Exploration Week immerses small multi-age groups of students in a week-long experience or activity at the very end of the school year. We find that middle school students learn best when they are involved in active and meaningful work.

This program exemplifies what we believe is important for engaged middle school learning. A learning experience in a real-life setting is not soon forgotten. Alumni often tell us that these Exploration Week trips were the catalyst that ignited a passion that they have continued to pursue.

 

Trips for June, 2011

OLYMPIC PENINSULA EXPEDITION
Leaders: Jill Elliott and Mike Lund

In December of 1889 there was a  “Press Expedition” that left Port Angeles to explore the wild core of the Olympic Peninsula. Although they had many mishaps and nearly starved, they emerged at Lake Quinault six months later. Since you are exploring and traveling with “mother hen Jill,” rest assured that there will be NO “mishaps” and that “she who likes to eat junk food and survives on Mountain Dew” would NEVER let you starve but we WILL adventure and we WILL lead our own expedition into the edges of the wild wilderness of the Olympic Peninsula!

The magically green, moss-draped maples along the Hall of Mosses trail in the Hoh Rain Forest beg to be photographed as well as the glistening waters of Marymere Falls near Lake Crescent. Hike with us to the “Hole-In-the-Wall” at Rialto Beach. Come photograph the wind and water-sculpted landforms known as “Point of the Arches” at Shi Shi Beach (which is a mile-long cavalcade of sea stacks and natural arches). Throw a frisbee with us at Second Beach near LaPush and investigate the natural tide pools (but DON’T taunt Jill with the sealife–yucky!). Celebrate being at the most northwest point in the United States as we hike to Cape Flattery and enjoy a campfire with the surfers of Hyla at Hobuck Beach that same evening. Join the Quileute community for a drumming circle with local tribal members and learn the history of this Native American nation that lives in and around LaPush. Walk the plank-and-stair trail to Cape Alava and cross our fingers that we can see and photograph seals, deer, eagles, and perhaps even whales. Hike the beautiful trail to Sol Duc Falls and learn about the natural hot springs that legend states were created by the hot tears of anguish of two fighting dragons. And finally, join us in contemplating the beauty of our own backyard wilderness that is the Olympic Northwest.

What more can I say? We will don our hiking shoes, pack hearty snacks, loop our cameras around our necks and laugh, sing, and play as we lead our own expedition: a Hyla Exploration Week adventure not to be missed!  Join us for a five-day, four-night expedition where we will be lodging at “Jacob Black’s House” just outside LaPush. Comfy beds, warm showers, scrumptious suppers, and evening campfires will be our norm! Note: This trip starts and returns a day earlier than most Exploration Weeks, running Sunday through Thursday.

OKANOGAN ADVENTURE
Leaders: Jennifer Williams, Mike Fosmark, and George Gerdts

If you like Ponderosa Pines, camping, adventure, and variety this is the exploration week for you! We will travel in a Hyla white bus to the Okanogan region of north central Washington, driving over the North Cascades Highway to the “frontier” town of Winthrop (there’s some interesting history here).  Our headquarters for the week will be at Pearrygin Lake State Park where we will camp.  During the week, we will be engaged in very different activities, including hiking on Tiffany Mountain (if the snow has melted) or in Pipestone Canyon, white-water rafting on the Methow River with Blue Sky Outfitters on another day, and mountain biking at Sun Mountain Lodge on yet another day. A morning of community service at the State Park will also be included. We will also have time for swimming in the lake, playing, exploring the natural world around us (remember, George is on the trip), and eating. George and I have done this trip before, and Mike actually lived in this part of the world, and we would all agree that this is one of the most beautiful places in Washington State! Note: This trip starts on the weekend before Exploration Week, running Saturday through Wednesday.

IRON CHEF: PORT TOWNSEND
Leaders: Kimberley Trick, Bridget Butler, & Arran Stark

Grasshopper, your study of farm-to-table culinary traditions begins in the seaside towns of Port Hadlock and Port Townsend.  Cloaked in the Olympic Peninsula fog, Oak Bay Gateway sits on one acre of beachfront property.  This beautiful vacation home is equipped with all the modern conveniences of home and will become your oasis during your apprenticeship.

Each morning as the pipers and plovers scurry along the beach, you will arise to begin your studies in preparation for the nightly Iron Chef competitions.  You will visit local farms, including Mystery Bay Farm, Mt. Townsend Creamery, and Midori Farm, to learn more about sustainable farm to table cuisine.  At the Port Townsend farmer’s market, you will have the opportunity to buy ingredients for your culinary creations.  You will also study with Arran Stark, chef and owner of Brassica Restaurant, who did his apprenticeship many moons ago under French and German Master Chefs.  Chef Stark will teach you the essential methods necessary for creating mouthwatering masterpieces.

