The Eighth Grade Trip to Alaska

From May 24 to June 1, the eighth graders went to Alaska to celebrate their nine years at St. Bernard’s, a long journey that is soon coming to an end.  We traveled all over the beautiful state, and visited places such as Anchorage, Seward, Talkeetna, Girdwood, Healy, and Denali National Park.  We were accompanied by Madame de Haugoubart, Ms. Dreux, Ms. Bell, and Mr. Hager, who made the trip most pleasing and enjoyable.  We were also escorted by our tour guide, Heather, and our amazing bus driver, Tama.  He drove several hours a day, always patient and cordial, and we thank him for it.

After a long stop-over at the hip Minneapolis international airport, and a long flight from there to Alaska, we arrived in Anchorage at around 9:00 p.m. local time.  Although it was late, it was astonishing to see that the sun had not yet set.  We went to our first hotel and all collapsed.

The next morning we went to a wildlife conservation center and saw bears, elks, bison, musk oxen, moose, and caribou.  We were lucky to see a wolf, a porcupine, and a lynx.  This was exciting because we could really see the animals up close.  We then hiked to Exit Glacier and learned about glaciology.  We went to our new hotel, and, again, crashed.

The next day we woke up and, after a pancake breakfast, went on a spectacular cruise through the Kenai fjords to see Alaskan aquatic wildlife.  We saw sea otters waving at us, orca whales five feet from the boat, and rare sightings of humpback whales.  We also saw mountain goats, puffins, harbor seals, and sea lions.  After six hours, we went back to the hotel.  There we played soccer and frisbee into the night that never came.

The following day we traveled to the top of a ski resort on Mt. Alyeska for some spectacular views of Turnagain Arm and later went to Happy Trails Kennels, where Iditarod champion, Martin Buser, raises and trains his dogs.  We learned about the Iditarod race, the 1000-mile long race, which takes nine to ten days to complete.  We saw a demonstration of the dogs pulling a sled, and afterwards we got to play with the puppies, future Iditarod winners.  We loved hugging them.

Then we visited picturesque Talkeetna, the starting point for those of us who want to reach the summit of Mt. Denali, North America’s tallest peak at 20,310 feet.  After a delicious pizza lunch at "Mountain High Pizza Pie," we went rafting.  We navigated the Nenana River (eight official rapids) on five different rafts.  My boat mates and I all got soaked several times, and we were allowed to lean backwards and get our head wet in the glacial water.  We all got major brain freezes!

The next day was the pinnacle of the trip.  We traveled deep into Denali National Park and spent eight hours seeing magnificent animals in the wild.  We saw grizzly bears, many caribou, arctic ground squirrels, dall sheep, willow ptarmigans, magpies, mew gulls, marmots, moose, snowshoe hares, and long-tailed jaegers.  I spent time looking at the beautiful arctic flowers:  the arctic poppy, the tundra rose, the bluebells, the tiny colorful forget-me-nots, and the purple lupines.  Later that day, we did volunteer community service at the Denali Learning Center, and carried firewood, dug trenches for electrical wires, and cleaned up grounds around the main house.  We ended the day with a large spaghetti dinner at the center, and we all fell asleep soundly when we arrived at our hotel.

We traveled on a first class train from Denali back to Anchorage.  It took a whole day, but what a ride it was!  We sat in nice seats and the lunch/dinner we were served were absolutely delicious.  I had the amazing reindeer sausage, although I felt a little guilty.  Sorry Santa!  We got back to Anchorage, and after dropping our bags in our rooms, we assembled all together in Madame’s room.  We all shared thoughts about leaving St. Bernard’s, and it was a melancholy affair; exciting new schools, but leaving good friends.

On our last day, we toured Anchorage and had time to do some shopping.  We had lunch at the Anchorage Hard Rock Cafe, and then we visited the Alaska Native Heritage Center, where native young men and women told us about the different tribes of Alaska and then demonstrated local native games.  It was so interesting to see.

We had amazing weather throughout our stay.  We saw the majestic snow-capped Mt. Denali (Koyukon Athabascan for "The High One") every day.  We were told many times we were very lucky since only 30% of visitors ever get to see the mountain because it is usually covered by fog or clouds.

Some of us got sick at dinner at the idyllic Golden Corral restaurant, a "family-friendly buffet chain featuring all-you-can-eat American fare, plus salad & dessert bars."  One of us had seven steaks and seven servings of rice, and another had the following:  one plate of breaded shrimp, one plate of pasta, two pieces of pizza, one steak, and lots of French fries, and finally three desserts.  We finally boarded the plane home.  On the way back, I think I saw the Aurora Borealis, but it might have just been another natural phenomenon, a kind of magical dance of lights, which so often characterizes the Alaskan sky.

We flew home via Chicago, and arrived at JFK on time.  We were all so thrilled about the trip.  We have so many good memories to hold on to as we all say goodbye and move on with our lives.  We wish to thank our school, our parents, and especially our chaperones for making this incredible trip possible.