About Us

My photo
We are the students at the Innoko River High School, living in the last village on the Innoko River in the western Interior of Alaska.

Jamie Hamilton

Interests: Hunting, fishing and working on engines.

Hobbies: Basketball, snowboarding, snowmachining, and dirtbiking.

Favorite Native food: Willow grouse.

Reaction to being told we were going to SOUTH AFRICA:
At first I was speechless, and to this day I can not believe we were chosen to go.

Jamie

Jamie
ALISON Shadow data

Our GLOBE Research

We have been a GLOBE school since 1998. Different classes of students have set up different study sites over the years but in 2005 our local research on our environment took on a different twist when lightening struck behind our village and burned a 15-acre area of land dangerously close to local homes.

The Alaska State Forestry Department hired the Shageluk Emergency Fire Fighting crew and the EFF crew from Nikolai to assist in putting out the fire. The fire lasted just two weeks but has provided us with long-term data on regrowth in a Boreal forest that has made us think about climate change and how it effects our cultural traditions and survival as the Deg Hitan people!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Jamie: Wednesday, Field Day #1

Jamie: Wednesday, Field Day #1

Today we all formed into groups and went to Cape Pointe in busses. Right when we got there we went straight to the lighthouse at the very top of the hill. Then we went down a huge flight of stairs to see the sand beach and the massive waves crashing into it. After we walked back up the stairs we boarded the busses and came back to the dorms. Then we all had to go to the upper campus for dinner and a dance. The dance went on for a couple of hours, and then we headed back to the dorms and went to sleep.

Everett: Wednesday, Field Day #1

Everett: Wednesday, Field Day 1

We all woke up early and went to eat breakfast and then to wait for the busses. We all went to our buses and took off to Cape Pointe. It took forever to get there. We all got out and went up the hill a little ways and went in a big building (GAWS: Global Atmospheric Weather Service), then we went to the top of a building and then we went to the lighthouse. After that we had lunch on the bus because of baboons. After lunch we went to hike down to the beach and we checked the temperature in different waters and then we learned about carbons. After that, we checked some things under a microscope and we all hiked back to the busses. We rode on to see the penguins and we had to walk a little ways and saw lots of penguins. We were there for a little while and came back to our dorms.

Jack: Wednesday, Field Day #1

Jack: Wednesday, Field Day 1

Today we did Field Day and we went to a garden place and got to explore and look at different plants that grew in Africa. We went to see the penguins after that. It was so cool and I almost got to pet one but it ran away. We went to where my group was, there was even more penguins. I was watching one dig the hole for nesting. There were two penguins getting ready for nesting. After that we went to Cape Pointe and got something to eat. At the GAWS research center (GLOBAL Atmospheric and Weather Center) I learned that the atmosphere is changing and that’s why we have climate change. Then we went and climbed to the lighthouse.

Everett: Tuesday, Presentation Day

Everett: Presentation Day

Today we all woke up and went to eat breakfast. We did our science presentation and it was good because I wasn’t scared or anything. I was trying to answer questions but Jamie was too fast and he was answering all the questions. After awhile we had lunch and went to Jameson Hall to watch other countries show us their culture. We took the Jameson Shuttle back to the dorms and we all ate dinner and I fell to sleep in my room and Jamie woke me up. We went back up to Jameson Hall in the evening and were 4th in line after Norway to show our Cultural Presentation. There were more people in the crowd but it was good.

Jamie: Tuesday, Presentation Day

Jamie: The day we Present

Today I woke up and got ready to go watch the presentations at the Leslie Hall. After lunch we had to present ours. I felt pretty confident the whole trip and it went very well. Later that evening we had to do our cultural presentation. I wasn’t too nervous about that one either and at the end, everyone started screaming and clapping. Then after our presentation I went and sat down and some guy came up to me and said the BBC Radio Station waited to interview me. We went down to the radio station and I talked about our project. Then I came back and went to bed.

