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