A new idea and a new destination…
The ESCAPE Club is back again for another year! We’re growing even bigger at both campuses (DeJean and Soskin) with a strong core of returners and a new crop of adventurers! (There are even a few at Soskin back for a third year!)
We started the year with a new idea and were fortunate enough to make it happen. It’s been a dream for years to go to Mercer Caverns in the the California foothills, but it always seemed a little out of our range. But we were able to get a bus for this trip and decided to give it a try!
Going down 160 feet into Mercer Caverns was such a unique experience. The tour guides were patient and knowledgable. Most of us had never seen anything like it! Stalactites and stalagmites, crystals, flowstone, and “cave bacon!” At one point, they turned out the lights to show us what the complete absence of light was like.
Unfortunately, our bus had need of a repair and we got stuck waiting in the heat for a couple hours. The gift shop had a “mining” experience, so we took a shot at it and it turned out to be really fun! The kids walked away with some colorful gemstones as souvenirs.
After Mercer Caverns we drove a little further up the road to to see the Giant Sequoias. It hasn’t worked out for us to see them in Yosemite recently, so we were grateful for this opportunity. Describing how massive these trees are is tough with just words and pictures, so there’s nothing like seeing them in person. We walked a short loop around the grove and craned our necks to see all the way to the tree tops of these ancient beings. All 35 of us easily fit across one stump for a sad, but cool group photo.
We’ve got a full slate of trips scheduled again this year! We’ll be going back to some of our favorite places, and we’ve got some ideas for new trips, and alternate experiences for our returning students. With our growing numbers, we’ll need more driver chaperones, so please let us know if you’re available to join us!
As always, at the beginning of the year, we appreciate any financial support you can offer. We remain 100% volunteer-led, and every dollar goes to getting these kids some amazing experiences. You can give (choose ESCAPE Club in the dropdown), or through our school account, or directly to us by check/PayPal/etc. We’re so grateful that we’ve always had enough support to see and do some incredible things for over 20 years now. That’s a testament to our fantastic leadership team, our volunteers and chaperones, and so many generous financial supporters.
Please let us know if you have questions about our upcoming year. We’re glad you’re a part of this, even if it’s just reading the newsletter!