Nightly challenges will follow the format of the Japanese Iron Chef competitions featured on television during the late 1990s.  In teams of two, using theme-based ingredients, you will create works of art.  Your battle for ranking as the first Master of Hyla is most noble.  Suited in a personally designed chef jacket, you will begin to see your culinary uniqueness and broaden your understanding of ways to feed local communities.

Grasshopper, though you will struggle, the triumphs will be great.  With each completed challenge, you will grow stronger in the ways of sustainability.  You will be rewarded with a trip to the historic Rose Theatre and time to reflect whilst prancing in the frigid waves of the sea.  In a final act of culinary charity, you will work as one to create recipes for a cookbook for our school.

Although our exploration of farm to table cuisine must end, your journey will have prepared you for a lifetime of health and happiness.

SURF WASHINGTON ‘11
Leaders: Kris Van Gieson and Skyler Vella with alumni Kira McGieson, Nash Reijnen, and Marina Heppenstahl.

This year we’re moving this trip to Washington and surfing at Hobuck Beach just on the other side of Neah Bay.  The campground at Hobuck is 50 yards from the ocean.

Hobuck beach is a great place to learn to surf because it has gently sloping sandy bottom.  The beach is south facing so the larger northwest swells are reduced in size as they wrap around the point.  We brought the alumni surf trip here last summer and it worked out very well.  We will be outdoors all week and there is running water for toilets and drinking water.  We will rent surfboards and wetsuits from a surf shop in Seattle which will require that we go to Seattle on a Friday afternoon to get fitted for the wetsuits.  We will also hold an optional (but very helpful) practice session in the pool.  That gives us an opportunity to practice some of the basic skills without the challenges that waves provide.  No previous surfing experience is necessary but it is important to be a strong swimmer and to be willing to be dunked under by waves.   There are some inherent risks in surfing.  We will do our best to minimize those risks by teaching and emphasizing safe surfing practices and having watchful adults surfing with the students.

Surfing is physically demanding.  It is challenging to push out through waves, turn, paddle, and get up on a surfboard.  It also requires mental focus. Surfers have to read the ever-changing size and shape of waves as well as the location of other surfers.  Since the watery terrain is constantly shifting, surfing teaches a relaxed and focused concentration and an ability to adapt to ever-changing conditions.

The group learning opportunities are boundless as well.  Simply living outside requires dealing with whatever nature provides.  The challenge of being tired and hungry and needing to cook for the group emphasizes the importance of putting forth effort for the good of the group.  We also take time at the end of each day to share our successes, challenges, and our appreciations for others.

ASHLAND EXPLORATION WEEK AT THE OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL 2011
Leaders: Chris Johnson and Colin Smith

We are very excited to share this theatrical Exploration Week with you. Ashland is not only home to one of the premier Shakespeare Festivals in the United States but is a beautiful small town in the heart of the Rogue Valley in southern Oregon. We will drive to Ashland as a traveling band of thespians in one of the Hyla buses, stopping along the way to stretch, snack, and play.  Once in Ashland, we will set up our home at The Ashland Commons in their roomy upstairs unit. We will plan, shop, and cook for ourselves. While at the festival, we will take a tour of the theatres, have a workshop with one of the actors, dine in Lithia Park, and see three productions. We will see two works by William Shakespeare, Love’s Labor’s Lost and Measure for Measure, and Gilbert and Sullivan’s spectacular musical play – The Pirates of Penzance.  One of our favorite activities in Ashland is exploring the town, becoming familiar with the pathways that lead to the festival grounds, and discovering favorite spots to play Frisbee, wade in the creek, read scripts, or relax and chat. Note: This trip starts late in Exploration Week and runs through the weekend after, returning on the following Monday.

MONTEREY BAY LITERARY RETREAT AND EXPLORATION
Leaders: Melissa Dempsey and Teri Jellad

Teri and Melissa will travel with students to Monterey Bay, California.  Why Monterey Bay, one might ask? Well, not only is it the home of California sea lions and adorable sea otters, it’s a place frequently written about by John Steinbeck.  Who’s John Steinbeck one may ask? He’s an American author, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, and is known for being the voice for the “voiceless”.   We’ll fly to San Jose, California and be driven to Monterey by the Monterey Airbus–a shuttle which runs between the two locations.  We have three private rooms with private baths reserved at the Monterey Hostel, which is located in Cannery Row, the location of several Steinbeck novels, and within walking distance to many area attractions.  While there, we’ll tour the Steinbeck Center and a few other places which Steinbeck writes about in some of his stories. Part of each day will be spent reading some of Steinbeck’s short stories, finding some of the places he describes, taking photos, and journaling–or even working on your own story or poetry if you’re so inspired, while the other part of the day will be spent enjoying activities the town has to offer.  Many of these activities will be determined later, but nearby there is kayaking, bicycling, roller blading, and hiking, just to name a few.  In preparation for the trip, we’ll read some of Steinbeck’s writing, check out his website, learn some Monterey history (did you know it was the first capital of California and has a rich Spanish history?) and plan our meals.  The hostel has a kitchen, so we’ll be cooking for ourselves but reserving money for one or two meals out.

