ᑕᗩᑎYOᑎᒪᗩᑎᗪᔕ

It was a miracle we got Riley healthy enough to go on his Science field trip to Canyonlands National Park.

(This photo looks awkward... I tried putting my arm around Riley, but what you don't see is his massive camping backpack...I'm sure it weighed as much as him. In fact it looks like he can't stand up straight in the first picture.)

I dropped him off at school on Monday morning, worried about him all week, and he got home about 3:30 on Friday afternoon. I knew in my head 'no news was good news'...it was just so hard being separated from my child with no communication. He got home and all he could say was he loved it. I was so relieved...this was his first camping experience. I'm also relieved he took pictures. Here is what he caught on camera...

He took a picture of the cot that was provided to them.

David, Haylee, Davey, Aleiah, Alex, Gabby, Jenna, Cole, Ian (back row, left to right)
Curtis and John (down in front)

In these pictures the kids are making a map of the Colorado Plateau.

Picture of Professor Creek.

Remains they came across on one of their hikes.

The teepee they got to sleep in...Riley shared his with two friends, 

So it rained a bit...but not too much while they were there. Mostly the first and second day. So it was a bit muddy.

A mesa in the background...Riley can't remember the name.

Aside from the mud, how fun does this look?

Selfie in the teepee!

Saul Mountain Range..beautiful!

If you've ever hiked, you've probably seen stacked rocks. Riley learned they are for directions...I assume to help you find your way back. So they all got creative and stacked their own rocks.

See the lizard? It's camouflaged pretty well...

A Cove that they ate one of their lunches in...looks like the sun was shining! Yay!

The views at the Peiloglyph Panal

I asked if Riley defaced a national park... he didn't. It was there when he got there.

Art work from the Navajo tribe...pretty cool!

See the person??

One more selfie...only it was too sunny for him to see if he made it in the picture. :)

Riley's interpretation of the person art work.

Caterpillar artwork... you have to look closely.

Saul Mountain with Mesas in front.

This is what I pictured the Canyonlands looking like all around.

The black dirt here is called something..Riley can't remember... but it takes a hundred years to grow or build up one inch.

They also spent some time on the river...but Riley didn't have a way to take his camera. Riley loved the food. They had a talent show night, and a guitar just happened to be there so he got to show off that talent. Several interactive and team building games were played. Only 35 kids got to go, and when Riley approached us saying he wanted to go last November, I was shocked. It was an optional field trip, and a pricey one. I was hesitant to spend the money on this, but so glad we did. Riley had an amazing experience and as much as he enjoyed it, it was well worth it.

(I had to go off Riley's memory on much of this and the spelling may or may not be accurate in most of these captions... oh well!)