March 4--Abbott

This morning started off chaotically, as those—Madie—that had not finished their packing scrambled to collect all their belongings and stuff them into their bags. Digging through all the cabinets in the RV, we frantically tried to clean out the vehicle. We then made our way to Las Vegas, where we were astounded by bluntness of the city. Within the first five minutes of entering Vegas we counted seven wedding chapels---we even saw the one from the movie What Happens In Vegas. After this, we finally arrived at our hotel. We were finally let free to roam the roads of Vegas, where we encountered many interesting beings. While walking, we were tempted with many offers that we were quick to deny. When we arrived back at the hotel, we were then surprised with a limo ride. During the ride, we listened to the same songs over and over and over again. They took us to a light show that spanned the length of a street and saw more interesting people, some standing and others on the ground. After a long tour of the city, we ended the ride at the Las Vegas sign, where we took a picture. Finally, we arrived back at the hotel, where we quickly tried to spit out an interesting blog. Thank Howard!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010--Anasazi (Abbott RV)

This morning started off early for me when I was woken up at 5:20 a.m. by my alarm I had set the night before. As I wiped the sleep from my eyes and cautiously made my way around the RV, I collected all of my shower essentials. I dragged myself to the showers, where I anxiously awaited the arrival of a Navajo employee, who kindly unlocked the shower door for me. After my shower, I then headed back to my cozy bed in the RV, where I slept until I was awoken by Mrs. Dickinson at 7:50. She asked me to come outside and informed me that my decision to shower early that morning had been catalysis for a series of events that lead to everyone accidently going into the wrong shower room: the employee showers. Though I was slightly confused as to how I had been the one who erroneously sent everyone to the employee showers, when the night before my RV as a whole was notified by a teacher where the showers were, I accepted the blame. After this, I attempted to return to my slumber, but even the thought of sleeping was fruitless as the entire RV was in a state of consciousness at this point. My RV then ate a hearty breakfast complete with sausage biscuits and healthy cereal that helped stimulate ourselves for the drive to the Grand Canyon. While on the way to the Canyon, I kept myself entertained by keeping up a conversation with Ms. Abbott about the Native American rap we were listening to on the radio. Our favorite song was Sounds of Reality, where a young man and a woman used their vocal chords to produce a strange new earthy genre. As soon as we arrived into the Canyon, we headed over to the visitors’ center to check out the sights and to see a historic watchtower where I bought a book on people dying in the Grand Canyon. After this excursion, we finally made our way into the RV Park where we were staying at for the night. There we were told that we had free time up until 7 pm, so we could take the shuttle and explore. I instantaneously made my way to the shuttle stop with Lilia, Emily, Lucy and Shelby so we could investigate the sights in the Grand Canyon and walk around the rim. Unfortunately though, it was biter cold on the rim and Lucy and Shelby soon left to return to the campground. After gazing at the humbling canyons for a while longer, we then determined that it was time to head back to the RV Park, where as we strolled, we caught a glimpse of the sunsets breathtaking beauty. This day, though not starting off too well, turned out to be strangely relaxing which I believe was contributed by the magnificence of the Grand Canyon. And so, it was a good day.

Mrs. Dickinson's RV

Our trip has come to an end! I'm sitting here in the Las Vegas Airport making use of the WiFi - the fastest I've had the whole trip. All in all, it was nice to feel more disconnected than usual from the real world for these past two weeks. Yesterday we woke up early, straightened up the RVs, and were on the road by 7:30. We stopped at a couple of gas stations and also the Route 66 Museum, a tribute to the hugely famous highway. It was pretty tourist-y but interesting to read all of the famous people who have made stops along the way and also how Route 66 came about. We had been planning to hike the Grand Canyon yesterday morning and also stop at the Hoover Dam, but both of those plans were thwarted by ice. The 19 students and a couple of teachers were dropped off at the Paris Las Vegas while the other teachers went to return the RVs. We all did our own thing until about 8:30 - showered, napped, went out on the town, went to dinner, saw the sights. At 8:30, we all piled into two stretch limos and went to see a light show featuring Don McLean's American Pie, and then drove all around Las Vegas while jamming out to obnoxiously loud music. Hopefully most people made it to bed by midnight, because we woke up at 4:30 this morning. Not fun.

