Tree Planting: Day 3

We decided to start our morning bright and early today! We woke up around 6:30 am and bundled up for a sunrise hike. We were led by our ninjas, Joe and Ryan.We hiked about 20 minutes up a trail and were able to see the sun rise over the snow covered montains in the distance. After our hike we joined the other schools and our Plateau Restoration leaders for a quick cereal breakfast.

We all loaded up in our vans and headed for Sand Island Campgrounds near the town of Bluff. The drive was about an hour and a half each way which allowed for some nice nap time! We spend most of our day planting 60 large Cottonwood Trees which were spaced around a new irrigation system. A large number of Tamarisk Trees had previously been removed from the grounds. The holes for the trees were already dug by a machine, and we just had to plant a tree and build a moat to keep water around it. We took a lunch break and shortly after continued back to tree planting. We played games to pass the time and distract ourselves from the exhausting sun. We have tried our best to keep applying sun screen to avoid getting burnt, but against all efforts some if us still have some nice farmers tans. We can't complain too much though because this weather has been perfect!

After a long days work and a yummy macaroni and cheese with hot dogs dinner, we returned to our hostel for a relaxing evening. We all gathered around the community tv downstairs and watched the movie, Sunshine, with some of our fellow hostel dwellers. We enjoyed our usual nighttime snack of candy bars and chips. We talked about wanting to find some fun outdoor adventures to do when we get back to Bloomington!

We are looking forward to our day trip to Arches National Park tomorrow and plan on taking lots of pictures!

Colorado update: They still have yet to shower...ewww..
Reese's debate update: After to continuing to survey people we have come to realize that it seems we have been pronouncing it wrong all along...owell...we think it sounds better that way.