Visiting the National Parks by. Stephen Foster

From Northern Utah to Southern and everything in between we have seen some awe striking sights. Arches, Canyonlands, Glen Canyon, and Capital Reef National Parks. All interesting things to see. Along with sightseeing we also hiked 30 miles plus on this last expedition. All of this preparing us for our final expedition in the Grand Canyon that is coming up with in the next week.
When we visited Arches National Park we went on several day hikes. The Devil’s Garden loop hike which amounted to about seven miles up hill, downhill, and on the edge of cliffs and sandstone fins. Up there you could see everything for miles and miles around. We could even see the storm that had passed over us the night before dropping snow on nearby mountains. It was definitely something that I will never forget. On that trail we saw the world’s longest arch and an arch that some brave pilot decided to fly through with his Cessna aircraft. Really cool stuff. The next day we woke up to a clear beautiful sunrise on our morning jog, really starting my day out with a smile, and then we completed some school work before heading out to see the world famous Delicate Arch ( The arch that is on the Utah license plate.). As we headed up there we would look down on the valley and just see it like it was one of those scenes from an adventure movie, just a lushes ‘valley full with wildlife and full with vegetation. But we really knew that there was not much down there, but it was awesome none the less.
After we finished our three day and three night stay at Arches we left and made our way to the Canyonlands National Park located about three hours driving distance from Arches. Once we get into the canyons we found ourselves surrounded by high mountain cliffs and barren desert. All I remember thinking when we entered the canyon was “Well, I think that we made it to the middle of nowhere!!” On our two-night stay in Canyonlands National Park we were able to see some really cool ruins left by the Native Americans and the ever more recent Cowboys. One of the ruins was some Native American Petroglyphs (drawing left behind by the Indians that tell a story or stories.) They aren’t half bad at drawing big-horned sheep! We also saw some grain and seed storage bin made of rock and clay that could have been used by either Native Americans or the Cowboys, or maybe both. Right after the short hike out to the grain storage container, we to a much longer trail that lead us to an old Cowboy settlement and corral under the ledge of a rock! This was one of the only habitable spots in most of the desert because less than 0.2 miles away there was one of the only running springs in the Canyons. It was called spring cave. There was also Indian Petroglyphs to see there and some little hands that were drawn/ painted on the rocks by Native Americans. They were about the size of your average 6-7 year olds hands so I would guess that they were made by the children of the Indian tribe.
After our interesting two day stay at Canyonlands, we hopped into the Big, Black, Beast (Our van which is really tall because of the custom suspension and is just a hawse) and started our 3 hour trip right on up and over to Capital Reef National Park. While we were there I learned that Capital Reef was the Mormons most isolated settlement that never held more than about 40 people at a time. It was a very habitable place that the Mormon settlers ended up turning into a farmland and orchard. That must of taken a lot of hard work even though they had plenty of water coming to them from the Colorado River flowing to and through the canyon. This river was fueled by the occasional rain and several underground springs. The only problem with having this powerful river in their canyon was that it would flood. And the entire canyon was its flood plain so when it would flood the more powerful ones could rip trees from their roots and carry them away along with animals, grass, and grain. During our stay at Capitol Reef we had our backpacking trip take place. Helping to get us ready for our final expedition that will be coming up very soon. We hiked Mueller’s twist, a average sized canyon trail that stretches a total of 23 miles on relatively flat land. Hiking about ten miles or more for the first 2 days and then we hiked only about 3 miles on the last day, but most of those three miles was up really steep hills and down really steep cliffs. At one point we were on a cliff side leaning our weight on the wall with the loose rock around us falling! Jon was hiking right inform of me when a rock about his side came loose below his feet, he slide down a little and then finally got his feet gripped on the rock and came back up like nothing happened! It was really a physically demanding hike on the finally day, because we were literally scrambling up rocks with our full 30-40 pound expedition packs on our backs. It was pretty extreme. The next day when we got back from our backpacking trip we took a day to work on our school work and then we went around and learned a lot about Capital Reef and how it was settled. We learned that Capital Reef is located in the Water Pocket Fold that is located smack dab in the middle of the Utah Desert. The next day we left for Grand Junction, Colorado and stayed at a State Park, which name escapes me. When we were done settling down for the night we took a night out to eat at Golden Corral and just chowed down. On everything from awesome steak, fried chicken, sweet potato casserole, and tacos. It was one of the most filling meals that I have ever had! We ate like kings, in SOAR terms! That night we got to bed as early as possible so that we could wake up as ready to go as possible as any human is able to be at three O’ clock the next morning to catch our flight.
I am really looking forward to our next expedition and adventure in less than a week. Since this is our final expedition we are going to be running in almost on our own. We will lead each other with our the motivation of the staff and we will be making the decisions on when we need to get certain things done and when we need to be moving on to something else. We will also be doing this while backpacking over twenty miles down and back out of the Grand Canyon in an area called Phantom Ranch. The downhill park will be by far the most challenging area of the hike, for we will be carrying 40-50 pound expedition packs while going down steep cliffs. Our knees will be dead by the time we get down to our campsite! Since the packing list is up to us this time I am going to pack as light as I can possibly can, without taking the stuff I don’t need to bring with me. Like, several pairs of the same pants. Why not just use maybe two for the four days that we are backpacking. You know? So I really can’t wait until our next adventure and until the 27 days until I get to see my family and friends again during the holiday break.

