Day 4 - The Adventure's of Traveling to Medora

After a good night's sleep - we were all ready to tackle a new day.

The first order of the day was to go to Chahinkapa Zoo, in Wahpeton.  This zoo is so well done - I love it and visit as often as I can.    

Before we went to the zoo we had to stop and visit a friend.  Deb Tobias is a HUGE supporter of our trip and always makes sure that the students get t-shirts from the zoo and have a great time while in Wahpeton.  She was super busy so we decided to drop in and say HI before heading to the zoo.  She made sure everyone got a big hug and had to ask a million questions.  

We <3 debbie="" td="">

Onward to the zoo!  

Beautiful Mural!

 Exploring the zoo!  The students saw a peacock for the first time and flipped out.  Oddly, their call sounds a lot like it's saying "Mayo!!!" so....they loved that.

Cuddling with the baby goat

 Lucky for me, I have friends everywhere and one of the very nice employees of the zoo asked if my students wanted to hold the baby animals!

Needless to say, they were ALL for it.  They got to see baby lambs, goats, pigs, ducklings.....lots of babies!!

We all had such a fun time exploring the zoo and seeing all the animals.  I took a million pictures, but I hope you like the highlights :)

After gassing up and finding food...it was time to start the LONG journey to Medora, ND.  It takes roughly 6 hrs to get to Medora from Wahpeton.  With bathroom breaks, stretch breaks, etc...a tad longer.  

One of the stops I decided to take was the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismark.  I hadn't been there in years, but I thought it would be a great way for the students to stretch their legs and learn a bit more about ND.  

 Standing with Sacagawea!

I need to give a HUGE shout out to the Heritage Center.  It is an amazing facility!  I was blown away by everything; the exhibits, the tour guides, everything.  We were told that they have expanded the heritage center and that is no lie.

If you are in the area, definitely take some time to go and explore.  So well done :)

Teddy Roosevelt's Gun was Included

We were lucky enough to snag a tour guide.  We only had 45 min, so he took us through the really fast version of his tour.   The mastodon below is over 90% complete (that's awesome!) Students learned the difference between Mammoths and Mastodon's, on top of a lot of other information. 

They also learned that ND used to be underwater, so we have a lot of fossils of underwater animals.  The prehistoric exhibit was so well done.  We could have gawked at everything for days....unfortunately we only had about 10 min.  

Jewel and the Giant Sloth!

The tour guide was pretty blown away that we were from Alaska.  He really enjoyed talking to Raymond since they had similar passions: flying and trapping.  The students were also surprised by the Native exhibit.  They learned that they had a lot in common with the 'Indians' from the Lower 48.  

Our guide went above and beyond and even let the students try out an Atlatl!  It was so cool, none of us thought he was serious until he took us outside and we got to try.  

 Ariel is showing off her amazing form with the atlatl.  It was REALLY long, and there were guys out mowing the lawn...we were a tad nervous, but luckily no one was impaled. 

Kyle tried a harder position

Jewel showing how long the arrow was

Obviously we didn't want the fun to end, and our guide stayed with us LONG after closing time.  He led us through a few of the monuments on the grounds and the students learned a lot about the area while being outside; I call that a win-win.  


Sadly we had to keep moving on our way to Medora.  We thanked the tour guide, filled up on gas, and continued west to Medora.







For those of you that have never driven to Medora here is a fun tip.  Stop at the rest stop outside of the exit for Medora called 'Painted Canyon.'  There you will find a gorgeous panoramic view of the Badlands.  So worth the stop and if you are lucky, you will also see a buffalo or two.  

I stopped here to let the students stretch their legs and see the view.  We were met with gorgeous sights and a chance to take a selfie.

Finally, we drove into Medora and feasted on a dinner of Elk or Buffalo burgers!  The day was FULL of adventures and we couldn't wait to see what will happen tomorrow :) 

Until tomorrow!

Day 2....Technically

Our first two days of the trip really blended together (due to a sleepless flight through the night) but both contained a lot of activities.

Once we arrived in Wahpeton, we headed straight for the Circle of Nations school.  They are AWESOME and allow us to stay in their dorms for free.  RJ Rabbithead is the man with the plan and my go-to person for setting up our arrangements at the school.  They had games out for us and rooms ready; we are always so grateful to them.  

I let the kiddos run around the dorm, and outside on the playground, for a bit - it helped to get the blood flowing for the rest of the day.  

Our next stop was my dad's house.  He and Judy were nice enough to put a little breakfast together for us :)  We love them.  Fun tidbit - all the students call my Dad 'Appa' - which is Yupik for 'Grandpa' 

We had a little time before we needed to head out to the Bagg Bonanza Farm, so I took the students down to Kidder Recreation Area to meet 'Whopper' the worlds largest catfish.

