Hands-On Explorer Challenge Update – National Geographic Kids Blogs

National Geographic Society

We are disappointed to report that there will be no NG Kids Hands-On Explorer Challenge for 2010. But we hope to announce the 2011 destination and open the fifth HOEC competition later this year.

Keep checking this page for details about the next expedition.

Comments

shoupers
May 5, 2010, 1:17 pm

No way! No way! NO WAY! What a sad way to start out my day! I am so sad! But at least I have next year. I feel so bad for those of you who don’t! This was so many people’s last chance! I’m so so so sorry for all of you who can’t enter now. Maybe they’ll extend the age range so you can enter next year? I sure hope so. I wonder why they couldn’t, no sponsors or no possible host country? Wow. What a sad surprise.
luckstomper
May 5, 2010, 3:11 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. GAHHHHH! WHAT?!?! We have been waiting for legit 1 year! I only have one more contest to enter then! Sigh, I am quite disappointed. Anyone else? UGH! Good-bye, talk to everyone soon.

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
snowsledding
May 5, 2010, 4:05 pm

awww! im so sad! that really stinks
hopefully they post the 2011 contest details soon and don’t wait too long! i cant wait to hear where they will be going next year.
im also really sorry for thoose who cant enter next year but im sure they’ll extend the age limit.
treehugger13
May 5, 2010, 5:12 pm

OMG!!!!!!!! WHY????????? WHY DID THEY DO THIS!!!!!!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY WOULD RUIN SO MANY PEOPLE’S HOPES!!!!! THANK GOODNESS THAT IT IS NOT MY LAST YEAR BUT I FEEL SORRY FOR EVERYONE WHO IT IS!!!!!!!!! WHY??????????? I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MAD!!!!! WHY DID THEY SAY THEY WERE GOING TO HAVE ONE AND NOW NOT???????? AGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!! I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOO UPSET AND I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT THEY WOULD LIE TO US!!!!!!!!! NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LIES!!!!!!!!!! (but i love them anyways!)
renaval
May 5, 2010, 6:07 pm

NOOOOOOO! I can’t believe this! I am going to be too old. I am very, very upset. I think I might cry. Dreams have been ruined! Ah, I am so upset. Can we at least have a reason why it’s cancelled PLEASE!There is still one good thing it’s supposed to be announced this year. Maybe I’ll be young enough. This is makeing me feel really old.
~Valerie~
naturephotographer
May 5, 2010, 6:18 pm

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! This is awful!!!! Man, this was my last year to enter…….. Well I wish the best of luck to the people are still young enough to enter.

Elizabeth
cowgirlexplorer
May 5, 2010, 8:03 pm

WHAT! are you kidding me National Geographic! This is not only irritating but truly sad, next year will be my last year to do it! I have one chance, one! I am very sorry for those of you who were going to enter this year as their last year! i am truly sad and i guess i am just at a loss for words now, no more to say…
~Celeste~
Michigangirl14
May 5, 2010, 8:13 pm

i am Soooooooooooooooo disappointed they need to extend the age range i will be to old for the next expedition.
-Brooke
shastasteph
May 5, 2010, 8:16 pm

Oh no! I cannot believe this. What if some people are too old next year? That would be horrible! Then they couldn’t enter. What happened? I was really hoping to enter this year. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see when the contest is announced and who is still able to enter. I hope everyone on this blog will at least be able to enter soon. I am so sad right now! At least the National Geographic Society told us instead of getting our hopes us. I’m still crushed though.
kimaru14
May 6, 2010, 8:03 am

i love you!
lol
snowsledding
May 6, 2010, 4:17 pm

I feel SOOOOOOO bad for the people who cant enter next year… this is such a disappointment for them all.
NG kids should extend the age limit next year. Even if they don;t extend the age limit, they should just allow you all to come because you all have been so dedicated to the blog. there are a lot of you all the really deserve to go on the trip and im sure you will!
shastasteph
May 6, 2010, 7:33 pm

I am so sorry all of you who cannot enter. I know I too would be devastated. I am very, very sorry.
reneval, naturephotographer,Michigangirl14, can you all not enter because you are currently 14? I hope you can still enter. All of us have been so faithful to National Geographic and this whole contest.
Everyone else, how many more years do you think you will have to enter? I am pretty sure this will probably be my last year. Good luck to everyone then. We deserve to win this trip, and I know we will do it.
Again, I am distraught right now. I hope the contest is announced very soon so that maybe the people who would be too old might have a chance to enter.
shastasteph
May 6, 2010, 7:37 pm

I would also like to welcome wy22 and kimaru14 to the blog. At least you were spared the pain most of us experienced.
I will still be faithful to this contest, but I now have some doubts. One of my doubts is from the grammar of the message from the main body of this post. The National Geographic Society say they ‘hope’ to announce the 2011 HOEC contest this year. However, they said ‘hope’ when referring to the 2010 contest as well. Now, I’m not positive the contest will necessarily be announced this year. I hope Nat. Geo. stays true to its word.
cowgirlexplorer
May 6, 2010, 7:40 pm

I think that next year they should have an expedition for the people on this blog because we have all been so dedicated, and then have another contest, the actuall HOEC contest for everyone esle, with an extended age limit.
Teh only good thing that i can think of taht can come out of this is that i gives you more time to have great experiences in nature and write about them.

Sorry again to all those who will be too old to enter, it is truly a sad thing.
~Celeste~
shastasteph
May 7, 2010, 7:31 pm

cowgirlexplorer, that is a really great idea. National Geographic should have an HOEC contest just for the people who have been so dedicated to this blog. We follow it weekly, some follow it daily, and what would be better than to have a definite opportunity to win this contest and show our exploration fervor? I hope the National Geographic staff are listening to our suggestions.
naturephotographer
May 8, 2010, 6:05 am

Hi everyone it is Elizabeth. I really don’t have much to say except to answer shastasteph’s question. Yes, I am 14 and my birthday is coming up in the next couple of months. So, when they do announce the contest I will be over the age limit.

Elizabeth
cowgirlexplorer
May 8, 2010, 2:50 pm

thanks for acknowledging my idea shastasteph- i would really like to meet you all and match faces to descriptions

~Celeste~
shastasteph
May 8, 2010, 4:03 pm

naturephotographer/Elizabeth, I am really sorry that you will be over the age limit. I feel so bad for you and everyone else who will not be able to enter. But you can still hope! The National Geographic Society may possibly make an exception. I’m hoping for the best!
luckstomper
May 8, 2010, 4:14 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. I keep on reading everyone’s comments on how they are so disappointed that there is no contest this year. Yes, I do feel for everyone who now can no longer enter the long awaited contest. But I recently came to the consensus that we’re the reason why National Geographic Kids, said they were going to have a 2010 HOEC contest. Why else would NGK want to have it. They have a us the select few who truly honestly are tied to this blog 100%, going forward. Which brought me to my next conclusion. One of my favorite quotes is from Dr. Suess, he quoted “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” For everyone who can no longer enter this applies to you the most. Just because it’s over it doesn’t mean you have to cry, smile because you know you are part of what spoke to NGK to have a 2010 HOEC contest, and now 2011. I just wanted to say that to everyone.

I do know one fact right now, at least one of the commenters will win the 2011 contest. Whether they be yet-to-come commenters, or it’s one of us right now, I do not know. This is all I can say right now. Talk to everyone soon.

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
Anonymous
May 9, 2010, 8:19 am

What are the age limts?
shastasteph
May 9, 2010, 6:18 pm

Anonymous, the age limits are that you have to be between the ages of 8 and 14 by the time the trip starts. The trip is usually between early and mid summer.
wycombestar
May 9, 2010, 8:02 pm

IM TOO OLD. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. OLDIE. AHHHHHHHH. POOOOOOOOOOOO. oh well.
shastasteph
May 10, 2010, 4:51 pm

luckstomper, I totally agree with you on your conclusions. We are the generation of young explorers who urge the National Geographic Society to still hold this contest. We show Nat. Geo. that in the midst of a generation of technology, there are still kids and teenagers who love exploring and caring for the natural world. We are living proof of this. I also agree with you luckstomper that there will be someone on this blog who wins. I believe that there will be more than one of us who wins though. I can feel it. I believe that all of us on this blog who are eligible will win. We have the heart of true young explorers, and that is what Nat. Geo. is looking for in this contest’s winners.
zolum99
May 10, 2010, 9:10 pm

Wow i really hope im not too old by the time they post the next contest. I shouldnt be unless they skip another year so i really hop they post the next contest soon. I feel bad for everyone who cant enter, but hopefully there will be another contest that you guys can enter.
shoupers
May 11, 2010, 6:59 pm

You know what’s really cool? Everyone here is staying positive, even after the bad news. And everyone is already thinking ahead to something positive- next year’s contest. Luckstomper and Shastasteph, I like your positive attitude that one of us will win, we do deserve it. And cowgirlexplorer, that would be awesome if there was an expedition of the bloggers, then the true every day explorers would get their chance.
Thank you all for being positive.
Shoupers
cowgirlexplorer
May 12, 2010, 7:02 pm

I completely agree with your conclusions Luckstomper. We are the reason that they are even going to have a contest. I also love the quote that you brought up by Dr. Seuss, it is also one of my favorite.

I am just excepted that there is a glimmer of hope that they will have one in the near future. This could be in some strange way, a good thing. it gives you more time to have wonderful experiences in Nature and create a wonderful story from them.

Again, Luckstomper, thanks for posting that, i think it made alto of us feel good, including me.

