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.