Listen to the Zooniacs interviewing the expedition members on the Big Valley Radio website.

Amelia: Montana is great. But this is all I can say: Go to it!

Arabella: If it was up to me, I would stay right up until school started. I liked the water rafting the best!

Ben: It was really fun meeting everybody, and it was just amazing seeing everything and being with people that love exploring as much as I do.

Caitlin: Going on this Montana expedition was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. My favorite part of the expedition was discovering dinosaur bones and seeing mountain goats.

Dillian: It was so beautiful words can’t describe it.

Edward: It was so awesome to come here and see the animals that I could not see where I live.

Ellie: Montana could very well be the most beautiful place on Earth. From the exotic wildlife to the dramatic landscapes, it gives me a good reason to see America first.

Emily: Throughout this trip, I’ve experienced many things, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I never want to leave.

Hannah: The trip was really amazing. We all got along so well because we all enjoyed every aspect of the trip.

Jackson: I really liked learning about the different edible plants that you can find in the wilderness.

Jordan: It was amazing. I learned so much about wildlife and different things I thought I would never learn about.

Lena: It was awesome! My favorite part was seeing the two different kinds of bears. I will miss everyone, but I’m looking forward to the D.C. reunion!

Katherine: Majestic mountains and powerful rivers made this a trip of a lifetime. I’ve loved every minute of it! Thanks, NG Kids!

Mariah: I’m gonna miss everybody!

Michael:The trip was amazing. It was the journey of a lifetime.

At the top, we decided to go on a hike to Flower Point. To get there, I would first have to hike on a very large hill, and luckily, we were at the top, so we got to go downhill for a lot of it. Along the way, we tried to identify many different flowers and trees. After walking for a while, we decided that unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time for us to go all the way to Flower Point. So, we had to turn back. On the way back up, it was very hard for me to hike because it was so steep.

When we got to the top again, we jumped into another gondola. This time however, it was about to rain. It was so foggy and cloudy, that it had a spooky touch to it. When we got to the end, we tried to go on the slide the rest of the way down the mountain, but it was closed because of the rain. So, without a rain jacket, I hopped onto a ski lift with two other people, and rode down. We started to sing songs. However, in the middle of the ski lift ride, the chairs stopped for a few seconds, and then eventually moved on. (That was scary!) When we got down to the bottom of the mountain, we got on the bus to go to the hotel.

As an added bonus to this wonderful day, in the morning, we got to meet Jack Hanna. I asked him this question: “If you could be a kid for one week, and go anywhere in the world, where would you go, and what would you explore?” He said that he would want to go to Rwanda, where the mountain gorillas live. Today was such a great day. (Too bad it’s our last day in Montana!)

After lunch, as we started hiking back down the mountain, we saw a female mountain goat with twins, which our guide said was very rare. (I named the goat Georgina the Jumping Goat! I like to name all the animals I see, so I named the grizzly bear that we saw earlier in the week Benny the Bounding Bear!) The mother was still losing her winter fur, so it looked like she had a ripped coat on. I wanted to go cuddle with the babies, but I doubt their mother would have appreciated that. As I was passing a grove of trees, I saw some snagged goat hair, which I stuffed into my pocket.

It was pretty hard getting up the mountain in the snow because we kept
slipping, but the way down was awesome. We each got in a bag and
sledded down the steep slope. Once I accidentally did Somersault
backwards down the mountain! On the way back to our hotel, we saw a
bull moose wading in a river, which I deemed Manny the Maniacal Moose!

Dillian:
We were at 6,640 feet when we finally saw six mountain goats and two bighorn sheep.

The temperature was 50 to 60 degrees, but dropped to be much cooler at night. They were losing their winter fur because it’s summer now. But in the winter they need their heavy, winter fur because the temperatures drop to 20 to 30 degrees below zero, with snowfall of more than 20 to 30 feet deep! The mountain goats had babies that were born in April but were a already pretty big. There were lots of beautiful creeks and lakes on our hike. We hiked to one called Hidden Lake–all the way through snow. Our guides brought garbage bags for my new friends and me to sled on. It was so much fun! I went down the snow-covered hill at least ten times!

The trail was so awesome…people of all ages and skill levels attempted this wonderful hike. We had a picnic lunch overlooking a very scenic lake that looked crystal blue from a distance. The hike was around three miles round-trip. I felt like I was climbing Mt. Everest. You had to step very carefully or fall down. The lake had large chunks of ice even though it was in the middle of July. This was my favorite place so far on the trip because we got to play in six feet of snow. That is as deep as my dad is tall. We also had an exciting, but cold and painful, snowball fight (we packed the snow real tight). It was a great day!

They were all originals, from the seats to the doors, painted a bright, bold red. The inside seated 18 people including the driver. I stepped up onto the bus and sat on handmade leather seats made with oak and plated in metal.