Stephen Foster's Biography

My name is Stephen Foster and I am a 15-year old student at SOAR Academy. This is my first semester here and hopefully the first of many semesters to come. I came to SOAR from San Ramon, located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
When I am home I live with my mom, and my brother, Graham, along with my two Basset Hounds, Max and Bella. Max is around 6 or 7 years old, and Bella (The younger of the two) is only about 3 or 4 years old. My family is truly a melting pot of many different cultures, Scottish, Irish, German, Norwegian, and even a little bit of Cherokee Indian. Both sides of my family are Scottish and that leads to many cool and interesting stories along with a lot of rich history.
When I get free time, either after school or on the weekends, I like to participate in an array of cool activities. [Activities like, baseball, football, rock climbing, airsoft, and video games]. When I get free time I like to participate in these activities. When I have finished my homework and my friends have also done the same, we like to go out to our local sports park and go and play football or baseball for a good 2 or 3 hours every day. In only a few months I have gone from being terrible at baseball and football, to being amazing in the minds of everyone around me. It really makes me feel good to be good at something. On the weekends, though, I like to take a break from football and baseball and I like to go out and play airsoft at CQB City, the world’s largest indoor arena. It is located only an hour away from my house. I normally go there and play for a good 7 hours a day. It is really fun to do and very challenging for the body and mind. You need to figure out tactics and how to get out of situations on the battlefield.
While I am at SOAR Academy, I am hoping to get a better education (Which I now have all A’s which I have never had before in my life), better social skills, and learn more traits in becoming a leader. After I graduate from high school I plan on becoming a police officer somewhere around Henderson, Nevada, or somewhere in Arizona. After many years in the service I am planning on going to college and studying politics and then getting a job in Government so that I can really help change the country by lending my talents to our nation.

Utah Expedition By Jonathan Adkins

Hello, my name is Jon Adkins. I am going to be discussing some of the things that happened while I was in Utah.


One of the things that I did while I was there was go to Arches National Park. Things that the team and I did while we were there was go to the Devils Garden and a handful of the other arches.


Another place that the team and I went to was Capital Reef National Park. One of the things that the team and I did while we were in Capital Reef National Park was going on a three day, twenty-five mile hike. It was like a small desert in parts, then canyonous and mountainous in others.


The other place that the team and I went to while we were in Utah was Canyon Lands National park. Activities that we did while we were there is a bit of a blur to me, but mostly was a fair amount of mini hikes to some arches, and learning about the natives that were once there and what they left behind.



In conclusion I feel that the part of the expedition that took place in Utah will be my most memorable part of the expedition for me, and that I will think of it always.

Chris Veno's Biography

Hi my name is Chris Veno. I am 19 and from Malvern, PA. I have three brothers and their names are: Cameron, who is 9, Aidan, who is 12, and Shane, who is 15. I have one sister named Kelsey, who is 17. I have many cousins. I have two cats and their names are Skittles and Snickers. I have two goats and their names are Cinnamon and Spice. I have one dog and her name is Willow. I have a bunny and its name is Sugar. I also have one hamster that my brother has not yet named. I am really good at identifying plants and animals. I am really good at science. I love reading field guides in my free time. I am skilled at the drums. My hobbies include playing the drums, guitar, and bass. Listening to music and building forts in the woods are some of my hobbies. The sports that I engage in are soccer, basketball, golf, and snowboarding. The things that I do for fun are playing music, sports, and gardening. Every year my family goes to Canada and North Carolina for vacation. My parents are very nice people. In my future I would like to be a carpenter and a horticulturist.

