At
the end of our trip, we did this procedure backward to get back to Twin
Hills.
When we got to Brooks Camp we saw three bears on the beach. They were far away but still cool. We got on top of the tower and saw four or five fishing and resting. We were really able to tell how they looked and we could also see them rip the skin off live fish. Ouch!
Then when Karen, Joe, and I were walking to the Lodge, early in the morning, we had a close encounter. It was at the place where you turn right and head up to the campus. The bear was lying in a belly hole. Karen saw it and rushed up the hill, and after a minute Joe and I followed her.
When we made it to the Lodge we got in line for the bathroom. I ended up waiting a long time with a kid named Justin right in front of me. After a minute or so a huge bear walked right by the bathroom. I told Justin and we watched it walk away. That was the last close encounter I had. We watched lots of bears in Brooks Camp. It was lots of fun, especially the close encounters.
When we arrived at Brooks Camp, first we set up out tents. Then we put our stuff in the tents. That night while we were sleeping it started raining, and the tents started leaking. We were soaked when we got up. While we were at the Valley of 10,000 Smokes, the campground flooded and got most of the tents. When we got back we had to go get out stuff and bring it to the auditorium to dry. That night we slept in the auditorium. Only some of the students slept there, but all of the Twin Hills students slept in the auditorium.
We went to the Valley of 10,000 Smokes. To get there, we took a bus to the valley. We hiked down the mountain and went to the river. The valley is made of ash and pumice. We learned about plants. We took some pictures when we were going back up the mountain.
While at Brooks Camp, one of the things we did was to go to the Cultural Site. It was an old house that is halfway underground (because the ground is like insulation), and halfway above the ground. It looked like an igloo, but was made with wood. There was a fireplace in the middle, surrounded with mud around the house, and a hole in the top so the smoke can get out. The porch part was lower so there could be more heat. Cold air goes down,so when they opened the door, the cold air will go up. It was cool to see it!
We also played games, like basketball. When it was the girl’s turn, Amanda was the first one to shoot. Sophie made all the shots and won the gold medal. When we played pumice-throw, Orpha got first place and Colleen won the silver medal. When we played the water balloon throw, Jodie and Sherry tied for first place. We had a relay race. We had to go around the stick five times, then we had to get a stick and hit a rock, then roll the little black tube.
There were no parts about Brooks Camp that we didn't like. I hope we get to go there again.