Shastasteph, i agree that more than one of us will win the next contest. In fact i believe, if we all try hard enough and truly want to, we all can win.

~Celeste~
yellow
May 12, 2010, 9:30 pm

Ok………………….
shastasteph
May 13, 2010, 6:54 pm

cowgirlexplorer, I really like your optimism. This does give us a chance to explore nature more and work on our entries if we get an idea. The Dr. Seuss quote is also one of my favorites. It may be my favorite actually. I know more than one of us will win. And like you said, I know all of us can win!
cowgirlexplorer
May 13, 2010, 7:12 pm

Welcome to the blog yellow!

~Celeste~

p.s.- (nothing else really to say…)
Jazzy34565
May 14, 2010, 8:31 pm

When I saw that video I was like cool.Because I also like your opionon so thanks for putting that great video on here
Laugh.Live.Love
briannap
May 17, 2010, 7:46 pm

OMG…i really wish i could but idk if my mom will let me sign up
shastasteph
May 18, 2010, 6:37 pm

brainnap, you don’t need to sign up to enter the contest. All you have to do is mail in your entry. I hope your mom lets you. We always love bringing new people into our family of passionate explorers.
The past few days have really been amazing. In my backyard, I found some California slender salamanders and I saw a gopher digging! It was really cool. Also, I had my zoo training. I got to learn how to handle animals like a three-banded armadillo and a ball python. It was cool because I got to feel and observe the animals up close. Has anyone else found any other awesome things on their explorations?
cowgirlexplorer
May 18, 2010, 7:21 pm

Cowgirlexplorer here!

today for a school field trip we went to see a blacksmith. It was really cool because he worked just like they did in colonial times. He made a beautiful rose out of metal, everyone wanted it- it was 100 dollars though!

Welcome to the blog Jazzy34565 and briannap

~Celeste~
Dewster
May 19, 2010, 9:42 am

Well, Sorry this didnt work out:( I think everyone should step away from blogging and wait for the surprise to come. Does anyone want to know how I won??? I never Blogged or counted the days down:) I just found the article in the magazine and entered. I never bugged or yelled at National Geo. to hurry up and post the trip. It just came:) Please stop with the annoying comments towards Nat. Geo. Just leave them alone and let the contest come to you. I am really excited about the 2011 explorer trip, I have a feeling where it is:) Hopefully, you guys will all win and get to go!!!!! Look around at your surroundings and pick something REALLY interesting! Thats the trick!!!!
Thanks
Dewey
luckstomper
May 19, 2010, 4:17 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. Hey Dewster, well actually Dewey S.. It’s great to hear from you again! Can you believe that almost a year ago you went on a trip to Peru?! That’s crazy! I really wish I could’ve gone on that trip.

I am still optimistic as to winning this contest. Anyone else? Optimism seems to work in my favor. Recently, on Monday, one of my classmates go a postcard from a poetry contest saying they were going to be published (different from the one where I got published before). I was kind of set down, because I entered that contest and was hoping to be published. So I stayed optimistic all day. Then when I got to ELA (English Language Arts), my teacher says “I have got some good news!” And she hands me a postcard saying that I will be published in this book too! I was ecstatic! Just goes to show what a little positive energy can do for you! Well that’s all for now. Talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
P.S. My right side of my face is all numb from the novocaine (or numbing drug). I when to the dentist a little over an hour ago to get a cavity filled. But, it was natural cavity they said, so it wasn’t my fault. Ugh, I don’t like the dentist.
shastasteph
May 19, 2010, 6:37 pm

Hey Dewey. It’s nice to hear from you again. How have you been? Anyways, I’m really excited about the upcoming HOEC contest. I can’t wait! Where do you think the contest will be? Do you know something we don’t?
luckstomper, I do believe in being optimistic. Even if it doesn’t always give you the results you want, it just feels good to not feel bad. Do you get it? Congratulations on winning another poetry contest! You must be an amazing writer. Actually, I think everyone on this blog is a great writer. That’s another reason why I think all or many of us will win the 2011 HOEC contest. We can do it, and we will do it!
cowgirlexplorer, that is amazing that you got to see a blacksmith! I live in a very busy, developed city, so we don’t have people who preserve those long-time methods of production. I think it’s really neat.
cowgirlexplorer
May 19, 2010, 8:03 pm

Hello again Dewey! It is great to hear from you. i dont feel as though we are bugging National Geographic, ( we used to be but now i think that we are all just blogging to tell about what is going on in our lives right now. Thanks for the advice!

Luckstomper- i too hate the dentist- I get my bracees off in…12 days- so excited! I also agree that being optomistic helps alot in many areas of your life.

I GET OUT OF SCHOOL IN 5 DAYS! – so excited! and tomorrow is a field trip so it is practically 4 days- even better.

Shastasteph- that is so cool that you got to have zoo training. The closest zoo to where i live is three hours away- and it barely has ANY animals.

Dewey- what was you favorite part of the trip?

~Celeste~
shadow66
May 20, 2010, 11:55 am

THIS IS SO SAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thankgoodness I’m still young!!! SO sorry to people who can’t enter. AT LAST National Geofraphic tell us soon where the 2011 one will be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
shadow66
May 20, 2010, 11:57 am

I have 4 more years 2 enter!!!! I’m still 10.
renaval
May 20, 2010, 6:07 pm

Hey,
shastasteph, I am so jealuos of you. I think it would be so cool to get zoo training. I really want to be a vet or a zoo keeper when i get older. My dog’s vet said that if i get a work permant i can “shadow” her for a day and even whatch a surgery. I really want to do that.
cowgirlexplorer, you’re really lucky you only have 5 days left i have about 15.5 days to go. I really want the end of the school year soon because next year i’ll be in highschool (scary!). I’m really looking forward to summer and just playing and relaxing. What are you all looking forward to doing in the summer?
I also agree with being optimistic. Who dosen’t? Not being optimistic is prettical being in a bad mood all the time.
I planted a garden last weekend. Me and my sister moved all of our rasberries to the other side of our garden and then we planted corn and radishes. i’m not a fan of radishes but I’m excited to see how they are going to turn out.
~Valerie~
cowgirlexplorer
May 20, 2010, 9:48 pm

Reneval- i too went to the local vet’s place in our town and “shadowed” (that’s what they called it) for about 5 months- i am still doing it right now. It is a lot of fun, i think you would enjoy it.

Today we went on a field trip and it was POURING rain the whole time- it was SO miserable. words cannot describe how cold and soaked everyone was- it was torture.

~Celeste~
luckstomper
May 21, 2010, 4:32 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here.
Reneval: What am I looking forward to this summer? I am looking forward to MANY things this summer. One being, I’m going back to Canada this summer! Yay! We plan to just stay in Old Quebec City. I am also going to my beach house on Cape Cod as usual. I am also taking a two week photography class. I really hope to learn a few more tricks. Also I planted a garden last weekend! I planted green peas, tomatoes, corn, habenero peppers, oregano, 3 different types of basil, mint, and thyme. I have done this for many years, and has turned out well.

Yesterday while swinging on the swing, I felt so relaxed and looked all around me. It was so cool, it was almost awe inspiring. I recommend it to everyone to do. Well that’s all for now, got to go for a run!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
renaval
May 22, 2010, 9:54 am

Hey,
Yesterday was a really busy day. First at school the eighth grade class had a civil war reanactment. We reanacted Pickett’s Charge and the battle of the wilderness. It was alot of fun. I gat to die 4 times (Don’t worry I was resurrected each time). We also had some presentations on life during the civil war. The battle of the wilderness was a lot of fun because we acule got to go into our school’s wood and run around. Every person got a fake wooden rifle and we practiced drills with our regiments.it was a very cool experieence.
Even before school ended the whole track team left and went to the conference meet. It’s our last meet. I did long jump but since there were so many people I sat around for about an hour waiting for it to be my turn. Then finally I got to jump; my best jump was 13,4. After that i went to do the 4×100 relay. My team and i were sitting in the feild waiting to go and then we heard a faint thunder qwite a ways away. Then there was an announcement that they had to delay the meet by a half an hour! It was sunny outside. So everyone waited around in the sunny day doing nothing. Everyone was very upset. a half an hour later I got to run my relay; We came in second in our heat. After that i went to high jump and I ended up coming in second place with a jump of 4,8. i was kind of upset because the girl that beat me i beat her last year.
~Valerie~
tigergirl13
May 23, 2010, 3:08 pm

tigrrrrrrrrrrgirl13 in,

NOOOOOOOOOO! THIS IS MY LAST YEAR!!!!!!!!! BOOOOOOOOO! ah well;) let’s think about somthing elce. who is your fav. singer(s)? Mine are the Ramones. My fave. song by them is “pet semitary”.
VannahExplorer
May 23, 2010, 4:01 pm

Hey everyone!
I just found this new blog everyone has been talking about! i had no idea why everyone stopped commenting on the other one! i ust thought everyone had givin up on the contest i was shocked too because i know how dedicated we all are to the Contest and Nat. Geo!

Also i am verrrry extreamly sorry to everyone who can not enter next year! i know it would probubly drive me insane to the point of tears!!!

Luckstomper,that is really cool that u r taking a photography class! i would like to do that some time!

