Road Rally Times

Road Rally Times

www.lausd.k12.ca.us/district_a/resources/st_louis Tuesday, May 21, 2002 Gateway Elementary School

And the Rally Begins!

Lassen in the Everglades

Page 2

Gateway Elementary School Tuesday, May 21, 2002 www.lausd.k12.ca.us/district_a/resources/st_louis

From Lassen 5

We loaded up and headed to Biscayne National Park. We were impressed with the beauty. The mangrove forest was interesting, and helps preserve the environment. We found out that these trees are like a nursery environment for fish and protect many species of birds. We took a boat out to the coral reefs and were able to do a little snorkeling. Alex said it was like swimming in an aquarium. We were surrounded by so many colorful, tropical fish. The reef itself was cool. We hoped to see some sea turtles, but were not so lucky, we did see the manatees though. They are huge and kind of funny looking. The time came for us to leave.

We headed northwest. Before reaching the Everglades, we made a brief stop at Big Cypress National Preserve where we saw alligators, herons, and even a bald eagle. We found out this is a main source of water for the everglades. It is also a sanctuary for many animals.

We found out that we weren’t looking at the Atlantic Ocean any more, but the ocean we could see was the Gulf of Mexico. We also found out we’d be doing a lot of walking since most of Everglades National Park is inaccessible by car. The boys were all hoping to close to the alligators. Thankfully we didn’t. We saw both alligators and an American crocodile as well as many kinds of birds. There were also many beautiful flowers to look at. We were ready to go, only because we had done so much walking.

We headed north through Naples, where we stopped for a rest and observed some birds and more mangrove trees. Our next brief stop was in Fort Myers. We saw the winter homes of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. When we arrived in Venice, we were surprised to see the style of the buildings and the canals everywhere. We also couldn’t wait to hit the beach. Naples is the “Shark Tooth Capital” of the world. They say fossilized sharks teeth can be found at the beech. What a day!

From Noble1

Today is the first day of our journey to Saint Louis, Missouri. We started in the northwestern part of the United States, in Seattle, Washington. We went to Olympia, which is the capital of Washington. We visited the Legislative Building which has the world’s tallest capitol domes. We then took a long ride to Tacoma, which is one of the major cities and home to the Historical Society Museum. We went through the world’s longest suspension bridge called “Tacoma Narrows Bridge”. That was cool!! We also went to Mount Rainier National Park. We played volleyball and other fun games.

We then went to Mount Saint Helen, which is one of the mountains in Washington. It was beautiful! There were a lot of trees and flowers. There were lakes with ducks, fishes, and also birds flying all over. We went and ate in a restaurant nearby. The food was very good; we ate a lot. After that we went mountain biking. We had a great time mountain biking because some classmates kept getting stuck.

We were tired when we got to Oregon but we still had enough energy to visit Portland, which is one of the major cities there. We passed by the city of Salem, which is the capital of Oregon. We went through some lakes and rivers. We passed by the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. The tour guide told us that the Willamette River is one of the major tributaries of the Columbia River, so we took some pictures.

We took a little detour all the way to Mount Mazama where Crater Lake is found. Wow, this site was out of this world! Crater Lake is on top of a mountain, it takes up the whole top of the mountain. It is about 6,000 feet above sea level. If someone would fall in the lake, they probably wouldn’t be able to survive because it is about 2,000 feet deep. In the middle of the lake there is a volcano called Wizard Island. Our teacher, Miss Garcia, told us to get closer so we could see everything but also to be careful. We had our dinner picnic there and we wrote an essay about what we saw.

At the end of the day we were exhausted. Our last stop was Grants Pass Oregon. We had a little snack in one of the McDonald’s there and then we went to sleep!

The reason we chose this route was because there were a lot of places we could visit this way. We were also able to visit two capital cities and some other beautiful sites.

From Dearborn2

(didn’t check in)

From Balboa3

Balboa magnet started their adventure in Bismarck, North dakota. While we were in Bismarck, we saw the beautiful State Capitol building. It was built in the early 1930s for 2 million dollars. It is one of the simplest but, in our opinion, the prettiest State Capitol.

After driving around Bismarck, we drove to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. In this spectacular park, we went horseback riding and hiking in the breathtaking mountains. We saw a wide variety of bird species. We actually caught a glimpse of an American Bald Eagle.

The park gets its name from our 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt, who contributed greatly to the conservation of wildlife. He established five national parks and 150 national forests. We didn’t want to leave, but we had to get to our next stop.

Mandan, ND, was our next stop. Here we saw Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park. We visited the home of General George and Libbie Custer where the museum staff told us about the family and the General’s military career.

The next place we visited was Mobridge, South Dakota. Here we saw Chief Sitting Bull’s burial site. We were interested in this place because Chief Sitting Bull was an interesting Indian Rights leader we had read about earlier this school year. Mobridge is also known for it excellent walleye fishing and pheasant hunting.

