Red Tailed Eyas Stretch Edges and Look Forward at Deming Homestead Eagle Preserve.

The Red Tailed Eyas completed their 2016-2017 season with an exciting, truly adventurous outing at Deming Eagle Park. There was a certain sense of ceremony to the day, at least for the mentors, because next year, the Red Tailed Eyas will be the eldest group of explorers in BEC. In an inspiring illustration of that transition, the RTEs leaned into the challenges of the day and intentionally made the choice to stretch their edges!

We piled into Moose (one of our trusty Wild Whatcom busses!) and headed for Deming Homestead Eagle Park for an extended outing. We were fortunate to get the best that spring weather has to offer with mostly clear skies and comfortable, warm temperatures. These conditions allowed us to go further today, and we are grateful for that.

Our plan for the day was to walk across a few hundred yards of an alluvial plain to eventually reach the bank of the Nooksack. We expected this to be a mostly dry hike with a few minor water crossings. Reality would offer up a different set of circumstances.

Upon reaching the park, we noticed that there was water almost up to the parking area! It turns out the recent rains combined with the sunny, warm weather of the day had caused lots of melting to occur in higher elevations, greatly increasing the flow of the Nooksack. We met as a group to make a decision about how we wanted to move forward with our day. Would we attempt to cross the cold, thigh deep water in an attempt to reach the main stem of the Nooksack, without knowing for sure if we would even be able to make it? Or would we decide to explore and play games in the meadows near the parking lot for the day?

Making decisions

We found a snake today too!

Knowing that we would likely be uncomfortable, cold, disoriented, and quite muddy at certain points of the day, we decided, in spite of that, that we wanted to go forth and attempt to find the main stem of the Nooksack. The mentors were impressed with the compassion that we showed each other by listening to each members reservations about the plan and collectively seeking ways to help each other feel good about our plan. Upon reaching the consensus, we prepared to cross some very cold water.

After sending out some scouts, we identified the best area to cross the first stream. We utilized our navigation skills and our resiliency as we made our way through dense thickets, crossed cold water that occasionally reached as high as our waist, and slopped through deep mud pits! Despite all of these challenges, we maintained a positive attitude that was contagious.

We followed our best instinct and used clues in the landscape to find our way to main stem of the Nooksack. Upon reaching the open stream bank, we allowed the suns strong rays to warm our bodies to the core.

Sunshine on the Nooksack

Soaking it allllll in

  

Cooling off in the chilly water

  

Somewhere in all that sand, there is an explorer!

After a quick activity that highlighted the natural tendency of humans to exclude one another, the mentors sat us down for a conversation about community. The mentors appreciated the courage we exhibited by sharing some of our personal experiences with bullying during this conversation. Being in the thick of middle school, hormones and growing pains, protecting each others emotional safety is a paramount responsibility for all members of our group. With this in mind, we renewed our commitment to maintaining a safe space at Explorers Club. The mentors noticed that, especially after this transformative year of exploration, we have reached a point in our maturity that we are able to have these serious discussions, and for that they are grateful.

This outing was a triumphant end to a year of important growth for the Red Tailed Eyas. At our closing circle we all gave thanks for our awesome day together. We also built some excitement by looking forward to next year, when two of our nine outings will be over nights! After changing into some dry clothes that (some of us!) had bought, we piled back into the bus and headed back to Bellingham.

To see the rest of the photos of the day, click here!