Utah Expedition

Utah Expedition
By Chris Veno

I had a lot of fun on this expedition. We went to Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capital Reef National Park, and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. We also went to Moab, Utah.
The first place that we went to was Arches National Park. It was absolutely beautiful and amazing. In Arches we slept in tents (which was a luxury), we also went on many day hikes. The hikes were really cool because we saw a lot of arches and other amazing things. In Arches National Park we saw lots of Prickly Pear Cacti and lots of Juniper. On the first day at Arches it rained and we got to get an extra hour of sleep, which was nice and well needed. In Arches it was very windy and our stuff would blow away. We did a lot of day hikes in Arches National Park and all of the views were amazing.
The next place that we went to was Canyonlands National Park, which was really cool because of all of the canyons and chasms and all of the Native American Artifacts and dwellings. While I was in Canyonlands National Park I wore my warm hat for many days in a row. I had dreadlocks form in my hair because it got really matted and I twisted the matted hair into dreads. They were sicknasty. In Canyonlands we also saw lots of Prickly Pear Cacti and it reminded me of my cacti back at home, which are bigger than the Prickly Pear that we saw out west.
The last place that we went to was Capital Reef National Park and that is where we did our backcountry trip. Our backcountry trip was a three-day backpacking trip through the canyon of Capital Reef National Park. It was really cool. In the canyon we hiked through a cave, which was a really cool experience. We had to squeeze through the end of the cave and we got all muddy. In Capital Reef National Park we saw a Tarantula and it was really awesome. I was not afraid of it like some of the other members in the group were. In four days I did 840 pushups and I was ripped.
I really enjoyed this expedition. We went to Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capital Reef National Park, and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. We also went to Moab, Utah. I am really going to enjoy the hiking of the Grand Canyon on the next expedition.

Mitchell's Biography

Hello my name is Mitchell Wilkinson- Harrison. I’m 18 years old and from Richmond, VA. My grandpa has a 400-acre farm in PA and every summer I go and work on the farm for my grandpa. I have a basset hound; her named is Violet. I like to play a lot of video games and I love to do hay work on the farm. My mom is now working at the pharmacy in Kroger. My step dad is working for my grandpa’s company. My Grandpa has a Decking Company.
I played baseball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball at my old school back in Va. I play with my dog when I’m at home, and I enjoy playing my xbox360 after a hard day at work on the farm. There are many places that I have traveled to with my family and SOAR. Those places are Belize, Puerto Rico, Coast Rica, Colorado, Canada, Texas, North Dakota, Montana, New York, New Jersey, North Caroline, and South Caroline. I like to drive my gator around on my grandpa his farm in PA. I have been coming to SOAR for six school semesters and two-summer program. I want to be a mechanic, a farmer, and a businessperson for My Grandpa’s Company.

The Utah Expedition By Mitchell Wilkinson-Harrison

This Expedition, the Yellowstone team went to Utah. On the first day of our trip we stayed in Archers National Park. When we were there we did some day hikes around the park. One of the days it started to rain in the morning and we all were staying in tents. Suzanne Wes let us sleep in until the rain stopped. Most of the time on the expedition we were doing homework and going on day hikes through the National Parks. The National Parks that we went to on this expedition were; Capital Reef National Park, Cayonlands National Park, Archers National Park, and Glen Canyon National. Before we went to Glen Canyon we drove into Moab to a little gear store to fill up our water jugs and we all went into the store. We drove to Glen Canyon for our three backpacking trip. We hiked about 25 miles in the canyon. After we finished everyone ran to the Big Black Van and everyone gave the van a big hug. We drove back to Capital Reef National Park and stayed there for two nights. On the last day of our expedition we all went out to the Golden Coral and ate a lot of food. The next day we had to get up early so we could get to the airport on time. We all had a good time hiking with Suzanne and Wes.

Sand Castles with the Yogis by Evan Anderson

So our group really likes to dig. During our last expedition we were in a desert, ideal for digging. In many of the places like Canyon Lands National Park, Cedar Mesa, and even into the side of a river bed, we dug holes.
It all started in Canyon Lands National Park when a few people in the group were afraid of rain. I took the risk of sleeping on a small but comforting riverbed. Worried that rain might come I dug holes and channels and a few barriers to stop water flow and redirect it. Others built similar things like trenches and channels. Anders dug out a huge hole that he literally slept in! Unfortunately it never rain to test out our defenses.
Digging holes were not the only thing we would do. We would use the excess dirt from our holes to build towns and use sticks and make farms near the towns. It all started as a peaceful thing in our town economy, however some people would get a little crazy and build literal castles and trenches and what not around them turning into a giant game of Risk (which we love so dearly). Unfortunately we have a leave no trace policy here at S.O.A.R so our humble towns and fortresses ended in a horrible furry of rock, logs, and pure human greed (meaning we go and destroy each other’s stuff). This event of destruction would usually last about a half an hour because rebuilding and the struggle for victory would take place during the destruction. This was just one of the many things we did during our down time to keep us entertained in the idle of a desert. Thank you for your time.

