had a really nice beach. Before we left we saw a baby seal. It was really cool and we saw it trying to get back into the water.

I would say that we had a great trip. We can’t wait for our next California trip.

mmmm, spinach and artichoke dip

We had an awesome expedition this trip. We went to my home state of California, which was awesome. We did a lot of fun things and I have a lot to write about.

The first place we went to is a desert called Joshua tree. They have (shockingly enough) Joshua trees, which a weird bendy trees that look like something out of Dr. Seuss, except it doesn’t look like someone puked a box of crayons on it.

We also got to go to one of my favorite places, the Channel Islands. We got to go to an awesome lookout called potato harbor, which I’ve been to before. We also went to cavern point, which is an awesome place to see sunsets, though we had to do it mid-day. Sadly, we couldn’t go up Mordor’s gate,   a dry streambed named after a scene from lord of the rings, because it had running water in it. That was really surprising.

On the Channel Islands there’s a unique fox species called the island fox. It’s very endangered, so if you go there make sure you DO NOT leave any food out.

We also played a lot of games, including one called Camo. It’s a game where all the players hide (except for an “it” player) and try to hide from the “it”. The “it” player cannot move and turns around if they can’t see anyone. It’s hard to explain, but it’s really fun.

We also stayed at Carpentaria, a little area in so-cal. We got to go to a rock-climbing gym, which was really fun. Sadly, the showers in that campsite were cold.

Cedric has been having a lot of fun. He really enjoyed Joshua tree because he got to see some high views (pictures soon). However, my dad made a comment that scared him, so he hasn’t been out much. He’s been kinda quiet to, so I’m getting worried…

If you’re wondering how my dad said something, the group got to visit my parents on Friday. It was really fun. We went out to eat at Islands and I FINALLY got some spinach and artichoke dip. I also got to see my sister do he trapeze act for aerial arts. She was really good. I found out on phone-call day that she did really well and got moved up a level! (Essentially a belt) good job Kate!

I’ve had a lot of fun this expedition and I can’t wait for the next one, which will be California again!

Random thoughts:

Quotes of the Ex: “WEEEEEEEELLLLLLLL IT’S WAFFLE TIME, IT’S WAFFLE TIME, WON’T YOU HAVE SOME WAFFLES OF MINE?” and “yes, my name is Carl. I kill people, eat hands, and my best friend is a llama that wears effeminate hats named… uh…” someone needs to get that last one.

Card of the Ex: sword of feast and famine. Awesome card that I really like, plus its green-black, which suits my style of play, besides being an awesome card.

The ultimate answer to the ultimate question is 42. Now we need to figure out the ultimate question to the ultimate answer.

I got to see most of balls of fury on the plane. Funny movie.

SOARing in Southern California with Chris Keifer

My two favorite places we went to on the southern California trip were Joshua Tree National Park and Channel Islands National Park. We stayed in Joshua Tree first. There, we hiked and did some rock scrambling, which is mainly just jumping from rock to rock. The view was incredible, even though it was a desert. I have never camped in the desert, so the experience was new and exciting to me. We also got to see the things from which the park has its namesake, the Joshua Tree, which look like they come directly from a Doctor Seuss book. Along with being my first time camping in the desert it was also my first time bivying because I had received my bivy before leaving on the California trip, along with a new mummy bag made it wonderful.

After a few days in Joshua Tree, we caught a ferry to the Channel Islands. It was a great trip, even though it was raining the first night. We manage to make camp during a light pocket of rain, with tents from the ones without the “hardcore” bivys like mine. The next day it was a clear sky and a nice day for the hike we went on. We began to see many foxes . Some got close, others did things to make us laugh. One even returned to a table we had removed stuff from and it had a look that seemed to say, “There was something here before, where did it go?” The rest of the hikes lead us to beautiful views of the water. During the hikes the group did a lot of bonding. My two closest friends here, Kyle and Connor, had some wonderful conversations with me. One day we went to the beach and I did some sun bathing. During that time I had a nice conversation with our new team member AC. We also played a hide-and-seek variant called Camouflage, where we had to hide in bushes and behind trees while the seeker had their back turned. The seeker then turned around and tried to spot the hiders, either by calling out the color of clothing visible or by sending a spotter to the exact location. It is a game I am going to tell my friends about when I get home. I loved California and can't wait to go back.

