Day 20: Kansas
There is no place like home! The
Grumpy Group has found itself traveling through Kanas with the rest of the TWB
Crew. The Grumpy Group includes Maya Anderson-Badillo, Mary Michael Belue,
Hunter Avery, Paschal Lutz, Creighton Ivey, Robert Keck, Lauren Shultz, Caitlyn
Andrews, Makayla Lawson, Haley Jones, Caleb Chipman, Cate Johnson, and
Elizabeth Kurtz.
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| Our first stop of the day!! Everyone fresh and ready to go after their morning naps. |
Today was a very long day beginning
with a morning wake up from our beloved counselor Josh at 5 AM. After a slow start to our day we were all loaded on our vehicles and ready to
pull out by 6:45. After about a 20-minute ride we stopped at Wal-Mart so that
the cooks could buy our food for today. For breakfast we ate parfaits with strawberries,
vanilla yogurt, and Cheerios. Following our gourmet meal most of us fell victim
to morning sleepiness and were out within minutes. Our next stop was a bathroom
break at a rest stop in Kansas. A few naps and a couple snacks later the people
riding the bus began watching the romcom “The Proposal”, which was brought on the trip by
Maya! While the movie didn’t interest some people at first, everyone was
laughing so hard they were almost in tears by the end. About three quarters of
the way through the movie, we ate a delicious lunch of turkey wraps with cheese,
lettuce, and a choice of ranch or Caesar dressing. We also had a choice of a
variety of different popcorn flavors ranging from classic butter to funky
fruit. After the lunch was served, Henry, our favorite motor coach operator,
stood in the aisle and announced that he was no longer driving, but the bus was
moving! We peered at the driver’s seat in astonishment and found that The V was
in control of the wheel!!!!!! It’s a good thing she has her CDL ;) She brought
us to the gas station where the bus met up with the vans, which were undergoing
their morning fueling.
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| Better watch where you sleep! You never know who is going to snap some flattering pictures of the faces you make. |
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| Waking up at 5 AM never gets easier. |
After
lunch, the people in the vans puzzled each other with a riddle; it took upwards
of 30 minutes for some to solve! Families and
friends: Ask your participant about the riddle when we arrive at Mallard Creek
on Tuesday!! Our next stop was an oil rig, where Nick gave his research
presentation on different historical and economic facts about the oil rigs of
Kansas. We were able to get very close to the rig, and it was just about the
most exciting thing we saw in the whole state. A few miles down the road, we
arrived at a cool little gift shop that sold some really awesome gifts such as
painted rocks, quilts, t-shirts, mugs, jewelry, wood carved items, homemade snacks,
soap, candles, and more. After all of the participants finally made it
back to the vehicles after the crazy long check out line wait, we began our
trek to Kansas State University.
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| Shoutout to Nick on his presentation about the Oil Rigs in Kansas!!!!! |
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| Our lovely Bradie and Ian showing us all of the lovely handmade art in Kansas. |
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| Group Picture!! Look at that Rig! |
The ride to
Kansas State University was filled with conversations about our Sharpie “tattoos”
courtesy of Ashlyn, and the viewing of the movie Shrek, which was brought by
Lucas. No one on the bus remembered how weird the
movie was, be we were quickly reminded. After arriving at Kansas State, we
heard reports from Noah, Sarah and Eryn. Following the reports, all of the
groups took pictures with their counselors, and we loaded up and headed to
our campsite at Tuttle Creek State Park.
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| Listening to the lovely Sarah present. |
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| Noah presenting his research today! |
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| Eryn wowed us with facts most of us didn't know! |
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| Group picture... getting off the wall was the hardest part. |
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| The Happy group portraying its namesake. |
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| The Sneezy group... better watch out, or they will blow you away! |
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| The Bashful group looking shy as usual. |
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| The Dopey Group... the group with the most counselors but its members still don't know how to look at the camera. |
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| The Sleep group couldn't even stay awake for their picture. |
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| The Grumpy Group pouting through their picture. |
When we finally arrived at Tuttle Creek, we began our night with a water balloon throwing contest. After numerous busted balloons, soaking wet clothing, and fierce competition, Landon and Collin, representing the Dopey group, emerged as winners. The night ended with a huge water balloon fight and a delicious meal consisting of macaroni and cheese and popcorn chicken!
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| No caption needed... |
Water Balloon Contest!!
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| The winning group (Dopeys) |
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| Look at this beauty!! The TWB clan fell asleep tonight gazing up at the moon. Photo creds to Meredith Levy - great job :) |
