Camp Teachers in Yosemite 2002

Carl, Camp Trainer: . . . . Sun, Jul 21, 8:27PM PST (-0800 GMT)

July 21, 2002 --- Welcome Yosemite Campers! We are getting together for 3 days of discussion of Camp Internet and on site exploration of Yosemite National Park. button

Mrs. Glenn/Miramonte Elementary: . . . . Mon, Jul 22, 9:05AM PST (-0800 GMT) Hi, My name is Cressa and this is my 5th year in Camp Internet. I have enjoyed using Camp Internet over my years in Oro Grande Elementary and Clovis Unified School District. I feel that it is a good solid program which aligns with state standards. button

Miss Gray, Quail Lake Environmental Charter: . . . . Mon, Jul 22, 9:06AM PST (-0800 GMT) Hi, my name is Heather Gray. I work at Quail Lake Environmental Charter School. This is my first year at Camp Internet. I am very excited about getting my students involved because I think that it is a great way for them to learn about technology. button

Black, Mrs., Lamont School District: . . . . Mon, Jul 22, 9:09AM PST (-0800 GMT) Hello, I am here in Yosemite to learn about Camp Internet. This is my first experience with this resource. I am a District Library Media Teacher for Lamont School District, outside of Bakersfield, and my favorite link can be found at this button . I hope to offer Camp Internet digs in my libraries. Mr. Demangate, Camp Trainer: . . . . Mon, Jul 22, 9:11AM PST (-0800 GMT)

We are here at Yosemite High School button computer lab, preparing to discuss the use of Camp Internet in our teachers' classrooms.

Mr. Sauers, McCabe Elementary: . . . . Mon, Jul 22, 9:21AM PST (-0800 GMT) Greetings, I am a 5th grade teacher at McCabe Elem. in Mendota CA. I am really looking forward to learning how to "take" my students to places that they usually would not have access to. One of my favorite California back country areas is Mono Hot Springs. button Last night we wandered around in the dark and played with our new GPS toys. I can tell that this is going to be a fun and rewarding experience.

Beckman, Lamont School District: . . . . Mon, Jul 22, 9:22AM PST (-0800 GMT) Hello, I am in training at Yosemite High School learning about Camp Internet. I work at Lamont School District taking care of our WAN (wide area network) between our four schools button

Mrs. Murray, Columbus Tustin Middle School: . . . . Mon, Jul 22, 9:28AM PST (-0800 GMT) button It's great to be here in Yosemite! Not only do I look forward to getting my class dialed-in to all that Camp Internet offers, but also I look forward to accomplishing a personal challenge of mine--riding my bike from the Valley Floor to the top of Tioga Pass--the highest pass in the Sierra Nevada Mountains! I've ridden to the top of Ebbetts Pass and Carson Pass, and to the top of the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains (Logan Pass in Glacier National Park). Tioga Pass remains a 10,000 foot elevation challenge!

Mrs. Murray, Columbus Tustin Middle School: . . . . Mon, Jul 22, 9:31AM PST (-0800 GMT) Photo of Lake at Tioga Pass!

Cressa Glenn/Miramonte Elementary: . . . . Wed, Jul 24, 11:59AM PST (-0800 GMT) Yosemite National Park Field Report (N 37, W119)

Shadow of the Giants (N37.42621 W. 119.59621 Elevation 5,098) After our time in the computer lab at Yosemite High School, we carpooled up to Shadow of the Giants to see some big trees. Some trees that we saw were Ponderosa pine, Sugar Pine, Giant Sequoia, and Incense Cedar.

What amazes me about the trees is the size of the cone. The largest tree of this forest has the smallest cone. I feel so minute amongst these giants. The giant sequoias bring a new perspective to one’s place on this earth.

Cressa Glenn/Miramonte Elementary: . . . . Wed, Jul 24, 0:00PM PST (-0800 GMT) Our trip yesterday was to the Yosemite Valley. I have been to Yosemite Valley before but every time I come I see and learn something new or experience something that I knew in a new way. On this trip it was the Yosemite geology that I experienced in a new and exciting way. We met with a naturalist that showed us the geology rather than telling us. One demonstration he used was of erosion. He used one of the members of the group. She was a river. We all gathered in a tight group. Then when the river moved we moved to get out of the way of the river. He also showed how a glacier does the same but in a more direct route. Glaciers carve a straight route while a river takes a path of least resistance. One impression this trip has made on me is that my impression on this earth will come to an end except for the small impact I have made on the children in my classroom but geology continues for eternity. button

Cressa Glenn/Miramonte Elementary: . . . . Wed, Jul 24, 0:00PM PST (-0800 GMT) Last night we went to an old fashioned campfire. Here we sang songs and listened to stories. My favorite was when old John Muir came walking down the path toward us. He told us of his first interview with a grizzly bear. He also told stories of his memorable past times in the Yosemite Valley. This is an experience best seen than retold. There was also time for roasting marshmallows. button

Miss Gray, Quail Lakes Environmental Charter: . . . . Wed, Jul 24, 0:02PM PST (-0800 GMT)

Yosemite National Park Field Report (N 37°, W 119°) Summer 2002 button button

Miss Gray, Quail Lakes Environmental Charter: . . . . Wed, Jul 24, 0:02PM PST (-0800 GMT) I had a really great day at the park! It is such a beautiful place! In the morning we went on a tour with one of the rangers. We had ranger Shelton Johnson, and he was absolutely wonderful. He took us on a geological adventure. He talked to us about the geological cycle of the earth and how Yosemite is never finished. We talked about the flood that occurred in Yosemite in 1997. We were standing in places that were covered in water just a few short years ago. You could see the erosion of the bank from where the rushing water had come through. Ranger Johnson was a great tour guide and I would love to have him speak to my students. He was very passionate about geology and the park. He used a lot of humor and made it very fun. I think that he would be great with kids on a tour.

