Friday, 10/11/24

UPDATED (after Lebec rest stop) ANTICIPATED ARRIVAL: 4:00 PM

2:30 PM

We just stopped at the rest stop in Lebec, our last stop. Next stop, AEW!

11:50 AM

We just finished our lunch stop in Fresno and the students will be leaving at 12:00 PM. Waze has us arriving closer to 4:00 PM.

8:20 AM

Good morning! The students ate breakfast, checked out of their cabins, and are on their way home! The bus will stop on Wawona for a short bathroom break and to stretch their legs. Then they will be off to Fresno for our lunch stop. Expect an update on ETA at lunch.

Thursday, 10/10/24

AM

8:30 AM

Good morning Spartans! Wake up today took a bit longer than any other day this week. It is also the chilliest morning of our trip so far, 60 degrees. We definitely lucked out with weather this week, we are so thankful. Today is our students last day on trail. The rest of the group will have their challenge hike today. I'm looking forward to see all the photos. We will also have our campfire tonight. Check back later this evening for an update and photos!

PM

10:00 PM

Our last full day in Yosemite had been spectacular. The last of our groups went on their Challenge Hike on part of the Old Big Oak Flat Road Trail. The students that hiked that trail could not stop talking about the beautiful view. Our other groups went to Mirror Lake and had some more river time. 

Our night ended with a tasty dinner of burgers and fries, packing up for our journey home tomorrow and our campfire. NatureBridge does such an amazing job wraping up our entire week at our last event. The students got to share their favorite parts of the week and play some silly improve games. Each trail group created and performes three mini skits with only a narator talking, about their three favorite moments of the week. We had some skits about crawling through caves, playing in the water, and playing games together. 

We have breakfast and check out tomorrow morning and should be on the road no later than 8:30AM. I will update the blog as the bus is leaving and at our lunch stop in Fresno. I'm expecting a 4:30 PM arrival. 

Wednesday, 10/9/24

AM

8:30 AM

Good morning everyone! Our students had a nice sleep last night, and it took a bit longer to wake them up. :) We just got back from breakfast and the students are getting ready for their day on trail. They are excited for today's adventures. The weather is forecasted to be a bit cooler today, but still temps will be the high 70s/low 80s. Check back later for pictures and an evening update! 

PM

10:10 PM

Another epic day in Yosemite! Some of our groups completed their Challenge Hike today. They hiked up to Clark Point, which is past Vernal Falls. Unfortunately the Mist Trail is under construction so they had to hike the switch backs, not as cool of a hike, but the view from Clark Point is pretty amazing. Some other groups hiked along the Merced River and did some observations and experiments with microorganisms. Also, they were able to skip rocks and play in the water. 

This evening we had a pasta dinner and then walked back to the Visitor Center for our night program. Tonight's night program was another hit! The focus was on inventions that changed our lives. The night included skits and teamwork building games, all centered around inventions. It was a new program that NatureBridge offered this year and the chaperones were so impressed with it. We hope they offer it for our students next year. 

My favorite thing I overheard today was when students were discussing how they actually liked not have phones on the trip. They were talking about how they liked playing cards and hanging out with their friends. It is a beautiful thing to see the stressors of social media disappear, if only for a few days!

Check back tomorrow for more updates and photos!

Tuesday, 10/8/24

AM

8:30 AM

Good morning Spartan families! The students slept much better last night, probably because they were really tired from their first day on trail. Today we are celebrating a student's 14th birthday!!!  We sang "Happy Birthday" to him during breakfast that his buddies organized. It made us chaperones proud to see how thoughtful and kind our students are. 

This morning we had another delicious breakfast and are looking forward to another lovely day on trail. The temperature is going to be a bit cooler today, but only by a few degrees. So far the air quality has been great; the park hasn't had any controlled burns that would affect the air quality. In about a half hour our students will be meeting their NatureBridge educator for their second day on trail. Check back this evening for another update!

PM

10:10 PM

Another fabulous day on trail today! Some of our groups went to observe El Capitan, some went to Mirror Lake, and some went to the "Bear Caves".  A few of our groups did their service project where they helped the Parks Department chop down trees. That was a HIGH of the day for many of our students. Some groups learned about the effects that fire can have on our open spaces. You might hear about them saying that they "got to start a fire"... well... sort of. Their NatureBridge educator allowed the students to start a mini fire demo. Ask them about it when they get home because it was a hit!

Today our AE Wright teacher chaperones; Mr. Bostrom, Mr. Jaskolka, Mrs. Tepper, and Ms. Schneider took the students to the store to do some souvenir shopping. Some students bought sweatshirts and small trinkets, but mostly they used their money to buy soda and junk food. It made for a chatty evening! 

We had our evening program back in the Visitor Center (that long just over 2-miles walk) and it was a game of Jeopardy with all of the facts that they have been learning from their educators. It was a fun, interactive game where all students were involved. We have since made it back to camp and they quickly got ready for bed and are passed out! Hopefully for the entire night. Check back tomorrow for more updates and pictures! 

Monday, 10/7/24

AM

9:12 AM

Good morning! We had a great night's sleep. It was so warm last night we didn't even have to turn the heaters on in the tent cabins. We are expecting another day of around 86 degrees! It's great weather to explore the valley. Right now the students are meeting their NatureBridge educators. The students are separated into four trail groups. Soon the educators will introduce them to how they will all carry a part of lunch for the group and dividing up the meal. Check back later this evening for an update of what happened on trail and to see the pictures that we took on trail. (Photos should be added at night program.)

PM

9:40 PM

Can you believe that all of the students are already asleep? They had a wonderful day on trail today! Some groups went towards the Visitors Center and learned about the native peoples that inhabited the Yosemite Valley thousands of years ago. Some groups went caving - which is exploring caves. Some groups we along the Merced River and explored the landscape and wadded ankle-deep in the water. 

We are also happy to report that all students took a shower after their hot, long day on trail.... strangely enough, that is pretty rare for us! We pass out treats to the students when they come back from trail, after they give us a HIGH and a LOW from their day. The HIGHS were plentiful, and the lows were mostly that their feet were sore. That's a win in our book! 

After our teriyaki chicken, rice, salad, tofu and veggies for dinner we had our night program in nature. We were able to stargaze and play some games that worked on our echolocation skills. We saw the Milky Way and we counted at least five satellites darting across the night sky. 

Stay tuned for more updates!

Sunday, 10/6/24

PM

6:30 PM

We arrived safely in Yosemite! We had a orientation meeting, moved into our tent cabins, and just finished dinner. The students have about 30 minutes of free time before we begin our walk to the Visitor Center for our official NatureBridge orientation. We hope to be able to update some photos at our night program.