Visit: Joshua Tree National Park!

The United States has many wonderful National Parks.

 
Last week, Mrs. Yollis visited a special place 

~  Joshua Tree National Park  ~ 

Have you ever visited a national park?

Please leave a comment about the experience!

Visit the Arctic Circle!

By Mrs. Yollis

This summer, my husband and I embarked on an adventurous fishing trip to the Arctic Circle! The Arctic Circle is one of the five major lines of latitude and is approximately 66 1/2 ˚ north of the Equator.

We flew out of Los Angeles and after many hours, arrived in Kobuk, Alaska.

Kobuk, a small Native American village of 100 Inupiat Eskimos, is 25 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Many of the villagers practice a traditional subsistence lifestyle of hunting, fishing, and gathering. In fact, many of the fish we caught were given to the villagers to freeze and use over the winter.

We were very close to Kobuk Valley National Park and Gates of the Arctic National Park.

Every spring and fall, the largest caribou herd in Alaska, the Western Arctic Caribou herd, migrates through this area. It would have been great to see them swim across the Kobuk River, but since it was summer, they were already north of where we were.

* * * * *

Our excellent river guide was named Alex, and he has lived in Kobuk his entire life. When Alex was a child, there were only three homes in Kobuk. Now there are over forty homes!

Alex had a lot of experience fishing, hunting, and trapping and was awarded the
Alaska Federation of Natives Hunter/Provider of the Year Award in 2006!
He knew all the best places to fish and shared many wonderful stories with us.

* * * * *

Part of the time, we were fly fishing for Arctic grayling, a type of trout. Fly fishing uses an artificial fly to attract the fish. The fly typically looks like an insect that the fish enjoy eating.


Below is a picture of us fly fishing. We are wearing special gear called waders which are water-proof and allow us to walk into the river.


We caught many Arctic grayling using our fly rods. The grayling has a red and purple dotted sail-like dorsal fin. We ate some of the fish and released the others.

Here is a photo of an Arctic grayling.


* * * * *

Alex loaned us some Arctic gear.
At times the mosquitoes were very thick, so I wore a mosquito net over my head!
It really worked!
How do you like my camouflage? :-)

Even though we were in the Arctic, the temperatures in the summer can be in the 80s! One day it was overcast and cooler, so I put on Alex's gear to stay warm.

* * * * *

We also used spinning rods to catch sheefish, a member of the white fish family. Sheefish are only found in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic regions. They have a large mouth, large silver scales, and put up a fight when caught. They are very tasty!


* * * * *

Alaska is nicknamed "The Land of the Midnight Sun".
The Arctic Circle marks the southern most point of the polar day (24 hour sunlit day).
Below is a picture of me taken at midnight! Because we were so far north,
the summer sun never set!



I thought we would see lots of wildlife, but we didn't.
No eagles, no caribou, no bears.
However, we did see lots of moose!



Our adventure to the Arctic Circle was an amazing experience!

* * * * *

What adventures did you have over the summer?

Please tell about something fun you did!

Remember, sometimes the best adventures are had in your own backyard!

Visit Palm Springs, California!

By Kyle

A few students have written travel posts about places they have visited. One student wrote about Washington, D. C. and one wrote about Lake Tahoe.

Kyle and his father created a travel post in a special way. He uploaded his vacation photos to iMovie and then narrated the show using GarageBand.
Great use of digital media!

For those of you who don't know, here is some general information about the popular vacation spot.

Palm Springs is a desert community located 111 miles east of Los Angeles. The population of Palm Springs is about 42, 807 people. Even though Palm Springs is really hot, many people go there to play golf. In fact, Palm Springs has 125 golf courses! When I was there the temperature was in the 90s.

Please enjoy my slide show!

What do you think of Palm Springs?
How do you like Kyle's slide show?
Add a fact about Palm Springs in the comments.

* * * * *
Mrs. Ranney, one of our commenters, mentioned Tahquitz Canyon in Palm Springs. That's where the Cahuilla Indians used to live.

Here are some photos she sent us of her trip.


Thank you Mrs. Ranney!

Visit Lake Tahoe

Chloe visited Lake Tahoe with her family. She created a beautiful travel blog of her trip. Learn about Lake Tahoe through her pictures and information!

Behind me is Emerald Bay located on the south side of Lake Tahoe.
Emerald Bay State Park is located around Emerald Bay; a National Landmark at Lake Tahoe. Emerald Bay is one of Lake Tahoe's most photographed and popular locations. This is a very beautiful place to visit.

This is a view from the gondola coming down from the Heavenly ski school. The view is of south shore Lake Tahoe. My mom was really terrified while taking this picture because she does not like heights.

Lake Tahoe is the second deepest lake in the United States, with a maximum depth of 1,645 feet, trailing only Oregon's Crater Lake at 1,949 feet. Tahoe is also the 16th deepest lake in the world, and the fifth deepest in average depth. It is about 22 miles long and 12 miles wide. It has 72 miles of shoreline and a surface area of 191 square miles.

This is my dad and me on the top of Heavenly ski slopes. He is a great skier, and he is very advanced. We went up so that he could teach me to be a great skier just like him. We skied on both the California side as well as the Nevada side. It is really fun to ski with my awesome dad!

Above is a picture of an area called Sandy Harbor which is located in the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe.
The sand is from years of erosion of sandstone and granite rock.



Native People


The area around Lake Tahoe was originally inhabited by the Washoe tribe of Native Americans. Lake Tahoe was the center and heart of Washoe Indian territory, including the upper valleys of the Walker, Carson, and Truckee Rivers. The English name for Lake Tahoe derives from the Washo dá’aw, "lake".

Visit Washington, D.C.

Jonah visited Washington, D. C. with his family. He created a beautiful travel journal of his trip. Learn about our nation's capital through his pictures and information!


To make a picture larger, click on it.

Thank you Jonah!