I just now have decided that i am going to venture out and try to find other essay and/or photography contests that i can enter while i wait for the 2011 hands on explorer challenge to underway. And to all of you ecspecially the kids who will be to old now i just wanted to say that just because this opertunity has ended for u it is not like there wont be more in the future! u just have to make an effort to find them and try your best!!! ))

Another thing is that i hope that i am not to old to enter the contest next year! i am 13 now and my birthday is in the summer so it really depends what the cut off date for age is :/ i realllllly hope i am eligable!!!!!

I guess that is all for now Talk to u all soon!

~LUV YA, VANNAHEXPLORER~
shastasteph
May 24, 2010, 4:09 pm

Wow. I have a lot of catching up to do on this blog. Here I go!
cowgirlexplorer, I get out of school in four days. I’m excited, but I’m also sad about not seeing all of my friends as much. Also, I’m sorry that your zoo is really far away. I just happen to be lucky that my city has one, but I’m not as lucky as most of you because my city is very developed. There aren’t many places near me that haven’t been altered to fit human needs.
reneval, that is very cool that you might get to shadow a veterinarian. I also wanted to be a veterinarian or a zookeeper when I grow up. I had wanted to volunteer at my local animal shelter, but it costs $50 just to do so. My family can’t afford to pay that kind of money. We’ve been struggling economically ever since the little depression we had. I hope your garden grows well!
luckstomper, I too hope your garden grows well. A few weeks ago, I planted a gourd plant. Unfortunately, the strong winds and rain snapped its stem, and it later died. You are very lucky to be able to attend a photography camp during the summer. I would love to do that. I hope you have fun. I’m sure you will.
Recently, my class and I went on a field trip to do habitat restoration at a small lake near our school. As I was pulling out invasive mustard and radishes, I saw a nest among the reeds. Their was one small pale blue egg in the nest. It was really neat. I wish I had my camera, but I really want to return their soon so I can snap a picture.
cowgirlexplorer
May 24, 2010, 6:23 pm

Hello everyone!

That is very cool that you are taking a photography class this summer Luckstomper. Also, in old Quebec is where my aunt lives, i have never been there, but my parents went and they said it so cool. Be sure to get lots of maple syrup, its delicious!

I am going to New York this summer. From New York, i am taking a train to Virginia. It should be really fun. Depending in which beach my aunt’s beach house is located on, i may be going to Delaware as well.

So excited for this summer- 2 days of school left!

~Celeste~
renaval
May 25, 2010, 5:29 pm

Hey,
Sounds like you all are going on lots of vacations this summer. I am not going on any. But i do hope to visit some of my local zoos. 2 baby lion cobs were born a few monthes ago at one of the zoos and they are being released for the public to see them soon. I’m excited to see them.
The other thing that i am looking for is my county’s fair. Every year i enter this in 4-H and they’re desplayed at the fair. This year i am entering only photography into open class, so i will be competeing against adults. I’m really excited to see all the animals and go on the rides.
Cowgirlexplorer i am very jealuos i still have over 2 weeks of school left. Luckstomper, I hope you enjoy your photogrphy class. It sounds like fun. I really enjoy photography. My dream job is to be a photographer for Nat Geo.
~Valerie~
shastasteph
May 25, 2010, 7:01 pm

Wow. It sounds like many of you are traveling or going away from home in the summer. It sounds like a lot of fun. Don’t forget to enjoy the native species in the areas you will be traveling to!
Unfortunately, my family cannot afford to go on such lavish trips. I have only been to my home state of California and to neighboring Nevada. Still, I was very close to the border while in Nevada. This is one reason why my drive to win this contest is so strong. I hope to finally be able to travel abroad with this contest. I know my wish and all our dreams to win this contest will come soon. We will win! We have amazing writing skills, and above all, we have the true hearts of this generations explorers.
luckstomper
May 26, 2010, 3:23 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. Wow, I haven’t commented in a little while. Hey I found a legit essay contest to enter. It’s done my Creative Communications (google it), and it can only be 250 words max. and it can be about anything you want. So you could treat it like the HOEC essay. On the down side you don’t get to go anywhere, but you do get published! It’s a national contest too.

I’m not definite yet, but my mom was talking about switching our trip from Old Quebec City, Canada to Belize. She hasn’t finalized anything yet, but that is a big option. She said this is the time to go with all the oil spill, the researchers are unsure where the oil will go with the current. It could go down to central america, or the caribbean islands. But their best bet is it’s going to travel along the North Atlantic Current, which flows up the east coast (where I live), and then to Europe. Yikes, I hope they do something quick! Louisiana is already building natural sand barriers to keep the oil from reaching their shores any more than it already has. (I already tried asking to go to Peru, but that was a no)

Shastasteph, I’m sorry your family has not been doing well economically after the “mini-depression”. If anyone deserves to win right now it’s you. I know a bunch of us have gone on quite delightful trips. It’s time to reach out to those less fortunate and let them go. I hope you come back, I have faith. I’m also sorry about your gourd plant .

Well I suppose I should go and do my homework. I’m sitting outside right now on my laptop basking in the sun. It has been ridiculously hot out yesterday and today! Yesterday and today have reached 98 degrees Fahrenheit! Well talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
renaval
May 26, 2010, 6:31 pm

Hey,
I have a question for those of you who have gone on previuose HOEC edvantures. In one of McKenna’s blogs she says that her mom was in peru with her. did all the contest winners bring a parent along? I have another question for anyone who knows the anwser. Where have the preveouse HOECs been? I know they have been in australia and Peru but no more than that.
Yesterday I was exploring my back yard and I have an area thats all sand. When i walked by i spotted a nice aunt hill. I observed the aunts, and then i saw a huge mass of black. i looked closer and realised it was all ants. There were millions of them; maybe even billions. I whatched closeling, and it seemed as if the hole ground was moveing! They were everywhere. I quick ran and got my camera and snapped picture after picture. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was the most ants i have ever seen. Then i found a solid black spot about the size of a sand-dollar. It was a solid mass of ants on top of ants. It remindeed me of the newest Indiana Jones movie when they almost get eaten by ants.
~Valerie~
cowgirlexplorer
May 26, 2010, 9:53 pm

Thank you for all the compliments to all of us Shastasteph.

My family isn’t rich by any means either, but we just broke down and decided to go to visit our family this year since my grandfather is 99 yrs old and he cant come to see us anymore.

I cant wait for the next HOEC expedition to be announced- but for now, i will just enjoy my summer- i am now officially out of school!

~Celeste~
luckstomper
May 27, 2010, 2:53 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. Reneval to answer your questions here are the answers:
1) Does every winner bring along a parent?
A: Yes, they do. You can bring along a close relative instead if you wish.

2) Where have all the HOEC contests been?
A: 2006- Galapagos Islands 2007- South Africa 2008- Australia 2009- Peru.

I hope that helps!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
shastasteph
May 27, 2010, 7:18 pm

luckstomper, thank you so much for the compliment. However, I believe we all deserve to win this contest. We are all amazing writers and explorers. We communicate nature’s voice into words. I know we will all win. There is a high chance for the oil to travel by means of the North Atlantic Current and hit Canada and later Europe. That would be cool if you got to go to Belize. Tell us when you find out! Also, good luck on your contest.
cowgirlexplorer, I guess many people were hit hard by the mini depression. Luckily, my family is still doing okay. I’m fortunate for not having to need government support yet. We are cutting down on many necessities. At least the economy is getting better. I hope you become economically stable again soon!
reneval, that ant mass sounds very interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many ants in one place.
renaval
May 27, 2010, 8:02 pm

Hey,
Thank you very much luckstomper. That does help me alot. I was worried about being so far from my family, but now I’m positive I’m going to enter. i know it sounds whimpy but whatever. Wow, the Galapagos Islands, that must pf been really cool. I have a friend and her God father went their and he’s been all around the world. I saw some of the pictures and it looks really cool.
I have a feeling the next HOEC will be in Europe or Asia because it hasn’t happened their yet. I’m thinking Japan or maybe Norway. I think it would be very cool to go to Norway because i have ansesters from there. i also would love to go to Japan to see the cherry blossum trees.
I have 8 days left of school! For a graduating field trip we are going to a place with bumper boats, go-carts, mini golf, trampoline basket ball, paint ball(but i don’t think we are allowed to do that), laser tag, and alot of other stuff. I’m excited.
~Valerie~
waterlily
May 29, 2010, 8:36 pm

COUGH,COUGH.WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I was really hoping to enter this year.Last year was the first year I entered.I was really hoping to enter this year.Luckstomper,Cowgirlexplorer,Reneval,and Shastasteph your such deticated commenters.Your an example to me.Reilly(a.k.a waterlily)
cowgirlexplorer
May 29, 2010, 9:26 pm

Hello everyone!

I got my braces off yesterday!

I am so happy!

~Celeste~
Kandy
May 30, 2010, 12:43 pm

What!! that’s not fair they can’t do that
40dogg
June 1, 2010, 12:56 pm

are yall kids glad to get out of school
shastasteph
June 1, 2010, 1:14 pm

waterlily, many of us were hoping to enter this year too. Hopefully the 2011 HOEC contest will still be announced soon though. Thank you for the comment. I, as well as the others I’m sure, feel honored to be an example for you. We hope to inspire this generation’s explorers by posting about ourselves and our explorations.
cowgirlexplorer, congratulations on getting your braces off! Do you still have to wear the lifetime retainer?
Kandy, welcome to the blog. I know you are upset about the change in the contest, we all are. Do not worry. Instead, have hope and enthusiasm for the upcoming Hands-On Explorer Challenge!
luckstomper
June 1, 2010, 9:34 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. Aw, thanks Waterlily on your comment to us. Cowgirlexplorer you must be so relieved to have those braces off. I don’t have any or have had any but I can only imagine what you went through. Quick question for everyone. When do all of you get out of school? I still have 11 more days. I get out on the 16th. Well talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
naturephotographer
June 2, 2010, 5:54 am

Hi, everyone it is Elizabeth. I can’t believe it is already June!!!!!! It always seems like the school year drag on and then at some point it speeds right up until you are looking at only 5 more days of school!!!!!!!!!!!!! My only thing I have to worry about is passing all of my exams.