June 25: Jack

Jack: Presentation Day

First we did the science presentation on the burn site. It went well and we just got through with it. Then we had to answer some questions, and then we were done. We got a big thank you from the crowd! Then we sat down and listened to the other presentations. Later on that night it was our turn to do the cultural presentations in front of everyone. It felt cool and at the same time it was scary. We didn’t have to answer any questions during the presentation but after the presentation some of our friends said they were amazed at our presentation because it was all Native things like Jamie’s moose kill and Grandpa Adolph’s pike.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Joy: Monday

I realize I should have worked several sessions on getting kids to write more interesting blogs for content rather than what they did in the morning and what they ate and that they got up late. Parents and others want to know more substance of what we are doing. I'll fill you in on a little bit of interesting things. The weather has been chilly, foggy and rainy first few days, towels take a long time to dry after you take a shower. It's warmer in the afternoon, though, Shageluk temps, around 50 degrees F. to 60 degrees. Birds fly around the Leslie Hall, pigeons and some kind of blackbirds and we took pictures of these interesting geese sitting on the roofs of the buildings. The boys were fascinated by the ivy growing on all the old brick buildings here. The trees are really different and we'll take some pictures of those. No lions or giraffe's yet, maybe tomorrow. The cultural presentations are very, very interesting from other countries. The boys did notice, though, that some people have no more culture and thought that was sad. All they could do was describe their country from a textbook point of view. Rudy and I are having fun watching the kids interact with others. It was funny, on the bus one of the South African students really started quizzing our kids about USA money. That's when OUR kids realized they didn't know whose picture was on some of the coins! A real shocker for them. They get asked questions they can't answer sometimes. The South African boys really got a kick out of asking our kids questions. Another thing that amazes our boys is that kids from other countries know multiple languages whereas, USA students only know English. I told them not only do those other kids know and understand other languages, they can READ in other languages, too. Mind boggling for us. We are hoping to get out into the city again and look around at some things. We couldn't see much with the foggy day on Sunday but it was nice to get around. Field trips tomorrow to see other things in Cape Town get set up. Well, that's all for now! African dancing is great. Today we are going to introduce them to "Indian Rock and Roll."

Jamie: Monday at the University of CapeTown, South Africa

Today we got up, went to Upper Campus and called our families in Alaska for the first time since we got here. Then we watched different schools give their presentations about what they did to ear a trip to South Africa. After lunch we watched the Africans put on an awesome play, they were really good actors. They all the kids from the Netherlands put on a cultural presentations. I they they showed us some of the coolest tings for example, they sowed us some of their cultural dances, then they asked the crowd consisting of 400 people to dance with them, and everyone got up and danced. Greenland pu on their cultural presentation and I thought it was a little strange because they had their faces painted. Then they ran around screaming and rubbing their butts to people. Everyone was running away from them because they were freaking everyone out! AFter we watched all the cultural presentations we cae back down to the Lower Campus dorms and got ready to go to bed.

Everett: Monday in South Africa

Today we all got up and went to eat breakfast and then went to Jaemson Hall to listen to a few people talk. They talked about sustainability and I'm not sure what that means. After that we went to other rooms where they had breakout sessions with other country's science projects, other student presentations like ours. We went to room #LS3B and all the projects were about Earth as a System science projects. After that we all had to go to Leslie Hall and have lunch there. It took them forever to get ready because they were bringing everything by truck to Leslie Hall. After lunch we went back to Breakout sessons and went to the same room. One of the projects compared heat from urban areas to heat in rural areas. After that we went to listen to the Cultural Presentations and the Netherlands one took forever. Lots of them were cool but some I couldn't understand so I just read the slide shows. We came back to Graca Machel (our dorms) and ate dinner. After dinner we went back to the Jameson for more cultural presentations. I think one of them had mask dances but I missed it because I was sleeping. After it got close to 9:30 p.m. we came back tot he dorms and I fell right to sleep in my sweater.

Jack, Monday Activities

Today Joy had a hard time to wake me up this morning because I was tired from the time difference and too soft bed. Then I guess she woke me up and I fell back to sleep. 25-minutes later I woke up again and got ready to get out of my room. We each have a single dorm room, nobody bunks with us. When I walked out of the room I had to catch Joy up and say "Good morning," and I stopped at Everett's room. We went and ate some breakfast, then we caught the Jammie Shuttle up to upper campus where our meetings are. The campus is big with large old buildings made of stone. Then we walked to Jameson Hall where our first meetings are. We got to call home today from Leslie Hall. My mom was at Bingo so I didn't get a chance to talk to her but I talked to my sister. We watched people give their presentations, other students and I imagined what it wold be like when we do our presentation tomorrow. All day we spent listening to other people's projects, one from Finland talked about Birch trees. After dinner we listened to other kids' cultural presentations. Some countries have no cultures. The kids from Detroit talked about sports and the kids from Ohio talked about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They have no culture. We are very, very sleepy in the evening here but I'm having fun and got to meet some people.

