Highland Beach-Lost Man's Five by Christian Humber

The paddle was long and hard for some of the group members. The campsite was a ways away, so we set up our camp in between highland and another site. The group was very tired. The fishing was not good at the campsite but the skeeters were, good thing for bug spray, a palm branch bonfire, and bug nets. The next morning was well...unpleasant, because we had to walk half a mile through knee deep silt, and one of the members lost his shoe to the silt. Logan made a judgement call to walk though the silt barefoot while carrying our gear, which was hard due to the silt. When we got the canoes into deeper water, we could push the canoes a half mile. Then we got to a part of the water that was too deep to walk anymore so we had to paddle. We paddled through many bays which is not normally hard, except when you're freezing cold after being exposed to the cold water.
We got to our next campsite around 4:00. We checked the damage on our feet from all the shells hidden in the silt. Nothing but some scratches and a few of us had small gashes on our feet, but nothing too bad, we were just sore. After the paddle, most of us were tired and in foul moods. The only thing that got the group back into a good mood was Dylan face-planting into the deck which was hilarious. David cooked a really good dinner which was a mixture of curly noodles and angel hair pasta with sun-dried tomatoes in pesto sauce. Most of the nights were cold so we had to bundle up in sweatshirts and rain gear to stay warm. Most of the days out on the expedition were nice except for some cold days with very high winds. This was probably one of the most intense days of the expedition, and the most hilarious as well because of the strain on our bodies and minds.

Fishing in the everglades By Dylan Smythe

When I first heard that there was a mass die off of fish because of the extremely cold weather in the Everglades, I thought that there were going to be no fish biting the bait this visit. I almost didn’t bring my tackle and rod because I was thinking it would be a waste of space. My stuff could get broken or lost when I wasn’t even using them, but something inside of me told me that there will be fish biting.

After a few days of not even getting a bite, I was so upset that I felt stupid bringing my gear with me. On our second day at Picnic key, we were anchored about 100 yards off shore, just casting. All of the sudden I hear Jake start yelling with excitement. I quickly weighed anchor and paddled to his canoe. When I got up to his cone, he had a massive spotted sea trout in his boat. I quickly chained it and measured it at 19 inches. I attached the other end of the chain to my boat and lowered the anchor; I was ready to catch a fish now.

Even though I didn’t catch a fish that day or even for three days to come. We were pulling in at least one fish a day. Finally one big day that we were in the open water, I began trawling my line with a rooster tail hook. After three minutes I brought in a 17 inch lady fish. I chained it and decided that it would be good for shark bait. I threw my line back out. After about 15 minutes I brought in a 13 inch Spanish mackerel. I didn’t know the size limit on them so I let it go but it was 12 and I was a little bit upset. I didn’t let it get to me so I threw my line out again. After about an hour I got a big bite. I thought it was a permit so I was really excited. What I brought in was a 24 inch spotted sea trout. I was so happy even though it wasn’t a permit.

Through out the rest of the expedition we began to bring in about two fish a day. But after we got deep in the bay, we didn’t get any bites so it was game over for fishing and we began to chat a lot more about different things. I was as happy as could be with what I caught and so were everyone’s stomachs, including mine.