Colorado Trip By Jon Adkins

Hello, I’m going to be talking about some of the things that the group and I did when we were in Colorado. I am going to be talking about when we hiked the Kowanichi trail. I will also be talking about when we went to the Florissant Fossil Bed National Monument.

The first thing that we did when we got to Colorado was drive to our first camp ground to stay for the first couple of days and to get our packs ready for the five day hike on the Kowanichi trail, that is part of the continental divide trail. The first day was one of the most brutal of the days hiking because once we got to the top of the highest ridges, there was a lot of snow that started to fall and it turned into a whiteout. That was a bit difficult because we were hiking through up to about nine inches of snow going up hill for more than a mile. The second day wasn’t as bad, but it still wasn’t pleasant because the campsite that we stayed at for the second and third the snow was melting off the trees. So it was very cold, wet and a bit miserable there. The third day was a bit longer in miles traveled. It was a little over five-mile hike and the snow continued to melt and soak everything that wasn’t under a tarp. We stayed at that campsite for the fourth day also. On almost all the days we did a few hours of schoolwork but on some because of one thing or another we couldn’t do it on that day. We did make up from those lost hours from those days. Then on the fifth day we did the last nine miles of the trail to get out in a very nice four hours of hiking. We were all very impressed with ourselves after we learned about that accomplishment.

The next thing that we did when we got off the trail was drive to the Mouler Forest State Campgrounds. The day after we got to that campsite we drove to the Florissant Bed National Monument. There we saw some of the biggest trees of that day. The biggest of the trees probably had a circumference of roughly four hundred seventy five inches. We even got to see the result of when a once huge tree dies, there were three trees that sprang up from the first, and then those trees got petrified. That was a very cool sight to see and I will always remember it.

In conclusion I will remember all the sights, sounds and feelings that I had when I was in Colorado. It was a wonderful place to go and I will surely miss it.

Continental divide hike Anders DeBoom

Our trip this time was the hiking of a portion of the continental divide.

The total mileage of the hike was about 28. The weather during this time was usually cold. Many of the days that we were out, it snowed, rained, or both at the same time. We hiked for a total of five days.

            During our hike my group and I saw many interesting animals. A few of the animals that we saw were big horned sheep, trout, elk, moose, and many different types of rodents like squirrels and chipmunks. One of my teammates says that he saw a fox slinking through our camp in the middle of the night. Many mornings our team awoke to find ourselves soaking wet because of perspiration and the morning dew that collected on our sleeping bags.

            The hiking was one of the harder things that the group faced during our trip. The first day, the group hiked around six miles. The second day we also hiked around 6 miles. The day after that we got a brake and only had to hick three miles. The one problem with that was that the hike was three miles long up a hill and crossing over a mountain. While we were crossing over the mountain we got caught up in a snow storm/ white out that cut visibility to about twenty feet. The only good part of the hike was the downhill, which was about ten times easier. The last day was the longest hike, which was nine miles, but it was easier than some of the other days because it was plain and even. On the last day the team really pushed each other hard. Because of all of the effort that each teammate put in the hike, the team and I were able to complete our nine-mile hike within five hours. 

            Over all because of all of the hard work our team put out to make this trip a successful experience, I can say that I was able to take many different experiences out of it. I believe that if we work this hard during the rest of out time at soar, we as a team will be able to overcome any challenge that may confront us.

Thank you very much for reading this passage,

            Anders Deboom

Colorado Trip By Chris Veno

On this trip we went to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and we also went to Mueller State Park in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  It was a lot of fun and we did a lot of cool things.  We hiked the Kawenchue Trail, which was pretty hard and tiring.  We also went to the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, which was amazing. 

            The first place that I am going to be talking about is Moraine Park. For 2 days we saw a lot elk there and on the drive there we saw some mule deer, which was pretty cool.  The temperature wasn’t that bad at Moraine Park, and it did not get that cold at night like it did at Rocky Mountain National Park. 

            The second place that I am going to be talking about is Rocky Mountain National Park.  In Rocky Mountain National Park we hiked the Kawenchue Trail, which was 28 miles, and there was a lot of elevation gain and it wasn’t that hard.  One of the days it snowed over night and we woke up to an inch of snow in the morning, which was pretty cool.  It was the earliest I have ever seen snow.  On the first day of hiking we hiked 4.6 miles and it wasn’t that hard of a hike.  The next day we hiked 5 miles which, wasn’t that bad.  The next day we hiked 6 miles over the pass in a whiteout, and that was probably the hardest day of the whole trip because most of it was uphill and downhill, which, is hard on your knees.  On that day I saw a cow moose and four bighorn sheep.  The next day we did a 3-mile hike, which was very short and easy compared to the rest of the long hikes.  The last day we hiked 9 miles in four hours, which is beast.  A big bull moose walked right through our campsite, which was a sight to behold.  