BIG BLOG TO MAKE UP FOR DAYS

BLOG for FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2008:
Flying over North America and the Atlantic Ocean

Joyanne Hamilton

The last 5-days has been a blur of activities both at home and now that we are actually traveling. When we were at the Anchorage Ted Stevens International Airport at the North Terminal, we had to sit and think about what we had done the past few days.

Mostly this week we rehearsed the Cultural presentation. Previously we had been rehearsing our science investigation presentation (on the Burn Site data) and what climate changes means for Native Alaskan people. The boys were doing very well.

Rudy wanted to focus on cultural aspects so took the boys up in the slough to take pictures, discussed later freeze-up and earlier thawing and show the boys pictures of how sparse the trees were long ago compared to now. The night before we left he brought them up to St. Joe Hill, an example of how much changes has happened in the last 30-years.

I have to say that the boys continue to have a great attitude throughout. What is so great is to see their grasp of the material they have to present and their love of their traditions.

Our afternoon in Anchorage: We had a great time with everyone’s relatives at the Golden Cottage. A lot of people came to see us off. I was glad Shirley, Harriett and the girls made it to see Jack, he was so excited! Jarrett and Marcus came to see Everett. Cooki, Leona, Helen, Gary, Mary, Sunny Dawn, Jessica and Lenny where all there with the little ones, too. It was so nice to have them all there. Martin spent the day with us so that was extra special for Rudy and I. OH, we also saw Harold Dan at the book store. After a day of shopping for this and that, seeing Shawna and Martin, it was great to sit down and have a nice meal.

Since last night’s departure from Anchorage to Salt Lake City, Utah we have had to hurry up and wait more than once! When we landed in Utah this morning, we got to the gate just fine but had only about ½ hour before the next plane boarded and went on to JFK Airport in New York. Rudy talked to the Delta ticket agent to get us all mileage plans. After this Africa trip the boys will have accumulated enough miles to take a trip on Delta and their affiliates just about anywhere!

They started boarding this plane when the boys were still at the stores and using the bathroom. We had to send Jack after Jamie because they were almost ready to close the plane! We all made it on though, passports and all.

When we landed in JFK 4.5 hours later it was so smoggy you could barely see anything. Rudy and I have never been to New York but we recognized the downtown skyline, the Empire State Building (King Kong wasn’t there) and of course, Lady Liberty. The “hurry up and wait” policy applied to us while we were in New York. We had about one hour until our next flight but as we taxied up on the tarmac we were told we would have to wait for a few planes to leave the gates before one opened up. It was about ½ hour before we were finally able to pull into one of the gates and then we had to wait for a “tug” to come pull us in closer! When we finally de-planed, we literally raced to our connecting flight to Dakar, Africa that was two gates away, not too far. We got there just in time, the whole plane was already loaded but they had waited for us.
Right now we are flying over the Atlantic Ocean and over the Atlantic Rift. We are more than halfway to Dakar at this writing. When we get to Dakar we have an hour and a half layover. I’m hoping we get to stretch out and kick back in the airport instead of racing to catch the next plane! It is 4:30 p.m. right now in Alaska, 10:30 p.m. Africa time and dark over the Atlantic. The boys were busy reading books today that we had purchased at Barnes and Noble. In-flight movies are on tonight, “Fools Gold” and “The Bucket List”. They are doing VERY well. Will write more later.

Jack—Internet doesn’t work on the plane so I thought I’d get you kids to type up your day and then I’ll try to post to the Blogger once we reach Dakar. You can read mine up there.


June 20: Everett

Today we just waited for planes and waited to land at Salt Lake City And we were about to jump on the plane but Jamie took forever to by a can of soda so we all waited by the gate and Jack had to run and get Jamie because the plane was ready to go. Once we got New York we went straight to the other plane and ended up barely making it. We are not heading to Dakar.

June 20: Jamie


Yesterday we went from Anchorage to Salt Lake City. When we got to Salt Lake City we only got to stay there for about 20 minutes then we had to board the plane to New York City. We only stayed in New York for about five minutes then we boarded the plane Dakar. And we are currently one the plane to Dakar.

Jack’s BLOG: Flight over North America and the Atlantic

June 20: Jack
Today I jogged from the Salt Lake City plane to the New York plane air port and I been waiting to get off this plane because I cant sleep my Ipod finely went dead so I’ll see you after.







