Students representing Cambodia, Ecuador, France, India, Japan, mainland China, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, the United States of America, and more descended upon our Tempe departure point bright and early on October 8th. Even so, cheerful banter and laughter filled the air. It wasn’t long before the 7-car caravan snaked its way through the sleepy streets of Tempe, heading due north for the mountains. After two hours and a 5,000 foot climb up winding roads, our arrival in Pine, Arizona was welcomed by the cool fall air and a warm reception from Mary and Bruce. There was no lack of entertainment as we all tried our hand at throwing Horseshoes and practicing our Ninja skills.
But what are 20 intelligent students supposed to do with themselves? Go to school, of course! Strawberry is home to the oldest schoolhouse still standing in the state of Arizona. We took a step back into history and put our knowledge to the test with an exam for eighth-graders: if you have a wagon that is 9x2x3 feet, how many bushels of wheat can it carry? Thankfully we were saved from completing the exam because it was lunchtime! We returned to the home of Bruce and Mary for a delicious homecooked meal. As the clouds rolled in, we packed ourselves into the vehicles once again in hopes of getting in some hiking before the rain.
The Tonto Rim Natural Bridge is a majestic, naturally-existing wonder hidden within a beautiful valley. True to its name, you can hike to the Bridge from either side if you are wiling to brave the slippery rocks. The underside of the bridge is constantly moist from water that drips through the rocks and plants that form the top of the bridge. This water flows down a rocky path to form a peaceful pool. There was a happy reunion of our group after we had split to attempt both paths to the bridge. We took some time to soak in the beauty underneath the bridge, sheltered from the rain shower that eventually caught up to us. After the rain passed, we climbed back to the top of the bridge and packed up for the trip back home. Our day of adventure concluded with a stunning double rainbow and breathing-taking sunset as we watched storms pass through on our way back down the mountains.