Day 4 March 7 Bryce Canyon National Park

Today, the group traveled north to Bryce Canyon State Park in Utah! After a long 2 hour ride, the Huskies were more than happy to get out of the cramped van. The attitude of the group in the morning was sour. The group had a long day prior and was expecting a little more sleep on the van. Personally, it seemed no one was motivated because we didn't know what to expect. On the way up to the 9000ft summit, the group saw arch like structures (see above picture) and hoodoos. Immediately, the attitude of the group changed. The Huskies were snapping multitudes of photos left and right of the vast sculpted desert ahead of us.

We still had some distance to go until we reached the top. Hiking at the top was interesting because temperatures changed significantly in and out of the sun. We were hiking through four feet of snow, which is more than what Winter X is experiencing. In a way, it was exhilarating because every step was a gamble; we didn't know if we were going to step on safe hard packed snow, or fall through four feet of thigh deep snow. (see picture below)

As the blissful day progressed, the group had one more hike to go. It was a 3 mile loop down into Bryce Canyon. The trail brought us down and around the hoodoos but we could not climb on them!
We came to an end on the first mile of the trail. This point was where part of the group could choose if they wanted to turn back or not. Only a few members chose to go back. I, as well as a few other Huskies decided to carry on. It was well worth it!!!

Working our way down the canyons we saw wildlife ranging from small birds to Mule Deer. The deer were surprisingly friendly and we were able to get up close for some really cool shots. Carrying on through the canyon, our group really recognized the immense power that water and ice had on the canyon. It was absolutely beautiful and I only wish I could have stayed there longer. Words nor pictures could justify the spiritual feeling you received from these millions of year old masses. When we departed from Bryce Canyon, I think our group felt lucky enough to have experienced the hike today. We finished off the night with a steak dinner at a local restaurant where us huskies elaborated on what we learned about our surroundings and ourselves.

The hungry mule deer minding their business as we passed.

From Sunset Rim the Hoodoos that we walked through.

 Inside the canyon enjoying the view from the bottom up.

Day 3- Grand Classroom

Wednesday March 6: Shopping at the Navajo Reservation, Bolder rocks, Float trip down the Colorado River in Glenn Canyon, and Pink Coral Sand Dunes

Raj, Carley, and Aki thought it was strange that large cacti are not found north of Phenix, AZ.

Reilly was the only one brave enough to go into the 40 degree water at Slide Rock State Park and was seen as being a "professional" by another guest at the park and was paid a total of $1 for jumping in.

Raj learned how to use his camera better and took great photos of wildlife on the Colorado River. Aaron learned that the sand dunes that are covered with rock formations have prehistoric foot prints in them.

Hiking the South Kaibab trail into the Grand Canyon was a favorite memory.

Cara learned that the Grand Canyon has different layers and that all of these layers are different.

Aaron liked the rafting trip down the Colorado River because he enjoyed looking up at the Grand Canyon instead of looking down into it.

Aaron, Yifu, and Carley enjoyed relaxing on the Colorado River and soaking up the sun. The temperature ranges from freezing in the shade to nice and warm in the sun.

We learned, John Wesley Powell was in a competition with another member of the National  Geographic society over who was smarter. To settle the dispute, their brains where removed and weighed after they died to decide who was smarter; Powell won.

While hiking down into the Grand Canyon, we learned lots about mules that also use the trail we were using, Aki's favorite memory. Aaron thought that the century plants were very interesting because they live one hundred years and only bloom once, then die.

Aki and Reilly got cactus thorns stuck in their pants, and Reilly had some thorns stuck in his feet and hands. Aki did not think it was funny but everyone else did! Aki loved going to the sand dunes, and Reilly and Aaron loved jumping over the edges of the dunes. Reilly and Aaron got tons of sand in their pants but enjoyed visiting the dunes.

After Carley convinced Mrs. Frame to climb at the indoor rock climbing center, everyone in the group learned that Mrs. Frame is a great rock climber, and she made it all the way to the top of the rock wall very quickly even though she is afraid of heights and did not want to climb at first (Pictures coming soon).

Cara learned that the Colorado River stays at a constant 47 degrees year round, because the water comes through the Glenn Canyon dam from the bottom of Lake Powell.

Thursday: We are headed to Bryce Canyon National Park for the day!

Quick Update

We had another amazing day on the Colorado Plateau and in the Glen Canyon.  More pictures and a  blog post will be published in the morning. Tonight is the first night we had some time to upload, edit, and think. Raj has been working hard to sort through all his amazing photos and choosing the worthy ones. Cara, Yifu and Aki patiently uploaded all the photos from the group with very slow internet in Kanab, Utah. As I write this, Reilly is still downloading all his Go Pro videos and editing these. Aaron and Carley interviewed each member for their thoughts, and these are coming tomorrow. Lastly, we worked together to revise our essential question. It was clear after the second day that our original essential question did not fit our experience here.

New Essential Question:  

Are great adventures away from the classroom needed in today's information age? Why did we need to come to the Colorado Plateau to experience the history of the planet?

Day 2-Grand Canyon

Day 2 of our Grand Circle Classroom was packed with hiking and amazing views.

We started off doing an easy ramble through Sunset Crater Park.  There were lava flows, dead twisted trees and neon green lichen. It was hard to capture the differences of the land around us with a photo. Snow capped mountains in the background, lava flows just off the trail, black shale hills, and a splatted vent formed by the volcano which looked like a fort.

Cara hiking a lava flow trail and later she did a
wonderful job hiking down South Kaibab trail
into the Grand Canyon. Cara is doing a great
job and is always full of smiles.

Reilly looking pensively at the awe of the canyon. He was
tiered throughout the day but also showed leadership within
the group and spent most of his time just gazing out at he views.

WOOOOOOO!!! Mrs. Frame realized her dream!

Raj taking a break as we walked down into the canyon.
He was a rock star later in the day at the indoor climbing gym.

WOW says Yifu.

The Guides and Teachers

We are having an amazing time and our days are just full of memories and experiences we will never forget. We are having a hard time finding the time to blog and our Essential Question has been eradicated by our incredible time here. We will post our new Essential Question soon!

Day 1 March 4

We met at 2:45 am to go to Logan airport. We took a flight to JFK; it was only a 1 hour flight. From JFK to Arizona the flight was 5 hours. The flight was cramped and not comfortable. We met Emily Rose our guide. We drove 2 hours to Sedona. While driving, the scenery was breathtaking. We saw big rocks. Then we got to go to Slide Rock Park and went swimming. The water was very cold.  Reilly jumped in and a man paid him $1 since he was fearless.
- RW,CD,CE,AK,AB,RS,YC

Sedona Arizona, Slide Rock Park

The Grand Tour!

Grand Canyon Project Week Group is SO EXCITED to start the adventure of the year.  We depart on Monday March 4th from Boston bright and early at 6am, then upon arriving in Phoenix we travel to Sedona and back to Flagstaff for the hotel. Tuesday we are visiting the Grand Canyon's South Rim, Wednesday we travel down the Colorado on a float trip and watch the sunset behind the Coral Pink Sand Dunes. Thursday its on to Bryce Canyon, and Friday is busy starting with Zion National Park and finishing with Las Vegas for dinner and a "red eye" departure back to Boston, landing around 10am Saturday morning.  So if you can't wait to hear all the details stay tuned!!