DESCHUTES RIVER EXPEDITION
Leaders: Thomas Weber and Cami Holtmeier

Ride foaming white rapids on a professionally guided adventure down the Upper Deschutes River in north-central Oregon, and learn what it means to be a “River Rat”. We’ll drive down to Oregon and camp and explore the high-desert area near our put-in on the Deschutes. Then we will spend three days and two nights with guides on the rafts provided by Orion River Expeditions (they provide needed gear, food, and shelter for the river portion). The river runs through high desert country on the eastern side of the Cascades, and typically is sunny and even warm at this time of year. The rapids in the river increase in size as we descend, so you will get comfortable on the river before going through the class III rapids towards the end of the trip. Even people who have never done white-water rafting should feel that this is a great introduction. The rafts are steered by a guide, but each person will have a paddle and will be helping to move the boat. You will feel like you are a part of the river by the end of the trip, and not just because of the perennial water fights that happen on the way.

Before our trip we’ll learn about the high desert environment, the river and its status as a world-renowned trout-fishing stream, and the different types of rapids. We will find out fun things to do in the area before we are on the river, and will organize our camping plan, our gear, meals, and a budget. Note: This trip leaves a little earlier than the typical Exploration Week and returns a little earlier.

EKONE RANCH: HORSES, ART, AND EARTH STEWARDSHIP
Leaders: Laura Jones and Caitlin Jones

We will travel to Ekone Ranch, a 1000+ acre, non-profit land trust foundation near the Columbia Gorge. We will work at the ranch as “earth steward interns,” learning about sustainable homesteading techniques such as ecosystem restoration, organic gardening, and bio-diesel production. Our duties will include care of the animals, meal preparation and clean-up, and working on various ranch projects such as gardening, fencing, and forestry. The horses at Ekone work for the ranch’s summer camp program and are gentle enough for beginning riders. Those with more experience may like the challenge of bareback riding. In addition to riding horses, (skills practice as well as trail rides), we will also do some hiking and exploring—perhaps even an overnight trip to Rock Creek Canyon to sleep out under the stars if the weather permits. The spring-fed pond (with zipline) is fun to swim in on warm days. The beautiful vistas present perfect subject material for drawing, photography, watercolor painting, and we will use art to record our experience!  Our rustic sleeping arrangements are dormitory style in the straw-bale longhouse. (Really horse crazy kids might want to sleep in the barn.) Showers and flush toilets are in a separate building. Students who sign up for this experience should like horses, expect to work hard on the ranch, and bring musical instruments, songs, and stories for evening campfire entertainment. Note: This trip leaves a little earlier than the typical Exploration Week and returns a little earlier.

WALLA WALLA IV: PHOTOGRAPHY, FUN, AND SMALL-TOWN AMERICA
Leaders: Paul Carroll, Vicki Jenkins, and Colleen Carroll

We are going to launch another Exploration Week outing to Walla Walla, Washington. We love that area, and enjoy how it is such a different world from Bainbridge. We are enthusiastic about getting middle schoolers to have a camera in their hands that operates as an invitation for them to really look at the world around them. We also continue to be impressed by what they take pictures of. Take a look at the photos culled from the last three years of similar trips currently being displayed at Rooster’s Café (next to Bon Bon) to see what we mean. So first and foremost, this is a photography experience.

We are also intrigued by small towns and the kind of things that kids would have done in the summer 50 or 100 years ago to enjoy themselves. We think we might have lost something by focusing on video games instead of simple things like swimming in a stream, or swinging on a rope swing (or jumping off a cliff) into water, building and testing milk carton rafts or whittling something out of wood. Last year we spent a very fun time jumping off of sand dunes – and we loved to see kids playing in nature that way. We will be doing more of that on this trip, and plan to add trying photojournalism in small towns in the area, to try to capture what life is like in a small town, even in the 21st century.

Some meals we will cook, but we will also be enjoying the inexpensive and wonderful restaurants of Walla Walla. We will be sleeping indoors, and will have access to showers. So in a short form, this trip is about exploring Eastern Washington, and small towns, and fun outdoors, with cameras always in hand. You should definitely be interested in taking pictures if you sign up for this trip, because we will be spending lots of time taking and discussing photographs.