Miss Gray, Quail Lakes Environmental Charter: . . . . Wed, Jul 24, 0:03PM PST (-0800 GMT) During the tour with ranger Johnson I found myself standing in a beautiful meadow surrounded by granite mountains and looking straight at the glorious Half Dome. Where we were standing (Elevation: 3958 ft., N 37°44’38.1’’, W 119°35’36.1’’) had been a lake in 1997. Now I stood there in the middle of tall green plants. A graceful butterfly fluttered across the top of the plants. There were dragonflies playing throughout the meadow. It was such a wonderful site. I just stood there mesmerized by the beauty. I wish that all of my students could

experience this.

Miss Gray, Quail Lakes Environmental Charter: . . . . Wed, Jul 24, 0:03PM PST (-0800 GMT) In the afternoon we decided to hike to the top of Vernal Falls (Elevation: 5118 ft, N 37°43’37.9’’, W 119°32’35.0’’). It was a long tough hike, but well worth it. You could look out and see all the way down the mountain. There was a pond at the top where you could stop and cool off. It took us several hours to get to the top, and only about 45 minutes to get back down. I really had to think about John Muir hiking through these mountains. We had a trail that had been made with stone steps and rails. When John Muir hiked he had none of this. button It really was a tough hike I can’t imagine doing this with no trail as John Muir did daily. Mr. Sauers, McCabe Elem.: . . . . Wed, Jul 24, 0:08PM PST (-0800 GMT) Yosemite Valley – Field report by Mr. Sauers ------On Tuesday July 23, 2003, Camp Internet took a field trip to Yosemite National Park. We spent the day exploring the Yosemite Valley and its surrounding environs. ------We started out with breakfast at the Wawona Hotel. A classic mountain resort hotel, the Wawona was built in 1856. From the Wawona we drove to the Yosemite Valley where we met up with Park Ranger Shelton Johnson, Who took us on a nature walk through Yosemite Meadow (N37.4341

W119.59303 Elev. 3947).

Mr. Sauers, McCabe Elem.: . . . . Wed, Jul 24, 0:08PM PST (-0800 GMT) Ranger Johnson gave us a brief geological history of the Yosemite Valley, and showed us examples of how the valley is constantly changing. In fact change seems to be the only constant that exists in Yosemite. The Yosemite Valley today is very different from the Yosemite Valley of 100years ago. Species of animals and populations of people have disappeared (The California Grizzly bear, and the Miwok Indians no longer exist in Yosemite), while other species have been introduced (The German Brown Trout and the Bull Frog have been introduced to the valley by man in the last 100 years). Wooded forests are slowly replacing the meadows that have helped to make the Yosemite Valley famous.

What will Yosemite look like 100years from now?

Mr. Sauers, McCabe Elem.: . . . . Wed, Jul 24, 0:09PM PST (-0800 GMT) Later in the day, some us hiked to the top of Vernal Falls (N37.72727 W119.54303 Elev.4967). This was a beautiful, exhilarating, and exhausting trek. We gained 1000ft in vertical elevation in less than 2 miles. It took us 3 hours to go up, but only 45 minutes to come down. ------We closed out the evening with a campfire program featuring Lee Stetson as John Muir. He entertained us with stories of what life was like in “the Yosemite” 100yrs ago and how it continues to evolve. ------John Muir described and explained the constant change in Yosemite this way: “Nature is ever at work, building up and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest, but in rhythmical motion chasing everything in endless song, out of one beautiful form into another.” And that is what I learned in Yosemite.

Breakfast at the historic Wawona Hotel Pioneer town in Yosemite Park

Base of Yosemite Falls

Camp Teachers crossing the valley floor Miwok-style bark house

Carl, Camp Trainer: . . . . Wed, Jul 24, 1:44PM PST (-0800 GMT)

Trail of the Giants . We visited Neldor Grove, (Lat N 37.43013 Long W 119.59427), a grove of Giant Sequoias, accessed via “Trail of the Giants, about8 miles east of Oakhurst, near the southern entrance to Yosemite Park.

Carl, Camp Trainer: . . . . Wed, Jul 24, 1:44PM PST (-0800 GMT) I learned that sequoias can live up to 2000 or 3000 years. That’s a long time. We guessed that the sequoias in Neldor Grove were “young,” perhaps 200 to 400 years old, even though they are already “giants.”

Carl, Camp Trainer: . . . . Wed, Jul 24, 1:44PM PST (-0800 GMT) I learned that fire is good for the Sequoias – it is essential for their reproduction. Whye? Because the sequoia cones need the intense heat of a forest fire to break open and release their seeds. Plus, the fire prepares the ground for the seeds to sprout once the rains come. Carl, Camp Trainer: . . . . Wed, Jul 24, 1:45PM PST (-0800 GMT)

Here is a picture of the Sequoia cone next to a Sugar Pine cone. The sequoia cone is the small one -- it fits into the palm of your hand. I was amazed to learn that the seeds of the Sequoia are very tiny, the size of a pin head. They are sheathed in a tiny paper-like pouch inside the small sequoia cone.

Carl, Camp Trainer: . . . . Wed, Jul 24, 1:45PM PST (-0800 GMT) It amazes me that such a giant tree like the Sequoia, the largest living thing on earth, starts from such a tiny seed – and then grows for hundreds, even thousands, of years.

Mrs. Cathy Murray: . . . . Wed, Jul 24, 1:46PM PST (-0800 GMT)

What if a place of beauty is over run with people? What if you could not enjoy the destination you had worked so hard to get to? Click on this button for some insight into these problems~