When we got to outdoor ed., we were at Snake River Adventure Center. It was a big place with lots of things to do. Because the bus ride was so long and tiring, I was happy to finally get out of the bus and enjoy the fresh air of Lake Geneva. When I looked around, it didn’t seem all that bad. But when the instructor showed us where everything was located, I realized that it was going to be a lot of walking.
Lake Geneva at Snake Road Adventure Center
The first activity we did there was a team-building afternoon. Our first challenge was to run through a jump rope. It was easy for the first few people. But when we got to the last person or last people, they got caught in the jump rope and we had to do it again. Later we learned that we should put the people who get caught in the jump rope first because they would be ready right away. And it turned out great. But then again, we had more challenges and we kept on doing the same thing to work through the rope.
Our next game was to crawl through a giant spider web (actually made out of strings) without touching any of the ropes. Another twist was that we couldn’t use the same hole to get through more than 2 times. We were allowed to hold onto each other to make 1 person. It was challenging until we decided to break up into 3 groups and each go through 3 different holes. This worked out fine but some of us touched the string and had to start over. We kept trying and we made it by guiding each other verbally and physically.
Then we did a bomb walk. It was just a stick that we needed to balance on the top of our fingers and walk with it. It was challenging because we needed to all walk at the same speed and some people lifted the stick to high and some people couldn’t reach it. Later we got through it by walking slowly and carefully
We walked over to a giant plank that totters back and forth and we all had to stand on top of it trying to balance the plank for 15 sec. It was really challenging until we had to do it for 10 sec. and we made an equal balance for both sides.
After that, we walked over to an area with a hool-a-hoop. We had to put our finger tops on the hool-a-hoop again and had to bring it down. It was challenging because a lot of people wanted to put their fingers on the hoop and that brought the hoop to go up and up. We got it to go down when we had a leader and he said to go down 1 inch every time he said go. It took a long time but we managed to bring it down.
After the hoop, we were all blind folded except for one person, the leader, and we were all lined up and we were lead through the forest to our next activity. It was tough but you can be sure to be safe by listening to the leader in were to go and to follow the person in front of you to help lead the way. It took a while but it wasn’t the hardest thing.
Then we ended up at 3 platforms and a bunch of planks. We had to get everyone across the platforms using 2 planks, to only 1 platform. We couldn’t accomplish this but we were really close. We just needed 2 more people to get through. We did this by having 1 person at each end of the 2 planks, and they had to be holding the plank down for the person to get across.
Then the boy’s cabin was called the Engebretson. It was a huge cabin. There were 4 rooms. Three for boy students and one for teachers. It was a really good cabin. We had lots of things to do with the cards and balls that people brought. The bathrooms were big and the entire cabin was really open for everyone. It was the best cabin I have been in for a camp.
The Engebretson- The boys Cabin at Snake River Adventure Center
Our next big activity was Entomology (insects), survival, archery, nature awareness, orienteering, and new games. These activities were better then the team building because we had more time and it was more nature involved.
During Entomology, we studied and looked at insects. Insects have 3 body parts. They are Thorax, Abdomen, and Head. Insects have to have 3 body parts and 6 legs. Then we looked at butterflies. We learned that Viceroys Butterflies taste delicious to animals but Monarch butterflies taste horrible to animals. So that’s why Viceroys just look almost identical to Monarch butterflies. Then we made fake bugs out of candy. Then after we presented it, we ate it. It was yummy.
Then we did a course called survival. We talked about campfires and shelter. The top 3 things needed for survival was food, water, and shelter. Then we built a shelter with woods and it had to be big enough for at least 4 people. It was challenging at first but later on, we got things moving and built one. We didn’t finish the house because we didn’t have much time to work on it. But I learned that you need teamwork and the right spot to build a wood house out of scrap.
In archery, we learned how to shoot arrows and the proper position for the arrow to be in the arrow. We learned how to grip, pull, and stand with the arrow. We shot at targets with arrows and tried to pop a balloon. It was one of the best things to do there. It was an exciting experience to shoot an arrow at something.
In Nature, we learned what it would be like to have our thumbs tied to our hands like other animals. Then we got to collect candy with our thumbs tied to our hands. Then we were blindfolded and led to a tree and we had to identify the tree after our blindfolds were off. Then we went on a hike and used out scent and sight to find clues to more candy. We got through it pretty fast but we needed to use our noses to find the clues and get through the clues to get our candy.
After Nature, we did orienteering. It was when we had to use a compass to point us in the right direction. After we did some test runs, we did a coarse on finding the right letters using a compass. I was with my friend; Michael and we worked together to find the letters. We couldn’t find all of the letters but it wasn’t that bad. It was ok. We had to walk up and down the hill. It was an ok experience to learn how to use a compass.
Then we did an activity called New Games. We played new games with our gym teacher and the games weren’t to bad. We had to do a lot of running with the games. It was fun to learn new games. It wasn’t my favorite but we had some fun. We played 3 games that were new to us.
Then one of the things I liked to do was High Ropes. There was also Rock Climbing but I didn’t do it because my hands got numb and I don’t like rock climbing. In High ropes, we climbed metal bars coming out of the side to get to the high ropes. Then we were already attached to harnesses and it was still a tiny bit scary but it was a fun experience to go through.
My most favorite things to do were carpet ball, the food, and dorm time. These were my favorites because Carpet Ball was a new game and I happened to be really good at it along with some other people. It was one of the best things there in my opinion. I was on the right side of the closet carpet ball table in the picture below. Also I just wished that we would have more time to play carpet ball because it’s a fun and addicting game. Then the food was very delicious. It was one of the best foods I have ever tasted. They made the food good and it was good to eat 3 times a day at outdoor ed. Then my last favorite thing is dorm time. I loved dorm time because we got to go on our bed, relax, and hang out with my friends in my room. The rooms were very big and the bathrooms were big to. We played catch, card games, and just laid down on our beds all comfortable. It was a really good relaxation time.
One of my Favorite Thing to do, Carpet Ball
The experience at Outdoor Ed; is one I will never forget. It was exciting. But my favorite things were the food, carpet ball, and dorm time. But everything else was also fun and it was a good experience. I liked Outdoor Ed as a fieldtrip.