The next place that we went to was Moraine Park for one night and that night only John used his bivy and it rained all night long, which really stunk because our sleeping bags were completely soaked and we were freezing because it was 35 degrees.  Then it started snowing giant snowflakes so we got into the Big Black Beast and cranked the heat, which felt really good.  Next we stayed at Mueller State Park for three days, which is in Colorado Springs.  It was really cool at Mueller State Park because we saw a mule deer.  At Mueller State Park we got to play a little bit of catch with a football.  While at Mueller State Park we went to Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument and there were giant petrified redwood trees that were absolutely huge and amazing.  We also saw fossils of different kinds of trees and other things.  We also went to the Garden Of The Gods, which was really cool and we saw giant rock formations that were absolutely amazing. 

            During our expedition we did many cool things such as going to Rocky Mountain National Park, doing a backpacking trip on the Kawenchue Trail, and going to the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. 

Wet Sleeping bags and the Yogis By: Evan Anderson

In this blog I will describe the undeniably silly mistake of not using a bivy or tent you think for sure that it is not going to rain. Well we learned that it’s always good to be safe than sorry.

   So after we got back of the back country trail of the continental divide, the group was excited for sunny weather and glad to be back in civilization. We ended up getting in to our camp site after dark and just decided to pick the first big campsite.

  That night the group was deciding if we should use our bivys, eventually I convinced everybody but Connor and Jon that bivys were not necessary because there were still stars in the sky (ignoring the clouds out in the distance).

  That’s when the night got interesting… after we all got in our sleeping bags I started to hear pitter patter of rain on my sleeping bag. Another thing I told people in my group is that since most of us have the snow shoe sleeping bags, our bags will defeat the rains if it does come. Haha, wrong! I totally didn’t think about the water all seeping through the zipper where it wasn’t water resistant. So all night, a few of us were using our socks to soak up the rain coming through the zipper. When the dawn started to break it looked like freedom and that it was all over, but no one realized how wet we actually were until we got out of our bags…

   At this point we are all standing on our sleeping bags ( except for Jon ) freezing and shivering some of us laughing at others and surprisingly having fun and hating me at the same time because I apparently made them do this. Even Connor got wet in his bivy. Then it happened… after 4 days of constant snow up on the pass, the snow finally caught up to us again. None of us wanted to move from our frozen, standing up position, luckily being the trooper he is, Connor wanted out of there so bad that he just grabbed our bags, stuffed them and got us out of there! (Good job Connor).

   So the lesson we learned is that you should always be prepared even when it seems as if it’s not necessary. Thank you for your time of reading this valuable lesson!

Places we stayed things that we did, animals we saw. By: Connor Newton

‘Places we stayed in Jackson Lake’

Our first campsite was called, Hermitage Point. We got there a little late and had to hurry and set up camp. After we set up camp we made dinner, after dinner we did our jobs and had our evening meeting before going to bed. The following day after we were ready to go, Anders and I had one-day fishing permits for the whole day. As we sat, Anders and I trolled behind with our poles and as we were almost to Elk Island, my pole snapped from the pressure of a massive 25-inch lake trout. I was crushed but happy that I was able to catch such, an awesome fish. As soon as we got to Elk Island, we immediately had lunch and unloaded our gear. Afterwards we started school. After school the people who were still at our campsite left. Then we moved all of our gear to the campsite. After we brought our gear up and we all found our sleeping spots for the night, we had a short meeting and figured out what we could do until dinner. While the food was cooking the group broke up. Evan, Stephen, and Aaron went out in a canoe and trolled. Anders and I went fishing, and he almost caught a fish but it got away. The next we day went over to a campsite called South Landing and it was a very cool campsite. That was where Chris and I swam in Jackson Lake, and it was very cold! We were there for a couple of days, and then we moved on to our next campsite, which was our original site, Hermitage Point. We stayed there for one night and had our one last night of fun. It was really a blast. We got there and started to throw a bunch of big rocks at a floating log. Evan tied a log behind his canoe and trolled it back and fourth as we threw rocks at it. As we were paddling back to Hermitage Point we saw 2-3 large bald eagles and a very large mule buck. I enjoyed this Canoe trip and I loved doing the activities that we did while at Jackson Lake. I also loved seeing all of the animals that we saw while camping on Jackson Lake. I still cannot believe that I lost that fish, and the fact that Chris and I were the first ones to get our schoolwork done. The three bald eagles that we saw were amazing and proud. In conclusion I loved this trip and would do it again in the future.      

