The Outer Banks Expediton by Mitchell Wilkinson- Harrison

This expedition the Tickle Sticks went to the Outer Banks. The drive over to the East Coast was about eight hours and it was very long drive. The first night in the Outer Banks there were a lot of bugs and other things biting us. It was a hard time for us because we were itchy and not supposed scratch our bug bites.

One day at the Outer Banks, we went to the beach to have some fun. I went body surfing, and I did a 360 under the water. The wave knocked me over and turned me full circle under the water.

We had a tour of the Coast Guard Station and we got to go on the Coast Guard boats that they had at the station. We went to Jockeys National Park to go dune jumping and we had a lot of fun when we were there.

One day we went to some of the lighthouses around the island we were staying at. On some of the days we went shopping to buy things to remember the trip.

We took our kayaks out to the beach to have fun in the water. We went kayak surfing in the ocean. When we were in town we out for dinner two times, the first time we went to a pizza buffet and the second time we went to a seafood restaurant.

Most of the campsites that we stayed at had cold showers, colder then the ocean. Most of the mornings we played ultimate Frisbee on the beaches near our campsite. One of the days we were on the beach, we played 500 in the water and the water was so shallow that we could walk for miles. 500 is a game that we played with a Frisbee where you get points by catching the Frisbee. You have to call out a number and then if you catch the Frisbee, you get that many points.

The last of our expedition we went to the Wright Brothers Museum to learn about the two brothers from Ohio. I liked this trip because it had air conditioning inside.

When we were playing 500 on the beach I saw some dolphins swimming around in the water. W e took a field trip to the aquarium in the Outer Banks and they had a shark’s pit that you can dig for shark’s teeth. One of the days in the town we drove around for a long time because we couldn’t find anything to do. I had a fun time at the East Coast because I had never been there before. I want to take my parents to see the places that I visited.

S At our last campsite, I made a big fire for the group. It kept everyone happy. I can’t wait to see my family and friends when I get back home for the summer.

Dune jumping at Jockey’s Ridge by Alec Thompson

The Tickle Sticks decided to go to Jockey’s Ridge for the day. I brought my football to play with when we got there. The ride was short and we got there in 20 minutes. We got to the visitor center and we got to the dunes and started to climb them. It was hard work climbing them and many of us fell down on the way up. We were all ok though. We climbed to the top and it was a great view of the ocean. Mark said to jump off the dune so we could take a photo of the group. We all jumped and landed softly on the sand. We took one more photo of us and moved on to a new dune. Mark, Mitch, and I played with the football. Mitch threw some great passes. One headed for the edge of the dune and I had it in my grasp and missed. I fell down the dune and caught up with the ball and stopped it. There was a problem with falling down a sandy dune. I had sand everywhere in my clothes and my mouth. It was really sandy. I was ok though. I walked back up the dune and showed Mark and Mitch where I caught up with the ball and they said good job. After we played for a while we went down the dune and found a phone in the sand. We picked it up and called the owner. He said to meet us back at the visitor center in half and hour. We walked to the original dune where we started and the phone rang three more times. It was really funny. We took one more picture of all of us jumping of the biggest dune and we all wiped out in very funny ways. We grabbed all our stuff and started walking back. We made it back to the visitor center and gave the phone back to the owner. Then I realized I left my football at the dune. I didn’t care for it so I left it there. We talked to the visitor center secretary for a while. We got some free stuff from her. We got a sticker and some sun block for our lips. We went back to camp and showered to get all the sand off. It was a very fun day in the Outer Banks and a great last expedition.

THE CLIMB TO THE TOP

As we the Tickle Sticks spent our expedition in the lovely Outer Banks we decided to climb the Currituck Beach Lighthouse, which is located in Corolla, North Carolina. The completion of this incredible structure was December 1, 1875. The Currituck Beach Lighthouse was built from approximately one million red bricks and stands at a towering 162 feet. The climb was quite fun, some of us were a bit skeptical of the old building and the height but we all made it up the 214 stairs to the top. The view from the top was incredible. Even the people who were afraid of heights made it to the top just with slight issues. It looked out over much of the northern Outer Banks on a warm, sunny, clear day. It was wonderful, the lighthouses are definitely something worth going to while in the Outer Banks.

