Rock Trail Romp 1-23-16

What an incredible day we had with the Rockin’ Earth Worms (the girls' chosen group name for our outing), this past Saturday! The day flew by as we meandered our way down the Rock Trail, playing games, hiding in caves, and scrambling over nature's playground all the way! A steady rain kept us movin' and groovin’ throughout the day, yet smiles and spirits remained high — Thanks to all for exemplifying our Be Prepared motto in true “dress-like-a-duck” fashion! Some highlights of the day included…

- Playing the Native Wildlife Guessing Game as girls gathered in the parking lot, followed by a Names with Actions (a fun name game in which the girls shared something about themselves through actions that the group repeated) - We had a lot of talent in Saturday's group! Ask your daughter what action she chose to represent herself.

- Each girl finding her own Stretch Your Edge rock to carry with her throughout the day, so she could pull it out if/when she need to for a reminder of her strength.

- Watching the girls Widen Their Circle when we put our buddy system into action with friends we didn’t know as well.  (We also created a fun count-off system and throughout the day called out our designated word to make sure the gang was all there: “I am flying to Hawaii because it is fun and sunny!”

- Identifying plants such as Sword Fern, Douglas Fir, and Hemlock as we set off down the trail. We even discovered that Hemlock needles taste like pomegranate. Thanks, Hadley, for sharing that knowledge!

- Transforming into Hawks and Voles as we played Preditor/Prey along the trail.

- Collaborating and Compromising as we made our way down the trail in search of a good lunch spot. We found the perfect place to set up camp in a large, sandy cave under a very impressive sandstone boulder.

- Discovering caves in the giant sandstone cliffs and crawling into them. The girls really Stretched Their Edge by climbing up into the biggest, highest cave of them all. We fit eight girls in the cave, with room for more!

- Scrambling through natural tunnels and creating an impromptu puppet show behind a giant slab of sandstone.

- Spreading out amongst the ferns and moss-covered boulders as we did Peaceful Place. Some girls lay or sat out in the rain the whole time, letting the mist surround them and feeling the raindrops fall on their cheeks.

- Drinking hot cocoa to warm up as we shared about our Peaceful Place experiences.

- Telling stories, jokes, and riddles as we hiked back up to the parking lot.

- Yelling, blowing, singing, and sharing our thanks to the forest when we returned to the trailhead.

- Playing “Keeper of the Treasure” back at the parking lot.

- Ending our day with a very thoughtful and inspiring closing circle, sharing our Attitude of Gratitude, and one example of how we Stretched our Edge during the day. Ask your daughter what she was grateful for on Saturday, and what stretched her edge! 

Thank you for sharing your fantastic, curious, adventurous girls with us! To view more pictures from our day, click here.