June 23, Monday BLOG

Everett:

Today we all woke up except for Jack, eh was sleeping for fifteen minutes and we can’t wake him up because his door was locked. He finally woke up and we went to eat breakfast and took a bus to Leslie Hall. We tried to call home but I forgot my Rand and change. We all tried to call home but couldn’t’ figure out how to use the pay phones. We didn’t know how so we called a cab and went to five stores and two of them were Harley Davidson. We had to be back before 1:00 p.m. and on our way back the cab driver went the wrong way and he had to go around Lower Campus again. We got back and ate lunch fast and went to Leslie Hall. We had to go to a Safety meeting. Then we lined up by country to prepare for the opening ceremonies. We were last (United States). We were waiting in line for a long time and we had to sing the national anthem. We had to walk in the building by country and we finally made it and lots of people were taking pictures of us. We sat down while African Natives were dancing and when they were done, lots of other people talked in the microphone for a long time. After that we came back and ate dinner and went back to Leslie Hall for icebreakers in the evening. We were split into lots of groups to get to know each other, lots of kids from other countries. We went back to the dorms at 9:30 and got ready to go to sleep.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Jack at the Anchorage Airport

Three Days ago we went up to the run way to see the old pit house from long ago. Day before yesterday we went for a ride back into Lower Village. Just yesterday we went for another ride to Shageluk Slough then we went to Saint Joe Hill to look at two rocks.

Jamie is at the Anchorage Airport/6-19-08

on Monday we went to the airport to look at the old pit houses, then we went to the clinic and got our hepatitis A and B immunizations. Tuesday we worked on the slide shows in the morning then in the afternoon we went for a boat ride with Rudy to go and look at a wolf den and a black animal den. Wednesday we finished our slide shows then I went home and got all my stuff packed. this morning i woke up and went to the school with my luggage to wait for the plane. After we got to Aniak we left to Anchorage. Right now we are waiting in the Anchorage International Airport for our flight to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Everett Semone At the airport

On Monday we worked and rehearsed our slide show and on Tuesday we went for a field trip to a wolf den and a black animal den. Wednesday we worked on both slide shows and took a boat ride to see more pit houses and hike to St. Joe Hill. Today I woke up at 8 in the morning and checked all my bags to see if I had everything then I went to school around 8:30. At nine fifteen we left to Aniak, after sitting in Aniak for about ten minutes we left to Anchorage. we are now waiting for our flight to Salt Lake City.

At the Anchorage Airport

Whew! What a day in Anchorage today! What a time the last THREE days! We haven't even had time to BLOG!

Right now we are sitting in the North Terminal of the Ted Stevens International Airport. We just went to Customs to declare our iPod's, computers and digital cameras so we can ensure their safety when we return to the United States. This international travel is wild! Anyway, I'll let the boys write more. We have about and hour and a half to wait so they get to BLOG. The only concern I have at this point is finding the appropriate adapters and converters for our electrical stuff from 110-220 or 240 in South Africa. I'll load pictures soon!

Monday, June 16, 2008

Where our Ancestors Lived



This afternoon besides getting our Hepatitis A and B vaccine, we went by truck to several places along the road to talk about "pit houses" or subterranean homes our ancestors lived in pre-1800s. This is a picture of Jack measuring the inside of our Kashim.

Everett Semone June 16

Today I came in 30 minutes late and I had to tidy up my table and look for more news on the computer about South Africa. After awhile we went in the room and started to fix on our slide show. I am tired of getting up everyday and going to the school because I want to sleep in but I have to go to the school. I am getting exited that were go to leave in three days.

Jamie/6-16-08

Today I was the first one to the school so I checked the Africa news until the other two boys got here. Then we rehearsed our slide show, and I had to finish writing my script for the rest of the time. Lately it has been getting harder because we are running out of time, but I know we will be in Africa soon so I am not giving up.

Jack/6-16-08

Today I came in late and we got started talked about our slide show, what we needed to add, talk about, etc. We rehearsed it once today. This been a lot of work!

Boys Helping Rudy Haul Winter Wood

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Tired!

Wow, I can't believe how busy we have been since early May with very little breaks! We are almost done with the PowerPoint slideshow/presentation. Everyone is doing so well and they really know their parts. Today we finished reading the booklet that Karen Ladegard sent us on Durban, a city on the east coast of South Africa. Did you know Barack Obama's father is Zulu and grew up in Africa? Rudy brought the boys out to look at a wolf den, blackie den and spruce trees that are growing up in the middle of lakes: a sign of climate change. Tonight we have a "dress rehearsal" sort of for the team to present their slide show to the parents. Next week we work on the cultural part of the presentation. WOW!

