Final Thoughts from the Students **updated**

****My computer is back and I have added Shannon's last Blog below!!****

Today has been a long day - starting with the black bear that wandered through camp at 2am this morning and caused quite stir at the not so tidy campsite across the road. The bear went past Joe and Jon's tent waking them up after it past between my tent and Garver's tent. Garver woke me up, I was certain it was just the very healthy, large arctic ground squirrel and that there was nothing to be worried about. Garver spoke with Joe and Jon by the time the bear moved on. Lenny and Sam slept through the whole thing, as did Amanda and Kaitlin, Shannon did wake up and got a recap from the guys. So yes quite the start to the last day! A lot of fuss for a squirrel if you ask me.
While we were cleaning up for our flights home the students worked on some final thoughts. Unfortunately Shannon's final thoughts might have been the final thoughts EVER written on my computer - it won't turn on, so her final words are a secret for now. But we do have everyone else's final words and a few more pictures to share. In the next couple of days there will be some movies and links to other photos posted. This was an awesome trip and Garver and I are very impressed with by what the students have accomplished - well done - it doesn't get better than this!!

Joe: To sum up the past few weeks I have to use the words awesome, sweet, schist and fish-on. The professors were able to captivate everyone on the trip and maintain the most extreme and fascinating outdoor classroom possible. We saw wildlife on every turn ranging from mouse to moose and bees to bears. There is something mesmerizing about standing at the foot of a calving glacier and feeling it’s thunderous collapse. This trip was a great learning opportunity and I would do it over again in a heartbeat.

Jon-Hot-Diggitty-Dog, what a trip, what a class, what a crew. These three weeks have flown by and it’s been a blast. For me it was like Christmas every morning, I couldn't wait to get up and get going. I have so many incredible memories from this trip including one little adventure last night when a bear came running through our camp at 2:30 in the morning. I can’t imagine coming to Alaska with a better group of kids, everyone was amazing.

Amanda: I can’t believe our three weeks here in Alaska are already up! After our exam last night, we shared our favorite parts of the trip, and one of everyone’s top favorite days was the Childs Glacier hike where we saw some unreal glacial calving. This trip has been an amazing start to my senior year. It has given me a lot of insight about myself and what I’d like to be doing in the future after graduation. I have met some truly remarkable people on this trip who I hope to spend a lot of time with at Union when we return. I will especially miss Kaitlin’s sleep talk that I usually wake up to every night. One of my favorite lines was, “My chocolate? I’m not in the fish.” I hope to return to Alaska in the near future and spend some time exploring this place on my own.

Kaitlin: As we pack up to leave, it seems hard to believe that our three weeks here are over. Our last campfire was full of good stories, videos and lots of laughs, a true indicator of a great trip! I have learned so much and am thankful for the great friends I have made here- this is definitely a great start to my geology career at Union. Although I will have to do without my nightly smore-making at home, I look forward to our reunion back at school!

Lenny: Today I am leaving Alaska, I’m left with bittersweet feelings as I’m excited to go home but I am going to miss Alaska. The whole trip has been exciting from the start of the trip on Kodiak to the end around Denali. We were able to witness spectacular natural events like the calving on Child’s glacier, the Grizzly walking across the Copper River Delta and the water flowing through the ice caves under Castner Glacier. Hopefully I will be back here again soon.

Sam: This was an eventful three weeks. The group learned a ton about Alaska, and our largest state. My favorite two stops were the Kennecott mine and the Gunny Sack Creek. I found the diverse mineralogy very interesting at both these stops. I also really enjoyed the Childs Glacier calving. I learned many new concepts, not only about geology , but about environmental science as well. Camping was certainly a new and interesting experience for me. I will never forget this trip.

Shannon - Looking back on this trip to Alaska, I am unable to think of a better way to start off the summer. I was surrounded by eight other adventurous, outgoing individuals for the past three weeks and there was never a dull moment within the group. Although the trip was an amazing experience, there are several specific events that reign above the rest as my favourites. The hike on Childs Glacier was one of the most memorable moments because it was my first glacier encounter and the massive calving events were mind blowing. Nevertheless, the simple activities such as swimming in the Pipeline Lake, hiking on the McKinley Trail, and sleeping outside on the ferry during our return from Kodiak will remain in memory forever. The wildlife sightings were remarkable as well. All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better trip to the Last Frontier. It was an incredible opportunity that I am extremely happy I took advantage of. Thanks to everyone for this fabulous experience!