Day 82/82: What a journey! We visited 11 national park sites for 12 incredible camps, including 2 family camps with over 100 campers. In total, we hosted 389 campers, traveled 16,819 miles by planes and cars, crossed 9 time zones, washed clothes in laundromats 5 times, stayed in 11 hotels, and rented 12 cars. Steve made sure I had at least 17 six packs of Diet Dr. Pepper to keep going strong!

Along the way, we connected with nearly 100 park rangers, volunteers, and partners who enriched our experiences. Nature blessed us with sightings of moose, bears, crabs, fish, foxes, raccoons, bald eagles, birds, banana slugs, bats, snakes, salamanders, turkeys, deer, big skies, and northern lights.

We hosted 32 campfires with about 17 pounds of marshmallows and 96 bags of chocolate, and celebrated 11 "Shake It Off" ice-cream parties. We used private eyes (cue the music), string, and journals to explore the world around us. Over 15 pounds of beads transformed into 600+ bracelets, 389 books were exchanged, and more than 350 postcards will be mailed in September.

We welcomed a diverse group of educators—paraprofessionals, social workers, guidance counselors, librarians, music, art, and drama teachers, ESOL instructors, principals, assistant principals, technology instructors, grade level teachers, content-specific teachers, college professors, students, retirees, and park rangers.

Countless gallons of coffee fueled us, and we cooked 20 pounds of bacon (just at 2 campsites!). We sang and played recorders on beaches, at campsites, in pavilions, in buildings, in caves, by the water—anywhere that didn’t have a noise ordinance!

But most importantly, we found reasons to love each other, make new friends, and create memories that will last a lifetime.

#STEAMinthePARK2024 is complete, and we can’t wait for YEAR 5! Thank you for being a part of our lives. Thank you also to NERI, GRTE, ASIS, MORA, REDW, ACAD, BRCA, VOYA, ROMO, MACA, and NAMA for supporting #STEAMinthePARK. We are excited for 2025!

Steve & Dacia ❤️

Camp #10 at Rocky Mountain National Park was pretty spectacular! Our campers were captivated by the incredible knowledge shared by the rangers about the greenback cutthroat trout, a species with a remarkable story of survival and conservation. The experience was made even more special by our amazing volunteers who took the time to teach all our educators how to fly fish—such a fun and educational experience for everyone!

We are so grateful to the Rocky Mountain Conservancy for providing us with tents and campsites, ensuring that our time in the park was comfortable and connected with nature.

But the moment that truly touched our hearts was our visit with Park Ranger, Rising Buffalo. We first met him at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in 2020 and were thrilled to hear that he moved to ROMO last year. His storytelling and encouragement to delve deeper into the history and significance of the places we live in resonated with all of us. His presence added a meaningful layer to our camp, reminding us of the importance of connecting with the native people within each park.
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#STEAMinthePARK connects and collaborates with over 400 educators each summer across 12 national parks, but it's moments like these, learning from and with the native people, that stay with us forever.
Onward to Camp #11 at Mammoth Cave National Park