Pics from Travis's camera

The guys completely buried DJ in the sand

















Working on tans












Paddling through the mangrove on the Buttonwood canal











Is that an alligator behind us?












This was the very friendly corn snake that wander into camp.














Our campsite under the stars. The night sky was amazing!












Manatees at the Homasassa State Park. Homasassa means "wild pepper" in the local native american dialect.

The end of our Journey

A few of the guys wanted to go out fishing again on Staz's boat so we headed down to the Flamingo marina and prepared to go out. While we were in the marina, a mother manatee and her calf visited us at the docks edge. We leaned over the water's edge and watched her just inches from us as she grazed on the weeds growing on the pilings. It was another amazing Everglades experience.

After our encounter, we zipped up the Buttonwood canal to Coot Lake. The fishing started slow but soon picked up as the ladyfish and sea trout started to pound the Clouser Minnows that guys had tied earlier in the week. The tiny teeth of the lady fished had pummeled the coarse deerhair of the clouser minnows, so Staz and I replaced the mutilated flies with fresh bugs. As we looked down at the water we both noticed a set of eyes peering up at us. The eyes of a a loggerhead turtle!


Before we good utter a word, it dived back into the tea color waters of Coot Lake.

We continued to fish well into the darkness. As we cruised back through the Buttonwood, glowing gold/red eyes of resident crocs stared into the spotlamp. The guys said they now understood why we didn't swim in the canal.

We went back to camp and snoozed through our last night at Flamingo. We broke camp and made the hour journey out of the park. We made a quick stop at an unusual fruit stand called, "Robert is Here." The guys picked up fresh citrus and petted the resident goats once last time before our long trip home.

We arrived at Charlotte NC around 11:30 pm. We all enjoyed hot showers and called it a night. Monday morning brought us sunshine and 40 degree temps. YIKES! That's cold when you're use to balmy 80 degree temps.

The rest of the drive was smooth. We were greeted in the Virginia mountains by snow and ice crystalled trees. It was breathtaking but also a view we grew use to as we worked our way north to PA. We arrived back at Frankford around a quarter 'til Four.

It was a trip filled with so many amazing experience that we'll all remember for a long time. Over the next few days, we'll post the entire back-log of photos and videos that we still have to upload. And we'll keep the blog up as a digital momento of our trip.

-Lane

And then came the lightning..

All the guys had a great day fishing. The Frankford guys didn't have much luck but they loved flying down the canal and lake in the Whaler (Staz's boat) at over 35 mph. The Fair Oaks guys had more luck. They caught several species of fish including ladyfish and spotted sea trout.

They guys also hiked a trail at a place called Royal Palm. While they were there they saw a GIANT water moccasin, hundreds of alligators (including some tiny baby 'gators) and many species of birds including the cormorant and ibis.

The evening turned out to be the most eventful part of the day. We saw a thunderstorm to the southwest so we made sure our tents were staked well and hoped it would pass around us. It didn't. The thunder shook the campsite and ripped most of the stakes from the tents, leaving the one tent useless as several of the fiberglass poles snapped in the wind. The guys waited in the van as the storm passed. Fortunately the storm did eventually pass and we were able to go back to the tents and have a decent night's sleep. This morning we will pick up the mess the storm made and have a breakfast of eggs, sausage and homefries.

We've heard several reports that PA is getting hammered by a winter storm. We hope everyone is safe.

-Lane

Layton as a walrus (video)

Christi not Christy's photos

Today's Snorkeling Adventure

Things like "amazing, phenomenal, best trip ever," even with all of these superlatives, the guys admitted that it still didn't capture how extraordinary the snorkeling was in Key Largo. The crystal blue water, pastel coral, and an entire catalog of fish dodging in and out of the coral was absolutely breath taking.

We left the Pennekamp park aboard the Encounter, a 45 foot charter boat. After a half an hour trip, we were five miles out in the ocean, just off a large coral reef. We donned our wetsuits (the water was a chilly 74 degrees, haha) and after a short lesson on using our snorkel gear we swam against the current and waves while barracudas searched for their lunch. After our short swim out to the reef, we were surrounded by fish in every directions.

Here's a short list of what we saw.

barracudas
jewfish (a huge member of the bass family)
yellowtail snapper
porkfish
sheepshead
pinfish
a huge variety of butterfly fish
queen angelfish
rock beauties
spadefish
angelfish
eels (not sure of the variety)
sting rays
seargeant majors
damselfish
queen parrotfish
stoplight parrotfish
blue tang
spotted trunk fish
triggerfish

There were also a ton of other fish that we saw that weren't in our basic guide book. Obviously, the guys had a great time. We'll post some photos later this evening.

-Lane

John's Journal Post: If I were a fish on the reef.

