30 Aug. 2013

Yesterday, we drove from Klamath Falls to Goldendale, Washington. We left Klamath Falls at 10:30am and arrived at our campsite in Goldendale around 8pm, what a drive. During the ride we had a few breaks that included lunch somewhere I had never seen before: a gas station, Subway, McDonalds combination station 🙂 . We had sandwiches for lunch.

Our next stop was at Stonehenge recreation outside of Biggs, Oregon. We took some nice photos there. At the campsite, I helped cook dinner which included rice noodles, chicken, and veggies mixed with coconut milk. It was delicious. After dinner, we all got in our tents and went to bed. – Jonathan

31 Aug. 2013

We spent most of the day driving. Periodically we stopped, got out, and stretched. For lunch we stopped at a rest stop and had a very nice picnic. After the picnic, we sat down together and discussed what we each wanted to work on therapeutically during this trip. When lunch and goal setting were over, we got back on the road. We got to KOA Kampgrounds at around 6pm and settled in to a campsite. Then, a number of us tried to bust coals to start a fire.

It was fun and couple people busted, but nobody was able to blow the coals in to flames. In the end, we decided to just eat dinner (we still had a portable gas stove) and light the fire with a lighter. Afterwards we sat around the campfire and talked, while some of us took showers. We also roasted marshmallows and made s’mores. It was really nice and relaxing. At 10 we all gathered to give and receive feedback. Then, tired and happy, most of us departed for dreamland. It was a good day. – Jacob

1 Sept. 2013

Today we got up and went on a couple of ferry rides to our destination. Jordan and I played at least ten different magic games enroute to our destination. When we arrived we met our guides for the first time. They helped us pack our gear and get everything prepared for a early morning the next day. Tomorrow we will be on the water. – Christian

2 Sept. 2013

We woke up early and ate a wholesome breakfast at our campsite. We packed up camp and departed for the docks of Friday Harbor. We met up with our guide team, Brendan, Michael, and Courtney at the docks. They gave us some instruction us on how to kayak. Next we boarded our kayaks and pushed off from Friday Harbor. We ate lunch on a nearby shore.

The rest of the day was spent kayaking to Jones Island. We landed and proceeded to unpack the boats and set up camp on Jones Island. After a nice dinner, a group at another campsite challenged us to play wiffleball against them. Despite Nathan’s coaching efforts, team Dragonfly was mercilessly destroyed by the other campers. We went to bed ready to take on another challenging day of paddling. – Roberto

3 Sept. 2013

The day began like the others on this trip; sluggish and kind of rainy. The year was 13 of the second millennia, Ano Domini, and the sea kayaking crew was ready for anything (specifically a two mile open water channel crossing and a trip equalling 19.4 miles). The rain was speaking to us, telling us to “push on” for it, and only it. Save for the Bro-Seidon (Lord of the Brocean) knew this relatively novice crew could make this ordeal. – Brooke

4 Sept. 2013

Today we woke up and had a wonderful breakfast. Some of us stayed on Stewart Island and went on a hike. But 6 of us went back on to the water. We handled a huge star fish and paddled by some baby seals, it was awesome.

We paddled round the Northwestern most point in the continental United States! Then we rounded another point and saw our destination to go tide pooling! We landed and went straight to the tide pools. We saw hermit crabs, sea anemones, star fish and a couple of fish. Next we went and had a great lunch of salmon and cream cheese. We then dismbarked to go across the sea back to Stewart Island for dinner, we played bonanza and wilffleball while some of us napped.

Next we had a pasta dinner and some pie. After we had dinner we went down to the sea to see something amazing, Bioluminescent plankton that lit up when you splashed the water! After that we went to wiggy (sleeping bags). – Drew

5 Sept. 2013

The last day of our sea kayaking adventure sizzled to a nice start with some home made grits prepared by the tour guides. After the hearty meal, we gathered by the shore to pack the kayaks one last time. There was a mutual feeling of accomplishment and relief amongst the group as the last of bags were crammed into the kayaks. Packing kayaks with bags to the brim is quite the challenge and I was relieved to be done with that aspect of the trip.

With our last leg of kayaking in front of us, the group was anxious to arrive at Roche Harbor. Things got interesting out on the water as some clouds of thunder and lightning appeared on the horizon. With added motivation to get off the water, our kayaks landed on Kozy Island, the lunch destination, after a paddle full of haste. Lunch consisted of sandwiches and such. Our stay on Kozy Island was prolonged due to the still present lightning in the area.

We were back on the water, just a matter of minutes from our final destination, the crew was ready to give their all. The ride ended after a short race to the finish won by the Drew and Jon kayak. We said our goodbyes to the guides and proceeded to a condo apartment near the harbor where we would spend the rest of the day.

At the apartment, we experienced pizza and showers for the first time in at least three days; a week for most. The night came to an end after the 49ers/Ravens game and we hit the hay with an early wake up ahead of us. – Jordan

6 Sept. 2013

We woke up at 4am so that we could make the ferry. Along the way we stopped at a small sandwich shop for breakfast. Obviously afterwards we got onto the ferry where most of the “students” took a nap. We drove for a while stopping regularly for bathroom breaks until lunch, which was at a park with no bathroom so we were forced to take the van to a gas station so that everyone could relieve themselves of their burdens.

After lunch we got back on the road for a couple of hours until we stopped at a fruit stand off of the side of the road. We just kept on driving until we reached the campsite where we ate dinner and went to bed. – Ben

7 Sept. 2013

We woke up at around 7 AM at our campsite in Goldendale, Washington. After we packed our bags and our tents we had yogurt and granola for breakfast, which was very good. We left our camp circa 8-8:30 and have been primarily on the road since. For lunch, our van stopped at a park near Bend, Oregon. The park had Desert Museum within it, but we only went inside to use the restrooms. Most of the time since then we have been listening to stand up comedy in the van. As I write this, we are getting very close to returning to Klamath. – Nathan