Day 1

The first day of the Tetons Science trip started at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 12. Slowly but surely students rolled into the Wahlert parking lot to start the long day of travel ahead.

The first leg of the trip was a 90 minute car ride to the airport in Cedar Rapids. From there, the group boarded the plane for Denver. We arrived in Denver, where we rushed off the plane to get to our next flight. But, of course, we needed a pit stop at Starbucks and a sandwich shop. Ms. Schriver warned us before we left that we wouldn’t have any access to caffeine while we were at the Tetons Science School. Shockingly,  we did get through the week with only a few headaches.

Once we reached our gate, we boarded the plane for Jackson Hole, Wyoming. After 90 minutes, we arrived and immediately started to take pictures of the amazing views of the Teton Mountain Range. After collecting our luggage, we loaded into vans to travel to the Teton Science School. Once we arrived, the boys and girls split up to unload our bags into our cabins. Then we met at the main cabin to meet our field groups and field instructors for the week.

After getting introduced to everything and everyone at the Teton Science School, the 26 of us sat down to eat together. Upon finishing, we headed to the main cabin for the daily night program. The first night we learned about the Yellowstone National Park and ecology.

Day 2

The first day out in the field was quite the experience. We woke up at 6:45 to eat breakfast before we went on our hike. Then, as a field group, we were able to talk about the topic of the day: water quality of the Teton mountain range. Throughout the day, we evaluated the water quality in different areas in the Tetons. We had our lunch break in the middle of a field with bushes covered in snow — definitely a change from the Wahlert cafeteria. In the afternoon we hiked up to LoBo hill for some amazing photo opportunities.

Day 3

Day three was the first day of snow, but definitely not the last. We woke up to snow falling throughout the Tetons. Once we were ready for the hike and field work of the day, we set out to Taggart Lake. In the first 30 minutes of the hike, my field group spotted two moose straight ahead of us, a mother and baby. However, the moose did not move, so we had to climb up a hill to move out of its way. Then we ate our lunch on a rock that looked over the lake. After a long hike in the snow, we returned to the vans and drove back to the Teton Science School. During evening program, we had a guest speaker to tell us more about Astrology and the galaxy.

Day 4

The fourth day we traveled to Jackson Hole, a nearby town. Here we went to the National Museum of Wildlife Art to see artwork about the area we were in. Next went to a Souvenir shop, where most of us picked up t-shirts and coffee mugs for a memory.

After our small shopping trip, we visited Vertical Harvest, a hydroponic greenhouse. We learned about how hydroponic greenhouses work and how they successfully operate. We attempted to look for Long Horned Sheep but were unsuccessful. So we headed back to the Teton Science School for dinner and an evening program about animals.

Day 5

The fifth day of the trip put our brains to work. Each field group had to come up with a research project to present to the rest of the students that night. My group came up with the topic of Macroinvertebrates in certain streams and creeks. Other groups researched and experimented with bison and water quality. My group traveled to four different creeks and streams to find different macroinvertebrates. Another field group studied a herd of bison and another tested water quality in different areas of the Teton Science School. Then we put our heads together to create an awesome presentation to present to our moderator, Ms. Korrin Schriver, other field groups and the field instructors.

Day 6

The sixth and final day at the Teton Science School was a memorable one. We experienced a tough five mile hike up a mountain in a blizzard and in snowshoes. For most of us, this was our first time in snowshoes. It was hard hike, but we made it through because of the amazing scenery. Once we arrived at the top, we stopped to eat lunch, but the snow kept coming down harder. So we ventured back to the main cabin for hot cocoa. Then we started to pack our bags and clean our cabins. At dinner, we  had pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for dessert and sang to Ms. Schriver for her birthday. We also made cards for her.

Day 7

The travel back home started at 3:45 a.m. on Saturday. On our way to the airport, we saw many elk and one moose. Once we arrived, we boarded our plane to Denver. In Denver, we had a three-hour layover, so we wasted time by walking around, looking through the pictures we had taken throughout the week, and talking about the memories we made. Then we boarded our next plane to Cedar Rapids, and we were home before we knew it.