Moab, Utah: The experience of a lifetime

The Country School gives students the opportunity to develop a love for the great outdoors. At a young age, children learn about teamwork, cooperation and leadership. Years later they participate in tent-ins and various overnight trips to Kent, Camp Hazen and the Delaware River Gap, to name a few. The most prominent trip, however, is the 8th Grade trip to Moab, Utah. For many this is a dream, as it is a trip that numerous students have looked forward to for years, and is also a culmination to the 8th Grade year.

Upon being hired at The Country School, I thought for some time that "Moab" was the acronym for this incredible trip that I had heard so much about. No, Señorita Balchunas, Moab is actually a place. Whoops! Last spring when the bus rolled up to TCS early one June morning, Bob McGee got off and pointed to me, saying, "You, next year!" It was then that I knew that Moab was calling my name in 2016. As with the entire 8th Grade class, I spent the 2015-2016 school year dreaming of white water rafting and sleeping under the stars. The anticipation, nerves and excitement that every eighth grader felt for this trip, I felt, too.

All packed, and I even practiced pitching my tent!

Now entering Utah...

...hello Moab!

A sleeping bag ready for the night stars

While in Utah, students (and faculty!) get the opportunity to partake in the following activities: white water rafting down the Colorado River, rock climbing, hiking in Arches National Park and hiking to the La Sals Mountains, where students spend a night away from base camp. Rock climbing? No problem! I've gone a few times, and can try a few more. Hiking? Let's go! White water rafting? ...Not so much. Rapids? Flipping? I openly told many of the eighth graders that this was perhaps what I was most fearful of doing, and glad to be able to "get it over with" the first day. I pulled the straps on my life vest extra tight, took a sip from my water bottle and chose a raft.

The experience, as it turned out, was one of my most memorable moments in Moab. Our river guide let us splash other rafts and play games, all the while keeping us safe. The river, though high this year, was not entirely filled with "Class V Rapids," as I had expected it to be. Instead, there was plenty of time to swim in the calm sections. The highlight of the river had to be the last rapid my raft paddled straight into, as we were all confident that our raft was going to flip. Expecting the worse, I held on for what felt like my dear life, but rose above the rapid vortex, soaked with muddy water and laughing.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but I think that the photos below can't even begin to capture the serenity, but also sense of adventure, that I felt while out west. When I think of Moab, I think of "wild": wildly vast and wildly beautiful. In the daytime the sky stretches for miles, and at night the stars shine brighter than any I have ever seen.

(Colorado River picture courtesy of Moab Action Shots)

What a rock climbing view!

Delicate Arch

Double O Arch

Ready to hike the La Sals

Taking in the moment at Dead Horse Point.

Our last sunset and sunrise...

I cannot tell you how many gallons of water I drank while in Moab, the number of t-shirts I sweat through during the sunny days or the ounces of orange sand that traveled home with me in my backpack, but I will tell you one thing: It was worth every minute of it.

See you again soon, Moab.