AAVE Trip BLOG » Bold West
July 24, 2008
BW1A is nearing the end but still having a blast!!
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Currently we are in the Bay Area of California. We’ve spent the past few days in the city of San Francisco seeing just about all there is to see and visit; Alcatraz, China Town, Pier 39, Fisherman’s Wharf, Haight\Ashbury and we even rode the famous SF trolley car. Before getting to San Francisco we spent 6 nights in the Yosemite area, where we went on numerous hikes, viewed amazing waterfalls, swam in hot springs and relaxed near some high sierra lakes. We also went to Sequoia National Park and witnessed amazing views, including seeing the largest tree in the world. While in the Sequoia area we spent two days white water rafting on the Kern River, which included class III and IV rapids. It was incredible and the rafting guides were amazing.
Before traveling to Sequoia, our group spent 2 nights in Las Vegas seeing as many attractions as we could that the city had to offer us. Tomorrow we leave for our final destination of our trip, Santa Cruz. While there we plan to go surfing for a few days and see the sights Santa Cruz has to offer.
We Miss Everyone,
Mike, Tracy, and BW1A Group
July 23, 2008
BW2 - First update!
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Hey all…
This past week has been a whirlwind of adventures…
We stopped into Mammoth Lakes, CA for a quick half day of rest, email, and gondola ride to the top of Mammoth Mountain (11,000+ feet). The Eastern Sierra’s are truly beautiful.
Finally, the much anticipated white water rafting trip arrived. We had two amazing days on the middle fork of the American River. Kids had a blast paddling hard and having water fights along the way. Sleeping out under the stars was awesome and a morning swim woke us up before our next day.
Day 2 finished with a class 6 portage (we took the boats out and watched our guides navigate the treacherous waters). Right after we hit a combination class 4, 4, 3, 4.
After some showers we made our way to Santa Cruz for some awesome surfing.
The mornings were early, but “totally worth it” in the words of Scott Elliot. We were up at 4 both mornings to hit the waves by 5 for the best surf. We were all glad to have thick wetsuits. Finally, we took an adventure to the board walk and rode the amazing rides.
Today we started the morning with our last service project trying to protect a blue butterfly. Our goal was to pull out a weed called French Bloom. Harris, Brandon, and Jason worked on a tough weed for a half our. Everyone was very excited with its removal. Every student did an amazing job, our service coordinators couldn’t believe how much invasive weed we were able to rip out.
I hope to have one more email out before the morning of the 26th. Hope this finds all of you well, because you’re kids are having a blast.
Take care,
Lindsay, Mike, and the AAVE Bold West crew
July 18, 2008
BW2B Hey Everyone back home,
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We are coming up on ten days that we have been out on Bold West. We have covered so much amazing country and experience so much adventure in the past week and a half! We are currently finishing conquering the granite rock climbing in Sierra National Park and on our way to Yosemite to explore all that this famous park has to offer.
Some of the highlights of the past few days have been standing next to Sherman Tree (the biggest tree in the world), rappelling down over 100 feet, and our service project of cleaning and clearing a trail in Sequoia!
All of the kids worked so hard!
The past ten days have been the time of our life, but we are all looking forward to rafting on the American River and surfing in Santa Cruz!!!
Loving the AAVE Life,
Tim and Abigail and Bold West 2B
July 16, 2008
UH1C - Picture
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BW1B Pictures
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BW1B
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Las Vegas was AMAZING but HOT! We have finally escaped the heat of Vegas and Zion.
While in Sequoia, we got an amazing opportunity to give back to the National Park by doing a couple of hours of service on a trail in need of repair. We learned how to fix water bars properly and even the correct technique for chopping wood. After, we enjoyed an awesome lake called Lake Hume to relax and cool off in.
The next morning we found ourselves amongst the incredible Sequoia trees. Here we posed for a picture with the largest one by volume called the General Sherman.
After leaving the trees we headed out to Yosemite for a two day climbing adventure; our guides said we were the best group they ever had. Every one did a great job climbing and some of us worked at conquering our fear of heights.
Bocci ball has become a favorite in the evening while dinner is being made. Hector was the champion for a while, but Branden and Mike are making their ways to the top ranks.
At our campsite outside of Yosemite we found some snow to have a little snow call fight at 10,600 feet above sea level, from 110 degrees to 10,000 feet and snow in three days! Later that night we enjoyed our evening meeting at the incredible Mono Lake as the sun set.
Everyone is doing well and appreciated all the goodies at the last mail stop. We are on our way today to start our overnight white water rafting trip and everyone is very excited.
Till next time…
Regards,
Lindsay and Bold West 1B
July 14, 2008
BW1B by the river
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July 11, 2008
Hello to Abbott and our BW2 families!
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Our trip is going great so far! We had such a great time in Zion National Park - despite the hot, hot, hot temperatures - hiking up amazing Angel’s Landing with an overview of the awesome sandstone cliffs in Zion and then hiking through the Narrows of the Virgin River with 2,000 foot canyon walls towering on either side of us are once in a lifetime experiences!
We arrived into Las Vegas yesterday - July 10th - and had a incredible afternoon with lunch at the Paris Hotel and going up into top of Eiffel Tower to overlook the city, thanks to Jacob’s dad!! We then finished off the evening touring the Bellagio and eating ice cream while watching the fountain show!
We are all getting along great, trying to speak as much English as possible. It’s been a great five days so far and can’t wait for Sequoia!
Take Care everyone,
Tim, Abigail and the AAVE BW2A Family, loving the AAVE life!
July 9, 2008
BW1C - Hey Everyone!
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The trip so far has been awesome and adventurous, with plenty of hiking and climbing! Right now we are in Las Vegas where it is 112 degrees! Luckily, there are plenty of nice air conditioned places with cold water. We are on our way to Sequoia National Park and the Kern River for river rafting tomorrow and we are all excited to leave the Mojave desert (as beautiful and fun as it has been). We have repelled down canyons, climbed 80 foot walls, braved the perilous Las Vegas strip and are ready for the next challenge! Hope everyone’s summer is going great! Talk to you soon!
-Henry, Allison and the Bold West crew
BW1B - update
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Bold West 1 B took some respite from the incredible Zion National Park 110 degree heat by finding some swimming holes in near by Virgin River. All had fun splashing around and keeping cool. The kids did a fantastic job plowing up the spectacular Angel’s Landing hike in under three hours. We found ourselves on the first shuttle up the canyon and back at camp finding another swimming hole by 10 am; great work. Heading out to Vegas and looking forward to the fourth in the big bright city.
Our new adventures took us to a large goodwill shop in Vegas to buy some ‘new’ outfits for our big buffet style dinner at the Luxor. The day in Vegas was packed with exploring the strip; some places we visited were the M&M factory, Coca Cola store, ESPN game zone, Cesear’s Palace, and Hard Rock cafe. Here we pose for a quick picture in our fresh outfits in the hotel lobby before going on the aaaaa New York New York roller coaster. Everyone has enjoyed the luxuries of hotel life, but are looking forward to the beauty and coolness of Sequoia National Forest. Hope to receive some good mail at Oakhurst next week.
-BW1B Team