SOARing in Texas with Chris Kiefer

Introduction

My name is Chris Kiefer. I am 14 years of age, and I am from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. My immediate family consists of my mom, Anna Kiefer, my Grandfathers, Joe Traigle and Carey Long, and Katie Pryor, who is not related to me, but she is a very close friend of mine and the rest of family, and she is very important to us. I also have two cats, Casey, Kasey, or KC (depends on the day) and Sam. I love to play and talk about Video Games, especially RPG and ones with a good story. I love to read, especially dark fiction, such as works by H. P. Lovecraft and Stephen King. I also like to write stories, mainly Science Fiction, such as the Travelers Tales series I am writing, and occasional stories more like Lovecraft. I also like to casually bike in the area near my house. I enjoy talking to my friends Grace Bryant, Jeremy, James, and Josh LaCaze. One of my favorite relaxation time things to do is watch TV, like all the CSIs, Storage Wars, Glee, Tosh.0, The Soup, and other crime and/or comedies. I want to become a much healthier individual, with better organization habits. SOAR helps pushing me to be healthy while I am here, and also how to keep the healthy habits. They also teach me how to be organized and keep up with my work and personal items.

SOARing in Texas

The Texas expedition was my first expedition with SOAR, and on the all-and-all, it went really well. After we arrived in Texas, we met up with Wes, the third addition to the field staff, and headed out to Franklin National Park, where I had my first taste of Bivying. The next day I had my first food buy, then after labeling our food and sitting down to eat, the staff told us that there was a storm coming in and that we had a change of plans. We would be flipping our schedule around and be doing our 3 day expedition first. We then drove 5 or so hours do Big Bend Nation Park, where we stayed for the night. The next day we pack up our X-Packs and headed out on the 4 mile hike to our first site. The next morning we awoke to frost and frozen water bottles. We then hiked 3 miles to our next site. The next morning we awoke to light snow fall. We then began the 6 mile hike back to the bottom. The closer we got to the bottom the thicker the snow got and the heavier the snow fell.

Once we arrived at the bottom we were told by rangers that the roads had been closed due to icy roads. We had to stay at Big Bend National Park for the night, but we were told by one of the park staff that we could sleep in the bathrooms. This sounded like a wonderful idea due to the fact that the park would reach record lows that night. We set up in the bathrooms, which were warm and in very good condition, for the night. The next day we left the park and headed to a site at Rio Grande Village. We stayed there for two days, and one evening we went to a hot springs on the Rio Grande. The next exciting trip was to McDonald Observatory where we got to look at planets and star clusters. We then got a constellation tour.

Our next site was at Balmhrea, where we got to swim in the acre size pool. After a couple of days there we went to Guadalupe Nation Park. We stayed there for 3 days, one day we went to Carlsbad Caverns, which was my favorite part of the trip. The Caverns were beautiful beyond any description and could not be captured by photography. We also climbed to the highest point in Texas, Guadalupe Peak. After we left Guadalupe we went back to Franklin Nation Park. The next day we flew back to Atlanta, then drove back to base. Altogether it was a great first expedition. I became much closer to all of my team mates, especially Kyle, who helped me get through the tough hikes by chatting with me. This trip definitely made me look forward to the next expeditions.

Allen's time at the McDonald observatory

The McDonald observatory is located in western Texas. We went there after we hiked in Big Bend National Park.

The telescopes at the observatory are used for research and to look at stars. The observatory is home to the world’s largest telescope the hobby Eblery telescope.  At the observatory there are four telescopes that the public can look through. There are also smaller telescopes at the observatory.  The smallest telescope they have is the. 0.8 telescopes.

 During the constellation tour we learned that Orion, the hunter is the most recognized constellation in the sky. Taurus also called the bull is right next to Orion. The little dipper and the big dipper aren’t constellations. Pegasus doesn’t look like a triangle it looks like a square. The guide used a laser pointer to point out the constellations. 

The sun is also a star and it’s called the night star. All stars are located in the Milky Way. Polaris is called the North Star because it always due north star. Satellites aren’t stars they are moving objects   that get brighter each time they get closer to the surface.  Satellites come once a year during certain months at certain times during the night. 