I hope you are enjoying your summer cowgirlexplorer!!!

Elizabeth
cowgirlexplorer
June 2, 2010, 4:16 pm

Luckstomper- I am relieved to get them off. also- i have been out of school for about a week now, although my graduation is tonight.

Shastasteph- Yes, i do have to wear a lifetime retainer- its horrible!

Welcome to the blog Kandy and also 40dogg. Thankyou for the compliment waterlily, although i have not been on this blog as long as some of the true veterans… Shastasteph, Luckstomper…

~Celeste~
shastasteph
June 2, 2010, 4:26 pm

Welcome to the blog 40dogg. I am very happy school is over because I get to explore more now.
luckstomper, I too have never had braces. Also, I got out of school on May 28th, so I have had a good few days without homework and tests.
I am very sad right now. A few posts ago, I had blogged about finding a small birds nest and not having a camera with me. A few days ago I had trekked back to the area (it was a long bus ride and walk). To my horror, the area’s tall plants had been plowed and flattened over. There were little flags signaling small plants had been recently planted. I have a guess that the Park and Rec. staff that manages those flags and plants had unknowingly plowed the area to make paths. As I searched around I found the mustard plants I used to cover the nest dried and plowed over. As I searched the pile of plants I did not find the nest. I was so upset. I hope the baby bird had already hatched or was maybe moved.
Besides the possibly destroyed nest, I’m also sad that I did not get a good picture of the once-in-a-lifetime encounter. The only picture I have is on my phone. It is okay, but the part that bothers and slightly ruins it is that I had not known there was a single blade of grass right in front of the phone lens. The blade is right in the middle and is a nuisance. I was upset because I was hoping to send that picture in for the 2011 HOEC contest. I know the grass is natural, and I had not wanted to disturb the nest. However, I still wish the grass was not there. It would have been a perfect picture. It is like an obstruction. I guess I will have to be more careful next time.
Have any of you discovered something amazing in nature lately?
waterlily
June 2, 2010, 5:06 pm

luckstomper,to answer your question I get out of school TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(June 3,2010)sorry about all the ! i’m really excited.Reilly(a.k.a waterlily)
aj0203
June 2, 2010, 5:22 pm

To bad for 20010.Are you going to do 20004?
cowgirlexplorer
June 3, 2010, 12:36 pm

Tragedy this morning…

My parents looked out the window to see a fox trying to snatch one of our chickens. My mom went outside to try to scare the fox away. We think that the damage is minimal but boy are we wrong. We start to walk outside a little. 2 dead chickens- then 4 more- then another one here and another one there. 17 dead chickens- one missing duck- and 14 missing chickens.

The worst thing is that the fox didn’t even eat the chickens- it just ran and killed almost all of them and then left them laying all over the field. My dad even found several of them lying the neighboring field.

we are all very sad…

~Celeste~
shastasteph
June 3, 2010, 1:35 pm

Welcome to the blog aj0203. I’m a little confused about what you mean by 2004 though. Can you please explain?
luckstomper
June 3, 2010, 10:01 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. Oh my gosh Cowgirlexplorer, I am so sorry, I really truly am. I read your comment and my heart sank. I can’t believe that happened! It’s like someone breaking into your house, trashing it, then leave without taking on single thing. How many chickens are left? Oh my gosh, I am so sorry.
I hope you guys are recovering well. :’(

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
shastasteph
June 4, 2010, 1:32 pm

cowgirlexplorer, I am so sorry about what happened. As luckstomper said, it is like someone just broke into your chicken coop as a prank. I really hope you find all those missing chickens. That was a really bad fox. It was just causing trouble. I hope it doesn’t come back. I also remember you saying that you were also having some economic trouble. I hope you will be alright.
renaval
June 4, 2010, 9:20 pm

Hey,
Sorry I haven’t blogged in forever. I have been quite busy with the end of the school year coming so i was doing lots of studying for my exams. I only have two (spanish, Algebra) but i had a lot of other tests too. I took my algebra exam yesterday and i got my grade back today. I got a B+! I was so excited my first semester exam was not nearly as good, so i was very excited. And so far everyone that i’ve talked to no one else has gotten over a B+. I took my Spanish exam today i think i did alright. Do any of you take a foriegn language? Right now spanish is all that is offered at my school but i would rather learn a different language like German or Norwigan.
I have 3 days of school left. I have finished all my tests so I’m not reallygoing to do any thing for these next few days. On wendsday the eighth grade class is going on a feild trip. We are also graduation that night which is the 9th. I’m really excited for summer but i think i;m going to get bored so i’m trying to think of a good summer project to do. Do you guys have any ideas of cool projects to do?
cowgirlexplorer, that is really horrible what happened to all your chickens. I hope you’ll find the missing ones alive and well. Waterlily thanks for the complimant.
i was in my local “nature center” which is just a nice woods with cool trails through it and i saw dandilions that where HUGE. There circumfrance must of been about six inches at least. i could believe my eyes.
I hope all of your summer vacations are starting out well.
~Valerie~
cowgirlexplorer
June 4, 2010, 11:15 pm

Thankyou for all being so caring about what happened. it was very hard to take because you feel it is as though it is your fault because you are supposed to be their protector, and then you just let them down. Of couse we had to leave right after it all happened to attend a convntion, so it was even worse… our friends were watching our house while we were gone and when they got there ther was the fox trying to get into the ckicken coop again. Sadly, they shot the fox, but there wasnt much you could do about it. So they took care of everything and then left. The next morning they came to check on everything and there were three coyotes in our yard and one with a chicken in its mouth. they shot the one with the chiecken, but the other two are still around here somewhere…

lots of stuff going on right now concerning animals, most of it very tragic. And on top of everything, we might not to go to Virginia this summer, which would most likely be he last time i would be able to see my grandfather since he is 99 and has cancer.

Things arent going so well right now…

~Celeste~
afoswim12
June 5, 2010, 1:43 am

hey this is abbie. i went to australia 2 years ago baby! i’m almost 16 now(:

sorry about this bologna,

booooo…
shastasteph
June 5, 2010, 4:46 pm

reneval, congratulations on your B+ on your algebra exam! My school doesn’t currently have any foreign language classes, but they are getting some next year. I’m hoping to take either Spanish or Japanese. I speak a little bit of Cantonese, but I’m not very good. I used to be pretty fluent, but once I stopped practicing, it all went away. I’m very sad about that. For a summer project you could go explore a place near your house and document all the species you find there. You could also volunteer somewhere. There are endless possibilities!
cowgirlexplorer, even though it is very sad that the fox and a coyote had to be shot, I think that was the only thing you could do. Once animals find out they can get an easy meal by doing something like that, they will keep coming back. I don’t want your family to lose out because of insolent animals. I hope the other two coyotes are smart enough to never come back so you don’t have to shoot them. Also, I hope the reason you can’t go to Virginia is not related to economic problems due to the chicken raid. I wish you and your family the best in this desperate time.
luckstomper
June 5, 2010, 4:52 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. Cowgirlexplorer, I really am truly sorry for everything that is happening to you and your family. Things will get better, they always will. Again, I’m really sorry.
8 more days left of school for me! I have a field trip in two Mondays, on the 14th. We are going to Georges Island in Boston Harbor. I have already been with my family before, but I’m still really excited to go!
I have been frantically running around completing big projects. For math I’m trying to snatch an A+, so I did two extra credit projects only worth 5 points each, but it’s enough. For social studies, I just finished my east asia newspaper for my group, one side is English and the other side is Chinese (my teacher said that has never been done before for him). Then I have to complete my share of a 22 minimum slide show on east asia. All at the same time I am the leader for all of my group and it’s project. So I’m directing people, suggesting things, answering questions, you name it. It is all stressful. But everything is doing good. Whew, I’m over whelmed just typing all of that, haha. Well I’m going to finish my ELA homework now. Talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
2Cool
June 6, 2010, 2:16 am

???????????? What!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No Hands on explorer! OMG!
luckstomper
June 6, 2010, 8:17 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. HEY ABBIE! Long time no talk! Can you still remember Australia like it was yesterday? So today my parents to me and my sister we are going to Belize! I can’t wait! We are going to see Mayan ruins, swim in the 2nd largest barrier reef, swim with manatees, hike through the rainforest, and much, much more! Ahhh! I’m wicked excited!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
renaval
June 7, 2010, 6:00 pm

Hey,
Luckstomper, wow belize! Lucky you I’ve never been out of the country before. I hope you get all your projects done well. You are also very lucky you have extra credit none of my teacher let us do extra credit projects, and i really want to because i only have 3 As and the rest are A+s. I think it would be so awsome to get all A+s (Who wouldn’t?).

Shastasteph, i was thinking about catologing all of the species i can find in a nearby area, but now that you suggested that i think i am definitly going to do that. Thank You!

