November 30, 2012: 14 Young Women, two St. Edwards Interns and another regular volunteer, Annie J., camped out and slept over at the EcoHouse. We started with a pizza party. Then we made sure that everyone got to tie die her River Watch shirt for the semester if she hadn’t already done so at the 20th Anniversary Event. We started some ice cream ingredients churning in the ice cream maker and then went out for our discoveries on a Night Hike Adventure. About fifty feet past the gate down to the river, we saw the silhouette of an owl fly over and we heard a coyote howl as it scrambled through the dense brush until it made it through a hole in the fence line. We saw and heard more owls through the night but the next best siting came as we tried to let our eyes open without our flashlights on. As we discussed silhouettes, a student pointed to a large unusual shape in a tree. We focussed the beam of a high powered flashlight and revealed a raccoon in its natural habitat. It was awesome! When we returned to the house, the students and Interns ate the chocolate ice cream we had made and played several rousing rounds of Pit. Some students camped out in our new tent donated to us by REI and others slept in the house.
