Day One at Cardigan

Day 1 - Movement: In the morning we started at the middle-high school and then took a bus to the cardigan lodge. Along the way we went through many towns like Salisburry, Andover, Danbury and a couple others. The bus ride wasn't too short neither too long. It was perfect I suppose. But then we arrived at the lodge and started our journey. At Cardigan lodge we split up into groups for the big hike. On the fist day my group went to a beaver lodge. The weather was warm-ish and started to get warmer. On the hike my group stopped to look at many different trees and plants along the way. One plant was the hobblebush plant. It stretched from underground and throughout the above ground. It was called hobblebush because back in the olden days when people would have horses and carriages, the horses would trip over the plant and hobble. Hence the name Hobble Bush. When we arrived at the beaver pond we were expecting beavers. But a while back the pond had dried out and all of the animals that lived there had to move on and find another place to live. For beavers, if there was no water then there would be just about no protection and no where to live. Although the beavers and big land animals are gone (like moose, and herrin) the amphibians stayed. The moisture and mud is great for hiding and for winter time when the streams freeze, the soil was nice and soft to dig into. When the group was done discovering this habitat it was time to hike back. Rec time was in session and I had brought a ball and a frisbee for everyone to play with. Rec time was only forty-five minutes, but it was a really fun part of the day. Dinner time was also very entertaining because their was something called ORT, which is the leftover food. The grade produced one half pound of ORT that night. After dinner it was time to get everything in our bunks situated and afterwards we had the night hike. For this we had to be blindfolded and be guided by each other. Our trail guide was leading us to a spot which was on a trail full of boards because of the dampness below. He ended us up at a place where we played a game. One about bats and moths. One person (the moth) would shake a shaker while the other person (the bat) would try to catch him. The bat was also blindfolded. When we were done with the game our group went inside and got into our pajamas and went to storytime. Mr. Woolner would read a book about history. They were always fascinating. And then Bed time. The first day was loaded and full of exciting things. And yet tiring at the end of the day. Also Mr. Woolners stories left the day very satisfying too.