Story by Lee Eversole.
A Scottish-American naturalist, John Muir, once wrote of the Grand Canyon, “It is a vast wilderness of rocks in a sea of light, colored and glowing like oak and maple woods in autumn, when the sun-gold is richest.” Although the 2024 Crestone Charter Middle School’s annual journey involved so many more cultural, historical and featural attractions, the Grand Canyon was our central focus.
Monday morning, April 29. We congregate at the school. It’s the final preparation for our weeklong journey. Sleeping bags, snacks, coolers, backpacks all fit in the “gear van” with a millimeter to spare. Twenty-four students, two teachers, and four chaperones fill two additional buses designated for our journey.
We’re officially on our way by 9:30 a.m.
The students are ebullient, anticipating a great trip. The boys gather into one bus, girls another, and soon we’re passing through Center and Del Norte. Students’ bellies empty as quickly as their bladders fill. By Del Norte, everyone, and two buses, need fuel. Students break out their funds and indulge in food, and as we prepare to leave, both students and buses have plenty of gas.
Continuing our nine-hour journey west, we bounce over brutal reservation roads.
Today’s first scheduled stop is Mesa Verde National Monument. As several of us describe the historic significance of the region, photos and images appear en masse on students’ phones. Mesa Verde astounds. Pressing forth, the 2024 Crestone cavaliers finally reach Cortez, Colorado, where we are greeted warmly by our kind and generous church leader hosts.
The following day, we visit the Hopi Reservation where a world-famous Hopi pottery maker welcomes us warmly and performs a demonstration of her art. Wow. Three student volunteers become further involved in the pottery-making.
It is quite an experience as students learn about the Hopi lifestyle and pottery making. Then, we end our second day at The Carriage House in Flagstaff, our base of operations for the next three days. The students have a glorious go at it. There are large-screen televisions, a spacious yard, a hot tub, indoor air hockey and a basketball court.
On day three, May 2, our group ventures north directly to our magical destination, the Grand Canyon!
The site overwhelms us. We hike along the rim and visit the Desert View Watchtower. Exhausted, we return to the Carriage House. The students need their rest, for the next day we visit Walnut Canyon National Monument, observe a community of Sinagua Peoples ruins. Then, on this fourth evening, we treat the students to the Hibachi Restaurant, the Sakura Sushi. Flames rise from our tables and our eyebrows singe, while we enjoy some of the finest food we’ve ever tasted.
Day four, for some, was the most memorable. We visited Flagstaff Extreme where almost every student attempts to complete a zipline adventure course. High in the trees, they hoot and holler while, below, others take photos.
Then, at last on day five, we detour to a most beautiful site, the historically enriched Canyon de Chelly, where the Navajo peoples held out through a bitter winter to avoid capture. Some starved or froze to avoid capture by the brutal bluecoats.
Finally, our penultimate day together, we return to the warm and friendly peoples of Rock Springs Church in Cortez, then awake early for our final day and prepare for our four-hour drive to Crestone.
Those who’d been on many field outings in the past believe that this has been the finest and most successful. We have learned about the region’s various geological features and its cultures.
We use introspection to reflect upon our own emotions after having experienced such an adventure together.