Gone, But Not Forgotten

What an amazing trip our 8th graders just finished.  They had the opportunity to experience things that very few do in their lives.  Over the course of this trip, every one of them stepped outside of their comfort level at one point or another.  Whether it was hiking down the grand canyon, climbing on toadstools, swimming in frigid water, or lasso-ing a fake calf, all of our students had the opportunity to try something that they had never done before.  I only hope this group appreciates their experience as much as I did.

Here are some picture from our last day!

Thank you for following our trip here, on the 8th Grade blog!

The Canyon

Today was one of those days that I hope all of our students remember; I know that I will.  We focused our attention and energy on the Grand Canyon.  After eating lunch overlooking the canyon, we tied our hiking boots tight, and traversed our way one mile down the canyon.  Our students learned a lot about the canyon from our extremely informative guides.  They learned about the geology of the rocks, the sociology of the people that rely on the canyon, and so much more.

Unless you have seen the Grand Canyon in person, it is hard to truly grasp the scale of one of our nation's greatest treasures.  Here are some of our pictures from the day; However, even these do not do the Grand Canyon justice.

Tomorrow is our last day, but it will be filled with just as much adventure as every other day.  See our itinerary below:

Saturday April 12

-8:00 a.m. departure for the Skywalk

-Return to Las Vegas

-Shopping at Caesars Palace

-Dinner at Planet Hollywood 

-10:55 p.m. Depart for BWI 

The River, Toadstools, and Jupiter!

Another great day in the American Southwest!  Our first trek today was to the top of Glen Canyon to see the famous Horseshoe Bend.  Instead of trying to explain how amazingly dramatic the view was, I think I will just insert the image here.

This amazing twist in the river truly helped the kids grasp the fact that a river does not take the quickest route, but that of least resistance.  Looking back at this picture, it is hard to believe that just a few hours after it was taken, we were floating down that very spot on that very river (but I am getting ahead of myself).  

Once we tackled our fear of heights, we made our way to the bottom of the Glen Canyon Dam, where we met our boat and river guide.  Even though the water was smooth, there was still plenty of excitement to be had.  From petroglyphs, to swimming in 47 degree water, we had a great ride down the Colorado River.  

Toadstools!  For those of you who do not know what a toadstool is, it is a column of rock that is composed of harder rock on top of softer rock.  As the column erodes, the bottom erodes faster, leaving one of the cooler rock formations I have ever seen.  

We were lucky enough to explore a couple of these toadstools on our way from our river trip to dinner. 

By process of elimination, that leaves Jupiter.  After eating some delicious pizza, we drove up to the Lowell Observatory.  This is the same observatory that found Pluto.  We had a chance to look through three high powered telescopes.  The first was aimed in the direction of the Moon.  The second allowed us to see Mars closer than ever before.  Finally, after a short walk up a hill, we were able to look through an even larger telescope.  With this piece of equipment we were able to see Jupiter, and a number of its moons.  The group really took to this site.  With so many activities, the class is exhausted.  They will need their rest, because tomorrow we finally reach the Grand Canyon!  See tomorrow's itinerary below:

Friday April 11

-8:00 a.m. Depart for Grand Canyon National Park

-Desert View Watchtower

-Lunch at the Canyon

-Canyon View Information Plaza and Mather Point

-South Kaibab Trail Hike

-5:00 Depart for Kingman, AZ

Some of Our Favorite Pictures

We hope you continue to follow our journey here, on the 8th Grade Trip Blog!