Frigid air and an endless view of some of the tall orange-colored pillars was what the students in the Science Club experienced with their visit to Bryce Canyon.
The trip was filled with scenic hikes, educational talks, and unforgettable memories.
“It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences,” Ian Walker, 33, geology major, said. “It was an amazing trip to observe so many places all within six days.”
Walker, the president of the Science Club was one of the many students who attended the trip that included a drive to Utah, where they toured the Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park.
“They pack in so much beauty,” Walker said. “It was definitely an experience none of us will forget.”
The club drove down to Arizona for the latter part of the trip to see the Meteor Crater, Sunset Crater and Walnut Canyon.
“Sunset crater is amazing in that it’s the youngest crater created by a volcano and still contains hardened lava flows; giving it’s viewer a glimpse of what it might be like during an actual explosion,” Natalie Garcia, 25, microbiology major said.
However, both students agreed that none of this would have happened without Joe Holliday, who has been the advisor for the club for more than 20 years.
“Without him, we wouldn’t have had a guide or the fee waivers to get into the parks,” Walker said. “It would have been a much different trip.”
Holliday was ecstatic about the overall outcome of the trip; he was able to get fee waivers to six of the national parks they traveled to and said he is forever “indebted” to the Inter-Club Council for helping them out.
“I think it was the best field trip ever,” Holliday said. “It was the largest in both the number of students going but the amount of days as well.”
The students were able to gain a whole new level of respect and knowledge about the Earth’s magnificent creations left behind for them to discover.
“They’re national parks for a reason,” Walker said. “There is so much to see, and you don’t even have to go far.”
The Science Club frequently takes trips like these and hopes to inspire other clubs to start exploring the wonders of the world as well.
“It’s nothing like you’ve ever seen before,” Holliday said. “Everything from weather patterns, to the trees, and animals.”
Garcia she said it was an experience that will last a lifetime in the minds of the students.
“It was an amazing experience, spiritually, physically and educationally,” Garcia said. “We learned the reasons for the geographical occurrences in every park we went to, and were able to experience first hand the nature that created it.”