If I were a fish living on the reef, I would see a lot of coral. I would also see a lot of barracudas and snorkelers. I would eat other little fish. I would hide from the predators and live on the side of the reef so that boats and currents could not hurt me. That's how I'd live if I were a fish on the reef.

John B.

Video Blogs from David and John

Dead Sponges in the Van Really Stink (sorry Kohler)

"If there is magic in this world, it is contained in water."
--Loren Eisely


I have always known this is true, and in the Everglades we have been reminded of it every day. Even the rain here is amazing (when it is not filling your tent with puddles). Yesterday was our first really good weather day and we took advantage of it to paddle around the area near Flamingo. After two days of weather that tested everyone's patience, we could visibly see the spirits of students and staff lift as the sun came out and we explored the salt and freshwater habitats of the park. There is something healing about paddling that cannot be gained from anything else. We discovered the mangrove hammocks that line the waterways here, and the life that they contain. We saw a manatee mother and calf (my favorite thing here....I want to swim with them so badly!), a Pygmy Dusky rattlesnake (Layton is the snake man and has been identifying all of them), crocodiles, flying fish, dolphins, and pelicans. The kids are remembering way more facts than we are about all of these creatures, and I hear them having conversations about it with each other (really!).

Today we traveled out of the park and over to the east coast of Florida to Biscayne Key so that the students could swim in clear, crocodile and alligator free water. They were amazed by the blue color of the water and how clear it was. All of the students were such water babies, swimming and splashing, burying themselves in the sand, and picking up everything they could find on the beach. Layton did his best imitation of a beached dolphin rolling down the beach to get back in the water. Mary saw her first alligator on the way back to the park, and she added a lot to our day with her contagious laughter and positive energy.

The highlight of everyday here for the students has been whatever wildlife we have seen that day. I, purchased a field guide for this area of Florida before we left, and it has become the “bible” of camp with students pouring over it every night by the lantern. Right now, Braeden is looking up a moth that we just caught, which turns out to be an Io moth, and Lane just finished looking up the crazy Lizardfish that Stasz caught today. Travis is downloading pictures that he took of the night stars, and DJ confirmed that the snake Layton and I caught last night is a corn snake (we thought it was a python:).

It has been so cool to hear parts of the guys phone calls home in the evening. I am encouraged and touched by how much this trip is affecting them and what they are absorbing. Through the ups and downs we have had so far, we are learning a lot about this place and each other. Tomorrow we head to Key Largo for snorkeling, which the kids have been talking about all week. The breeze is blowing (and the mosquitoes buzzing) and we are headed for sleep.

-Christy

The skeeters say "Goodnight"

Christy had plan to due an update but things were busy and she's now asleep. In fact, all the guys are asleep. Just Lane and the laptop and yes, the hum, the hum of mosquitoes outside my tent. There's always a lot of them in the 'glades but with yesterdays rain, they came out roaring with the frogs providing background vocals.

I wish the internet connection was faster, the guys were really excited to see their friends from Frankford on the computer screen this morning. They'd look at the screen, then back to the manatees and gators on the other side of the waterway. The German tourists watched too. They were very impressed to see us trying to chat with a classroom back home.

We changed our paddles plans and ended up doing a day trip out from Flamingo. Our original outfitter proved to be less than trustworthy. It worked out well because it afforded us some extra time to paddle in Florida Bay by several of the smaller keys. The dolphins chased fish all around us and huge brown pelicans swooped up fish in the mangrove.

The skeeters have quieted down. I guess they're sleepy too. Goodnight from Flamingo

-Lane

Pics from the canoe trip

Here are some pics from today's paddle. Check out the manatee!

Rain, Rain, Go away!

It rained yesterday. Then it rained harder, and then even harder. Our bike tour was canceled so we drove to Florida City to pick-up a cover to keep the group dry during dinner. Our spirits were dampened but today certainly made up for it. Christy said she would post a blog about today's canoe trip so I won't say anything else for now -Lane

Good night from Flamingo

We made it to Flamingo. After a drive down the west coast and nearly 100 roadside alligator sightings, we've set-up camp, had some burgers and dogs and called it a night. We're all tired but the 75 degree weather really lifted our spirits. Tomorrow it's a ranger led bike trip and some afternoon time to relax. Goodnight.

Manatee, Manatee!!

We woke up and headed to the Homosassa Spring State Park in FL this morning. After a quick boat ride in an electric powered pontoon boat that was recharged with a hydrogen fuel cell, we entered an amazing oasis where literally hundreds of manatees had taken refuge from the recent Florida cold spell. In every direction the guys were shouting, "There's one here!," and "Here's a baby!" or "Whoa, a really BIG one." I shot some video and I'll try to post it at a later date. For now, here's DJ and John putting on there best manatee face.


















Of course no trip to Florida would be complete without the obligatory flamingo shot...