Wyoming trip By Jon Adkins

In this Blog I’m going to be talking about the trips in my first expedition. I’m going to be discussing what we did when we were in the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and what we did at EVR.

            The first place we went to was Yellowstone National Park. One of the first places in Yellowstone that we went to was the Fountain Paint Pots. The Fountain Paint Pots were very cool to see, and it was a bit funny to hear what kinds of sounds they made while we were standing there. The second place we went to was the Grand Prismatic Springs. The Grand Prismatic Springs were very cool to watch. It was breathtaking watching all the colors that made up the Grand Prismatic. The third thing we saw was the Grizzly Discovery Center. In the Grizzly Discovery Center we all learned a lot about Grizzlies, but one of the things that I remember is that a grizzly bear’s gall-bladder is worth $2000-$15,000 each. The final thing that we did was go to Old Faithful. At Old Faithful, while we waited, we played ninja among other things. Ninja is a game where you can only move once per turn, and the goal is to hit the hands of your opponent and then he or she wouldn’t be able to use that hand. We also did journals, health checks, and budgets.

The Second place was the Grand Tetons. Among the places that we went to were Hermitage Point, Elk Island, and South Landing. Jackson Lake harbor was one of the places where we looked in awe at the surrounding wild life and the scenery all around us. The second day we paddled our canoes to Elk Island, and during the small trip Anders, Connor, and me fished off the canoes. We also fished off the land. Other than that, we did some school and walked around. We really didn’t do much else. The third day we went to the place called South Landing. There we did the usual thing, which is skipping rocks on the water, on brakes, and when we don’t have anything to do. Also we did some school, swam, and read.

EVR, which stands for Eagle View Ranch, is where we slept and ate in between journeys while we were, in Wyoming. It was a fun place to stay between journeys and a place where we could, and did, have a fire in the fireplace every night. It was a place where we could have fun and be productive in our studies. One of the fun things that we got to do was go to the shooting range with Jeremy. There we got to shoot paper targets from 20 yards away and try to get the bull’s eye without sighting the gun. You tried to get a tight grouping with your five shots at the three sets of targets. One of the things that made my day was that in all three targets in both the times we went to the shooting range I was able to shoot in what is called a nine-circle. A nine-circle is about the same diameter as a quarter. In that amount of space I had all five shots from the 22 gun and earned myself six shots with the Russian style mosinenagant. The mosinenagant is a 5 shot magazine or single shot bolt action rifle that was primarily used in WWI. Another that, for me was also very fun was doing a class of yoga with a good friend of Suzanne’s and Wes’s. She used to be a counselor at SOAR some years back at a park in Wyoming.

In this paper I have discussed a few of the things that I have done when I went to Wyoming. And all the details describing them to you and from all of this I find that this experience is now one of my favorites and that I will remember this for many years to come.

Our Five Day Trip In the Beautiful Grand Tetons by. Stephen Foster

In the parking lot of one of Jackson Lakes many ports, we were excitingly packing our bags in hopes of getting out onto the lake before the waves started up.  Once all of our packing was done we set off for our adventure on Jackson Lake, knowing that ahead we would have many cool experiences waiting for us upon that lake.

            When Jon and I departed from the shore I noticed the intense beauty that the Grand Tetons had on Jackson Lake. They were reflecting on the surface of the calm, calm water.  The calm water stayed that way for only about an hour before we started our journey into the center of the lake.  Once we were out in the middle of the lake I started to be able to feel the breeze slowly getting bigger and bigger.  Never the less, Jon and I stayed balanced in the boat and we made it to our first campsite without getting a drop of water on us or our gear.  The next couple of days were really good sailing conditions and I could slowly start feeling my self-getting stronger. By the third day I was feeling it.  On one of the last days of the expedition we woke up and there were some unusually strong winds.  We knew that it was going to be a long day.  It turned out to be a particular challenge to Jon and me.  It was hard paddling almost all the time trying to get across the rough patches of the ocean like lake, though I have to admit that it was a very good upper body workout.