The McDonald Observatory  was very  fun and we learned lots of stuff  and we learned a lot of interesting facts about stars and about are universe.  I hope to go back there again

south west texas trip Alex R

Alex R 

2/14/11

Blog

When we first arrived in Texas we did not except it to be cold but is was. The first week we went to Big Bend National Park. The second week we went to Guadeloupe  National Park. When we finished our back county trip in the Chisos mountains in Big Bend we got to go to a hot spring. The hot spring was right next to the Rio Grande. I dunked my whole body in the Rio Grande, and it was really cold. 

When we were in Big Bend it was really, really cold. It was really hard to stay warm because it was 7 degrees the first day and 6 the second and below zero the last day. To stay warm we ate strawberry and cream oatmeal, we layered up, ran, and kept a positive attitude. I thought the warm and delicious oatmeal worked the best because it kept us going.

scorpion

 The best thing was we pushed through the coldness and we got out of the Big Bend mountains. In Guadeloupe National Park we got to climb to the top of Texas and it was really cool, but very windy. Now the very best thing on the trip was seeing a scorpion and going to Golden Corral and celebrating.     

expedition #2 Texas: Nolan Turner

On this expedition out in Texas, we went to Big Bend National Park, The McDonald Observatory, and Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

When we went to Big Bend National Park, it was extremely cold. At one point, it reached a low of 1 degree outside. There was also a lot of snow. Even though we set up a tarp over our sleeping bags, it was still full of frost in the morning. The cool part about all of this was that we were so high in elevation that we were in the clouds. It was a total of 13 miles (much easier than the Grand Canyon). That was our first backcountry trip in Texas.

Our second trip was a one-night trip to the McDonald Observatory. It is a huge place full of telescopes showing us all kinds of neat stuff. When we were done with that, we got a constellation tour. The guide taught us about my favorite constellation, Orion the Hunter. Orion the Hunter is the best shaped and the coolest looking in my opinion.

Lastly, we went to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. This was a day hike and was a total of 8.5 miles round trip. It was an easy hike. We cruised through the first part of the top of the mountain, which is also the top of Texas (so yes, I once was the tallest man in Texas). The bad part about reaching the top is that it is very windy. When we got up there, we put our names in the record book at the top of the mountain.

This expedition went by fast. It was fun but also cold. Though it won’t be cold on my expedition in California (channel islands). I can’t wait to be back in warmth and humidity and also to blog about it.

kyle nystrom: everything is bigger in texas (except the tempurature).

Our last expedition sent us to Texas. Oddly enough, Texas was really cold, even during the day. It sometimes got down to below freezing at night.

The biggest part of the cold front was backpacking in the Chisos mountains. It was so cold one morning that if you licked your lips the spit would freeze within the minute. It was really hard to get out of your sleeping bag in the mornings. Even with such huge challenges, we did really well with the cold. We helped each other out, and worked hard.

After the backpacking trip, we went to a hot spring! It was a nice change of pace. It was a five minute hike from a parking lot right to the Rio Grande, which is a river that borders both Mexico and America. The hot spring was a small pool on the American side of the river. We spent a few hours just soaking and chatting. It was really fun.

The next day, we went to the McDonald observatory. It was fun seeing the stars, but the telescopes were really cool. One of them looked like it belonged on the Millennium Falcon. 

We also went to a pool. Luckily, that was a pretty warm day (65-ish degrees), and the pool was pretty warm (72-ish degrees). I did a cannonball so big the mushroom cloud splash went higher than the board.

Guadalupe National Park was rather cold, but mostly from wind-chill. We went into Carlsbad Caverns, which is a neat place. We saw several formations that looked like gnomes (should we be afraid?), and a rope leading into the roof, to a place called the Over World. We didn’t get to go in (the cave is about 200 feet up). The next day we went to summit Guadalupe peak, which is the highest point in Texas. It was a tough hike, but it was a cool view from the top. It was so windy at the very top that it was hard to stand in one place.

The reason I don’t have any pictures of Cedric is because he really didn’t like the cold. He wasn’t even willing to come out of his home. So, gno gnome pictures this expedition, sorry.

