Take a read through the exciting Exploration Week offerings for 2014

Portland Culinary Arts
Leaders: Jill Elliott and Laura Jones
Funny hats, food trucks, obsessive baristas, urban gardening, and bike lovers: Portland is practically a laboratory of all that’s hip and cool in North America right now. If you love food, cooking, and cool cities, this is the trip for you! Each morning, after a bounteous breakfast at our hostel, we will board a streetcar and head to the Portland Culinary Workshop. In our culinary workshops we will take the following classes: Knife Techniques, Principles of Cooking, and, of course, Desserts. We will also visit a local organic farm to see how sustainable farming practices are put to work in this socially and environmentally conscious community. When we are not cooking, we will explore Portland’s cultural riches. During our elective planning time students will decide if we will have tea at the Portland Japanese Garden, spend some time reading at Powell’s Books, or take an afternoon to visit Portland’s contemporary art galleries. We will travel by BoltBus to Portland. Our ‘home away from home’ will be the lovely Northwest Portland Hostel, which is mere moments away from the world famous Voodoo Donuts!

Surfing 2014
Leaders: Kris Van Gieson and Skyler Vella and two more surf instructors to be determined.

We’ll be surfing at Hobuck Beach a few miles west of Neah Bay, Washington. The campground at Hobuck is right next to the beach with the ocean about fifty yards from our tents at high tide. Hobuck Beach is a great place to learn to surf because it has a gently sloping sandy bottom. The beach is south-facing so the larger northwest swells are reduced in size as they wrap around the point. We will be living, camping, and surfing outdoors all week. There is running water for toilets and drinking water. We will also hold an optional (but very helpful) session in the pool to practice some of the basic skills away from the ocean waves. This helps speed up the learning process. No previous surfing experience is necessary to sign up for this trip but it is important to be a strong swimmer and to be willing to be dunked under by waves. There are some inherent risks in surfing. We will do our best to minimize those risks by teaching and emphasizing safe surfing practices and having watchful adults surfing with the students.

Surfing is physically demanding. It is challenging to push out through waves, turn, paddle, and get up on a surfboard. It requires mental focus. Surfers have to read the ever-changing size and shape of waves and keep a safe distance from other surfers. Simply living outside requires dealing with whatever nature provides. There are group learning opportunities as well. The challenge of being tired and hungry and needing to cook for the group emphasizes the importance of putting forth effort for the good of others. We also take time at the end of each day to share our successes, challenges, and appreciations for others .

Walla Walla, Washington: A Photographic Expedition
Leaders: Paul Carroll and Vicki Jenkins

Walla Walla is a town in the far southeastern corner of Washington, and it is a special place, very different from Bainbridge. It is close to the Blue Mountains, nestled in gorgeous farmland and typically has a feeling of wide-open space. Especially because it is so different, we are enthusiastic about getting middle schoolers to have a camera in their hands that operates as an invitation for them to really look at this new world around them. Each day, we will go to different situations or environments to take photographs. Sometimes that will involve some drive time in the cars. There are abandoned farms that inspire intriguing photographs, and we will definitely take some time to photograph nature and landscapes on hikes in the area. We will visit the Palouse Falls, which is an impressive waterfall, especially at this time of year, and is set in a wonderful canyon. We will also be photographing the wheat fields in the area, which, especially at sunset, are fantastic. Part of the fun of a small town is getting to know it, and we will be exploring the downtown area and the Whitman College campus through photography.
We will be in a rented house near the college, so we will be sleeping indoors and will have access to showers. Some meals we will cook, but we will also be enjoying the inexpensive and wonderful restaurants of Walla Walla.
So in a short form, this trip is about exploring Eastern Washington, and small towns, and fun outdoors, with cameras always in hand. You should definitely be interested in taking pictures if you sign up for this trip, because we will be spending lots of time taking and discussing photographs.

Canoeing Ross Lake
Leaders: Cami Holtmeier and Mike Fosmark

Do you enjoy back-country travel, wildlife, hiking, bird-watching, canoeing? If you can answer “YES” to any of these, then you will love Hyla’s adventure on Ross Lake for Exploration Week! We will spend five days and four nights paddling the pristine waters of one of America’s most beautiful lakes and camping among the trees in North Cascades National Park. In addition to getting around by canoe and exchanging stories while cooking s’mores around the campfire, we will explore some lakeside trails, do some orienteering, and cook on camp stoves. Campsites are rustic with pit toilets and no running water but offer amazing lakeside camping with breathtaking views and a sense of solitude. Prior to leaving on the journey all members of the Ross Lake team will develop skills in paddling technique, setting up and dismantling tents, packing a backpack, tying selected knots, and reading back-country maps.
Come join us for an adventure to remember: Paddling Ross Lake

Rock Climbing and “Flying”
Leaders: Jennifer Haase with two Island Rock Gym climbing guides, SANCA Flying Trapeze Instructors and Ifly Indoor Skydiving Instructors, with Cindy Schacht on driving days