Within two minutes the bus started moving. Plenty of wind sent my
journals and other things flying. We headed onto the Going to the Sun
Road that used to be used as a game trail before the road was created.
Our first stop was Wild Goose Island where we had stopped two days ago
on a boat ride. We were extremely lucky today–there was no wind. Our
guide explained that the particular location we were standing was
usually very windy. We stood there for a while taking pictures and
listening to the guide. The lake surface was so smooth that it seemed
like we were staring at a mirror. The guide was explaining some of the
local animals. The one I remember most clearly was the pygmy shrew. It’s
a tiny creature about an inch long that can take down other animals
three to four times its size.

Back on the bus, we continued driving,
stopping several times to take pictures. A part of the road was an
840-foot tunnel that had been hand-dug, five-and-a-half feet per day.
“We love Glacier, yes we do. We love Glacier, how about you??!!!!!!”
echoed around the three buses as we all screamed our excitement. A sweet
scent, created by sage bushes, filled the air. We stopped at the Sun
Rift gorge, a massive canyon (at least to me) with swift, swirling
waters. A bridge arched over the gorge, sending shade over us.

On our
way to the Logan’s Pass visitor center, we passed a curve in the road
called the Siyaeh Loop. The bend was named after an Indian whose mother
named him after a rabid dog that appeared on the day he was born. We
reached Logan’s Pass visitor center shortly and hiked up to a
snow-covered field. I have hosted and been through many snowball fights,
but never one in July. What was supposed to be a hike became a
full-blown snowball fight. Cameras got set aside as we battled in
shorts, sunglasses, and sneakers.

Our hands cold, we headed back to the
bus. On our way to West Glacier, we had many cascades splash us. They
lined the roadsides, rock-touching waterfalls. Gorgeous scenery hovered
on both sides of the road–mountains on the left, and rocks and greenery
on the right. After a long, enjoyable ride, we arrived in West Glacier
just in time for lunch.

Michael: Today we went on a 5-mile hike to Avalanche Lake. The
cedar trees looked majestic as they towered over me. The layers of moss
growing on the forest floor made me think of home, because of the deep
green of the forest floor. I saw small insects crawling around in the
dirt amongst the rocks and the trees. I thought of how small they were,
but how great their impact is on the life cycle of the forest. I
slipped inside of small cracks in trees and looked up at the sky through
the broken-off tops. Sweat stuck my shirt to my body because it was so
hot and we had been hiking all afternoon.

When we reached the lake, I
felt as if I had accomplished something very great. As I prepared to
slide into the water, I wondered if it was colder than I thought it
would be. In fact, it was so cold that the icy tang of the lake made my
adrenaline rush as fast as the rapids in a river. It is hard to put the
hike into words, but what I can put into words is that Montana is a
great place to explore!

When we got back to the Lodgepole Gallery Tipi Village we played some Native American games including “Scream and Run” (children played this game so they could warn their parents if someone invaded their
territory). We also played Double-ball. Double-ball was traditionally played by women. You had to fling a ball above a bar to score one point and if the ball wrapped itself around the bar you scored two points.
Some other games we played were “Salish Hoop and Dart,” “Blackfeet Hoop,” and “Long Arrow and Sticks in the Fist” (a guessing game).

After we played some games we made a “Scream and Run” stick. We all decorated them a different way, making each unique and interesting in our own way.

Today was really interesting and we all learned a lot, including some Blackfoot words like Oki Napi, which means “Hello, my friend.” And we learned that dogs used to pull up to 120 pounds (like tepees). Today was
really interesting and fun!

Hannah: There is a common misconception that all Native Americans, including the Blackfeet, still lead the lives of their ancestors, but they live a modern life with little contrast to the rest of the American population. The traditional way the Blackfeet would hunt buffalo was by using a Buffalo Jump to run the animals over the
edge. That resulted in the death of the large, aggressive animals. They were very resourceful in using the entire buffalo. The women used the stomach as a cooking pot. Although buffalo was the main source of
nutrition in the earlier times, having the chance to eat buffalo in this age is a special occasion. Tonight I was given the chance to eat native buffalo soup and buffalo cooked in the form of meatloaf. The meat highly resembles beef but is leaner and more compact. I favored the meatloaf over the soup, but both were delicious. Locally picked sarvice berries were served in cream as dessert. Along with this we ate everyday American food like spaghetti, rolls, and salad. This reinforces the fact that Native Americans are not the stereotypes often
depicted in our minds.

-Don’t always put your subject in the center of your picture. Divide your frame into thirds in your mind, horizontally and vertically, and place your subject at the intersection of the thirds.

-Take your camera with you whenever possible. Pay attention to your surroundings…always pay attention.

-Try different angles and positions. Don’t always shoot standing up, straight on…lie down, squat low, or climb up high. Try showing more sky and less landscape.

-Pay attention to the light. Your photos can be very dramatic at sunrise, at sunset, or with cloudy skies.