The Everglades expedition By Mitchell Wilkinson-Harrison

This expedition The Tickle Sticks went to paddle the everglades in Florida. We paddled 80 miles of the everglades and we stayed at different campsites. We saw many different kinds of animals in the everglades. We planned a nature walk to find some cool things. When we were finishing our nature walk it started raining so hard that some of my team members ran in the rain to get to our campsite. When the tickle sticks arrived at our first campsite, I got out of the canoe and the water was so deep that I fell in and the water damaged my watch. When the tickle sticks got up the next morning the tide was out about half of a mile. We had to walk our canoe to the water line.
On the last day of our expedition we got up at 2 am to paddle 20 miles to the ranger station where our van was waiting for us. When we were at New Turkey campsite when we were sitting on the beach trying to our night meeting when a raccoon walks to our campsite. Then we get to our campsites we will did some homework than we will go to do an active. On Valentines Day we stop at a sand bar to eat lunch and have some valentines candy and I share all of my candy with the group and the staff. I think the group had fun paddle the everglades and I saw a lot of wild life in the everglades. My group and I catch different kinds of fish and we stayed at different places to. On the first day of our paddle trip we paddle 6 miles to tiger key that was our first campsite. On the way down to the everglades we stayed that Logan’s beach house in Florida and we meet Logan’s parents again. Then the next day after Logan’s house we were goings goes to the everglades for 2 weeks. On some of the days when we padding the sun was out most of the time when we were canoe and we would get sunshine. Every night at our campsites all of the bugs and other things were biting us a lot. It was hard work to paddle in the wind was trying to push us away from the group. It was awesome to paddle in the morning before the sunrise was coming up and the tickle sticks saw some dolphins when we were padding in the moroning.

The Everglades expedition By Mitchell Wilkinson-Harrison

This expedition The Tickle Sticks went to paddle the everglades in Florida. We paddled 80 miles of the everglades and we stayed at different campsites. We saw many different kinds of animals in the everglades. We planned a nature walk to find some cool things. When we were finishing our nature walk it started raining so hard that some of my team members ran in the rain to get to our campsite. When the tickle sticks arrived at our first campsite, I got out of the canoe and the water was so deep that I fell in and the water damaged my watch. When the tickle sticks got up the next morning the tide was out about half of a mile. We had to walk our canoe to the water line.
On the last day of our expedition we got up at 2 am to paddle 20 miles to the ranger station where our van was waiting for us. When we were at New Turkey campsite when we were sitting on the beach trying to our night meeting when a raccoon walks to our campsite. Then we get to our campsites we will did some homework than we will go to do an active. On Valentines Day we stop at a sand bar to eat lunch and have some valentines candy and I share all of my candy with the group and the staff. I think the group had fun paddle the everglades and I saw a lot of wild life in the everglades. My group and I catch different kinds of fish and we stayed at different places to. On the first day of our paddle trip we paddle 6 miles to tiger key that was our first campsite. On the way down to the everglades we stayed that Logan’s beach house in Florida and we meet Logan’s parents again. Then the next day after Logan’s house we were goings goes to the everglades for 2 weeks. On some of the days when we padding the sun was out most of the time when we were canoe and we would get sunshine. Every night at our campsites all of the bugs and other things were biting us a lot. It was hard work to paddle in the wind was trying to push us away from the group. It was awesome to paddle in the morning before the sunrise was coming up and the tickle sticks saw some dolphins when we were padding in the moroning.

"Have You Ever Seen the Rain?"

Jake DeHaan

On this last expedition we had many fun and memorable experiences. The one I would to talk about is the amazing rainstorm we went through on Picnic Key. One day we were deciding on what to do since we had some time in between lunch and dinner. The conditions were looking unfavorable and the vote was between capture the flag and taking a hike down the beach. My vote was on capture the flag so if it began to rain we could easily get into our tents and wait it out. The group decided on the walk and we began walking down the beach. It was absolutely amazing. There were old trees half immersed in sand; it was just the most beautiful things I have ever seen. The way they seemed to come from nowhere and snake through the ground, plunging into the sand, only to reappear close by. We made it as far back into these trees as we could before they became to close together and we had to turn back. Almost instantaneously it began to rain as we began walking back to camp. It began to fall amazingly fast and hard. It was rain I have never seen before, at first it fell extremely hard and fast, like someone pouring bucket of water on you from hundreds of feet up. Soon after that, the rain began to fall. It almost seemed to begin falling sideways. The wind was so strong that it was pushing the rain incredibility hard against the side of our faces. Cassy and I, being the only ones with long hair decided to take our hoods off and let the rain flow through our hair. It was one of the most special movements of my life and I’ll never forget how beautiful it was, how peaceful and insignificant everything in the world seemed to be at the moment. When we returned, most people went straight to their tents, but I decided to just spend some time out in the rain to appreciate how absolutely beautiful everything in the world can be, no matter where you are, or what your going through, if you look hard enough you can always find it.

