Wednesday...Let's visit Ferd & The Black Bear.

After breakfast we packed our day packs and boarded the boat to Antlers again.  This time we had to say goodbye to our friend Tim Slekar and his family.  They were leaving today to attend an education rally in Washington, D.C.  After arriving at Antlers, we loaded into the cars and drove to Ferd’s Bog.  What I did not realize is that Ferd’s Bog and Black Bear Mountain are down that first dirt road on the left as you approach Antlers.  I’ve always wondered what was down that road.  There were some campsites and some privately owned cottages.  We reached Ferd’s Bog and took the 15 minute hike to the end of the boardwalk.

When we arrived at the end of the boardwalk, we were encouraged to step off of the boardwalk.  This was done to allow us to see that a person is able to stand on a bog and to see what it feels like to stand on top of the bog.  When I was walking out there it sounded like I was walking on Styrofoam packing peanuts.  When I stopped in one place it sounded like what happens when you pour milk onto your Rice Krispies.  The ground was soft, spongy, and very wet.  It reminded me of last summer when I discovered what the Alaskan Tundra felt like.  It was also soft and spongy, but it wasn’t wet (it was actually a little frozen...it felt like you were touching some type of gel).  Most of our class only ventured a few feet off of the boardwalk.  Kathy and I went about 90 feet from the boardwalk.  Kathy took pictures of the plants and wildlife while I helped her.  I figured that if my feet were already wet I might as well go a little farther and get an up-close view of other parts of the bog.  After a little while we returned to the boardwalk and hiked back to the trailhead.

After we all changed into dry footwear, we walked up to Black Bear Mountain.  We had to walk a little ways up the road before we came to the trail.  I hiked to the top of Black Bear in 2005 when I was here for PE camp.  The only difference is that we canoed to Black Bear and then hiked up.  I am glad that we went this way so that I could see the different sights en route to the trails.  The scenery on the trail was beautiful.  The view from the top was even more beautiful.  We ate lunch and enjoyed the views of Blue Mountain before hiking back down the trail.  We made it back to the cars and drove back to Antlers.  Rob arrived a few minutes later with the boat and shuttled us back to Camp Huntington.

After a brief break we ventured down to the kayak dock where Matt provided a tutorial on how to kayak.  I learned to kayak here during PE camp.  We learned our basic moves just off of the kayak dock and then proceeded to canoe around Big Island.  Matt gave a good presentation which served as a nice refresher for me.  This time we went traveled past the front dock of camp up to the Kirby Camp.  It was such a beautiful day to do this.  The sun was shining brightly and that fresh pine smell of the Adirondacks was present.  On the way back the clouds and sun interacted brilliantly to create a memorable view of Big Island.  I then helped to put the kayaks away and got ready for dinner.

After a magnificent turkey dinner, we returned to the Carlson Classroom to talk about consumerism.  We started off by viewing the video of “The Story of Stuff.”  While I agree with many of the points that they make, I still believe that some of it is propaganda and some of the things presented were taken out of context.  Still, I believe that we need to change our mindsets on why we buy things and what we do with things once they are no longer needed.  There was also a discussion about how we as teachers can do this.  One idea that was brought up was an activity about needs and wants.  In addition to determining what the needs and wants are, students would determine how much all of the wants would cost.  While I think that this can be an effective activity, I believe that teachers need to build the confidence of students so that they can “run to the beat of their own drummer.”  It shouldn’t matter what other people believe.  If my student believes that something is needed, he or she should obtain it.  While others may attempt to pressure that student into purchasing a newer version of something (that we would consider a want in this case), the student would be able to hold his or her ground and keep the old item if that is what he or she desires.  It’s not an easy fix and there is still a long way to go in order to get to where we need to be.

It is about 9:30 p.m. as I am writing this.  I am working in the Carlson Classroom and Kathy is also here.  I will now do some work on my project before going to sleep.  Good night!