Everett Semone June 14

Today I came in late and I had to look for news in South Africa and finish our book about a city called Durban. After that we went to rehearse our slide show and fix a couple of mistakes on our slide show. Since we had four weeks of school of learning about South Africa and gathering data for GLOBE.

Jack/6-14-08

Today I didn't make it on time but I got here and got started right way on talking about Zulu tribes. Then we read about Durban, another city on the east coast of South Africa. Then we rehearsed our presentation for South Africa and as the days get closer and closer and I get more excited for our world wide trip to South Africa. It will take two days to get down there and we will be there for one week.

Jamie/6-14-08

Today I got to school first so I was the person that had to make the coffee. Then I caught up with the South African news while I waited for the other two boys to make it to school. When they finally made it we read a book about Durban and the Zulu tribe in South Africa. Afterwards we continued to rehearse and edit our slide show and scripts. Five more days until we go to Africa!

Friday, June 13, 2008

Jack/6-12-08

Today I came in on time, we read about Durban, South Africa. Then we did more writing for the science script and then we rehearsed it.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Jack/6-12-08

Today I came in 30-minutes late, sat down in the classroom and we got started right way on reading the GLE program agenda. Then we did the power point presentation format for our research.

Everett Semone June 12

Today I came in 15 minutes late and only Jamie was here. We were waiting for Jack and while we were waiting we watched our slide show and review what were going to say during the conference in Cape Town. I had to say out loud in front of the class what I was going to say on the slide show. We divided up the slide show into three pieces so we all can talk about the slide show. I am talking about what grows after a fire and forest succession on our burn site.

Jamie/6-12-08

Today we reviewed our slide show. I researched the carbon cycle, albedo, forest succession, and the effects global warming has on our traditional way of life. I learned that it is important for vegetation to grow back after a burn, because burned or charred ground soaks in the suns UV rays and vegetation reflects most of it. All of that helps reduce carbons in the atmosphere and it also helps the permafrost stay frozen.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Everett Semone June 11

Today I came in one minute early and I had to wait for half an hour for Jamie and one hour for Jack. After Jack came we got started on the Soil Fertility Hach kit and it took two hours to finish and clean up all the stuff we used. When we got done cleaning up we went up to the Control and the Burn site and got our final green up data for the spring.

Jamie/6-11-08

Today we finished our soil fertility testing. We also discussed how we will change our American money into African money, or Rand. After all that we went up to the burn site and recorded our last green up of the year.

Jack/6-11-08

Today I was late coming into the school because we were helping haul winter's wood for another family. I went to the classroom were Joy was sitting down by her desk. Jamie and Everett had started the Soil Fertility test on our burn site. I never had any coffee this morning so I had to struggle to stay awake so Joy had to keep us moving along. Then we had to finish the soil fertility protocol for nitrates, phosphorus, and potassium. After that we went and did our final data on the Green-up study site on our Control and Burn sites.

Shageluk Fire Drama Unfolds, August 3, 2005

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Shageluk Fire August 2005

The World of Salvador Dali and Picasso

My world has become a combination of a Salvador Dali and Picasso paintings and, as Caroline Brown puts it, "My brain is in at least three different places." That best describes things as they have evolved since being told we were going to Africa! We have 10 more days to go and there is still so much to do!

Today was a lot of fun for me to watch the boys team up to work on the soil fertility protocols using the Hach chem-lab kits, goggles, lab aprons and all. We have been talking at great length about our research presentation and who is going to say what. I've been pulling out our old pictures and data from when our research first began on the burn study site and have been comparing it over the years. We'll include that in our slide show.

Rudy has been busy hauling our winter wood by barge home from the woods. He's keeping me on my toes asking me if I've got the money-exchange thing taken care of, questions about security and ID's, and coming up with more ideas on what we can do. I know nothing of world travel and he's been to Europe so knows what to watch out for. Next week he and the boys will prepare the cultural presentation which is going to be separate from the scientific presentation part. Around here, though, our life dictates that we can't have one without the other. Cultural traditions and lifestyle here are tied directly with the land and our expressions of our place in the world.

Anyway, back to figuring out more about this blog and the presentation!

Jack John/6-10-08

Today I came in on time the first one, made coffee went into the class Joy said, "Go on the computer look up the news," so I went on looked up some news. Then I went in the class after I was done on the computer to watch a video about the fire of 2005 that happened in Shageluk. Then we did the GLOBE soil fertility protocol for nitrates, phosphorus and potassium.