Highland Beach By Alec Thompson 2/22/10

When the South East Costal Tickle Sticks went to the Everglades National Park we visited a place called Highland Beach. When we got there it was a calm and windless day. The Tickle Sticks set up camp and started a fire to cook dinner. After dinner we had a big bonfire. We had it in the sand near the water because the low tide had started. We used palm fronds to start it. It was very big and hot because the palms started really quickly. It only lasted about 45 seconds but it will be my favorite bonfire that I have had in my life. After the fire we went to bed and talked for a while before going to sleep. In the morning we woke up to find that the water was about ¼ of a mile away from our canoes. The Tickle Sticks had a morning fire to cook breakfast and ate while doing some reading homework. After all the homework was done we decided to walk our canoes out to the water. It was easy at first then we hit the sinking mud or silt. When we went closer to the water the muck sunk the group in knee-deep silt. Many people lost their shoes so Logan made a judgment call and told us to take our shoes off. There was one problem with that. There were shells in the muck and our feet were getting cut up and poked by sharp shells but we were all ok. After getting all the gear and canoes in the water, we went back for a bathroom break and I lost my shoe in the muck. I quickly grabbed it before it sunk down deeper in the muck. After getting out of the muck we walked our canoes out a little bit and paddled. We soon found out that the water was only 1 foot deep and we could barely get anywhere. After a while we walked our canoes out for about 1 mile and stopped to rest. The place where we stopped was a bad place. When Mitch was walking his shoe came off and sunk about 3 ft down in the muck. He couldn’t find it so he left it there. After about 10 minutes we left and paddled to the Lopez River. Finally, after getting out of the muck we got back on track and went 9 miles to our destination. Our destination was Lostmans five. After all that work we chilled out at the camp hoping never to go to Highland Beach again.

The Tickle Sticks Night Adventure By JAMES PARKER

Ever since we, the Tickle Sticks, arrived in Everglade City, we had wanted to do a night paddle through the Everglades. The topic was discussed a number of times but was never done. Finally the chance arose for us to do a night paddle. The only thing was it was depending on if we were well behaved. We all behaved, or so what we thought was behaving. We turned out to be right and later that day we were told that that night we were to wake up at 2 AM, pack our gear into canoes, and begin our 20 mile paddle. After dinner we moseyed on over to our tents and attempted to sleep. It was fairly early in the night so getting to sleep for some of us was a bit of a challenge. After our short sleep we awoke to find ourselves in the dark campsite in the early hours of the morning. We packed up and headed outwards down the river. Relying on starlight and our own vision we navigated the bays of the Everglades. Many of us questioned our decisions on turns because for a while we hadn’t seen a marker indicating it was the right direction. We soon came to a marker, as soon as it had appeared everyone cheered. We were heading the right direction and were making great time. It was an amazing feeling and something that most people in their lives will never experience. As we paddled through the morning the water was full of phosphorescence, which if you don’t know what phosphorescence is, it is the process in which energy absorbed by a substance is released relatively slowly in the form of light. As our paddles moved through the water and as our canoe created ripples it would glow a greenish light. As we moved on past the bays into Lopez River the current started to pick up and slowly start moving out into the bays pushing us back. The bay feeding into Lopez River hit us with high winds and a fast moving current. All of which were going in the opposite direction. Paddling through here was our biggest challenge, but eventually we all made it. Around the corner at about 9 AM we saw the ranger station. I don’t think anyone could describe the feeling they had when they saw it. We had just completed our biggest paddle ever, and our first night paddle through the Everglades. It was a great experience and those who believe they are up to the challenge of navigating the Everglades at night should give it a try. It was an awesome experience as a whole and I would recommend it to anyone willing to give something new a shot.

