Tuesday, March 11, 2003 Turner Elementary

Tuesday, March 11, 2003 Turner Elementary

Day One of Project: Meet Me in D.C.

Mr. Fier’s Class Invades Phoenix Arizona

Page 1

Tuesday, March 11, 2003 Turner Elementary School

We started in Sea World in San Diego where we saw thousands of sea animals

and then took the interstate 8 East. We went all the way to Yuma, Arizona. The population of Yuma is 77,515 and the elevation is 200 ft . We will be stopping in the Arizona Historical Society Century House Museum and Gardens . There we will be learning about the late 19th century period rooms and exhibits about Yuma history We chose this route because we wanted to know about Yuma history . We went on with the interstate 8 east and then north with interstate 17 to the state capitol Phoenix in Arizona.

In Phoenix the population is about 1,321,045 and the elevation is 1,092 ft . We went to the Phoenix Zoo in Papago Park. We ate lunch there and played golf .We also went to the zoo and saw more than 1,300 mammals , birds ,and reptiles . Our favorite animals were the monkeys.

We ate dinner in Latilla Dining Room . After that we went to spend the night in a hotel called Days Inn-Buckeye.

Car 3 Makes Their Move

Mr. Hendshott’s Crew

Today we begin our journey in Portland, capital of Oregon and travel to Lewiston, ID via Mount Rainier National Park. We chose this route because it gave us a chance to visit the park and cross the Cascade Mountain Range

The weather in Portland when we left was 53 degrees with a predicted high of 58 degrees and a low of 47 degrees. The dew point is 49 degrees. We may experience some preciptation in the Park.

We traveled north from Portland to the park. We entered the park at the Southwest entrance which is the only entrance open due to snow and washouts ( The elevation at Mount Rainier is 14,410 feet. We learned that Mount Rainier is capped by glaciers which are rivers of ice that move very slowly. A good place to go on the internet for more info is

We traveled 380 miles today and have passed through Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

WASHINGTON TO WASHINGTON D.C. WILL WE REALLY GET THERE

Car 1

On our way to the Forested Mountains to see its beautiful ice caves. We had a perfect eye-view of the lovely Cascade Mountains. The view was absolutely breath –taking. Some of my fellow classmates ask if the bus could be stopped so that we could take pictures and such. We all loved the atmosphere of the mountains. Then after we were back on the road to Mt. Rainier glacial caves.

When we arrived at Mt. Rainier, it had the most glorious and pure land that I’ve seen. We first visited a trail of glacier-fed rivers. Then we saw a few lakes, we ate our picnic lunches in the virgin forest. Finally we pressed onward to the ice caves.
The caves were so unbelievable that we had a hard times just realizing how old they are..

The boat ride took us through beneath the caves there was a lot of water, in some places there was enough space for us to walk on the sides but we wanted to be careful. Mt. Rainier truly was an experience that we will not soon forget.

Next we moved on to Spokane’s Eastern Washington Science Center. We found 150 hands-on exhibits and a fantastic planetarium. We learned many things about animals, electricity, the land and many interesting scientific facts. Washington has opened our eyes and minds to things that we had never thought of before.

While we still in Spokane we took the opportunity to visit the outstanding five-story Museum of Native American Culture. At the museum we learned about the life of the Indians was before the arrival of the pioneers. Many examples of their clothing, what they ate, what they did to prepare their food and many the other interesting facts were available for us to see.

The bus then headed east and a little south to Kellog Idaho. We can hardly wait to get to the Crystal Gold Mine, an underground mine where we can mine for gold. The publicity told us that it would be about 48 degrees down there. After we took the tour we just had to visit the souvenir shop which is located at the end of the tunnel. Reluctantly we had to leave to the where we are spending the night.

At long last we arrived at our destination, Riggins. This is a small town of about 400 people. Our teacher was not too sure that the town was ready for all of us. The Riggins Hotel greeted us with open arms and directed us to the Beetle’s Burgers so that we could get fed fast. It is hard for us flatlanders to realize that we are at 4,724 feet above sea level.