I have 2 days left of middle school! I can’t wait. Really it’s only like 1 day because on wendsday the school is makeing us breakfast then we are practicing what we need to do for graduation then we go on a feild trip the rest of the day. That night i have the graduation ceremony then a dance. I don’t like the school dances very much but i hope this one will be fun. I dislike them because i HATE loud music and i also have no idea how to dance. haha
~Valerie~
shastasteph
June 7, 2010, 7:04 pm

Abbie/afoswim12, it is great to hear from you again. I can’t believe you are 16 already. It just seems like yesterday when I first started reading the Australia HOEC trip posts. How have you been? Are you out of school yet? Have you seen any cool things on any explorations?
Welcome to the blog 2Cool. All of us here are very sad that there is no 2010 HOEC contest, but we are all hopeful and excited for the 2011 Hands-On Explorer Challenge contest to be announced soon.
luckstomper, you remind me of myself. I was the leader of my group many times and came up with most of the ideas. That is cool that you could get A+’s at your school. Our school doesn’t have those marks. I wish they did. Also, that is so cool that you are going to Belize! I’m guessing you changed your Canada trip because of the oil spill? Either trip sounds like it would be really fun though.
cowgirlexplorer
June 8, 2010, 7:13 pm

Hello Everyone!

I cant believe that some of you are not out of school yet. Really, in actuality, its really not that crazy of a thought, but i have been out os school for over a week now.

2cool- welcome to the blog!

WOW- it is so great to hear from you again Abbie- do you still remember all about the trip to Australia? Do you and hte people you met (the other winners) still keep in contact?

I am going on a hike tomorrow so i am very excited! Hopefully i will see some great things… but then again how could i not!

Thankyou all for being concerned about the whole “chicken situation”

Luckstomper- it sounds like you have big plans for this summer. Your life sounds like so much fun to me!

Reneval- have fun at your graduation ceremony! It goes by really quickly- and you will most likely get lots of presents, it so fun.

Well- i hope all of you have a great summer and have lots of fun!

~Celeste~

p.S.- I am typing on someone else’s keyboard so there are probably more ‘typos than usual- so please excuse my horrible typing skills
naturephotographer
June 9, 2010, 1:22 pm

Hi everyone!!!! It is Elizabeth here. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer vacations. My started today!!!! I am soooo excited, finally no tests and teachers for 77 days!!!
This summer is going to be amazing. My family and I are rabbit sitting the school’s rabbit, Thumper. He is adorable and extremely soft!!!

I think that is all. Not much time to talk!!

Talk to you guys later.

Elizabeth
shastasteph
June 9, 2010, 9:06 pm

Reneval, congratulations on your academic achievements. I too wish that my school had extra credit projects, but my school doesn’t even have A+’s in our system. Oh well. School is over, so I can’t do anything about it.
naturephotographer, that is really neat that you get to care for your school’s rabbit! My school does not have any school points. I must agree that rabbits are extremely soft. I get to handle them at the zoo I volunteer for. If you haven’t already figured it out, I advise you to pet the rabbit right at the back of the neck. That is truly the softest part!
renaval
June 10, 2010, 10:01 am

Hey,
naturephotographer, My summer vacation started on the same day. My brother and sister used to have rabbits but they got rid of them before i was old enough to get my own. I really wanted one but my parents said no.
Shastasteph, my house (my school is split in to 2 houses, the green house and the white house. Boring names right? I wanted them to be like Harry Potter house names. Speaking of Harry Potter I’m whatching the second movie right now.) doesn’t have extra credit but the other house does. I think it is very unfair because i would of really liked to get a few extrra points for a few of my classes.
I had my graduation yesterday it was alot of fun. I went on bumper boats and got soaked. I also went on bumper cars, and go carts. I so glad school is finally over but i am afraid i am going to get very bored.
~Valerie~
renaval
June 12, 2010, 2:18 pm

Hey,
I have good news. Me and my parents are going to Washinton D.C. in a few weeks. I’m very excited. What should i see there? I’m also really excited because an author that i really like, Ally Carter who wrote the Gallagher Girl sieres,is going to be in D.C. doing a book signing. I really hope i get to see her.
~Valerie~
cowgirlexplorer
June 15, 2010, 1:34 pm

Reneval- that is reall cool that you are going to D.C.- i have a feeling that i wont be going anywhere this summer… story of my life!

Naturephotographer- that is really cool that you get to take care of the school’s rabbit. One i got to take care of our gecko, it was really cool. I was supposed to care of the hamster, but, sadly it died before school was over.
Oh, and if you get a chance, try to pet a rex rabbit, they are the softest rabbits ever, they are said to be so soft (some of them) that you cant even feel them when you pet them.

Shastasteph- My school doesn’t have A+’s either.

I went on two hikes last week, it was so beautiful! At the top of the mountain, the view was amazing. It had been raining the whole week and so everything was so incredibly green! Plus, we were up when the sun was setting, so it made it even more gorgeous! It saw a really cool cave on the hike too!

~Celeste~
waterlily
June 17, 2010, 12:47 pm

Hello HOEC community,I haven’t checked-in in awhile.so I am writing a story this summer to keep the learning juices flowing and keep my self from being board.so the setting is a boarding school in wales and I need info. about wales.I know nothing about it.where should I look for info?
sincerly yours,
Reilly(a.k.a.waterlily)
shastasteph
June 19, 2010, 10:07 pm

My summer volunteer jobs have started this week, so I haven’t been on in a long time.
reneval, that would be really cool if your two school buildings had Harry Potter house names. Also, I hope you have a fun time in Washington D.C. and get to meet Ally Carter. While there I suggest you see the main attractions such as the Smithsonian (at least a few of the museums there), the Lincoln Memorial, a tour of the white house, and all the other national monuments that you can. Also, you might want to go to the National Geographic headquarters in D.C. if they give tours or anything like that. I think it would be cool to see where it all happens.
cowgirlexplorer, that hike sounds really neat. It kind of reminds me of when I hiked in the California redwoods during my school’s outdoor education trip. It was really neat seeing the sun rise up through the trees. Everything was so beautiful!
waterlily, Wales is an interesting province(?) in the UK. I don’t really know anything about it, but I suggest you do some research online or check out some books from the library. If you can’t find specific books about Wales, you can try looking under ‘Great Britain’ or ‘the UK’. Good luck with your story!
Cutiepupbubbles
June 23, 2010, 11:21 am

I’m kinda new with the blog thing so I don’t know about the challenge. But it really sounds like fun so I’ll play it next year for sure!
luckstomper
June 24, 2010, 10:37 am

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. Wow, I haven’t commented in awhile. Well I give you an update. Well a week ago on the 16th of June I got out of school, and on that same day I broke my right hand’s pinkie. So now I am stuck with this splint that was moulded to go over the side of my hand. This past Saturday was the Junior Olympics for the New England region, and I had to run with it on. Also I’m leaving for Belize in 5 days! Luckily, the orthopaedic gave me a waterproof splint so I can still swim and what not. Well that’s a brief update of me.

Cutiepupbubbles, welcome to the blog! Have any questions about this contest? Just ask, we have some of the most avid followers on this blog including me. The HOEC is not a challenge were you play something. It’s a challenge where you enter a essay and a photo pertaining to your essay, for a chance to go on a life-changing trip.

Well talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
shastasteph
June 24, 2010, 9:53 pm

Hi everyone! I hope all of you are having a splendid summer.
Cutiepupbubbles, as luckstomper has already explained, the HOEC is a contest not a game. I hope this clears things up a bit.
luckstomper, I’m so sorry about your pinkie. I hope it gets healed soon. How did you do in the Junior Olympics? Did you place? I also hope you have a lot of fun in Belize. Don’t forget to tell us all about your trip and the many species you find on any explorations you go to!
renaval
June 25, 2010, 8:59 am

Hey,
Sorry about your pinky Luckstomper. I hope everyone is haveing a wonderful summer. Mine has been good so far, except I usally get bored everyday. i have a very short attention spand.
I’m leaving for Washington D.C. today! I’m really excited. This is the second time this year i get to go on a plane. I usally only go on planes like once every few years. Have you guys seen the second National Treasure movie? Well we might get the National Treasure tour of Mt. Vernon!
~Valerie~
cowgirlexplorer
June 25, 2010, 2:02 pm

Hello Everyone!

I am sorry you broke your pinky Luckstomper. That is SO cool that you get to go to Belize in 5 days! You have no idea how happy/jealous i am for you. How were the Junior Olympics?

I am leaving for New york/Virginia in 24 days! I am very excited to see all my family.

Well, im off to go fishing!…

~Celeste~
luckstomper
June 25, 2010, 5:21 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. Thanks guys for your sympathy! I appreciate it. And the Junior Olympics were a blast! Sadly though I did not place, I came in 8th out of 16. Don’t get me wrong I still did great in the 90 degree whether a 6pm. I was supposed to run 4pm things got delayed pushing my time back. I still can’t believe that I’m leaving for Belize in now only 4 days!!! It won’t hit me that we’re going to Belize until I get on the plane from Miami to Belize City (not the capital). Did you know I have to take 3 flights just to get down there? One from Boston to Miami then from Miami to Belize City then from Belize City to a small runway in southern Belize!