Our Everglades Adventure By David Hollander

The Tickle Sticks second expedition was to the Florida everglades; it was a blast. There were some cold days, but most of the days were warm and sunny. In my opinion, it was cool to go to the everglades because of the wildlife. There many different types of fish to see. We paddled about 90 miles total, so we averaged about 10 miles a day! We had many funny moments, for example on Valentines Day Mitchell shared his sweethearts with us. We all had a valentine, which made the day even better. Our schedule was hectic because we had a lot of paddling each day and we also had homework. We woke up at about 7 each morning and packed up our sleeping bags and tents. After we packed up we would breakfast! Once we had finished breakfast we would pack the canoes and then finally we would be off. There would always be incentives through out the day. For example we would have the opportunity to fish once our daily homework session was done. These incentives made me try a lot harder through out the day. Unfortunately we only caught about 10 fish because of the fish kill. ☹

The final night we were out we decided it would be great if we did one night paddle so we ended up waking up at 2 am to began our longest paddle day to our take out spot. That final day we paddled 20 miles. ☺ It was a long hard night but once we stepped back onto land we felt amazing. We also had decided to drive all the way back to Logan’s house in North Carolina with out stopping. We didn’t arrive until 2 in the morning. Luckily we were able to sleep in till 10. The next couple days were really fun and we were able to go to the rec center for our morning exercise. Our last night before heading back to base we all went out to the Chinese buffet where we gorged ourselves ☺. It was an amazing trip and I really look forward to Belize which is hiding right around the corner.

Swimming With Fish!

It seemed like Balmorhea State Park was just another campsite in Texas with just another pool in it, but the Nothin’ But G’z were in for a big surprise. The pool that they were going to swim in was a natural pool fed by San Solomon Spring, keeping the water at temperatures between 720 to 760 F0 year round.1 It was 1 3/4-acre pool going down to depths of 25 feet, holding a total of 3½ million gallons.1 It is home to endangered species of fish, assorted invertebrates, and turtles. This wasn’t just another day at the pool, it was a unique experience. There were many things in the pool to occupy the SOAR students, from a low and high diving board, to getting a manicure and pedicure from the swarms of small fish in the pool, to going snorkeling to see the catfish and other creatures at the bottom of the pool.
The diving board was a big highlight of the pool visit. There were diving, splash, and most outrageous trick competitions galore. Ricky Diaz, A.C. Berry, Isaac Vaisberg, Ben Sacks, and Andrew Berry all participated in these competitions. The splash, trick, and diving competitions were all won by IV (Isaac Vaisberg, aka four)! This was a great triumph of IV’s. Another thing that was done on the high dive was a trick invented by Jeremy, the director for the south west part of SOAR. It was a trick in which you lie down on your belly and lean of the edge of the diving board and flip over the end and end up hanging onto the board, followed by letting go and dropping into the pool, this dive was therefore named The Jeremy Dive. This dive led to the creation of yet another dive, following the same beginning of leaning over the edge of the board, but instead of flipping upside down you grab the board with your legs so that you are hanging from your legs, head down, feet up to the sky. You then let your grip on the board go and fall head first into the water, often doing a belly flop in the process. Isaac Inglis, otherwise known as two, invented this dive.
Another thing that was done was to sit on the edge of the pool and leave your feet in to be nibbled on by the small fish that swarm at the edges of the pool. Often if you had feet that were filthy and stunk to high heavens, after leaving them in the pool for the fish to nibble on them for 30 minutes they would come out clean in both look and smell. The fish would bite and nibble off all the excess skin, dirt, and anything else. You could also leave your hands in to get the same treatment. Isaac has this to say about the experience, “It was really freaky and weird at first. You would put you feet in and within a minute the fish would be nibbling on them. The very first time they nibble, it is supper odd and creepy feeling and you just jerk your feet out of the water, but as you get use to the feeling, your reactions to the nibbles become less and less until it’s just the occasional foot twitch when one bites a patch of thin skin. But at the end it’s really cool and a practically once in a life time chance”
The other thing that was done was to dive down deep in the water to go look at the catfish and other creatures in the deeps of the pool. When doing this you could even touch a catfish on the back, even if only for a second. However, for some, this idea was a bit scary and freaky, Whitney Theriot was one of these people. For a while she even refused to go into the pool do to the knowledge that there were catfish in it, it was a new thing that we learned about Whitney, that she was scared of catfish. It seems irrational at first, but when you look at the facts about catfish, like how they could bite of a finger, and take into account the other fears of the group, like how Ben Sacks is afraid of small spiders, and Isaac Inglis is utterly creped out and scared by weevils, you can see Whitney’s fear as rational. Overall though, the experience was amazing and truly breath taking to do.
The Nothin’ But G’z visited this pool twice, one day after the other, and there were great times had by everyone in the group. This experience was quite unique and not one that many people get to experience. If other people in the world got to have this experience I’m sure it would severely change their outlook on both the prevention of Global Warming and the conservation of what little nature we have left, because when you get to swim with fish and nature in such a great environment, it seriously changes your view on the world and what humanity is doing to it with all it’s pollution and urban development. It is hoped that others will experience things like this in their lifetime to make them think about their actions and effects on the planet, I know that it made me think hard about what I should be doing for the Earth. – Written by Isaac John Inglis