This last photo will need more explanation. Homosassa (which means "wild pepper" in native american) is home to a 50 year old hippo who arrived at the park during it's early years as a zoo. Braedon has some amazing photos of him that will post tomorrow. Outside his exhibit is this sign. Apparently charging isn't the only dangerous act these animals are capable of committing.

We're off to Flamingo!

Braedon tells us about his day

DJ and Layton video blog entries

Greetings from Homosassas FL!

We're in Florida! After 18 hours on the road, we're in Homosassa Fl. We left a day early to avoid the snow storm that has now dumped several inches of snow in Virginia and the Carolinas. We saw several ominous electronic signs that read things like " WINTER STORM WARNING -TAKE SHELTER" and "MAJOR WINTER STORM MAKE OTHER PLANS UNTIL MONDAY." We saw some light snow in Charlotte but it cleared and we rolled into Savannah around 11pm.

Because we left a day early, we gained an extra day to explore. We made the decision to travel to the Gulf coast of Florida and break the second half of our trip into two smaller chunks. This has given us the opportunity to visit a manatee sanctuary tomorrow morning.

The state park has a sanctuary for manatees that visitors can explore and meet several manatees and a resident hippo, oh and of course a slew of 'gators. We'll visit the park in the morning before heading down the west coast of Florida and arriving at Flamingo.

The weather has been rainy but things should improve tomorrow. We stopped at the Florida visitors center and it was Winter Fest. We drank orange juice and popcorn in our T-shirts while Braedon had a palm tree painted on his face by a local artist. All of the guys are loving the warm (65 degree) weather. They were all amazed to see oranges on trees, in backyards!
Several of the guys are convinced that the palm trees in the parks can't be real. We had a late lunch at a really good BBQ restaurant, we're the guys learned that Carolina BBQ sauce is made with vinegar.

As I write this the guys are finishing science homework. Since lunch was late we'll grab a quick bite to eat before heading back to our rooms and finishing up for the day.

In a few minutes I'll post a video blog entry from Layton and DJ. Layton has given us several memorable qoutes that I've been writing down and I'll post them near the end of the trip.

Don't forget to comment or ask questions. I'll have the guys (or me) respond.

-Lane

About the Trip

On Saturday January 30, 2010, an English teacher (you guessed it, me), a science teacher and an art/science teacher will take six students from Yellow Breeches Frankford and Fair Oaks to the Everglades National Park in Florida. Once there, we'll enter one of North America's most amazing ecosystems to study, teach and hopefully have a little fun too!

After a 20 hour drive and a nighttime layover in Savannah Georgia, we'll start our week by setting up camp Sunday night at Flamingo Bay. You can find Flamingo by looking at a map of the U.S. and running your finger all the way to the bottom of Florida. When you run out of land, you're there.

Our first full day in the 'glades will include a ranger led bike tour. We'll also be using this time to get our backcountry permits and rig our canoes for our two-day back country canoe trip through Hell's Bay.

Hell's Bay got its name because early explorers found it was very tough to navigate. While it's still tricky to maneuver through the thick mangrove water trail, a modern GPS and navigation markers have made this once foreboding waterway a superb example of what the Everglades has to offer, from amazing waterfowl and plant life to, well, you guessed it, ALLIGATORS and CROCODILES!


Once in the back country of Hell's bay, we'll spend a night at the Pearl Bay chick-kee. A chick-kee is a platform with a roof that sits directly over the water. We'll set-up camp and spend the night in the one of the last truly wild places in U.S.

Our morning breakfast will give us the needed energy to paddle back to Flamingo, again through a maze of mangrove. Then we'll unpack and set-up camp. During study time we'll brush up on the fish that live in the Key's reefs. This will come in handy on tomorrow's snorkeling trip.

We'll make the 2 hour trip out of the park and head south. South? You're asking. Didn't you run out of land? Sort of. We'll take a series of bridges across several islands that make up the Florida Keys, stopping at our destination; Key Largo.

From there, it's a short boat trip to the local reef. We'll don flippers, masks and snorkels to see how well we've studied the local species of fish. The reefs provide food and shelter for thousands of species of marine life. Then it's back to Flamingo for our studies, some saltwater fly tying lessons and of course dinner.

With our newly tied flies, half the team will head out fishing with our favorite fishing guide, Staz.
The other half of the team will participate in a beach study and maybe alittle relaxing at the beach time.


Saturday, we'll switch with one team headed to the beach and the other going out fishing. After that, a good nights sleep for our long trip home on Sunday.

Saying goodbye to Flamingo, we'll leave Florida and spend the night in Charlotte before making the trip back to our home in Carlisle, PA.

The staff and students are really looking forward to the trip. We still have a lot of preparations to make, food to pack and plans to make but we all feel this will be a very memorable trip. Keep an eye on the blog for updates from staff and students.

Welcome!