-Keep moving around and try different angles until you find just the right spot to take your picture so it includes every element. Focus on the subject, think about composition, and then take several photos till you get the one that feels great.

Edward:

During the boat ride St. Mary’s Lake I learned a lot about Glacier National Park. Some of these things include that St. Mary’s lake is the 2nd biggest lake in Glacier National Park. Another is that there are 25 glaciers remaining Glacier NP. The boat was surrounded by tall mountains and the water was a really dark shade of blue.

All of a sudden, as we were cruising along, someone yelled “BEAR!” I dropped my notebook and rushed over. It was a male grizzly bear (called a boar) climbing down a funnel of big rocks toward the water. Then the captain slowed the boat while we all took pictures and looked through binoculars. Now everyone was on that side of the boat and it tilted. There was a lot of excitement. The grizzly looked so strong and his claws and teeth were enormous–it was simply amazing!!!

Those were the highlights of the boat ride.

Amelia:

Today was a fascinating and exciting day! We saw a grizzly bear…which was very exciting and scary at the same time. Edward told you about it in his entry, but I just wanted to say it was astonishing to see one.

Later in the day, we climbed a trail in Glacier National Park! Glaciers have been around for a long period of time, so it makes me sad that, because of climate change, one day they will disappear. They are just so beautiful and majestic. But today we saw lots of wildlife. We saw Columbian ground squirrels, ducks, and we saw lots of flowers! But the thing that surprised me the most was a mule deer. And the grizzly bear!

The mule deer gave me time to take a lot of pictures. All she did was walk along, not even caring we were there. It was interesting to see her close up. But that is not all we saw. The Red Rock Lake and the Bullhead Lake were very big!

It was three miles of hiking to see them (and three miles back!), but it was definitely worth it. There were glaciers surrounding them, making it an amazing sight. The water was very cold, but we were so hot that we did not care. We all jumped in and we had a blast! Montana’s mountains are jagged and rocky, but they sure are fun!

Caitlin: Today the team went to Two Medicine Dinosaur Center. We had a tour with Timeline Adventures. Learning about identifying fossils, digging up fossils, and preserving them was probably the most enjoyable day, in my opinion. The fossils we uncovered were the lower leg bones of a Hadrosaurus, a T-rex tooth, and scattered Hadrosaurus bones. Getting to help dig up dinosaur bones was amazing. Carefully brushing and chipping off rock helped to expose more of the fossil. Once the fossil is all exposed, paper towels and water are “painted” on. The plaster is applied by hand and the fossil was pried out of the ground. It was a neat experience getting to preserve a real dinosaur fossil. I’ve been looking forward to this day ever since I won the expedition! I learned a lot about dinosaurs and fossils and the rest of the team did too.
 

Jackson:

Today we went to the First People’s Buffalo Jump. First thing when we got out of the bus we had to get back in because they wanted to drive us to another part of the park where the cliffs were. When we got to the cliff we hopped out of the bus and a park ranger told us a few safety things like “Watch out for rattlesnakes.” or “Don’t step in the prairie dog holes.” So about halfway through our walk the park ranger said, “Who’s the fastest male runner?” So I raised my hand and he said “Okay, what’s your name?” And I said “Jackson.” Then he said “Okay well you’re the young man chosen by the elders, you have to lead your group.” Then we had to assemble into three groups, a group in the back that wore wolf suits [not really], and two groups on either side that had to hide behind rock walls [again, not really]. And then there was me. I had to dress up in a buffalo calf suit [I know that the "not relays" are kind of getting predictable so let's say I pretended]. The idea behind this is since I’m dressed in a calf suit and I’m making noises like I’m hurt, the alpha female [the males are off partying], will come try to rescue me and when she goes all the other buffalo follow. So I have to gradually pick up speed and then the buffalo start running and they eventually run off the cliff. So that’s kind of the concept of the buffalo jump. Thanks for reading!

Mariah: Today we went to play Blackfeet Indian games. It was amazing to compare how today we have Game Boys, X-boxes, and other video games, but back then they did not have that stuff–heck they didn’t even have electricity! We played games called “Shinny,” “Double Ball,” and “Scream and Run.” First we played Scream and Run. First you get your friends and some sticks, then you get in a line and scream and run as far as you can in one breath. So it was fun to see all of my friends screaming and running up a hill. The history behind this game is the Blackfeet would train their children to play at the front of the village and if they saw enemies they would well, you know scream and run!!! Next is Shinny, which is exactly like hockey but you get hit in the shins and you are on land. For Double Ball you use sticks and what looks like a squishy dumbbell. You try to run and throw the double ball over a high goal post.

After those fun games we came to Pine Butte Ranch to hike. They surprised us with a really fun scavenger hunt. It was challenging. We saw scarlet paintbrushes (a flower), claw marks that bears and mountain lions left in trees, and moose droppings.

I can’t wait for tomorrow to go find dinosaur bones.