Today I really lived it up. I went with my step-mom to a water treatment plant (where she sells machines to) and got a tour. Basically we didn’t do much, her co-worker Tom fixed the machine. Do I know how to live life or what? Haha. On the bright side we did stop at DD! You guys probably have no idea what DD is do you? Well it’s Dunkin Donuts, where they have the best doughnuts ever! Everything there is sooo good. In Boston every turn you make there’s a DD, haha. It’s crazy how much us New Englanders love our Dunkin Donuts! Well that’s all for now, talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
P.S. Reneval have fun in D.C.!
naturephotographer
June 26, 2010, 1:36 pm

Hi, everyone. The real reason I am commenting is to say, renaval that I went on the National Treasure Tour this past October, and it was AMAZING!!! They take you to all the places they shot the movie and a special place that normal tourist don’t get to go.
shastasteph
June 26, 2010, 2:44 pm

Wow. It seems like everyone is going off on vacation soon. I hope all of you have fun. I’m staying at home, but I’m volunteering at the zoo and my church, exploring, and just hanging out. So far my summer has been pretty good.
cowgirlexplorer, so you did get to go to New York and Virginia! I’m happy you will get to see your grandpa again. I’m really sorry if I’ve mistaken you for the wrong person though. I can’t remember all these facts about everyone.
reneval, I hope you have fun in Washington D.C. Don’t forget to tell us about your trip, especially if you get to do the National Treasure 2 Mt. Vernon tour. That would be so awesome!
I had an amazing time at the zoo this past week. First of all, I was the first one to bring out Lucy the Virginia opossum to the public. It’s really neat because she is something called lucistic. I don’t think that’s the right spelling, but that means she is white with black/blue eyes instead of being albino. Also, I got to hear Frank the harris hawk and bella our peregrine falcon make calls. Some reason, both just started calling, and I was just listening to the songs of their voices. Now if I hear a call from one of them I can identify them!
luckstomper
June 28, 2010, 4:57 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. WOW! In a mere 10 hours and 15 minutes I will be off to Logan Airport in Boston ready to embark on my long-awaited journey to Belize! Ah! I can’t wait!

It seems like everyone here is having a fantastic summer. I wish I could volunteer at a zoo like you shastasteph. It must be wicked cool to interact with all of those really cool animals. Has anything wicked funny happened since your time volunteering there?

Hey are any of you reading or have read The Hunger Games? It’s a really, REALLY good book. I highly recommend this book to everyone. It’s so believable and you feel as though you were actually there! Go out and buy it, or get it from the library. I know at my library the waiting list for that book is well over 70. I’m almost done reading it. It currently sits next to me on the arm of the couch.

Well, that’s all for now! Talk to everyone in a week!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
snowsledding
July 1, 2010, 11:06 am

hi! i haven’t been on in so long! i got out of school last week; i have been busy with a lot of work… and finals Im not travel really anywhere this summer, however all of my friends are traveling around the globe without me… haha.
i am doing some camps this summer! The only bad thing about them is that they start so early in the morning!
luckstomper- yes i have read the hunger games. the second book is good but not as good as the first one! I am also thrilled for the third, which comes out in August!
renaval
July 2, 2010, 3:07 pm

Hey,
My trip to Washington D.C. was very interesting. It was record breaking hot (literally). It was over 90 every day. You would sweat just standing, it was really gross. I still learned alot though. i did get to go onto the national treasure tour and it was really cool. You got to go down into the basement and they told you about how they came up with the idea to have a secret tunnel.(The hollywood scout was intrigued by a ice storage tunnel and then he knew what how to make the movie) One of my favorite things in the smithsonians was an exzibit called written in bone. It was about jamestown, but i didnt pay much attention to that part. The part that i liked showed you how to determine the difference between male and female bones and also different races. It was all very interesting.
Shastasteph, I am so jealous of you. i wish i could volenteer at a zoo like you. all the stuff you did sounds very, very cool. One of my dream jobs is to be a zooligist and work in a zoo.
~Valerie~
thecampbell5
July 3, 2010, 1:46 pm

That is too bad!
cowgirlexplorer
July 3, 2010, 4:48 pm

It sounds like everyone is having an AMAZING summer, hhmmm hhhmmmm… Luckstomper.

I am really worried about my horses feet, they have been standing in water for such a long time that i am afraid that their hooves will rot. We have been getting so much rain lately that our entire field is practically underwater. IN our yard, you can dig a hole like 5 inches deep and it will automatically fill up with water because the water table is so high right now. It pretty crazy…

Reneval, it sounds like you have a great time in Washington D.C. I will be going there very soon. I have been there once before, but it was really young so i dont really remember it much. So i am looking forward to seeing it again.

I have a question for everyone: What is your favorite kind of music?

~Celeste~
wycombestar
July 3, 2010, 8:55 pm

Hey…. I haven’t been here in forever!!! I hope I’m remembered! D:
WOW, luckstomper… i guess your in belieze right now! thats awesome! tell me how it is, because i will be in the bordering country, guatemala, in 15 days….
also, too bad you’re there right now, because right now I’m in massachussetts. i was in boston this morning. right now I’m in Glouster Ma. have you ever been there??? i come here all the time, because my aunt and cousins live here, but its takes 6 hours from PA. anyway, i just thought it was cool that I’m near where you live! ahhhhh. that sounds creepy. sorry!
renavel, sounds like you had an awesome trip to washington dc. i was just there a few months ago. also, did you say something about mount vernon? because i was THERE last month! i thought it was pretty cool. because you got to see george weashingtons dentures and the bed he died in. lawlz… im being so morbid!
ALSO, I’ve read the hunger games and i love them!!! they’re so suspenseful!
I’m sad I won’t be able to enter the HOEC next year, but i’ve decided its ok. I hope one/some of you guys win. I think you really deserve it because you blog so much! besides, i’ve realized that i am lucky enough to go on a lot of family vacations, even if they’re not to exotic places. and i will always be able to go on mission trips, even though this is only my first. I would recommend looking into a mission trip, if you are a christian!
I hope that some people who have no other oppurtunites to travel will win!!!!
love, Emma.
snowsledding
July 4, 2010, 4:19 pm

renaval, that sounds like a really fun trip! washington DC has so much to do. i would love to be able to go there during the cherry blossom festival, its supposed to be an amazing sight.

cowgirlexplorer, wow that seems like a lot of water! be careful because the horses hooves could probably get an infection from being wet too long, but you probably know that! i don’t know that much about horse!… although it sounds like thats a hard situation to fix.
answering your music question… im not really sure. i don’t have a favorite artist, i just listen to a collection of songs…. usually just whats popular now.
i am growing some herbs and tomato plants behind my house and there is an infesting of japanese beatles. They are eating up the entire plant… i looked up online how to get rid of them and it said to spray them with soapy water, but i feel bad killing them! it didn’t really work out with the soapy water though.
snowsledding
July 4, 2010, 4:20 pm

Happy fourth of july, by the way! i meant to say that in my other message, sorry!
zolum99
July 5, 2010, 2:02 pm

Wow i havent posted in forever!!! Everyone got out of school so early! I got out on June 22! This summer i’m not really going anywhwere far away! Oh and happy yesterday fourth of July!!!
—zolum99
1cct7
July 5, 2010, 11:33 pm

Hurray! I am going to the snow next week and I am going to ski! It’s going to be so fun! My cousin is going to Canberra and the snow toooooooo!I am going to Victoia for the snow and we are going to drive down!

Have a good holiday everyone,
Bye!
afoswim12
July 6, 2010, 4:06 pm

this is abbie,
i went to australia in 2008.
i was 14 years old.
in 10 days it will have been two years.. :’(

i’m truly sorry for all of you that really wanted this.

please don’t lose hope.

some of you might just get to go on the next one(;

–flabbie
Anonymous
July 6, 2010, 7:25 pm

Oh That’s so annoying I was really looking forward to it all.

~1cct7~
snowsledding
July 6, 2010, 7:37 pm

hi!
i actually posted some comments before but they didn’t post
happy 4th of july on sunday!
renaval- i love washington DC! THeres so much to do, but never enough time!
it sounds like you had a great time! did you get to go to the book signing? i like ally carter, she a good author.
cowgirlexplorer, my favorite type of music is pretty much just whats popular now. you?
how are your horses doing, other than the water? thats sounds like a tough situation with the water… hopefully nothing bad will happen to the horses. how many do you have? i think you told me this before but i forgot… sorry!
abbie, thats relly cool that your commenting, good to hear from you. do you miss australia?
i would love go! do you still keep contact with the other team members that went on the trip with you?
Shastasteph, thats really cool you volunteer at a zoo. i would love to get that experience. hows the zoo been recently?
shastasteph
July 7, 2010, 10:21 pm

