Notes from Big Bear
So, this week the school conducted its environmental education trips, wherein we take the various high school and junior high classes to different camping venues for several days of outdoor activities, class bonding, and (hopefully) general fun. the junior class was heading up to Cedar Lake, outside Big Bear, and I was going along as 11th-grade dean. This was my first trip in a leading administrative role, and I was a bit nervous. Let's just say not every trip has been incident-free.
But, as it turned out, the trip went off without a hitch, the kids were great and earned compliments on their behavior from everybody from the naturalists who coordinate the trip for us to the kitchen staff, and I returned to LA mostly unscathed.
Monday morning we departed from school and made great time up the mountain. Until, that is, we got to within a few hundred yards of the camp. There we hit a patch of ice on an upslope of the dirt road leading into the campsite, and the buses got stuck. Three or four times our driver tried to power up and over the ice patch to no avail. Their failure to heed our repeated warnings that the buses would need chains for the trip may have played a role in this mishap. But the driver's reaction when I pointed this out to him suggested this was not a matter on which to make too fine a point. Fortunately, the camp had a big Caterpillar tractor that they used for clearing snow, and they hooked a cable from the Cat (which, interestingly enough, had chains on its oversized tires - an observation I declined to share with our driver) and towed each of the buses over the ice patch so they could drive the rest of the way into camp. Even with the delay, we arrived on time, and a little bus excitement helps make memories!
We could not have asked for better weather. The weekend storm that had dumped six inches of new snow on the campsite was long gone, and clear blue skies shone over the new, untrodden (for a little while anyway) snow. What a great venue for the week! The weather was crisp and cold, but never really uncomfortably so. The snow made for wonderful opportunities for impromptu play, and the kids really embraced all the opportunities we provided them for activities. Me, I floated around from group to group. Among the highlights:
a visit from a local zoo/shelter for abandonned rare animals. The zookeeper was great and the kids were spellbound. We saw a desert tortoise (an abandonned pet) a 4-foot king snake, a sparrowhawk, an Eastern screech owl (trapped in a boxcar on a transcontinental train), a possum (creepy googly eyes) and a hedgehog (another abandonned pet - although they're not legal in California). The hedgehog was incredibly cute, and the hit of the evening. I personally really liked the owl.
an amazing yoga class after which I was able to bend my surgically repaired knee more easily than has been possible for over 18 months! I may end up seeking out yoga classes here in LA. (So, dear readers, if you know of any good studios in the mid-city area, let me know!)
a game of Red Rover that incorporated cowboy-ninja-bear! Okay, it was really hunter-ninja-bear, but close enough for me!
a blindfolded team snowball fight where I partnered with Mike, our assistant principal. We traded off being the blindfolded thrower (the tank) and the direction-giver (the gunner). I must say we were a pretty effective team - what a blast!
a 5-mile hike across snowy mountainsides to Castle Rock, for some breathtaking views of Big Bear Lake. Possibly one of the most taxing hikes I've ever taken, thanks to the snow, which required me to slam my boots into the each footstep to ensure traction. I was pretty wrung out by the end of it, but it was absolutely worth it. But I wasn't so wrung out that I didn't get out on the dance floor for...
80s dance night! We got a DJ and spun 80s tunes for a couple hours before the kids went to bed. Thriller, Billy Jean, Sister Christian, lots of Billy Idol, and, to wrap it all up, Don't You Forget About Me! Takes me back! I may have to try to organize an 80s dance party of my own between yoga classes now!
Finally, Thursday rolled around and we packed and departed, tired and happy and full of great memories. I was sending up prayers of thanks for such a smooth and uneventful trip when the bus began to make an unscheduled exit off the freeway around Highland. I leaned over to ask the driver what the problem was. The teacher/chaperone who was seated immediately behind him, who'd been followng his cell-phone conversation, told me one of our four buses had broken down a couple exits back.
Great. Last year we had a bus break down on the way back from Sequoia National Park, and the kids had arrived six hours later than scheduled. Argh. Looking back, I noticed several empty seats on the bus. I called the chaperones from the other buses. We did some quick calculations. We could just fit all the kids onto three buses. Would all the luggage fit, too? All four buses parked nose-to-tail in the dead zone of an on-ramp, and the drivers started moving luggage. I kept the kids inside the bus until the CHP arrived to help control traffic. We transferred the kids, (with me walking up and down the outside of the line playing sheepdog and waving at all the cars entering the freeway to slow down and swing wide) got all their luggage shifted, and were off again in 40 minutes. Given the great time we made coming down the mountain, we actually arrived back at school precisely at our announced ETA.