Bibliography
1"TPWD: Balmorhea State Park." Texas Parks & Wildlife Department | Welcome. Web. 16 Feb. 2010. .

The Wilderness Adventure of Big Bend National Park By: Whitney Theriot

The sovereignty of Big Bend National Park really struck my fancy. This three day back packing trip is an experience I will remember for a long time. Making the decision to change groups and push my comfort zone might be the best decision I make this semester. I have never had a chance to fully explore the west coast and I jumped at this opportunity for a once in a lifetime experience. I was shocked by the radiance of the many sunrises and sunsets we witnessed. As the group watched the sunrise we saw bright colors of orange, pink, and sometimes purple light up the dark blue sky. Living outside New York City, I hardly ever get to see the millions of stars that fill our night sky. Every night I laid back and observed the brilliance of the stars with awe. I also enjoyed the natural beauty of the mountainous views, and was pleasantly surprised by how far you could see on a clear day. We also saw many types of flora and fauna. I found it interesting that the park became alive with fauna at night, instead of during the day. During these particular three days I learned a lot about myself. I can do anything I put my mind to as long as I persevere through the initial struggle. I also learned that when I hike in front of the group I could complete a hike with strength, accuracy, and ease. The best part was that the group was there for me to lean on when I needed support. During the Big Bend hiking trip in particular, I felt the group was coming together as a strong unit instead of as a group of individuals. I witnessed this along the trails and in the campsites. The way the group encouraged each other to achieve their personal best was an impressive thing to witness. There were also numerous jokes, games, and songs that were passed among the group. When people became heated, these three strategies seemed to lighten and change the overall mood of the group. The beauty and solemnity of Big Bend Natural Park brought out a side of me that I have never felt before. The overall experience of the hiking trip added a whole new level to our Texas Expedition.

The wonderful exciting things that happened in Texas By A.C. Berry

Wow there where so many exciting things that the Nothing But G’s did in Texas. One of the first things that caught all of our attention was the Guadalupe state park, where they had a pool. The cool thing about this pool was it was a natural spring. What I mean by that is that fish were inside the pool. It was weird but also cool at the same time. For me I felt like I was swimming in a human’s fish tank. That might sound funny now but it is the truth. The coolest thing about this pool, besides the fish, was the diving board. The diving board was a high dive. All of us went off of it. We made a challenge out of the high board. We had a biggest splash competition. The people involved were I.V., Andrew, Ricky and myself. Andrew wasn’t that good at it because he is very skinny, but who won by half a point was I.V. I came in second and Ricky and Andrew tied for last. I got my revenge by doing the craziest tricks you can do. The first time I just did a back flip something easy and simple. The next dive I wanted to try was a squirrel dive, where you hold your ankles and go in headfirst. I gave up because that was very scary. Then I tried a front flip into a back flip. That did not go so well. I did it but I landed on my face. Ouch!!!