            Throughout our voyage we stopped at many different campsites like, Hermitage Point, Elk Island, and South Port.  Each of the campsites had its ups and downs, but they all were very nice campsites.  When we were done paddling we started our two or three hours of school, which was really nice to do out in the back country! After school we had a chance to play in and around the water.  What I liked to do was hangout with my friends Aaron and Evan.  We would do random things like going out and relaxing in our canoe or building rock towers and talking.  We just had a lot of fun with whatever we did.  One day Evan had an idea.  The Idea was that we would use our free time and build a dock so that in the morning it would make like a lot easier when it came to loading and getting into the boat.  Building the dock not only helped us out in the morning but it gave us something to do as well.  After this trip I think that we became the closest friends at SOAR.

            I loved everything on this expedition.  Canoeing and hanging out with friends was nice.  One of my favorite things was waking up in the morning.  It was nice to wake up in the morning with just the cold crisp air, the smell of water, and the beautiful sunrise on The Grand Tetons.  It was overall a pleasant way to start your day.  The only thing that I didn’t like was that some nights the temperature would get down to below thirty degrees and all of the condensation in our bivy sacks would freeze making it very cold and unpleasant to put away in the morning.  I believe that since we had to put away these freezing items every morning it helped teach the group and I discipline and that even when you are cold and sick you still need to push yourself and do your job.

            My experience at Jackson Lake and the Grand Tetons was an interesting one and I would do it again in a second.  It helped me learn some of my strengths and weaknesses and taught me that you can’t say that you can’t do something because if you say you can’t do something you won’t be able to do it.  I am also looking forward to our group’s next expedition in the mountains of Colorado.  It will be an expedition that will really test my skills and endurance.  I am hoping to have another awesome time and learn a lot from it.  

Full of 1st’s by Aaron Gordon

This 1st expedition was full of 1st’s for me. It was my first time in Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park, my first time at EVR, my first time shooting a rifle, and if you did not realize yet, my first SOAR expedition. Our trip began with an early wake up and a 3-hour drive down to Atlanta with Suzanne, our field staff. Once on the plane and in the air, some of the group watched the mini TVs that were on the plane. After landing, we made our way over to baggage claim and met up with Wes, our other field staff. I had never met Wes before and right after meeting him, I could tell that he was going to be a great field staff.

My first time shooting a gun was both an exciting and nerve-wracking experience for me. Despite being anxious, I went up to the line and shot all five .22 caliber rounds inside the level 6 bulls eye. The same happened with the 2nd round. As a reward for shooting well, Jeremy (head of EVR base) gave us a maximum of 6 shots with his gun, called a Masin- Aghet, which was a Soviet sniper rifle. I earned a total of 6 shots. Once the other shooters had gotten their shots in, and I saw the power behind the gun, I nervously walked up to the line for my chance to shoot. After I had situated myself on the shooting line and had the Masin- Aghet in my hands, I nervously looked up at Wes and jokingly said, “I seriously cannot believe that I’m about to shoot this thing.” Jeremy put in the bullet and I loaded the rifle. After getting the command to shoot, I aimed and fired my first shot. The powerful blast from the gun caused my body to jump up in the air, feet flailing and rolling me onto my side. After realizing what had just happened, everyone laughed at my reaction to the shot. After knowing what may happen after shooting the rifle, I took the next 5 shots carefully, and shot them all in proximity to each other. In all, it was a great day at the rifle range.

Being my first time in Wyoming, I had no idea what to expect with regards to the weather, land features, and also the wildlife. Our first night in Yellowstone National Park, there was elk and wolves calling out all night. It was cool to listen to, and it gave me a lasting memory of my first night in Yellowstone. Of course, you can’t go to Yellowstone National Park without exploring the geyser field and visiting Old Faithful. We walked through the entire geyser area and saw the Grand Prismatic. After a long day of exploration around Yellowstone, we made our way over to the most famous geyser in the park- Old Faithful. We waited, and waited, for the geyser to go off, passing the time by playing intense games of “Ninja” and striking up conversation to whoever was around at the time. Finally after much anticipation, Old Faithful began to erupt. Excitedly, everyone began taking pictures and staring in awe at how cool it was to see the geyser erupt. It was another great memory to keep from our first expedition.

If you ever visit Yellowstone National Park, you cannot go without a visit to Grand Teton National Park. The first time I saw the Teton Mountains, I was struck by how amazing and beautiful they appeared. They seem rise out of nowhere and it’s almost like everywhere you go on Jackson Lake is seems like a painting, and not reality. For me, the view itself made our 5- day canoe trip around Jackson Lake the most lasting memory of the expedition. We also became closer as a group, and grew as individuals as a result of those 5 days out on the water.