It was a pretty good expedition this trip, but I think the next one will be my favorite. I’m going to my home state (and home area) of so-cal. I’m hoping to see my parents, and even maybe have the group go to Islands (a very California-style restaurant) with my family. All-in-all, it promises to be a good trip.

Random thoughts

“Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” looks like a really good game, since they are adding a lot of things fans have been asking for for a long time. I know this because I got the newest game informer when I got back. Also, Bioshock 2 (one of my favorite games) was in the top 50 games of 2010! And Gideon Graves (the seventh evil ex from Scott Pilgrim) was the tenth greatest 2010 villain!

Wal-Mart stopped selling magic cards, sadly.

Feel the gnomes burning stare and change your ways.

Quotes of the expedition: “if I die, you can have my orange juice. But not my cookie. I want to be buried with it.” And “pfft, doom blade.” And “I love you… but only enough to kill you for your bacon (said to a pig, AU.)”

by the way, if any of my friends can see this, feel free to comment. that way i can answer questions.

Sarah Wolfe’s Blog Part 2

This blog is on our Texas expedition. This is our second trip of our four-month session. Now we only have three trips left to go, these two weeks went by fast. Here are my favorite parts of this trip.

My first favorite part was Big Bend National Park. The nights we spent there were very cold. So we all bundled up and used our bivy sacks to get nice and warm. This time we didn’t do very long hikes like the ones we did at the Grand Canyon. I had an easier time with the hikes thanks to my new hiking poles.

My second favorite part was the hot springs. When I touched the water it felt so warm. Once I had my whole body in the water, I felt so relaxed. During the whole time we were there, I thought about how cool it would be if my family was there.

My last favorite part was going to the McDonald Observatory. I enjoyed looking and learning about the different stars. It was really cool to use one of the telescopes to see the moon up close. It was interesting to learn that we see satellites during the nighttime.  

Even though we had cold weather while we were at Texas we still had a good time. We are going to California next. I can’t wait to go. We will have sunny days to enjoy. We will be going to a beach. We will also go to the home I’m planning to move to with my boyfriend when I’m older, that place is LA.  

Bio of Connor Newton

                                                Connor Newton

Hi, my name is Connor Newton. And I am 19 years old. I was born in Arkansas and I have lived in Missoula Montana for 12 years. I have two lovely sisters, who are very smart. The younger one is still in high school and the other is still in college. I have two pets, my dog is a female boxer lab mix named Dixie. The other is a male cat named Peter. My favorite activities include, writing science fiction, running, target shooting, and hiking. One interesting fact about myself is that I have a mild brain injury, which has made it harder to learn in school. My expedition highlight was hiking the Grand Canyon and it was still cool to be back in one of my favorite places to be. I found real copper while in Queen’s Creek Arizona. This trip was very exciting and full of surprises, like the end of the trip dinner, which we usually do not have on the first expedition. My favorite part of the trip was that I hiked in the Grand Canyon for the third time in my life. I am here to plan for college and my 3^rd goal, which is to increase my confidence in physical and mental performance. By the end of this semester I hope to have a higher thinking level than I do now. I want to better understand myself in my thinking skills. This will help me react faster in dire situations. I plan to learn a lot from this semester at SOAR

Nolan Turner's biography

I am Nolan Turner and I am 12 years old. I am from Decatur, Georgia in Atlanta. I have a sister, Mary Martha, 2 brothers, Doug and William “Tiger”, and a Mom and Dad. I have 2 dogs, Mick and Keith (Rolling Stones), a cat, Timber, and my sister has 2 guinea pigs, Enrique and Augusto. I like to play Basketball, soccer, shoot my BB gun, and occasionally play golf. I am part Colombian (in South America), and I like to run. This was my first time back packing, and my first time in Arizona. I really enjoyed being able to hike in and out of the Grand Canyon. I impressed myself by hiking 16.3 miles, in 3 days. Here at SOAR, I’d really like to make new friends. I like having to challenge myself physically and mentally because when you’re done, it makes you feel that much better and that is what happened on this expedition. I had a lot of fun and made a lot of new friends. I can’t wait to blog about the next expedition.

Allen's first blog

Hi I’m Allen Otero. I’m 19 years and I’m from Tucson Arizona.