Jake DeHaan

On the Tickle Sticks last expedition we had an amazing time in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. One day around mid-way through the expedition we had found a restaurant the group had been interested in going to. The name of the restaurant was Dirty Dicks Crab House. After spending about half a day at the beach James and I had the idea of presenting this scheme to Mark. We half joking ask him seeing at the group didn’t have a lot of personal money and it was a far drive. Despite the odds, Mark shot us with a challenge. The challenge was to bury him in sand, up to his head. He gave us the time limit of 10 minutes for him to get out, and if he couldn’t, SOAR would pay for the dinner. The team was ready and exited for the challenge. Right away we got to work. We used a skim board that James had bought a few days before to cut through the hard sand. After about 3 feet we had David go face-first into the hole while I held his legs so he didn’t fall in. After about four feet we hit water, which made it even harder to go through. But some how we had it deep enough for him to stand upright in. Not all to surprisingly Mark was able to get out in around 3 and a half minutes. Despite him beating the time, Mark was so impressed with the group’s hard work he allowed SOAR to pay for it. So we hopped in the van after a quick shower and in about an hour we arrived. I ordered calamari and alligator tail, which was absolutely amazing. We left Dirty Dicks and went to bed right away. The next day on out way to the ferry Ocracoke, which was about 10 minutes from our campsite we passed another Dirty Dicks. We all laughed as we realized we had done two hours of driving when all we could had done was 20 minutes. Over all it was an amazing trip with a lot of really great experiences.

Our Expedition to The North Carolina Outer Banks By David Hollander

The tickle sticks went to the Outer Banks last expedition and we had a lot of fun. We had many surprises such as bowling, and going to eat! My favorite day on our expedition happened when we were on the beach and I was craving seafood so we ended up talking Mark into letting us go out to dinner. Before he said yes, he said we needed to build a deep enough hole in the ground for Mark to stand up in. after we dug the whole Mark stepped in it and we got to bury him. We timed how long it would take him to get out of the hole. He told us that if it took longer then ten minutes he would pay for our dinner out. Unfortunately it only took three minutes, but because we worked so well together he decided to pay. We each had a $25 limit for our meal. The restaurant we went to was about an hour away, so we all piled in the van and arrived there at about 8:00. Our manners and behavior was so good at the restaurant even the waitress commented. After we ordered our seafood and ate we stopped in the gift shop and several people bought shirts. J Then we headed back to our campground and went to bed. The following morning we got up and packed camp. We headed the other direction on Hatteras island and then realized there was the same restaurant about five minutes away, it made us all chuckle. I am really happy we all ended on such a good note!

 