'Whopper' Selfie :)

After taking pics with 'Whopper' Raymond decided we needed to take a walk and explore the area down by the river.  It was a nice cool morning so we all agreed and welcomed the fresh air.  We meandered around the Kidder Recreation Area and they had fun looking at the trees (and climbing a few ;) 

Two monkeys in a tree!

After exploring Kidder for a bit we walked back to our van and headed out to the Bagg Bonanza Farm, right outside of Wahpeton.

Now, a few people have given me a 'weird' look and said, 'Why are you taking them to the Bagg Farm?!'  

Well to those people I usually say, 'Why NOT?!'  The Bagg Farm is such a cool location, it's close to Wahpeton, and I think it's a great educational opportunity for the students to compare/contrast what farms were like earlier in history to what they are now.  Since none of my student have ever been close to a farm, this is a huge learning opportunity!  Seriously, 'Of Mice and Men' made 10x more sense to my students after being on a farm.  Teaching opportunities all around :)

We got there and immediately the students were shocked at how BIG the farm was.  My Dad joined us and we had a lovely tour.  There was a lot of picture taking and open mouths.  They even found a robin's nest! (full of BLUE eggs - woah) 

This is the dinning table in the bunk house!  The students thought it might be a great addition to our school!

Wagon + robin's nest = adorable picture :)

After exploring the Bagg Farm, Dad took us over to Kendall and Sue Prochnow's cow/pig farm.  They are the nicest people, and we are so grateful that they allow the students to come and explore their farm.  Chris Prochnow (family member) always gets roped into giving us the grand tour - he's a great sport about it and full of information for the students.

Chris and Dad showing them the cows 

 Up close and personal with the animals!

Every year, the favorite activity from the farm is holding a pig.  This year was no different :) 

Group shot!  By the tractor of course 

After petting pigs, riding tractors, exploring soy bean fields, and discussing cows....it was time to head back to Wahpeton.  Chris gave all of the students hats, and let me tell you....they didn't stop wearing them after they got them!  So nice!   

Modeling their new hats

While loading everyone up, handing out hats, etc, Chris mentioned that this is the quietest group I've brought down.  While this is partially true, due to their size (only 5 compared to 11/14 students from the last trips) a lot of it had to do with the fact that at this point, we had all been up for at least 36 hrs!!  They were holding in there though!  

Our last activity for the day (can't believe we could actually squeeze anything else in!) was bowling!!  This is another favorite activity, mainly due to the fact that they have never done it before!  There are no bowling alleys in the area, and if they go to Anchorage...it's usually doesn't make the Top 10 Things to do in Anchorage list.  


Now the reason I included the picture below is because they lied to me.  Somehow these little sneaks must have been practicing their bowling skills because they were rocking it!  LOTS of strikes and spares.  I couldn't believe it!!

They are super tired but had a lot of fun bowling and showing off their amazing skills.  

We survived this very long day!!  Needless to say they were really quiet as soon as we made it back to Circle of Nations.  Not a peep throughout the night.  

Onward to Day 3 and Medora, ND!!

And We're Off...for the Third Time!

Alright Ladies and Gents....we are off on another adventure to the Lower 48!

This year is bringing a lot of changes, and I'm sure surprises, but I am so excited to bring this small (but mighty) group down to the Lower 48.  This year I am only bringing 4 students; three girls and a boy.  My male chaperone is a student from the first original trip, that graduated this year!  Something new and exciting.  He's really pumped to be able to experience this trip again; now older and wiser than before.

I have to say that with only six of us, things have been going a lot smoother.  We actually got out of the village on time, no worries - to calls telling me the plane is going to be there in 15 min and nobody is awake.  It was fantastic!

The whole gang..ready to fly away :)

First Group Selfie

We chartered an Air Van from Grant.....SO COOL!  None of us had flown in one before (Sheila even came inside to get a peek)  

Future Pilot

Flying away 

We only had an hour and a half layover in Bethel, so naturally we played around on dubsmash and other fun apps on our phones.  

Our next flight took us to Anchorage.  I have to say, I was SO proud of my students! They behaved so well on all the flights and not a single freak out either.  Brave little people, let me tell you!

Our next layover was a tad rougher but we survived.  We had to sit around, outside of the terminal, for a couple of hours.  Eating and napping were the main activities that kept us occupied.  When we finally were able to check in everything, we found our terminal and our plane!  They were so excited to actually see it.  I don't think it felt 'real' to them until that moment.

Our PLANE!

Miles Selfie #adventurestudenttravels

Flying selfie

These two...I swear 

Our flight left at 8:50 pm and landed in Minneapolis at 5 am.  Between the six of us we probably slept a total of three hours.  It was a very uncomfortable flight.  We departed the flight bleary eyed and slightly loopy...but we made it!  

Jewel took a pic of Minneapolis in flight

We picked up our rental car, grabbed some munchies and very large cups of coffee, and started the long drive toward Wahpeton.  Again, I cannot believe how easy it is to travel with just six of us instead of 13!  

Stay tuned for the rest of the trip.  I have three girls that need sleep and laundry :)