Participants:
Sarah Bell
Lana Bernstein
Clay Bicknese
Carrie Blanton
Abigail Blatt
Emily Dickerson
Ron Douglas
Adam Eckert
Ross Furbush
Nathan Gaubatz
Deanna Scheck
Zach Selby

Trip Leaders:
Dana LePoidevin
Connie Dennett

Artist: Greg Houda
Writer: Matt Daly

It is said that “there is no bad weather, just bad gear”. Thanks to the excellent guidance of experienced Tetons Trip leader, Dana LePoidevin, our twelve Principia students and two staff were well prepared and had all the right stuff for a successful and inspiring outdoor learning adventure in the Tetons National Park in Wyoming. In seven days this eclectic and disparate group forged friendships and memories that will last a lifetime. Each individual brought a unique perspective to the challenges and opportunities of experiential learning at the Tetons Science School. Using cross country skis and snow shoes to get out into the wilderness to observe and record nature in its extreme beauty and severity, this enthusiastic group walked in the footsteps of the great Wyoming naturalists, Olaus and Mardy Murie. They learned how to sketch and descriptively write in their journals while in the field, how to conduct and present a scientific study and how to decipher tracks in the snow that tell a story of what has taken place. Science, writing, art, and reason all came together in the many lessons the Tetons have to teach us. Physical endurance, skill development, increased confidence, care and consideration for others, attention to detail, and closeness to God were part of everyone’s day. These qualities led the Tetons Science School teachers to remark at our student’s kindness to one another, their sincere inquisitiveness and unprompted conclusions and well thought out extrapolations. Truly these twelve Principia students exemplified our trip theme of “Walking as Children of Light”.

—Connie Dennett