Daily Report from the Journalism Committee:
Games To Pass Time…
Karissa Kalisz
18 June 2007
When we have absolutely nothing to do here in Alaska—which doesn’t happen often—we all play some games to pass the time, like in the vans or outside during free time. One activity that we play outside is Frisbee…but is it really safe? There have been many occurrences of people getting “injuries” from Frisbee. One major example is Britta. She tore her ACL and is on crutches because of playing Ultimate Frisbee. There was also one occurrence of Emily Mickus getting hit in the head! We now know to be careful with a Frisbee. If you throw a Frisbee and it goes wild (or if you are just really bad at throwing) it could hit a vehicle and could damage it.
On a trip in past years, hackey sack was a popular activity. Once, however, a hackey sack that people were playing with that went into the road and a greyhound bus almost ran over the kid who went after it. After that, they banned it on the trip. Could the same thing possibly happen to the Frisbee? We all want to stay safe on this trip and have it be a happy experience, but if something goes wrong…. then it wouldn’t be very happy. I myself enjoy playing Frisbee; it’s a great way to get some exercise (not that we don’t get enough). We just need to be cautious of our surroundings and be respectful to other campers because we are here to represent Marshall, Michigan. It’s really fun; however, fellow students and adults all over the world, be careful with your Frisbee.
One other game that we play in our free time is MASH, which is a game that “decides” your future. It is a fun game we play in our vans. We also play paddidle in our vans. In padiddle, you slap the top of the van and yell, “Paddidle” every time you see a car with only one headlight. You get a point for every one you get right, and lose five points for every one that you get wrong. Paddidle is just a weird made-up word, but the game is really fun for the long van rides. Extra time is fun, but when you have nothing to do, these games can come in handy.
Jules Hinske
To Denali and Beyond!
18 June 2007
Today everyone woke up to a few problems—both little and big—on their hands. Unfortunately, the Karla van broke down over night with a bad bearing and was declared too dangerous for anyone to drive. We had to leave behind the van as well as a few adults to wait for the van to be fixed, which was a big disappointment. After we rearranged everyone else to fit in other vans, everyone took off on the road for the two-hour drive to the tiny town of Talkeetna.
Once in Talkeetna, the perfect picture of a small town with log cabin buildings and a mule pulled cart—which served as an amusing taxi—the kids were able to shop around the stores during some free time. A lot of people headed off toward a popular shop called “The Bead Shop” and where they made necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings with beads of their choice. Mostly all the beads in the shop were handcrafted or made in Alaska, and of course there were the beads made out of Alaska’s state gemstone, jade.
After spending a couple hours in Talkeetna, everyone was packed back into the vans for the remaining two and a half hour drive to Denali. On the way there, kids were amazed by the sudden change of scenery, as the mountains multiplied and became more jagged and brown instead of covered in snow. The land became tundra and the trees grew taller and skinnier with smaller branches. The change of scenery also came with a change of weather. A storm blew up from over the mountains complete with rain, thunder and lightning. As a true Alaskan storm, however, the rain quickly passed within twenty minutes leaving beautiful sunny skies in its wake.
An hour up the road from our campground everyone stopped at Mary Cary’s Lodge to get a good look at Mt. McKinley and Denali National Park. The building was a perfect place to get a wonderful view of the mountains and the beautiful emerald forests beneath it. Even though the skies were not clear, we were able to see the peak of Denali above a bank of clouds. Everyone was amazed and awed.
The rest of the drive to Denali passed quickly as we all drove over the beloved sight of the Nenana River and, according to tradition, had everyone sing “Na-na-na-na. Ne-na-na-na, hey, hey, hey, goodbye.” Everyone arrived in good moods at the Grizzly Bear Campground and set up camp. These campgrounds include nice bathrooms with hot water, proper toilets, showers, a general store, and a laundry mat. The excitement this caused was electric and everyone is looking forward to tomorrow’s rest day for some much needed showers and laundry. |