I have a dad named Walter. My mom’s name is Kim. I have 3 brothers named Scott Raymond and Mark. I also have a sister named Anna. I have 6 chickens 2 parakeets a tortoise and a box turtle and 2 dogs named Zena and Hercules. My favorite activities are bowling, fishing, and reading, watching baseball with my brother, playing board games with my grand parents, listening to oldies, country music and soft rock. An interesting fact about me is that I’m going to be a great uncle in April. My highlight of the first expedition is hiking down the Grand Canyon for the first time and going to Petrified Forest National Park.

The Grand Canyon Trip Alex R

Alex R

1/25/11

The Grand Canyon 

Hi! my name is Alex. I live in Saint Paul, Minnesota. I live with my mom and dad and they are both very interesting. I have a snake named Mario and a black lab named Roy. In my free time love to skateboard, snowboard, play video games and eat. Some facts about me are that I like reptiles, McDonald’s, and I have an iron stomach. On this expedition I went to the Grand Canyons and Petrified National Forest. The best parts of the trips where going to the Grand Canyons for the first time and looking at petrified wood.  

SARAH WOLFE’S Blog 1/25/11

My name is Sarah Wolfe and I just turned 18 years old. I live in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. I have a lot of members in my family. My mom’s name is Beth. My dad is Lee. My little sister is Kylie. My stepdad is Ron. My stepmom is Marion and stepbrothers are Nate and Zach. I have a dog named Jake and a cat named Sadie. I like to read books. I like to draw different kinds of patterns. I enjoy catching up with far away friends on Facebook. I love watching different kinds of movies. I have a boyfriend named Saiain. I like Hugh Jackman a lot. My first highlight experience would have to be seeing Las Vegas for the first time. One of the things I wish to accomplish while I’m here at SOAR is trying to manage things by myself without asking for help.

kyle nystrom (and cedric)

I am Kyle Nystrom. I am adhd, a gamer, a thinker, a foodie, and completely insane. I live in LA and enjoy many foods, especially spinach and artichoke dip, fried rice, udon soup, ice cream, teriyaki noodles, clam chowder, cornbread, grits, nachos, chimichangas, quesadillas, bbq ribs, burgers, chicken-fried steak, apples, bananas, oatmeal, yogurt, my pseudo pad-Thai, red dead root beer, my various suicides (mixed sodas), fried shrimp, yams, cranberry relish, almond butter and strawberry jelly sandwiches, watermelons, pineapples, biscuits, pancakes, cereal, chocolate milk, waffles, various pasteries, Finnish pancakes and various pies and candies.

This is Cedric. He’s a gnome. He enjoys gardening, landscaping, traveling, making feasts, and planning world domination.

This was a great first expedition. The group works pretty fast and there is very little arguing. It is a great improvement from my old group, though I do miss certain individuals.

Going the biggest hole in the world was fun. In other words, we went to the Grand Canyon. We hiked down south rim and up north rim in 3 days, which is rather impressive. Even when some people had emotional breakdowns, we banded together and helped them out. We also got to see the oldest visible layer of rock in the world (and its fun to say. VISHNU SCHIST!).  I think cedric is planning something…

Petrified Forest is cool. These old trees were buried in ash and then their wood cells were replaced with silica over thousands of years, creating cell-by-cell replicas of the trees in bright crystals. It’s incredible and beautiful to see.  Sadly, people have taken so many pieces from the park it looks almost barren. All that’s left is the large pieces no one could carry. It’s very sad, so if you go please don’t take any pieces from the park. Also, some clams were buried to, creating stone clamshells. However, I don’t believe that story. There must be secret colonies of land clams hiding somewhere… IM ON TO YOU CLAMS!!! YOU SHALL BE CHOWDERED!

We also went rock-climbing. I finally summited something! The view was incredible, even if there was a big copper mine in the way. Cedric got to summit to.

It has been a fun expedition, and hopefully base will be as good.

Random thoughts:

I miss my family and friends, but my homesickness is less then last year.

Quote of the trip: “when Charles dickens writes in run-on sentences, its called style. When I write in run-on sentences, it’s called bad grammar.”

Cedric keeps eyeballing my food. He’s not getting any of mine.

Sgnow

Gnomish literacy.