Tonight we are staying in Mobridge, a peacefull little town of about 4,000 citizens. Right now, the temperature is 67 degrees F; 27% humidity; and the winds are blowing at 19 mph from the south southeast.

We look forward to visiting numerous sites and attractions in western South Dakota as we continue our trip to St. Louis.

From Superior4

We went to the Concord Museum and saw a lot of the tools that the early Americans used. Then we went to Faneuil Hall and bought some fruits and vegetables. After that, we saw some people in a meeting. We also went to the museum of science and saw a statue of Albert Einstein. We went to the museum of fine arts and saw a lot of art and statues and other artwork. We then went to the Boston National Historic Park and saw the place were the early Americans settled. Finally we went to Fenway Park and saw a Boston Red Sox game.

We went on this route because there were more sites to see even though it took longer. We saw 6 things on our way from Maine to Massachusetts. We went on highway 494 and then we went to the 93 and wound up in Concord, New Hampshire and then we went on the 93 still down to Boston, Massachusetts. Then we stayed there because we were tire and needed the rest.

From Gledhill6

We were extremely exicited to start our trip from the great city of Los

Angeles! When we left L.A. the weather was wet and cloudy. Today our trip takes us along the I-10 to Joshua Tree National Park. What a treat! The park has 3 ecosytems. A high desert and a low desert. The higher, slightly cooler desert is the Mojave Desert, which occupies the western half of the park. It’s elevation is around 5,000 feet. The Mojave is inhabited by the undisciplined Joshua Tree. The lower and hotter desert is the Colorado Desert, which extends through the eastern half of the

park. It’s elevation is around 3,000 feet. The Colorado desert is

dominated by abundant creosote bush, stands of spidery ocotillo and

cholla cactus. The third ecosystem consists of six fan palm oases that

indicate those areas few areas where water naturally occurs at or near the

surface. The temperature on the average is between 85 degrees

fahrenheit and 50 degrees fahrenheit. It occasionally snows at higher

elevations. We visited the park to study the desert ecosystems and were

thoroughly satisfied! The trip was not only informational but enjoyable as well.After our wonderful and informative trip to Joshua Tree National Park, we piled back into our bus and headed onto Avondale, Arizona where we will stay overnight. It is located in the west valley of Arizona and is a beautiful city to visit. The sunsets are marvelous.

Location: 33.42007 N, 112.32404 W

Zip Code(s): 85039, 85323, 85338, 85340, 85353

This route was chosen because it was the easiest way out of Los

Angeles heading east.

From Germain7

(didn’t check in)

From Beckford8

We started in San Francisco, California. We want to find some historical landmarks. We wanted to drive down Lombard Street, the most crooked street in the world. We walked to Fisherman’s Wharf and ate the “World’s Most Famous Clam Chowder” in their sourdough bowls.

After lunch we took a ferry to Angel Island and Alcatraz. Alcatraz was a maximum security prison and only one person escaped. Alcatraz is an island prison and famous criminals like Machine Gun Kelly and the “Birdman of Alcatraz” were contained there. After that we took a ferry back to Fisherman’s Wharf and then we took the 101 Hwy. west to Golden Gate Park. We went on then 101 west going across the San Francisco Bay driving on the Oakland Bay Bridge. San Francisco Bay is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. We then went on 580 Hwy. north to Hwy. 80 north. We then took Hwy. 4 east to 160 Hwy. north crossing the Coastal Mountain Ranges and the Sacramento River. The Sacramento River is important because it supplies water for Sacramento and for Southern California too.

We headed for the Capitol building in Sacramento to visit Governor Davis. We took a late tour of the building then ate a snack. We drove on

Hwy. 16 to Hwy. 49 which is known as the famous Gold Country route heading to Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe is one of the deepest natural Alpine Lakes in California. It is divided between Nevada and California. We rented bikes and took a gondola to the top of Squaw Valley. Then we headed east into Carson City taking route Hwy. 50. Carson City is the capital of Nevada. We decided to take a tour of the original silver-domed Capitol building. It has the old Assembly and Senate chambers are still there.

After the tour we took Hwy. 395 driving toward Lee Vining, California. We stopped and picked up supplies for a picnic dinner. We are going to hike and eat our delicious fried chicken at Mono Lake, California. Mono Lake is more than 750,000 years old and over time the salt and minerals in the water has become too concentrated for most animals because Southern California drained most of its water. There are neat formation

that remain today.

News from St. Louis…

Ms. Bradewiede’s class has started working on the map and placing cars in the right locations.

Local News:

Flooding is still a problem in the area. Many roads are closed because they’re covered with water. The forecast for this week is dry for the next few days. It is hoped that the rivers will recede and life can get back to normal.

The Cardinal baseball team did not get the state to pay for their new stadium. They claim that downtown St. Louis has lost the opportunity to keep them. They’re now saying that they’ll be looking for a new location, though it will still be near St. Louis.

Twenty-five Gateway fifth graders have left for a week in Huntsville, Alabama for NASA space camp. Good luck astronauts.

Note from the editor….

I’m still working on controlling column margins. Please be patient.