We have to do a backpacking trip each expedition. In Texas we were lucky to experience Big Bend National Park. The cool thing was this park is in two countries, the Untied States and Mexico. That is why they call the park big Bend, because where Mexico and the United States cross, there is a Big Bend. We got to do our backpacking into Big Bend. We had to hike in our own water. We all carried extra weight, but it paid off in the long run, because we had water and we got stronger. So there are two positive things about carrying the extra weight. The best part about the hike was getting lost in your mind by the nature around you. I think that was about the same for all of us. Our campsites were small but we worked with them. The positive thing when we were in the backcountry was we did not have any bad weather. We thought we would because of the clouds, but we did not. That was a positive for all of us.

I think the coolest thing we did after we got out of the backcountry, besides the hot springs, was the cave that we went to. A little tip on the cave, if you want to go to it, go during the summer. The bats fly out every night in the summer, and it is really cool to watch. During the winter they fly north to another cave in Canada. It was very cold and wet and the rocks had water on them. The cave dripped on us. Good thing we had rain gear. The coolest thing about the cave is that you can actually go into the cave and see where the bats live and what a cave looks like. Another cool and interesting thing that was down in the cave was a gift shop and a convenience store. That is cool and also annoying. Why annoying? Because there is a gift shop in a cave and that is not cool to me at all. They have the visitor center for that. The positive thing is that they have that service just incase you get hungry.

As I wrap this exciting expedition up in this blog, I just want to say that as a whole, we have each other’s back no matter what. Now most of us are treating each other more like family then we did in the beginning. The weather was about the same as Arizona. It snowed in Texas the first day, but other then that it was pretty good weather. I did not know it snowed in Texas until I went there. The weather was a lot better then Arizona. Personally I cannot wait until we go to California for our next expedition I am sure everyone is feeling the same way. Plus we have someone in our group that is from California so that helps us learn more about it. Isaac Ingles is from Lafayette, CA. We are going to his home turf. We have another expedition under our belts and three more to go!

Talk to you guys soon!
From the one and only
A.C. Berry
P.S. thanks to all the parents sending us stuff for the group.

Hot Springs in Big Bend National Park BY Andrew Berry

The road was very rocky driving down to the hot spring parking lot in Big Bend National Park. We hiked one mile from the parking lot, to the hot spring. The water temperature was 105 degrees at the hot spring. The weather was very foggy that night. The hot spring borders Mexico. To be able to see Mexico from Big Bend National Park was cool.
We had our nightly meeting in the hot spring. It was fun to sit in the hot spring at night. The group liked the hot spring.
If you go hiking for seven miles, you would want to go to the hot spring too. It feels soothing to sit in a hot pool after hiking that far. I would go there to visit if I were you because it is an amazing experience.
The trip to Big Bend National Park was very cool because of the hot spring, and the fun we had there.

Carlsbad Caverns- (the cave we hiked in) BY Laith Saffo

We hiked in the cave after lunch. It was raining before we got into the cave. We hiked for a couple of hours. It was about a mile or two. We saw cool formations like stalactites, drapery popcorn, and others you can look up if you would like . It was warm in the cave, a comfortably 56 all year round. Isaac Vaisberg, which we call him I.V, or 4, had to go up the elevator early. He had to go to the bathroom because the bathroom in the cave was broken. The elevator is the way out of the cave. When we were getting ready to leave the cave, we passed a store and consession stand in the cave. We thought it was funny, or at least I did. When we got out of the cave, we put our layers on, and then left for Big Bend National Park. The hike in the cave was fun.

