Camp Festivities

Wow I didn't realize how behind I was in my blogging... my bad. Well we just finished up another two great weeks of Salmon Camp. We completed sessions 3 & 4 which consisted of 2nd & 3rd graders. It was nice to have older kiddos because with them we actually go on field trips and drive them places in our awesome vans. We took them to Ft. Abercrombie twice, once for tide pooling and another time for a hike. We also went to Potatopatch Lake to do some birding and then also went to the touch tank where the children get the opportunity so see nearby sea creatures and pick them up & stuff. We also took them fishing, don't worry we wear safety goggles which I know sounds silly but with a group of 7 & 8 year olds throwing hooks around it's not a bad idea. I did get hit in the head 3 times with kids' poles and one hook in my hair but other than that I was okay. Haha. A lot of kids here already know how to fish, but not all of them do and it's a pretty neat experience to teach a kid how to do it and see them accomplish a decent cast and get so excited about it. We also took the children to a weir. A weir is kind of like a fence in the water that stops the fish from swimming upstream on their way back to spawn. The biologists from Alaska Fish & Game will take some scales from the fish to see how old they are and note the sex of the fish. They then will open the gates of the weir and count all the fish that go through. They also have a different counter that goes downstream and counts the smolt (teenager salmon) that are heading out to the ocean. Therefore they count the salmon heading out to the ocean and then the salmon that actually make it back up the river after living in the ocean for a few years. It's all pretty interesting. I had a great couple of weeks and the children were so amazing! Well here highlight pics of the last couple weeks for Salmon Camp...

Out at Ft. Aber

Enjoying the aquarium at the touch tank

Making bird feeders!

 What a great find! A tiny sea star!

 At the touch tank

 Out crossing the weir

At the weir learning how the biologists study salmon.

 Going fishing! =)

 Showing off some sea urchins.



Hanging out on one of the cannons from Ft. Aber.

 I know I already put this pic on my facebook but it is my absolute favorite! This is also at Ft. Aber, the kiddos were checking out the birds. It was such a gorgeous day!

In this upcoming week I will be heading on another village trip, which I'm very excited for and there's a few reasons for that.... 1.) I get to go with my great friend Liz, 2.) I get to ride in a float plane (the planes that land on water), and 3.) we're going to Larsen Bay which is on the other side of the island! So I can't wait to come back and tell you about my experience there! So please pray for safe travels for us! Till next time...