I haven’t been on in so long! I’ve been really busy this summer. Just to much to do and so little time. I’m volunteering at the zoo and at my church for five days a week, and the weekend is saved for relaxing, hanging out, exploring, and anything else I might have going on!
snowsledding, I hope you had fun at your summer camps. I always thought the camp that was run by my church was super fun. Now I get to help run it myself! The zoo is really amazing. I love everything about it, the animals, the visitors, even getting pooped on isn’t bad. Today was the zoo’s ‘free day’ to city residents, so there were many residents. It was busy, but I’m sure many people learned a lot. It’s great because I really get to study the zoo’s animals up close. I really hope your garden infestation goes away. Then you can have yummy vegetables and pungent herbs.
cowgirlexplorer, I hope your horses’ feet stay okay. Do you have ‘horse shoes’ or a barn to temporarily keep them in? Also, I hope you have a great time on your Washington D.C. trip.
reneval, it sounds like you had a great time in Washington D.C., and you learned a lot. The tour sounds really neat as well as the Smithsonian exhibit. I’m glad you had fun.
wycombestar, thank you for the luck. I know many of us will win this year’s contest. I can just feel the passion for this contest leading to victory. That’s so awesome that you get to go to Guatemala! I’ve never been out of the country. Actually, the farthest I’ve traveled is right across the border of the neighboring state. I wish I had more money to travel. My church also goes on mission trips. They usually go to Mexico, but sometimes others will head to farther places. My parents said I can’t go yet, so that beats that.
afoswim12/Abbie, it’s nice to hear from you. Thank you for the encouragement. I know all of us were, and some still are, bummed out about the contest not occurring this year. However, we are still hopeful that the 2011 HOEC contest will be announced soon.
I hope everyone is having a great summer. In a little more than a month, I’m back to school. I’m really sad about summer ending so soon, but I’ll still have a lot of memories!
luckstomper
July 7, 2010, 10:44 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. I just got back from Belize yesterday! To be specific I got back at 11:10pm. I took three flights to and from. Boston to Miami, Miami to Belize City, and Belize City to Dangriga. I took the exact opposite to get home. Belize was amazing. Absolutely gorgeous! The day following our arrival we went on a Cayo Mayan Ruins Tour. We first went to Cahal Pech (Ka-hall Peck). This was a complex of many many ruins with many plazas. The second we were supposed to go to, but because of Tropical Storm Alex that blew over Belize a few days earlier the river was to high and fast for the hand-cranked ferry going across the river. so we didn’t end up getting to go to Xunantunich (shoo-nan-too-nich). Tropical Storm Alex also affected our chances of going to Glover’s Reef, one of the few atolls in the western hemisphere. One of the days I spent in Belize we took a golf cart into Hopkins, the local town, there wasn’t much there, but everyone there was extremely nice. Another day, actually two, we spent Barrier Reef snorkelling. the reef was absolutely gorgeous! All different fishes and mammals. In total of all my snorkelling I saw 51 rays. Few yellow rays, even fewer spotted eagle rays, and the least common I saw was the rough-tailed ray, and the most common I saw was the southern ray. Then I also saw a large school of about 40 tarpon fish. But the prettiest fish I saw the whole trip was the Queen Angel Fish. I only saw two of these dazzling fish. I even saw a few barracudas! Another one of the days I spent in Belize was spent sea kayaking and bicycling on sketchy bikes. This trip was absolutely amazing, and spectacular. Any questions? Just ask! Well talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
P.S. Reneval, sounds like you had a fantastic time in D.C.!
cowgirlexplorer
July 8, 2010, 11:47 pm

Wow, sounds like everyone is having a great summer.

luckstomper– Wow, is all i can come up with. that is so amazing that you got to go there! I couldn’t even imagine going there. 51 rays! I was just learning about rays so i am really interested in them now. about how big were the ones you saw? By any chance did you have a waterproof camera to take any picture while snorkeling? and one more thing, how long were you there for?

Wycombestar– Guatemala sounds like a pretty exotic place to me… and you sound like you get to go a lot of places. I am so envious of you!

Shastasteph– my horses will be just fine i think. (thanks for the concern everyone who asked about them) Also, one of the horses has shoes on (Lucy), but shoes are just a little metal ring that goes around the edge of their hooves so it doesn’t provide much protection from the mud. and, no, we do not have a barn.

snowsledding– i have three horses (i forget easily too

Welcome to the blog– 1cct7 I am sure you will enjoy this blog as much as i do.

Abbie/ afoswim12- its really great to hear from you again. Im sure that you still remember Australia like it was yesterday. Of all the places in the world, i would love to go there the most. Do you and the other winners still keep in contact at all?

Welcome to the blog as well: theCambell5

Well im sure there is more to say but i cannot really think of it all right now, so…

~Celeste~

P.S.- I am leaving for New York/Virginia/Delaware in 9 days!
luckstomper
July 9, 2010, 1:12 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here.

Wycombestar- Let’s start with Massachusetts. Yes by going to Boston and Gloucester you were close to where I live. And yes, I have been to both places. My grandma grew up in Gloucester. Now onto foreign places. That’s so cool that you get to go to Guatemala in, 1, 2, 3,…9 days! I was wicked close to the Guatemalan border. So close that at the Mayan ruins I went to had armed guards lining the place, keeping out border jumpers trying to rob the tourists! That was at Cahal Pech, and Xunantunich (which I did not get to go to). Are you going to go to Tikal? That’s a major Mayan site, that’s a must see place.

Cowgirlexplorer- The rays I saw varied in all lengths. The smallest by far was the Yellow Ray. This particular ray only reaches a width of 6″-8″ max. The Spotted-Eagle Ray was next biggest at about 2′-2.5′ wide. Next biggest was the Rough-Tail Ray at around 2.5′-3.5′ wide. And the biggest was the Southern Ray at an easy 4′-4.5′ at least if not bigger. Not don’t go and write these down because this was all on memory and estimates. Each could be bigger or smaller, but if so not by a great deal. To answer your next question yes we did have an underwater camera. We actually had two; both were digital too. We took pictures and videos, at a total of over 500 pictures total, plus a few movies. And to answer your last question: I stayed for 8 days/7 nights, from June 29th-July 6th. And I hope you have fun in NY/VA/DE in 8 days!

1cct7- I take it that you live in Australia. It’s funny to me that you go to the snow. The snow comes to me every year for a season. Actually, I have the full 4 seasons, with all the changes! I live in Massachusetts.

Well that’s all for now, talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
shastasteph
July 11, 2010, 12:26 am

luckstomper, welcome back to the U.S.! It sounds like you had an amazing time in Belize seeing all the ruins, doing all your activities, exploring the biomes, and getting to know the native wildlife. I really wish I could travel to another country. It’s so cool that you saw so much sea life. Ever since I watched Blue Planet, I have really enjoyed learning about marine animals. It also helps that my dad loves to fish and has a vast knowledge of marine life as well.
cowgirlexplorer, I wasn’t talking about the horseshoes that look like a ‘U’. I’m talking about the cloth shoes that have a smooth leather or other hard/tough materialed bottom, so water can’t get in the shoe. It literally is like boots for horses, and they only go up to around the top of the hoof or near the ankle. You might want to look it up.
cowgirlexplorer
July 13, 2010, 4:01 pm

Shastasteph- i get it now, ya i know the horse shoes that you are talking about. They are like “booties” for dogs and stuff but for horses.

Luckstomper, thanks for answering my questions. It really does sound like an amazing time that you had. I cant wait for the next HOEC contest, it is going to be so great. all this talk about going to exotic places makes me want it to come even more!

I cant believe that i will be in New York on Sunday. it just seems crazy to me. I am sure that many of you have been on trips way cooler than the one i am about to go on, but for me this is a really big deal. I mean, i was think about it, and this is the biggest trip of my life so far. Wow…

1cct7- if luckstomper’s estimate of you living in Australia is correct, which i would assume it is, that is so cool! I love Australia!

~Celeste~
renaval
July 18, 2010, 5:58 pm

Hey,
cowgirlexplorer, I hope you have alot of fun in New York. My brother and sister went there a few years ago. My brother loved it and my sister didn’t like it very much because it was so dirty. since we live in a small rural town it was a big difference for them.
My brother bought a coach purse that we believe to either be stolen or fake. He bought it for my mom in an old parking complex and the guy who sold it to him had the purses in an black garbage bag.
Hope all of your summers are going great.
~Valerie~
naturephotographer
July 18, 2010, 8:21 pm

Hi, everyone this is Elizabeth. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. It sounds like everyone is going on some pretty exciting adventures. My summer adventure is taking me to Arizona in 6 days!!! I am soooo excited!!! It isn’t Belize, but I will be around my family and that is what matters. I think we are going to Hoover Dam, Painted Desert, Winslow Crater, and of course the Grand Canyon!!! At the Grand Canyon there is a photo tour sponsored by Canon, were the tour guides take you to a majority of the picturesque spots along the canyon, and they give you a camera to use while you are on the tour!!! I am hoping that we will be able to participate…

Umm.. I think that is all…

Elizabeth
VannahExplorer
July 25, 2010, 5:41 pm

Hey guys!
Wow!!!…it has been a loooong time sense i have writen like probubly 2 months i guess it doesnt seem like thaaat long…but a lot can happen on this blog in that amount of time XD! i guess i have just been really buissy with my brothers wedding he just got married a few days ago and we have been preparing for it for a long time!

Anyways…, naturephotographer, that whole long trip thing you are doing sounds like a lot of fun ! i havent gone on any trips this summer at all but thats just because we have been extreamly buissy!!!

Also i am going to enter my photographs in my county fair 2! it is th first year that i have thought of doing it though but now that i have i am getting really exited and i think i will do it every year! XD!!!

Talk to u all soon! i will make sure 2 write on this more often again! XD byebye

~LOVE YA, VANNAHEXPLORER~
cowgirlexplorer
July 26, 2010, 10:00 pm

Wow- sounds like everyone is going on some really cool trips!

Have fun everyone!

~Celeste~
naturephotographer
July 30, 2010, 4:23 pm

Hi everyone it is Elizabeth.

I hope everyone is enjoying the last month of summer. I start school in 26 days. Oh well summer has been treating me well.

Arizona was AMAZING!!!! My family went to the Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Winslow Crater, Petrified Forest, Painted Desert, cruised Historic Route 66, and ate lunch in Las Vegas.

To make the trip even more amazing, at the Grand Canyon I attended a photo class sponsored by Canon!!!!!