Fun in the Hot Springs at Big Bend Ranch National Park

Ricky Diaz
2/15/10
At Big Bend Ranch National Park, we went to the famous hot springs! The hot springs are actually on the bank of the Rio Grande River, which borders the United States and Mexico. So if you look in the direction of the Rio Grande you will be able see Mexico. It is awesome! We weren’t the only ones at the hot springs. There were a few other people there too. We had very good conversations with the other people at the hot springs and we told them about S.O.A.R. While we were walking to and from the hot springs we saw ornaments and are creations that people had made and were selling them on the side of the road. There were decorated walking sticks and little animals made out of beads. We had a very important nightly meeting at the hot springs, where we talked about major issues within the group. That was a very fun part of the trip for me. I really enjoyed sitting in the hot water and talking about important issues within the group. Hopefully our group can continue to have good talks like the ones we had at the hot springs. Peace!

Nine-Thousand Feet and Counting . . . . . . . By Isaac Vaisberg

Starting at six thousand feet in elevation, SOAR’s South-West group began to climb. Six thousand five hundred feet, the arid desert of Texas’s Guadalupe National Park begins to show its vast and beautiful landscape. Cacti by the hundreds and vast plains of barren land lie in the horizon. The bottom part of a large rock formation, El Capitan, is barely visible through the trees. Seven thousand feet, the barren desert turns into a rocky plain. The sand and arid land begins to turn into rocky surfaces. El Capitan begins top show his true colors as its face starts to show more clearly in the horizon. On this particularly clear day you could see fifty miles away at this point. Seven thousand five hundred feet, the rocky surfaces turn into snowy trails. What was once and barren desert is now a winter wonderland. All the trees seem to be dancing to the beat of the cool breeze that sweeps the giant mountain. They carry a load of fresh white snow that reflects the suns rays back into the sky, making it even more beautiful. Eight thousand feet, deer begin to show their faces on an opposite peak. They carelessly roam the mountain, playing and feeding as the snow falls on top of them. Our presence matters not to them for they are in their own little world, joyful and free. The flash of our cameras doesn’t scare them away; in fact, it draws them ever closer to us, curious creatures. The once barren mountains are now completely doused in white, powdery snow. El Capitan is almost completely exposed, showing its monstrous yet delicate face. The clear blue skies allow us to see around seventy-five miles in the distance, the gorgeous Texas planes starring back at us. Eight thousand five hundred feet, our feet and legs begin to feel the strain of the hike. Our faces shiver at the touch of the cool breeze that sweeps across the mountaintop. We are almost there. Just a few more steps and we will be at the summit. Nine thousand feet, we made it. We are on top of the highest point in Texas, Guadalupe peak. From here our tiny campsite is just barely visible three thousand feet below, but our pride shows. El Capitan is completely visible now and his humongous face is standing proud just a few hundred feet away from us. Although not by much, we are above El Capitan and that fills us with a sence of pride and accomplishment. We can see one hundred miles into the horizon at the distant mountain ranges. They seem to be smiling at us, cheering at us, aware of our success. As we line up for a group picture we are all filled with the same feeling: we are on top of the world.

Swimming with Gentle Giants By, Jake DeHaan

At the end of this fantastic expedition the South East Costal Team, named the Tickle Sticks, took a short stop in Crystal River, Florida to snorkel with the manatees.
We arrived at the dive shop almost an hour late due to an unfortunate late wake up earlier that morning. Once we arrived time was extremely short, so the team quickly grabbed all of the gear needed and hopped into the van to drive to the boat.
The bout ride was an extremely short one, lasting only but a few minutes. Once the team arrived, we gently slid into the water as not to scare the delicate animals. The first sight of one of the manatees was unnerving. The manatees are around 9 to 12 feet and weigh around 800 to 1200 pounds. About ten minutes later, the group began to get extremely comfortable with them. The animals are very playful and enjoy human/manatees interactions. The manatees loved being rubbed on and at times would roll over, and expose their bellies. Not all to surprisingly, the animals are quite clumsy. They constantly run and bump into the humans in the area, and they never think twice about it. On top of that, the water that morning was horribly cloudy, making it hard to move out of their way.
Once we were all tired we headed back to the boat. Once we arrived we found that the captain had made the group hot cocoa, which was extremely nice since the water had been so cold. We made our way back to shore and in a short time we were back on the road, ready to continue our way on a 10-hour drive to North Carolina.

