​Wrapping up #STEAMinthePARK 2024!

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 ❤️