June 25th
Today we went to the Great Lakes WATER Institute where Dr. Russell Cuhel gave us a talk about abiotic factors in the water. I learned a lot. Dr. Cuhel (aka "Dr. Cool") is a great scientist who is really passionate about his work. Afterwards we went to Greenfield Park. There we had a picnic and then played a game. Then we had to get down to work.

We were divided into groups of three. I was with Lewis and Chirag. They gave us some data sheets that had to be filled out as we kept advancing through the stations. There were three stations, each one with a Teacher Argo in charge. We went from station to station measuring abiotic factors such as salinity, pH, temperature, and other things in the pond and the lagoon.

The third station was a bit different. Polly was in charge there, and we got to search the pond for invertebrates. After we found organisms, we used the dichotomous key to identify them. Lewis found the most interesting invertebrate. He actually caught a dragonfly nymph.

After the park we went to the university offices for a while, and then went to dinner. The funny thing was that they didn't tell us what the address was. We were divided into teams and we were supposed to look for it. They gave us the name of the place, which was the Safe House, and told us that it was between certain streets. We were able to find it pretty fast.

The Safe House had an espionage theme and had a lot of spy things and cool posters. There was a phone booth that Brittany, Allison, and I tried out. We went in not knowing what to expect, so we inserted the quarter in the slot and dialed the number the voice indicated. Suddenly, a secret door opened. It led to the outside, but when it opened Austin was there. He had been locked out and didn't want to go around, so he was waiting for someone to open the secret door. Obviously, the three of us screamed after seeing him standing outside the door. It was so funny, because Austin wasn't planning on scaring anyone; he was just waiting for someone to open the door. It's one of the things I'll never forget.

June 26th
Today we went to the fishing pier and canoed down the Milwaukee River. We were in teams of four: three students and a teacher, but there could only be two people per canoe. My canoeing partner was Conrad, which was great because he was amazingly strong and the canoes were freakishly heavy. I wasn't much help carrying the canoes, so Conrad had to do the heavy lifting.

As we paddled down the river we saw several animals such as ducks, geese, and even a groundhog that was outside the river. After a while, the river started getting shallow, so we couldn't paddle. Conrad would pull the canoe whenever it got too shallow or too rocky.

We canoed all the way to the Urban Ecology Center, but when we got there they told us we were expected at Discovery World, so we had to leave quickly and go to the dorms to get dressed in a flash. This was a hard task due to the multiple mud stains all over us. We finally looked presentable and went to Discovery World. We got a chance to look around at the water animals there. I even touched this huge, black sturgeon. It was incredible.

Then, we were introduced to Mr. Mike Cudahy and Mr. Paul Krajniak who gave us a really detailed tour of the Great Lakes exhibit. It is an amazing model of the Great Lakes, and it has wonderful features such as weather and satellite pictures of the cities around the lakes. All of this was built using a GPS system. Mr. Cudahy was kind enough to answer all our questions and he gave us a copy of his book "Joyworks". He even signed each of our copies.

After Discovery World, we went to a baseball game at Miller Park. We ate dinner in the parking lot, which was really fun. Then we headed into the park to watch the game. The Brewers played the Astros. After about six innings we left the game and headed back to the dorms.



June 27th
Today we went to an old limestone quarry. It was really great. They taught us how to snorkel. The people from Diving Unlimited are excellent diving teachers. Once we got in the water I started shivering because it was incredibly cold. Fortunately, after a while I got used to it. Before we left the quarry we played with a little toy submarine. It was great.

Then, we headed back to the University offices where Dr. Cuhel talked to us about zebra and quagga mussels. This was officially the beginning of Mission 1. We got our JASON t-shirts and our caps. Finally, we talked about what we were doing tomorrow and headed back to the dorms. We have done a million things in these few days. I'm having the time of my life.

June 28th
Today we went out to Lake Michigan. There were two boats, the Neeskay and the Lender. Two thirds of us went with Dr. Cuhel and Dr. Aguilar on the Neeskay, and the other third went on the Lender. The boat ride was incredibly fun. I had a great time. We got to help Dr. Cuhel use all his instruments. It was great. I also helped with the light test. Fortunately, I didn't get seasick. Unfortunately, there was a lot of wind and I was freezing.

The greatest part of the day would definitely be when I got to drive the boat for a little while.

Today was an amazingly fun day. It's by far by favorite activity from Boot Camp.

June 29th
Today we went to the Great Lakes WATER Institute with Dr. Cuhel and Dr. Aguilar. We analyzed the data, but before that, Dr. Russell explained to us the carbonate cycle. It was really interesting; unfortunately we were all exhausted from all the activities throughout the week, so we were practically falling asleep.

The day was pretty fun. We had our graduation at the WATER Institute. Right there they told us our Argo Teams and which Mission wed be heading out on next. Then, we went to eat and we played arcade games. I got enough tokens to buy a teddy bear. Of course, a lot of people gave me tickets. Thanks to them I now have a new stuffed animal.

After dinner we went to the lobby of the university and exchanged books. Then we played volleyball, which was so much fun.

I'm so sad the week is over. I'm really going to miss everyone. I had a lot of fun and I made great friends. This was an unforgettable experience.