Diving with the Tickle Sticks By JAMES PARKER

While in the Keys the South East Coastal Tickle Sticks attempted to get their scuba certifications. We all did two days of class work. The first day we watched a video on diving while filling in answers in our books. On the second day we had a dive instructor named JB come and teach us everything we needed to know to pass the test. We took the test later that day and everyone passed. The next day we had our first day under the water. Although it was in a pool, it gave us a chance to experience what breathing underwater was like before the real thing. We went over the basics of diving and learned many skills needed for diving. Later that day JB informed us that we all passed the pool portion of the class. The next day was the real thing. Many of us were nervous about our first dive in the open water. We all took a boat out to Looe Key. Once there, we put on our gear and jumped in. This was the moment everyone had been waiting for. After everyone hopped in JB signaled us to go under the water. With hearts racing and nerves building up we all went under. The first breath was amazing. Down 15 feet below the surface was like being in a whole new world. The sound of bubbles coming from our regulators was the only sound heard. Something about being under the water, swimming with the fish, was a whole new experience. New sensations filled out bodies. It was incredible. The first dive we got the hang of being underwater. The second dive we focused more on skills like taking off equipment and putting it back on. Everyone completed two of the four dives needed to get their open water certification. The next few days brought bad weather. About four days later we had our final two dives. The first dive that day we focused on clearing our masks and taking weight belts on and off. The second dive of the day was navigation. Once out of the water JB congratulated us on getting our open water certifications. Swimming with the fish, breathing underwater, and new sensations, it was all worth it. Diving is one of the most fun things anyone can do. If you don’t already having a certification I recommend you go out and get it.

Scuba Diving in Looe Key By Alec Thompson 2/2/10

The South East Costal Team, known as the tickle sticks, went scuba diving in Looe Key. They were super excited about going, even though one person couldn’t go. When the tickle sticks went to Looe Key they were told to put on their wet suits. We tried to put them on as quickly as possible, but most of us had trouble doing so. I got to wear two wet suits because I got cold. I got the first one on and then the second one on as quick as I could. It was time to go after we got our wet suits on. We got all our gear on and jumped off the boat into the ocean. It is so cool when you are able to breathe under water. There were lots of cool fish to see. The open water divers saw a lizardfish and the advanced divers saw a 16 ft moray eel. When we sat on the bottom it was very relaxing to us. It was a very quiet and peaceful place underwater. We moved from coral to coral being careful not to break any coral or rocks. We saw some amazing colors in the coral reefs. Some of the colors included blue, green, red and purple reefs. Over all the dives went smooth.

Getting the Advanced open water dive certification By Christian

The time in the keys was fun for the South East Coastal group. We enjoyed getting our diving certifications. Mark, David, and I completed the advanced open water certification because we already had our open water certification. To do this we had a confined water dive, which is in a pool. For the first and second open water dive we explored some of Looe Key, which is a coral reef. We had bit of a dive delay due to the weather. For the deep dive we went down 70 feet, and opened a lock. Most of us did it but I couldn’t remember the combination. The third open water dive was mainly navigation. Somehow my finger was bleeding on that dive. It was all right it just hurt. The final dive was mainly exploring the reef. There was a moray eel in a crevice on the reef. In the end we got our Advanced Open Water Certification.

The manatees in Crystal River by Mitchell Wilkinson-Harrison

The south East costal team, known as the Tickle sticks , went snorkeling with the manatees in Crystal River. We saw a lot of manatees in Crystal River. Some of them were 12 to 15 feet long and the manatees can get up to 2,000 pounds. The manatees will sometimes roll over so that you could feel them .They had algae growing on them. Their skin felt like a rock that has algae on it, slippery and slimy. The greatest highlight of the trip was snorkeling with the manatees.