We should sleep good tonight in our warm featherbeds that should keep out the 38 degree weather for tonight. After looking at the map we found that we had traveled 427 miles today and had seen so much that it is hard to think about what is in store for us tomorrow.

Gledhill Meets Gray Davis

Car 3

Hello, we are Gledhill Magnet and today we will go from San Francisco, California to Lovelock, Nevada. The temperature is in the high 50's. The population in Lovelock, Nevada is 2,003 and the elevation is 3,980 above sea level.

Hello, we're Mrs. Brown's 5th grade class and boy are we excited! Today is the first day of our long, anticipated, fun, and educational road rally from San Francisco to Washington D.C. We started at 7:00a.m.We went north to Sacramento on Highway 80.we got there at about 9:00 a.m. We ate pancakes for breakfast at the local Denny's in the city. Then we walked to the capital building to see where the California government conducts it's business. What luck! We saw the governor, Gray Davis!

He shook our hands! Wow! We actually got a picture of him. Next we went on to Carson City, Nevada on the Highway 50 north which has been called "The Loneliest Road " in America. It was once part of the Pony Express. We reached Carson City, which is the 2nd oldest capital west of Mississippi at 2 p.m. We ate a late lunch at a nice Chinese restaurant. From there we visited the Nevada state railroad musuem.

We walked around downtown Carson City and then went on. We drove through the historic mining town of the old west on our way to Reno on the 395 north highway. There, again , we stretched our legs so we can continue our journey to Lovelock on highway 80 east. We arrived at 5:30 after traveling 382 miles. Boy, were we tired! We stayed at a nice hotel named Ramada Inn. Some of us went swimming in their indoor heated pool. Then we went to Mc Donald's and ate a burger. There is nothing like junk food to end a perfect day. Good night from Room 3.

Car 4 Gets Off to a Roaring Start

Our adventure started as our entire class loaded onto the bus. We left around seven a.m., and hoped to reach our destination by noon. Everybody excitedly talked about Sequoia Natinal Park as the bus entered the freeway. Along the way, we figured that the latitude was 36 degrees west, 120 degrees South.

On our way, we saw some amazing sights. and luckily we were able to get there by noon. Our bus arrived in Grant Grove which is on the eastern section of the park. We all stepped of the bus and breathed in to nice,cool ,refreshing air. Once we got all of our luggage off the bus , we found a peaceful creek to eat our delicious home made food. As we ate lunches, we agreed to go hiking through the forest up to panoramic point. Wow! Before us spread the Sierre Nevada Mountain Ranges. Up ahead was Mount Whitney, the highest point in North America. It’s elevation is 14, 494 feet. The view was spectacular and worth the long hike. Around us was a forested area with pine trees and of course, the giant sequoias. John even spotted a deer family on the way up. Carla decided to explore the area and find us a picnic table. We enjoyed our dessert of chocolate ice cream sitting and admiring listening of the sounds of the forest.

The entire class was very enthusiastic on exploring other sections of the park after this breathtaking introduction, and we drove down to see the General Sherman and General Grant trees further into the park. The park is studded with these giant sequoia trees, some of them, more than 200 feet high with trunks of more than 30 feet in diameter. As we had decided to take in as much of the park as possible, we drove down to explore the caves by the Kings River. After our hike, we came across crystal cave.. We decided to explore the cave and as we entered, our jaws dropped in awe as we saw crystals glistening in the light. Further on in the cave, Rachelle discovered a fossil. Everybody sat in a circle as Ms.Nicholson showed us how to identify the fossil. Everybody agreed that it must of been a shell of a creature that was two-million years old! When we exited the cave, it was nearly five o’clock. We rudhed to the cabins we were staying at and washed up for dinner. Everyone arrived and we barbequed some patties. After dinner, we sat around a campfire until the moon had risen high in the starry night sky. After all the fun, we lazily walked back to our cabins and tried to go to sleep. But it wasn’t easy. The wind howled and cowered as the rats scrathed the cabin door, trying to get in.The night finally went still and we all finally went into a nice, deep slumber, awaiting the morning when we would head for our next stop snd the adventures that lie ahead of us.