Our Experiences in The Wild Wild West Whitney Theriot

The the Nothing But G's started off the expedition living a luxury life at the Wyoming Base, Eagle View Ranch. When we first arrived at Eagle View Ranch it was under 6 inches of snow. Unfortunately, we were unable to make it to upper base, where the cowboy tents are, so we settled for Plan B. We camped in our tents by the gear shed. Camping there could have been the best decision we made all expedition . Not only was it right next to the school house, that we were allowed to use during class, but it was near the lower base kitchen and director offices. It was great to be able to use this area and be out of the snow. While at EVR, the group partook in various activities that made our stay more enjoyable. The group spent a lot of time outside creating giant snow balls and sledding down the hilly Wyoming Base. The group went snow shoeing up the Two Oceans Ridge Section of the Continental Divide. The Trail we took up to the ridge was only partially cut; Evan and Jeremy had the pleasure of doing the rest. While on the way up the mountain, there was a very narrow trail that we had to follow. I found out the hard way if you veered off the trail you will fall into various tree holes packed with 4 feet of snow. This hike was not a piece of cake; part of the hike we were climbing up a vertical wall of snow that would have been impossible to climb if we were not wearing our shoes. Once we made it to the top, the group enjoyed some cold pizza bagels. Some of the boys peed off the ridge, which according to Jeremy will eventually end up in the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean. The way down was the most enjoyable part of the trip, because the group created our own personal trail down. Getting a hang of the snow shoes was not an easy task. The whole group ate many falls while stumbling\skiing on oversized shoes down the mountain. The group also enjoyed riflery, which we did twice through out our stay in Dubois, Wyoming. We shot a .22 caliber rifle. Some of the boys even got to shoot an old World War II rifle. After this the group went on to better explore this scenic state. The group went to Thermopolis, Wyoming. Once we arrived in Thermopolis, the group was pleasantly surprised when they found it was 66 degrees. While there, we went to a hot spring mineral pool park called The Star Plunge. We enjoyed relaxing in the hot water. While there the group partook in many water fights and played basketball in the pool. While in the warm pools the time flew bye. The 3 hours we had allotted for the Star Plunge quickly disappeared. After the Star Plunge, the group spent the next day fishing at Boysen Lake, which was very unsuccessful. The nothing but G's didn't catch any fish, instead we caught numerous rocks and trees. The next day we began our two hour drive back to Dubois,Wyoming where we had dinner at Jeremy's house and split wood. Unfortunately, while splitting wood I missed and split my toe with the maul. While I was getting fixed up, the group started making hobo dinners and had fun around the campfire. The next night the group went out to dinner at the Cowboy Cafe for our final outing, bringing an end to our spectacular expedition.

Our Experiences in The Wild Wild West Whitney Theriot

The the Nothing But G's started off the expedition living a luxury life at the Wyoming Base, Eagle View Ranch. When we first arrived at Eagle View Ranch it was under 6 inches of snow. Unfortunately, we were unable to make it to upper base, where the cowboy tents are, so we settled for Plan B. We camped in our tents by the gear shed. Camping there could have been the best decision we made all expedition . Not only was it right next to the school house, that we were allowed to use during class, but it was near the lower base kitchen and director offices. It was great to be able to use this area and be out of the snow. While at EVR, the group partook in various activities that made our stay more enjoyable. The group spent a lot of time outside creating giant snow balls and sledding down the hilly Wyoming Base. The group went snow shoeing up the Two Oceans Ridge Section of the Continental Divide. The Trail we took up to the ridge was only partially cut; Evan and Jeremy had the pleasure of doing the rest. While on the way up the mountain, there was a very narrow trail that we had to follow. I found out the hard way if you veered off the trail you will fall into various tree holes packed with 4 feet of snow. This hike was not a piece of cake; part of the hike we were climbing up a vertical wall of snow that would have been impossible to climb if we were not wearing our shoes. Once we made it to the top, the group enjoyed some cold pizza bagels. Some of the boys peed off the ridge, which according to Jeremy will eventually end up in the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean. The way down was the most enjoyable part of the trip, because the group created our own personal trail down. Getting a hang of the snow shoes was not an easy task. The whole group ate many falls while stumbling\skiing on oversized shoes down the mountain. The group also enjoyed riflery, which we did twice through out our stay in Dubois, Wyoming. We shot a .22 caliber rifle. Some of the boys even got to shoot an old World War II rifle. After this the group went on to better explore this scenic state. The group went to Thermopolis, Wyoming. Once we arrived in Thermopolis, the group was pleasantly surprised when they found it was 66 degrees. While there, we went to a hot spring mineral pool park called The Star Plunge. We enjoyed relaxing in the hot water. While there the group partook in many water fights and played basketball in the pool. While in the warm pools the time flew bye. The 3 hours we had allotted for the Star Plunge quickly disappeared. After the Star Plunge, the group spent the next day fishing at Boysen Lake, which was very unsuccessful. The nothing but G's didn't catch any fish, instead we caught numerous rocks and trees. The next day we began our two hour drive back to Dubois,Wyoming where we had dinner at Jeremy's house and split wood. Unfortunately, while splitting wood I missed and split my toe with the maul. While I was getting fixed up, the group started making hobo dinners and had fun around the campfire. The next night the group went out to dinner at the Cowboy Cafe for our final outing, bringing an end to our spectacular expedition.