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to scale the rock cliffs in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, soar through the air and learn tricks on the flying trapeze, or pilot your own body as you literally “fly” in a vertical wind tunnel? If you yearn for adventure, but like to sleep in your own bed when the day is done, this is the trip for you! Our fearless group will focus on quieting and focusing the mind, stretching our mental limits to accomplish physical goals and positively supporting each other as we embark on an amazing week of possibilities. We will start the week honing our rock climbing skills and adapting what we learn in the gym to the new challenges and adventure of climbing safely outside. We will spend two days climbing at Island Rock Gym and one long day climbing outdoors (the Exit 38 or Exit 32 crags). Later in the week, we will team up with SANCA (Seattle School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts) for an exciting Flying Trapeze class. We will be learning flying skills and tricks on a real trapeze. By the end of the day, those who are confident can even get a chance to do some release tricks and be caught by our instructors. Our final day will be a trip to Ifly Indoor Skydiving in Seattle. Here, we will get a chance to actually “fly” in a vertical wind tunnel. The experience produces a similar sensation as the freefall stage of a skydive. Students need to bring a daypack with a hearty sack lunch, water bottle and a journal each day. All other technical equipment is provided.

Cycle The San Juan Islands
Leaders: Andrew Lovejoy and Devin Bodony with a female co-leader to be determined

We will take a cycling tour of the beautiful San Juan Islands, one of my favorite places in the world. In addition to getting to ride our bikes on quiet roads with gorgeous scenery, we’ll enjoy a sampling of the great cultural experiences the islands have to offer. Possible activities: tour and possible hands-on experience at world famous Bullock Brothers permaculture farm on Orcas Island; work party with the nuns of Our Lady of the Rock convent on Shaw Island (sheep shearing?); tour of SeaDoc Society and whale museum on San Juan Island. We will be camping and riding reasonably long distances, but we will also have some time to kick back and enjoy some really beautiful beaches. During the time leading up to the trip we’ll work on safe, responsible cycling, some basic bike maintenance skills, and essential skills for camping.
Students will need to provide their own reliable, well-fitting bicycle.

PLAY – The Artist’s Way
Leaders: Kimberley Gorman-Trick, Crissey Trick, Erik Coburn & Dana Lyons
Where: Bellingham, WA
Art is many things. Art lives in the rhythm and synchronicity of body and boat, rowing on the Puget Sound. Art sprouts from the colors, textures, and tastes of a good home-cooked meal. Art leaps from the page like a dancer on the stage. Art is a comic book. Graffiti. Nature. Art is found everywhere. What does it mean to you?

Join me in Bellingham to explore the value of art in our lives. Each day we will unearth various forms of art through experience. Our journey begins Saturday night; we will take in an improv comedy performance at the Upfront Theatre. Later in the week, performers will work with us on our acting skills. We will work with other media, including learning how to silk screen. We will visit the Make.Shift Art Space (an art and music studio for painters, printmakers, photographers, sculptors, and musicians) and take in the mastery of Haisla artist, Lyle Wilson, at the Whatcom Museum. We will tour Tippecanoe Boats, a company dedicated to making model, toy, and remote control sailboats. We will also learn some sailing fundamentals and take a tour of Bellingham Bay. We will work with singer/songwriter, Dana Lyons, to uncover the art of crafting music. Part of our Exploration Week will be creating gourmet meals and experiencing the culinary delights of the area. We will examine the art of food photography in preparation for a new show at Rooster’s Café.

An overnight camping trip in Larabee State Park and meeting with the Lummi Nation will help expand our understanding of what art means to other cultures. Through these activities, we hope to come closer to appreciating individual, community, and world values of art. Our adventures will stretch your artistic visions and nurture your playful nature.

We will be hosted by Crissey and Erik in their apartment in the historic Fairhaven district of Bellingham.

Backpacking on the Olympic Coast
Leaders: Jeff Steele & a female co-leader

Hiking the Olympic Coast is something you’ll never forget. This is a wild hike past rocky bluffs, mystifying sea stacks, amazing tide pools, and long stretches of beautiful sandy beaches. I have been the director of one of the largest expedition programs in the Pacific Northwest, and, whatever your level of experience in the outdoors, I look forward to sharing new skills and seeing your confidence grow on this trip. We will travel relatively short distances each day, giving us lots of time to enjoy the water, the sun, and the local wildlife. We will set out from the Makah Indian Reservation at Shi-Shi beach just south of our surf buddies at Hobuck Beach and meet our pick-up just north of Lake Ozette. Each day we will hike between 2-3 miles, taking in the absolutely beautiful views of rocky outcroppings like Point of the Arches and Ozette Island. For a photo tour of the sights of the hike CLICK HERE. All you’ll need for the hike is a good pair of hiking boots – don’t let anything stand in your way of taking this great trip!