This has really been a fantastic experience and I'm so glad that I chose to do this Minimester trip. I couldn't have asked for a better time! I'd like to say thank you to all of the chaperones and my fellow travelers for making this an unforgettable experience.

-Lucy Eckman '11

Cowgirls: day 9

Frebruary 2nd
By: Paloma Quintanal.

Today was a really tiring day. We woke up like at 8:30. We couldn't take a shower, so we all smelled bad. We went to take some pictures to different landscapes like the spider rock. We also went on a 3 miles hike. That was horrible, at the end everyone was sweating so bad. We were so tired. After that, we went to ride horses, that was a lot of fun. We rode them like two and a half hours, so a lot of the girls finished with their bodies aching. When we finished, we went to "Burger King" to eat dinner.Two hours later we arrived to the RV park, and we all went to sleep.

Cowgirls: Lilia, Paloma, Andrea, Shelbi, and Ale.

Today, our RV set out at about 9:00 AM for the petrified forest. At the Petrified forest we saw wood that was blended with minerals to make beautiful shining rocks. After watching a threatening video about stealing the rocks, we were allowed to wander freely around the park. While walking the scenic path we realized this trail practicly resembled scenes from the Lion King, which was enjoyed by all involved. After eating a tasty lunch of sandwhichs and diet coke, we set off on a mile hike through the painted desert. On this hike we got to experience a mountain side view which we will all never forget. Concluding the day with the Navaho Indian trading post, it ended up being an all together wonderful day.
- Shelbi

Sunday, February 28

This morning we woke up at about 8 and ate some breakfest. We started to drive for about 2 hours to go on a hike at a national park. The hike was very narrow and uphill. The sight was beautiful, it was a little cold outside but we all could handle it. We spilt in two groups and went on 2 seperate trails and then switched. When we finished we went back to the RV, and most RV's made lunch. We then headed off to the Meteor Crater, there we watched a movie and visited the crater. It was so interesting, we then headed to the RV park there we made dinner and went to sleep for another adventurious day.

Tuesday, March 2 (RV Abbott)

We survived the night and woke up peacefully to the thought of Howard no longer being in our presence. After we woke up and got ready we all headed over to the Visitors Center. We then split into two groups, and my group went on a hike around Canyon De Chelly first. The hike was very beautiful and at nearly every stop there were Indians who were selling jewelry or rocks that were painted on and had very special meanings. The hike took longer than we thought and we were late to get to the horse trail, but it was okay because they were not back yet. I was concidered a more experienced rider and was thinking to myself that I had no idea what I was doing. When we first started our ride we were going too slowly. I wanted to canter and not walk. Ana and I had to switch horses because she could not control her horse and she thought that I would be able to. I then rode on her horse and found that her horse was out of control. I then switched with some Indian man, but found that his horse was just as stubborn as Ana's. On the way back they guide in the back led Ana, Andy, Madie and I go on a different trail so that we could run the whole time. It was so wonderful to see the horses run so quickly. I then had to wait for the guide to catch up. While I was waiting my horse was so stubborn and would not stop; he had to be moving and walking forward. The only way I could get him to stop was to get off of him and I had to do that while he was walking. After I would get off him, he would get behind me and push me forward with his head because he knew that we were not supposed to be stopping. After we got to the end of the trail, Ms. Haney and our RV went to a trading post. We then went to a grocery store, where Ms. Abbott and Madie were getting very odd looks because they were the only non-Indians in sight. We drove for what seemed like forever and ended up at a RV camp where the showers do not open until 5:30 AM and we have to pay $1.50 to take a shower. Although tomorrow morning is not going to be that great because we have to start early and drive a lot, I am looking forward to every day to come! :)

Day 6

Saturday 27
By: Ale Perez
Today we went shopping to a mall in Phoenix. We spend like 4 hours and I had a lot of fun. After that we went to a rodeo. We waited 2 hours before the rodeo began we went to see gymnastics. There were really good boys and girls in gymnastics. Then, we went to watch the rodeo of horses. There were a lot of big and fast horses at the rodeo. It was amazing. After the cowgirls and cowboys finished riding the horses, they were hurting the animals. It was awful! Then we left the rodeo, we went to the RV Park.

