We had just been at Grand Canyon National Park which was insanely crowded, so we were very happy to come to Petrified Forest National Park for some much smaller crowds. Petrified Forest is one of the smaller national parks in he United States. Most people overlook it, but it was actually way cooler than I thought it was going to be. This national park is a must see because of its uniqueness and factor of surprise. Because of its size, you can do the whole park in less than two days and still see everything the park has to offer. What’s really cool is that the park has two very different sides to it; the petrified side and painted desert side.
7th Grade Marine Biology Trip
I was the happiest girl in the world when I found out I was accepted to go on the 7th Grade Marine Biology Trip! I was so exited I got to miss school for a week to go on an adventure, make tons of new friends, and learn new things about the world that I didn’t know before. Another great thing was that my dad got to chaperone and I was exited that he would get to do all the fun activities with me. The camp I went to was called PEEC, which stands for Pacific Environmental Education Center.
When I got to camp, I met my cabin mates, other chaperones, and my naturalist. Naturalists are the “teachers” for the week. My naturalist was Raccoon (they all have nature names).
My Days At PEEC
Monday
Monday was mostly driving, but once I got there, everyone jumped right into it. The first hike we did was a short Marine Headlands walk along the coast. On this walk we got to play games like camouflage and meet the people in my hiking group. I learned about invasive species, like the ice plant, and how they negatively effect the environment. When we saw the harbor seals, I learned that the winds effect where animals live. At dinner, I was introduced to the FBI; Fungus, bacteria, invertebrate. They were all decomposers. One of the naturalists dressed up fancy and pretend like he was an Italian scientist and it was hilarious.
Tuesday
Tuesday was stations, tide pools, and a night hike!