The weather looked bad. Very Wet! The teachers and staff almost decided to cancel the trip. Though good thing we did not! It turned out to be a great Fall Campout.

Wednesday started off cloudy and little wet. We packed up and headed over to our first destination the Children’s Science Center, in Eugene. The students started out exploring the different exhibits before heading over to the Planetarium where the students enjoyed learning about the Solar System. From there we packed up and headed over the mountains to our Campsites at Beachside State Park. We met some pretty hard rain on the way to the coast. we also lost power with the Bates’ van pulling our trailer. It looked like we could be in for some problems. Fortunately almost everything after that turned out amazing, except for Justin getting a bandage on his head.

When we arrived at our Campsites, the rain was behind us, and the sun was shining.

Thursday dawned bright and clear. After breakfast and worship the older students headed over to the Waldport SDA Community Services Center to help sort donated clothing the community coul use. Students were very helpful and enjoyed themselves. Some of the most common comments were “it’s so cute” and “it’s so adorable”. Next came lunch and a trip to Cape Perpetua where the upper graders hiked to the Giant Spruce and the younger students hiked to Thor’s Well. After the two hikes the students got to watch a video and also became junior rangers. Next we enjoyed some games on the beach and then later some delicious s’mores.

Friday took us to the Hatfield Science Center in Newport. First the students headed to the Mud Flats and suctioned up some Shrimp and learned about the delicate balance of nature in the estuary. Next the students went inside and were able to touch starfish, urchins, and many other exciting creatures. Then they went around the exhibits with more hands on science games and activities. Some of the favorites seemed to be the tsunami simulator, and a S-D topographical map with sand and light.