Looking back on the expedition, I can see how much the group grew as a team. We began as a group who had never met before, to knowing a lot about each other and we have all become close with one another. Along with that, I have never done a SOAR program before, and I can honestly say that I am having the time of my life here. In just 2 weeks, I have gone to places and done things that only a very small percentage of people get to do in their lifetime. And I have done it all with a great group who I am privileged to spend the next few months with.

At E.V.R. with the Yogis by: Evan Anderson

        This blog is going to be about the Wyoming base called Eagle View Rock or E.V.R. for short. This is just a few descriptions about its surroundings some of the activities we did there.

        So jumping into the location. E.V.R. is (once again) SOAR’S base located near Dubois Wyoming. It’s situated on some of the mountains surrounding the town of Dubois on the edge of a national forest,

       E.V.R. looks like a big Viking house. I don’t know what Valhalla looks like, but I feel like E.V.R. ha s it down pretty good. They have a roaring fireplace and stone based pillars with wood rising to the roof, a giant covered eating area that had metal smooth concrete floors, and a few nice tables. There is also a kitchen that had four sinks, food racks, a couple burners, flat top stove and an oven. Back a little further you have the restrooms and then further back you come to the showers and the maintenance closet. E.V.R. also has a new wooden eagle made by someone last summer out a tree stump!

      The group had a few activities we participated in. Some were on base, while some were in the nearby town. We used E.V.R. for sleeping, eating, and school. After school we would have our activity period, then we would pack up and go to the nearby town of Dubois and do some riflery and yoga. Before we left, we did some cleaning and sanitation of the base and areas that were affected by the group’s presence.

      At E.V.R. we enjoyed the fun times and the views and the very good looks, it is unfortunate that we won’t be going back, but at least we had that opportunity!

My Amazing expedition in Wyoming By Chris Veno

In our expedition we went to EVR, which is in Dubois Wyoming and we went to Jeremy’s house for dinner and slept in a cowboy tent.  Then we went to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and while in Yellowstone we went to see Old Faithful and the Grand Prismatic Spring, which was aesthetically pleasing to my eyes.  Then we went to Grand Teton National Park, which is also in Wyoming, and we went on a five-day canoe trip.  Mitch was my canoe partner and he was really funny.  We also went swimming in the cold water of Jackson Lake.  We also went camping. 

One of the first things that we did was go to EVR, which stands for Eagle View Ranch, and it is in Dubois, Wyoming.  The first thing that we did was riflery with Jeremy and Wes and it was very fun.  We shot 22’s, which had no kick and were a lot of fun to shoot.  I also got one shot with the Mosenagent, which is Russian World War II sniper and it has a lot of kick. Jeremy let me have a birthday shot.  We also did school at EVR, which was kind of fun, but easy.  Connor and I helped Jeremy with getting the new tire for the big black beast and a new stuff sack for Anders because his ripped.  Connor and I also went with Jeremy a second time to get new tires for the big black beast and then Connor and I went over to Jeremy’s house to dig out weeds and throw them in the fire pit to burn.  Then we had a hobo dinner of elk and venison, which was tasty-nice. 

The next thing that we did was go to Yellowstone National Park, which I absolutely loved and was a lot of fun.  At Yellowstone we saw lots of bison and elk.  They are so magnificent.  During the night we heard elk bugling and coyotes howling, which was scary but cool.  We also went to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center where we saw wolves and grizzly bears in a fenced in area and they are just so amazing.  Camping at Grant Village was really cool.  One of the most beautiful things that I saw at Yellowstone was Grand Prismatic Spring, which was aesthetically pleasing to my eyes.  I also really enjoyed seeing Old Faithful, which was so cool.  I also liked the Paint Pots and the Excelsior Geyser, which, when active, it erupts 300 feet into the air. 

The next place that we went to was Grand Teton National Park/Jackson Lake, which is where we went on our five-day canoe trip.  Camping was a lot of fun.  In Jackson Lake we had a lot of fun.  I was one of the few people that were brave enough to go swimming, and the only one who went swimming every day.  We also went camping and on the second to last day at South Landing it hit 25 degrees during the night and when we woke up in the morning it was 30 degrees.  Another thing that we did was sightseeing, which was really cool.  Suzanne had Connor and I identify six species of plants at South Landing, which really peaked my interest and was really cool.  During the plant search we found the Wyoming State Flower, which is Indian paintbrush.  Another cool thing that we saw while on our canoe trip was a bald eagle, which was absolutely amazing.  The last thing that we saw was a 7x7 mule buck, which was huge. 

We did a lot of fun things on this expedition such as canoe camping, going to Yellowstone to see Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Spring, Excelsior Geyser, and the Paint Pots.  On the next expedition I want to do a lot of backpacking and see a moose.