Mountain Adventure

Yesterday, Issa and I headed to school at 6 am to get a charter bus:

 We headed to Grandfather Mountain and Linville Caverns with the entire fourth grade, all 110 of them! We had never been there, and it certainly didn't disappoint. We started our day at the Nature Museum on Grandfather Mountain:

 I got to hang out with Issa and her friend, Melanie, who had never been to the mountains. The museum included a really well done video about the Mountain itself. We then went out with a naturalist to see four of the 13 habitats on the Mountain in the outside portion of the museum. They had been studying animal adaptations, and the naturalist did an awesome job of making those connections. Finally, we walked the Mile High Bridge:

I was just fine until we got to the middle and the bridge started to sway in the wind. Heights are not my friend, but we made it: 

We ate lunch on the way to the caverns, which were incredibly cool! They are living caverns, and our guide did an amazing job connecting the history, biology, and geology of the caverns. We were also able to experience total darkness, which was one of the most surreal experiences in my life.

It was a great trip. Issa is still talking about it. And doing it with Melanie, watching her eyes get wider when she saw the mountain. Hearing her artist's eyes analyzing the many shades of green in the valley. Well...my heart grew three sizes that day.