Cowgirls: Cowgirls: Lilia Finch, Shelbi Sessoms, Paloma Quintanal, Andrea Campillo and Ale Perez.

Day 8!

Day 8: (Ms. Meyers RV)

This morning got started off the same as most of them have. Our RV was up a few hours before all the others, sitting and eating pancakes as the rest of the RV's were just rolling out of bed. We visited the painted mountains. They were outstanding. Susan was convinced that Dinosaurs were somewhere to be found and spent excessive amount of time searching for them. We scaled down the side of the mountains as an RV and hopped over baby canyons. Quite the envigorating experience. After, we stopped off at a gas station, where Isis bought more coffee then most normal people should have. We spent a good 20 minutes there before getting back on the road. Then, we met up with “Isis' people”, otherwise known as Navajo people. There we all ventured around one of the oldest Native American trading posts, coincedently this trading post sold beef jerk, which Emily nagged me for. Finally, after all of our exploring we ended up at this unique campsite. Although there are no showers, we now know what real camping is like.

Humma Humma! (Ms.Meyer's RV)

February 28 was a day to remember on our RV trip. It all started early this morning when it was raining. Susan woke up at 4:00, because she felt a wet spot on the mattress. Mind you she was sleeping on the upper level of the RV. She pushed the thought about the wet spot away from her mind.
Around 8:00 the whole RV woke up ready to take a shower. Ms Meyer told us that four bathrooms were reserved and that we should run so we would not have to wait in line. Of course when we got there was a line. The showers were beautiful. The water was perfect. It was with best bathrooms we had seen on this trip. After the showers we were fresh and ready to go to Wal-Mart.
As we drove we accelerated the speed. Then, out of nowhere water fell from the upper level of the RV. It was just like a waterfall, and I am not exaggerating. Where did the water come from? We had to work together and fix this water problem. So, we moved all the bags that were on the upper level and put them into the shower and in the bottom of the RV. Once all the bags were moved we put towels under the mattress. As we were putting towels under the mattress we notice some damaged wood. This was most likely the problem. We are very smart kids.
After solving our problem we tried our best to drive to Wal-Mart safely. As we drove we went from dry land to land covered with snow. We very thought hot Arizona could be a cold Arizona. We drove into Wal-Mart ready to shop for our up coming meals. Little did we know Wal-Mart was not a Super Wal-Mart. When then had to walk over to the Bashes’; which was close by.
Once we were ready to leave Wal-Mart we prepared ourselves for the wonderful hike at Walnut Canyon. We saw cliff dwellings and had a beautiful view at the canyon. At the end we cracked rocks to see what the insides looked like. It was so cool.
Later we went to see a meteor crater. We learned that meteors are made out of nickel and iron. We also learn that a meteor takes ten seconds of impact from the outside the atmosphere and it travels at hundreds and thousands miles an hour. The view of the meteor crater was remarkable.
The next stop was root 66. We stopped at the sign of root 66 and took pictures. It was so exciting. Later we drove to the corner of Winslow Arizona. This is where we took pictures.
Our last stop was at a stake house. We celebrated Ale’s birthday and had great food. The waitresses were kind to us and were very quick. It was a great way to end this day to remember.
- Isis Daniel

Petrified Forest and Painted Desert (Cupper's RV)