Needless to say, there were some stressful moments there at the end, but all's well that ends well, right?
Anyway, it's great to be home!
But, as it turned out, the trip went off without a hitch, the kids were great and earned compliments on their behavior from everybody from the naturalists who coordinate the trip for us to the kitchen staff, and I returned to LA mostly unscathed.
Monday morning we departed from school and made great time up the mountain. Until, that is, we got to within a few hundred yards of the camp. There we hit a patch of ice on an upslope of the dirt road leading into the campsite, and the buses got stuck. Three or four times our driver tried to power up and over the ice patch to no avail. Their failure to heed our repeated warnings that the buses would need chains for the trip may have played a role in this mishap. But the driver's reaction when I pointed this out to him suggested this was not a matter on which to make too fine a point. Fortunately, the camp had a big Caterpillar tractor that they used for clearing snow, and they hooked a cable from the Cat (which, interestingly enough, had chains on its oversized tires - an observation I declined to share with our driver) and towed each of the buses over the ice patch so they could drive the rest of the way into camp. Even with the delay, we arrived on time, and a little bus excitement helps make memories!
We could not have asked for better weather. The weekend storm that had dumped six inches of new snow on the campsite was long gone, and clear blue skies shone over the new, untrodden (for a little while anyway) snow. What a great venue for the week! The weather was crisp and cold, but never really uncomfortably so. The snow made for wonderful opportunities for impromptu play, and the kids really embraced all the opportunities we provided them for activities. Me, I floated around from group to group. Among the highlights:
a visit from a local zoo/shelter for abandonned rare animals. The zookeeper was great and the kids were spellbound. We saw a desert tortoise (an abandonned pet) a 4-foot king snake, a sparrowhawk, an Eastern screech owl (trapped in a boxcar on a transcontinental train), a possum (creepy googly eyes) and a hedgehog (another abandonned pet - although they're not legal in California). The hedgehog was incredibly cute, and the hit of the evening. I personally really liked the owl.
an amazing yoga class after which I was able to bend my surgically repaired knee more easily than has been possible for over 18 months! I may end up seeking out yoga classes here in LA. (So, dear readers, if you know of any good studios in the mid-city area, let me know!)
a game of Red Rover that incorporated cowboy-ninja-bear! Okay, it was really hunter-ninja-bear, but close enough for me!
a blindfolded team snowball fight where I partnered with Mike, our assistant principal. We traded off being the blindfolded thrower (the tank) and the direction-giver (the gunner). I must say we were a pretty effective team - what a blast!
a 5-mile hike across snowy mountainsides to Castle Rock, for some breathtaking views of Big Bear Lake. Possibly one of the most taxing hikes I've ever taken, thanks to the snow, which required me to slam my boots into the each footstep to ensure traction. I was pretty wrung out by the end of it, but it was absolutely worth it. But I wasn't so wrung out that I didn't get out on the dance floor for...
80s dance night! We got a DJ and spun 80s tunes for a couple hours before the kids went to bed. Thriller, Billy Jean, Sister Christian, lots of Billy Idol, and, to wrap it all up, Don't You Forget About Me! Takes me back! I may have to try to organize an 80s dance party of my own between yoga classes now!
Finally, Thursday rolled around and we packed and departed, tired and happy and full of great memories. I was sending up prayers of thanks for such a smooth and uneventful trip when the bus began to make an unscheduled exit off the freeway around Highland. I leaned over to ask the driver what the problem was. The teacher/chaperone who was seated immediately behind him, who'd been followng his cell-phone conversation, told me one of our four buses had broken down a couple exits back.
Great. Last year we had a bus break down on the way back from Sequoia National Park, and the kids had arrived six hours later than scheduled. Argh. Looking back, I noticed several empty seats on the bus. I called the chaperones from the other buses. We did some quick calculations. We could just fit all the kids onto three buses. Would all the luggage fit, too? All four buses parked nose-to-tail in the dead zone of an on-ramp, and the drivers started moving luggage. I kept the kids inside the bus until the CHP arrived to help control traffic. We transferred the kids, (with me walking up and down the outside of the line playing sheepdog and waving at all the cars entering the freeway to slow down and swing wide) got all their luggage shifted, and were off again in 40 minutes. Given the great time we made coming down the mountain, we actually arrived back at school precisely at our announced ETA.
Needless to say, there were some stressful moments there at the end, but all's well that ends well, right?
Anyway, it's great to be home!