During the photo class Canon let me use one of their newest cameras, The Rebel, and got professional help. To top it all off…. It was 100% FREE!!! The program is called Canon in the Parks. It has been around for 4 full summers. What they do is Canon hires about 10 fresh out of college kids that majored in photography, and give them all of the necessary equipment. Send them off to major national parks and have them teach the things they love. For the rest of the summer they are going to Yellow Stone and Acadia National Park in Maine.

That is like my DREAM SUMMER JOB!!!!

Arizona was a BEAUTIFUL state and want to go back to climb down the Grand Canyon. My dad said maybe in 3 years when my brother is older and we are more prepared.

I think that is all. Has anyone else been on any recent trips?

Elizabeth
luckstomper
August 1, 2010, 9:35 am

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here.

Wow, Naturephotographer it sounds like you had a blast in Arizona/Nevada! I’m so glad that you got to do the Canon sponsored photo class! The camera you used is the one I have! I have the Canon Rebel XS. How was Las Vegas? Was it crazily ridiculous? I remember when I went to Arizona to visit friends a couple of years back. I went to the Grand Canyon, Sedona Red Rock, and much, much more. To answer your question, yes I have been on recent trips. As you might know already, but in the end of June to the beginning of July I went to the foreign country of Belize. For just a weekend after the Belize trip, we went to my Cape house. Most recently, I got back from the house we rented for a week in Seabrook, NH yesterday. It was sad to leave, but we had to leave. Now, in 12 days I will be going to New York City! I can’t wait! Well that’s all for now. Talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
shastasteph
August 1, 2010, 4:41 pm

Wow. I haven’t commented in a long time.
It sounds like everyone has been having a great summer traveling, going to summer camps, and just doing whatever.
naturephotographer, I’m definitely going to look up that Canon program. It sounds like a lot of fun. Maybe I can go next year.
I’m so sad! The annual Lake Shasta trip I go on got canceled this year do to the other families we are going with having other commitments and so forth. This is the one trip I would have been able to go on this summer, and it is a great place to explore. Oh well. I guess I’ll have to wait until next summer to go on a trip.
It was really cool when I looked in my compost in my backyard. I had put some mango seeds in there and when I went to put in more stuff, the seeds started growing roots! It is really neat, but too bad my city’s climate would be too cold for mangoes to grow. Oh well.
naturephotographer
August 2, 2010, 9:26 am

Hi everyone this is Elizabeth!!!

I can’t believe it is already August!!!! School is just around the corner.

To answer your question Jon, Las Vegas was AMAZING! We went into Circus Circus for lunch. We got lost twice. The first time was when we were trying to figure out how to get to the dinning room and then the other time was when we were trying to leave.

What a coincidence!!! I am going to New York City soon too!!! I leave Thursday for the Big Apple. I am going with my godmother, and we are going to Serendipity for lunch, on Broadway we are going to see Mary Poppins, Elise Island, and then some more touristy stuff. We are going to be in NYC from the 5th-8th. Then my mom’s sister is going to pick me up on the 9th, and we are going to go to Plymouth for a WHALE WATCH!!! I have never been on a whale watch so I am extremely excited. From MA we are going to drive up to Saratoga, NY were we are going to meet my mom’s side of my family and we are going to Cooperstown, NY were the Baseball Hall of Fame is located!! After Cooperstown I am going down to Concord, NH were my grandparents have a summer home. I will be gone for a total of 11 days!!!! That is a lot of days to pack for….. I should probably get to work….

Talk to you guys later!

Elizabeth
renaval
August 2, 2010, 3:11 pm

Hey,
Wow! It sounds like everyone has been really busy. I haven’t in fact this has been a very boring sumer for me. I envy you so much naturephotographer that camera class sounds like a blast. That would be like the best job ever. I pretty much took the excact opposite trip a long time ago. I stayed in Las vegas and for a day We went to hoover dam, so we could say that we’ve been to arizona. When we were in Las Vegas we stayed in that hotel that is a really colorful Castle.
I recently entered some photographs and some art projects in my county fair also. I used to do it when i was in 4-H but now i enter the items in open class which is what most adults do. I got a forth on a vase I entered and I got a second out of about 30 Pictures of flowers. But none of my other items placed.
In two weeks i am going on our annual family vacation to an island that a distant relative owns. Its a 48 acre Island named Pains Island and a real small island called tear drop island because it looks like a tear drop. Its located in Northern Wisconsin. Its a lot of fun because there is no electricity except a propain run refridgorator. There is one house which consists of bottom floor: Wood, Hand pump for water, hand made wooden table, ancient Wood stove (that we still cook all our meals on.), and an old ice box that we store games in. Top floor: 7 beds.The island is all wooded and it has beautiful sandy beaches. It’s alot of fun because we have to find things to do like carving things out of wood or climbing trees. Last year me and my siblings carved wands out of sticks like the ones from harry potter. They turned out very cool. We are all very big Harry Potter fans.
~Valerie~
luckstomper
August 3, 2010, 4:22 am

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here.

Wow Naturephotographer, you sure are a busy bee this summer! It would’ve been cool if our NYC dates aligned, but they don’t. Where as you’re going from the 5-8, I’m going from the 13-15. I’m not positive yet, but I’m pretty sure we will be seeing a Broadway show too. Our hotel is like a minute by foot away, and so is the Empire State Building! Aligned dates, or not aligned dates have fun on the NYC part! When I read that you were going to go to Plymouth, MA I was like, ‘hey she’s coming to the region of MA in which I live. I live along the NH border, with a river running right through. Let me tell you, you are in for a treat going on that Whale Watch. Being a native Massachusettian (???), I have been to the beach MANY, MANY times. Every year since I was born I have been to my Cape house, in Orleans, at least twice a year. Numerous times while down on the Cape we have been on multiple Whale Watches. It’s just awe inspiring, seeing these majestic, graceful animals swim in the water. Most likely you will see the endangered Humpback whale. Have fun in Plymouth! You sure are jumping around a lot around the map! Going back and forth from state, even if there are multiple stops in one state. The only time I have been to Saratoga, NY was for a horse race. My uncle is huge in horse racing. I didn’t do any betting, honestly I got kind of bored until the horse went off, haha. Now for Concord, NH. Believe it or not, this year I have learned that there is actually a lot to do in New Hampshire. I always knew of the beaches and Franconia, but I had never heard of other major things to do. But try asking whoever if you guys can go to The Polar Caves, The Lost River, or even climb Mt. Monadnock, where from the top you can see all six New England states. Well all I can say now is have a blast on your 11-day “tour”, if I may say, of the NorthEast!

Reneval, that’s so cool that you won a position in the top three for your photography! Even a second place at that! I’m thinking on entering the International Photography Contest For Kids this year. I have some awesome pictures in store to relinquish on the world. Not to be cocky, but I think my animal picture has of chance of taking a grand prize! Fingers crossed! That’s so cool that you get to go to a private island owned by distant relatives! It sounds like an ‘enduring’ trip seeing how much electricity you have. I wish I could do something like that! So when lights go out, lights go out whether or not everyone likes it, haha. Well anywhom have fun on your trip there! Oh and can’t wait for Harry Potter 7 Movie Part 1 this November!

Well that’s all for now. Talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
jazzybirdexplorer
August 3, 2010, 7:34 pm

Hey everyone!

Wow, I havent posted in a long, long time! It looks like a lot has gone on!

Its cool to see you guys who have kept blogging, especially “Luckstomper” and “ShastaSteph”, I remember when we used to discuss the Peru expedition! My previous username was “Harleycat” and other names that kept not showing up:/ Its awesome to see how you guys keep exploring:)

Im so sad to hear about no contest for 2010, (I aged out last year, but im sorry for those of you who could have done this year) but everything happens for a reason!

There are plenty of things in your own backyard that are just as amazing as if you traveled across the world, you never know what you could find just by looking up into a tree:)

Guess what? For those of you interested in hiking and camping and other AWESOME adventures, join a Venture crew in your area! Venturing is a branch of Boy Scouts, only its CO-ed, so for those girls (like me) that want more adventure than what some girlscout troops offer, but cant do boyscouts, Venturing is PERFECT! I just became the president of my crew this year and we go rockclimbing, camping, ziplining, white water rafting (is to be planned), canoeing, and more! A

and if theres not one in your area…START ONE:D

Dont stop exploring and stay on the sunnyside:)

Until next time,
~Jayme:)
shastasteph
August 4, 2010, 8:17 pm

naturephotographer, I hope you have an awesome time in NY! The whale watch sounds really exciting. I live over on the west coast, but I’ve never been on a whale watch before. Hopefully I’ll be able to someday!
luckstomper, sounds like you have been having a fun time traveling everywhere as well. I hope you also have a fun time at the Big Apple. It is also cool how you’ve been doing and seeing many new things, especially in New Hampshire.
reneval, congratulations on your county fair photography wins! I’m really hoping I can go to my state fair this year. I haven’t been there in a while. I’m probably not going to enter anything, but I’m definitely going to see all the cool stuff. Don’t feel bad that your summer has been boring. I haven’t gone on any vacations as well. I encourage you to go out and explore your world more. You might feel like you’ve done it all, but there’s always something new to discover!
jazzybirdexplorer, it’s really great to hear from you again! We all were really upset about the 2010 HOEC contest falling through. This gives me only one year to enter now. I really hope the 2011 Hands-On Explorer Challenge gets announced soon though. All of us are really anxious to find out where the trip will take place. I’m definitely going to check out that venturing thing. It sounds really neat.
I hope everyone is enjoying their last few weeks of summer!

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