Hello all! Today we arrived in the Petrified Forest where the trees look as scary as can be! Actually that’s not true; the forest was fully equipped with a beautiful display of pieces of wood that have been covered in volcanic lava giving them a jewel like aura. It’s hard to believe that a volcano can do such a thing to a huge forest, but seeing is believing and I definitely believe it now. After the leaving the Petrified Forest, we headed towards the Painted Desert two words to describe that place…PRETTY AMAZING! After looking at gorgeous pieces of petrified wood all day you would think that the day would come to an end, but not true. We were supposed to go to Spider Rock Campground, but because of recent snowfall, Howard, the RV park owner was nice enough to place our RV’s at another location. This place was definitely not the Ritz Hotel but the overlook on Canyon DeChelly was well worth the uncomfortable stay. It was absolutely breathtaking! Not only was the view beautiful, I got the chance to experience the moon rising! This has to be the first time in my seventeen years of existent s to witness this! Tomorrow we will be heading down inside the canyon on horseback!!! I’ve never ridden a horse before, well not without assistance, so I am very excited about that! Stay tuned for tomorrow's episode!

Ify

Hummahummanukanukawakowaa( Ms. Meyer's RV)

Today is March 2. In Arizona we are so occupied having fun. This morning we split in 2 groups to ride horses and go hiking. Ms. Dickinson's RV and Ms. Meyer's RV(our RV)went first to ride horses, while Ms. Haney's and Ms. Abbott's RV went to visit the Spider Rock and went hiking in the Canyon Delly Shally. The ride was very fun, each of us had a horse depending on the size and experience. All the horse were pretty and we rode them for 4 hours. We visited the inside of the Canyon and all the pictures that the Navajos (people how lived there) drew. We also had a doggy folowing us all the ride, and it was very funny because it didn't belong to anyone, we found out that he was french because that was in the only language he looked back to us when we called him. After the horse ridding we had lunch at the RV and we went to visit the Spider Rock. After that we went hiking for 2 hours, it was amaizing! We hiked 2.5 miles down and up the hill. It was very hard but also so pretty so all the effort was succesful. On the way to the RV park we were all very tired because of the hike, at 8.30 we apeared in Utah! Right when we arrived at the RV park 10 people run to the showers and they were closed! We have to wait until tomorrow to take a shower! It was very funny the situation of seeing everybody running into the showers!Also we had a nice weather, it was a little chilly but also sunny, most of us got sun burn.
-Ines :D

Tuesday March 2, 2010

Hey guys,

It's Evie. Today we went on a three hour horse ride through Canyon de shelly. Then afterwards we drove around the rim of the canyon. It was very pretty! All of the horses were vey cooperative :) I will try to atach some pictures. It has not been woring to well for me.


xoxoxox,
Evie

March 1, 2010~A-Team (Ms. Abbott's RV)

Well today we woke up and headed out of Holbrook, which was a relief after last nights crappy dinner. Seeing that no one had directions we had to turn around where we saw the EL Camino and Madie Bolles sung a very obnoxious song about EL Caminoes. We drove to a petrified wood store. Ms. Abbott, Madie, and Ashley decided to take pictures with concrete dinosaurs. After gathering everyone up we drove about 28 miles to the Petrified Forest. Leaving there, we headed off to our RV park, but lost an RV, causing us to have to turn around. When we arrived to the RV park we met the owner an old Indian man named Howard. Ms. Abbott, being kind, decided it was a great idea to invite him over for our taco dinner. Looking at the time, everyone had finished eating, but we noticed that Howard was still sitting over on the other couch while Ms. Abbott was doing dishes. Trying to get him to leave, Ms. Abbott said I am about to go take pictures of the stars, but instead of leaving Howard decided to follow her. She turned and noticed that he was behind her, so she ran to talk to the other adults, but he still seemed to think it was okay to stand behind her. Finally, he gave her a hug for more than 2 minutes and left by saying I will try to come back in the morning. After Howard left, Lilia, not knowing what’s going on, knocked on our door and everyone screams. Mrs. Dickinson called to make sure we were okay.

-Deja