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Niobrara National Scenic River

5/30/2022

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At 3:35 pm on May 28th- our 13 educators from around the country gathered together at the Trade Winds Hotel to connect, collaborate, and create! It's hard to explain 'love at first sight' with strangers- but I felt that way. These crunchy-granola educators came in with smiles, handshakes, hugs, and hearts for learning. We had our first meal together and then began our evening with introductions, games, and reflection on "why we were here'.

Day 2 we hit the river. This was the first time in canoes for many of us. Were we prepared to paddle over 13 miles? Maybe not- but we did it. The sights along the river caused us to pause and reflect on the beauty of nature and how it can truly heal the soul. Ranger Bobbie provided several opportunities for us to stop, think, and create poetry together. We did have one capsizing moment and it might have been me- but I wouldn't have traded this for anything. When we reached our camp,  we packed up the boats, set up our tents, started a fire and continued our fellowship. We met Rosebud Lakota Tribal Elder, Phyllis Stone. She shared some stories about her people and how we as "humans' should love one another. We were thrilled and honored to have her in our presence. 

After our campfire conversations, we explored our musical side with some campfire singing and then attempted to create our glow stick art. We will let you tell us if we succeeded. We were excited to get ready for a well-deserved night of sleep in our tents.  Unfortunately, mother nature had other ideas. After reviewing the weather reports and analyzing the radar, we decided the thunderstorms, rains, wind, and tornado watch were a little scary so we headed back to the motel. Still fun though.

On Day 3, we pivoted once again and decided that we would write our content today because of the constant rain. These educators really understood the assignment. They dug deep to write meaning connections and immersions for their students and the Niobrara National Scenic River staff. We can't wait to share them with you. We finished up the evening with a windy hot dog roast and gave everyone the rest of the night off to warm up and get some rest. 

Tomorrow is all about waterfall photos and frolicking, phenology hikes, waterfall art class, horse fossil studies, bison tour, celebration cookout, and our NASA dark skies. We don't want to say goodbye yet but we know that this is truly just the beginning for all of us. 
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    Authors

    Dacia Jones, CCO
    ​Susan Bowdoin,
    ​Program Director

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​Expeditions In Education, INC is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Dacia and Steve Jones (dacia@expeditionsineducation.org) (828)244-7586
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  • Home
    • Meet Us!
    • Sponsorship Opportunities
  • 4th Grade
    • Crossing America LIVE
    • Episode One: Homestead NHP
    • Episode Two: Holiday in the PARKS
    • Episode Three: Biscayne National Park
    • Episode Four: Everglades National Park
    • Episode Five: Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site
    • Episode Six: Assateague Island National Seashore
    • Episode Seven: George Washington's Birthday 2022
    • Episode Eight: Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
    • Episode Nine: Tumacácori National Historical Park
    • Episode Ten: San Antonio Missions NHP
    • Episode Eleven: MotorCities National Heritage Area
  • National Parks Expedition Challenge
    • Acadia National Park
    • Arches National Park
    • Assateague Island National Seashore
    • Badlands National Park
    • Big Bend National Park
    • Big Cypress National Preserve
    • Biscayne National Park
    • Bryce Canyon National Park
    • Cape Cod (ONE) National Seashore
    • Cape Cod (TWO) National Seashore
    • Carlsbad Caverns National Park
    • Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
    • Chaco Culture National Historical Park
    • Crater Lake National Park
    • Cuyahoga Valley National Park
    • Dayton Aviation National Heritage Historical Park
    • Death Valley National Park
    • Denali National Park
    • Dry Tortugas National Park
    • Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site
    • Everglades National Park
    • FDR Memorial
    • First State National Historical Park
    • Flight 93 Memorial Park
    • Ford's Theatre
    • Fort Monroe National Monument
    • Gateway Arch National Park
    • Gettysburg National Military Park
    • Grand Canyon National Park
    • Great Smoky Mountains National Park
    • Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
    • Homestead National Historical Park
    • Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
    • Home of Franklin Roosevelt National Historic Site
    • Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
    • Indiana Dunes National Park
    • Jimmy Carter National Historical Park
    • Joshua Tree National Park
    • Kenai Fjords and Alaska Coastal Parks
    • Lincoln Home National Historic Site
    • Lincoln Memorial
    • Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site
    • Mammoth Cave National Park
    • Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
    • Mesa Verde National Park
    • New River Gorge and Preserve National Park
    • Niobrara National Scenic River
    • Palo Alto Battlefield
    • Petroglyph National Monument
    • Pullman National Monument
    • Redwood National and State Parks
    • Rocky Mountain National Park
    • Saguaro National Park
    • San Antonio Missions NHP
    • Shenadoah National Park
    • Tidal Basin-NAMA
    • Vanderbilt Mansion National Historical Site
    • Voyageurs National Park
    • Wright Brothers Memorial
    • Yosemite National Park
    • Zion National Park
    • National Park Careers
    • National Park Perceptions
  • STEAM in the Park
    • STEAM in the PARK 2022 BLOG
    • Niobrara National Scenic River May 28-June 1, 2022
    • Bryce Canyon- June 5-9, 2022
    • New River Gorge June 18-22, 2022
    • National Mall June 25-29, 2022
    • Acadia July 17-20, 2022
    • Mammoth Cave July 24-27, 2022
    • Crater Lake August 7-10, 2022
    • Great Smoky Mountains August 15-19,, 2022
    • STEAM in the PARK Short Stories
    • STEM in the Mountains
  • Sustainable Connections
  • Design Challenges
    • ON DEMAND Engineering Challenges
    • Weekly Dives
    • UN Sustainability Challenges
    • Off The Grid
    • STEM Challenges- ECO
  • Photographic STEM