Jamie/6-10-08

Today I got up a little bit late, but I made it to school. This morning we watched the original slide show from the original fire in 2005, then we started the beginning of our slide show. After the slide show we tested soil fertility protocol for nitrates, phosphorus, and potassium. We figured out that horizon two has phosphorus but no potassium or nitrates. Now we are eating and getting ready to go. I am also very thankful that GLOBE gave us this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Everett Semone June 10

Today I came in late and went to get a cup of coffee in the kitchen. After I got back and Joy put on a slide show that she made with her students in 2005 and another one that we made for the GLOBE presentation. After that we had to do soil fertility protocol for nitrates, phosphorus, and potassium and we only did horizon two and it only showed that it had phosphorus in it. I am kind of excited to go to South Africa.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Jack/6-9-08

Today I came in went on the computer looked up the latest news in south Africa. Then we talked about Hach kit and Hazardous chemicals. We talked about that for a while then we got ready to go dig three holes for the depth of permafrost to the surface of the burn site.

Jamie/6-9-08

Today I woke up, came to the school, and checked the Africa News. Afterwards we went up to the burn site and dug three different holes to check for permafrost, and we figured out that the burn site has discontinuous permafrost. Then we drove up the airport road to to get a dirt sample from one of the gardens. Now we are packing everything up and getting ready to call it a day.

Everett Semone June 9

Today I made coffee and went back to the lab and went on the computer. I was looking for news in South Africa and I couldn't find anything in Cape Town or the rest of the country. After we were done looking for news in South Africa we went in the class and we were talking about a Hach kit and all the hazardous stuff in the kit because we are going to use it to test our soil samples. After that we went up to the burn and dug up three holes with the ice auger and we found permafrost in two holes that we dug up. The one on the burn was 32 cm and the one around the moss and trees was 37 cm down.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Jack 6-7-08

I came in late it was good to sleep in on a Saturday. We read an article about forest fires and then went to do green up. Before that we took out a tarp out of under the truck.

Jamie/6-7-08

Today I woke up, came to school and we started to discuss the carbon cycle. We also discussed the permafrost in the control site and the permafrost in the burn site. Then we left in the truck to go up and record bud burst. Before we made to the site Joy ran over a tarp filled with decaying moose fur, and the other two boys and myself had to cut it out of the bottom of the truck. Then we came back and entered our data.

Everett Semone June 7

Today I came to the school at 11:00 o'clock and Joy told me that class start at 1:00 o'clock. I went home and watched t.v until 1:00 o'clock. We talked about the carbon cycle because of all the fires in Alaska and went up to the control and burn site. We came back down to the school and logged in our data.We ate ice cream while we were logging in our data.

Control and Burn Soil Pits

Friday, June 6, 2008

June 6 Joy: My First Blog

I got up early, washed some clothes, boxed up some old clothes for Salvation Army and started working on today's plans. I don't think we'll be able to do the Soil Infiltration activity today because it's raining and Today we successfully completed the Soil Texture protocol on the Burn site soil samples we brought down with us. Jamie read the tedious flow chart while Everett and Jack did the spraying, pinching and rolling of each horizon sample to determine if the soil in the horizon was clay, silt, loam, sand or the many combinations of such soils! It went very well, the boys work well together as a team.

We also discussed our schedule from Shageluk to Anchorage and the fact that we will have about 8-9 hours of "play" time in Anchorage. For sure we'll have to hit the banks, get an iPod for Jack and Everett wants to go bowling. We also talked about meeting up at dinner time with relatives living in Anchorage. Stay tuned!

Tomorrow's plans: (Yes, we have this class on Saturday's, too!) Possibly do the Soil Infiltration protocol, check South African news again, possibly start the 30-year burn site set-up.

Everett Semone June 6: My first blog

Today I learned about how to find the textures on soil samples and what we're going to do in Anchorage because we're going to be there for a long time.

Jack June 6 :My First Blog

This morning I was late. I came into the school and got a cup of coffee, went into the classroom and Joy said, "You're late." And I said, " I know what are we learning today." We did the soil texture protocol on the burn site soil, after that we chatted about what we are going to do in Anchorage for ten hours.

Jamie, June 6/My First Blog

Today I got up and got to the school a little early. Afterwards I drank two cans of Red Bull, a mug of very strong coffee, and a bottle of water. At about nine thirty the whole class started working on soil texture protocol. In the end we found time to talk about what we will do in Anchorage during our ten hour layover, and where we will travel from there.