In the morning, we all arrived for our last day of work, kind of tired but quite motivated to finish up after all that we’d worked on for the past five weeks. The silver van went to Mountain Farm early, and the other van people went off to play over at Jon’s mom’s house. (?) We stretched and discussed our favorite words, like “indubitably” (was that the word?) which Rich and Bryan both liked. After this, Jon, Dan, Bryan, Brittany, and Chris went off to the trail to polish it up, resetting two rocks and cleaning up stray horse dung. (Hahhahah creeper stache ahahahha) The rest stayed to clean tools, buckets, and helmets. After, water war broke out—Rexifer the Merciless vs. the Jenerator and Deathstar!—and the forces used bottles (guns) to shoot water (bullets) at their enemies! The others who helped clean the tools just chillaxed. We then put away the tools and went off to Point Mountain, met up with the others in our crew, got orange marker strips (they work very effectively as ninja bandanas), sang some songs, and hiked up while we each presented topics on a certain deciduous forest species. Chris started off with his very happy “Hellooo, I’m Chris Haines!” Jon gave a shot at a manly girl attitude in respect to Michelle, and Jen did her “Woo!” finger-twirling maple seed demonstration. Bryan gave his white-tailed deer spiel and was indubitably interrupted by Rich’s (he’s so white!) well-timed performance of a deer who lost one antler and underwent metamorphosis to become a narwhal. Vlad delivered an Indian pipe lesson, even giving its scientific name Monotropa uniflora, and Terri helped everyone by introducing lots of information on the topics since she is a walking encyclopedia. We stopped by Mountain Farm again, busted out to some radio music and Technu, which Vlad refers to as new techno music. We went off after that while the other crew cleaned their tools, and arrived at a river, but Jon, with his oh so talented driving skills, brought his van to a sturdy halt when it got stuck in this pebble hill kind of thing obstacle, yeah. Main point: He couldn’t get the van out, so Rich took advantage of his EMT-firefighter skills by positioning hard, dry sticks behind the stuck tires, and getting Jon to put the car in reverse. About six people pushed the car while Jon kept the car going back and, voila, ten seconds later, the car is out, safe and sound! And the bumper DID NOT get scratched… Another note: When you’ve got ten teenagers to help you out, there is no need for a toe truck. We had lunch by the river while Vlad and Rich (and Chris, after he finished his lunch) went off walking from rock to rock. Rex tried but was clumsy and not logical. If you get one foot wet, why would you make the other one wet too?! Brittany was deliberately clumsy and walked around IN the water, WITH waterproof boots since she is an intellectual. (How do you expect the water to come out?) Others then started scaling the stones and we had Roses and Thorns. We left for Voorhees, but because the silver van is so awesome/oisome, we blazed the roads while loco drunk on MEXICAN MOONSHINE (Mexican moonshine!) by Ghoultown! (And no, we weren’t drunk. Mexican Moonshine is a type of tequila. By the way, the URL for the song is http://www.last.fm/music/Ghoultown/_/Mexican+Moonshine and to listen, look to the right at the radio button)
Note for the rec trip:
1) 12-person tents are, apparently, banned.
2) Dan, cousins are forbidden. Jen and Bryan are exempt from this law. And Dan, you must follow it since you are a law-biding/biting citizen.

So today started out rough for a lot of people, some due to lack of sleep. We started working on a new trail today, when we explored where the trail was intended to go pretty much everyone did not want to work and was being negative that it would not get finished or be a nice trail. It was really humid out today which didn't help at all. Me and Jenn taught Dan the FUN song from Spongebob. He enjoyed that. Oh and I almost forgot, energy drinks were very popular today. I, myself, had 3 total. I got pretty hyper, but now I'm crashing. Note to self: do not attempt to drink more than 2 energy drinks a day. Anyway, we ate lunch next to the south branch of the raritan river. Right before lunch, some garbage was found which turned into a murder story created by mainly Greg and Chris. As lunch was ending it started to thunder and rain so we headed for Memorial Park and on the way there I came up with the Creeper Stache(sp?) dance move. In the pavilion we talked about the rec trip. We had a game of Spread 'Em and the other crew came as we were leaving and heading for Gronsky's. We did Roses and Thorns outside of Gronsky's and then headed back to the Voorhees parking lot. We got most of the trail done today, I'm pretty sure we're planning to go back tomorrow for a little bit to finish off the last part of it. After lunch tomorrow we will be heading to Mountain Farm to clean the tools. I think thats all...
-Brittany.

Today was great. It was the last day we worked on the hybrid crew's trail which is beastly. We started the day off by getting lost thanks to Vladimir Putan and Jon. Then we surprised everybody with many MONSTERS. Jon made a tower and we worked till lunch. The whole time I missed Brian. Rich, Michelle, and Chris beasted on fill so did Jen's crew. We did alot of work and said our good byes. The hike back was brutal as we all started to sweat alottt. We only have one or two more work days before we have to leave for the Rec Trip which I am so excited for. I can't wait for Monday.

omg blogger in the house...where do i start? last week was awesome! first we finished our trail effectively opening the north section of Point Mountain Nature Preserve to the public. Then we beasted out a new trail in the park before lunch. (never in my 4 SCA years have I seen this done) Jackie got mad props from the crew for her solo mccloud work.

We had a rain day in which we discussed Leave No Trace and I got to read the Lorax to the crew. (A rose) We then spent some time at the library researching local flora and fauna....Brittany's dilligance and writing was impressive.

During a visit to Gronsky's Vlad and I refrained from eating icecream as we lost our icecream rights to eachother in bets...not the best idea....the cap gun as well...not the best idea...

While at the fill hole I was asked to facilitate a history trivia quiz. (another rose) Rex, Greg, and Jen have proven their history skills for sure....

Dougie Klein and Allen Molyneux came to visit and man did we learn an awesome game..."spread 'em." Rivaling "Big Booty" as the best crew game ever. Michelle and Rich seem to be a masters of this game.

Today we visited the hybrid crew in their effort to save the Musconetcong Gorge...How cool are they, camping and hiking in 40 minutes...hard core. Bryan was attacked by beas, more stings than any man I have ever seen. How tough. Despite the injury Terri, Chris, and Dan worked hard today...

Good stuff green team

Jon

Dan on a rainy day....Dougie Klein visits from out west and teaches us spread'm....n Michelle the medic.

How many days ago was friday?

Before I start I want to point out that I indeed know that today is Thursday and not last Friday. This blog is hmmm..... lets see.....about four or so days late but no worries because I'm writing it now, then Friday will have officially happened (according to Jon). I also have to write this since I pinky promised Jon that I would and you can't break a promise, especially one of the pinky variety.

(as if written on Friday so I can retain the days full value haha)

Today was a fabulous day unlike any other day this week. Wanna know why? Today was an Environmental Education Day! WOOHOO!!! We all hurriedly hopped into our vans and awaited our arrival to the Great Swamp. When we first arrived to the Great Swamp we all paraded into the building and discovered something I had never seen before, a water fountain which surprisingly contained salt water. This provided many giggles for our group. We then made our way outside where Jon handed us all our nature brochures. The task was to team up with a partner and to look for unique plants and flowers while on our walk. Greg and Rich were the first to open the booklet but were interrupted by a park ranger who felt that their presence on the grass was harming the public property. This also provided us with many more giggles. All fueled by monster, we explored the Great Swamp. Now looking back I have a theory as to why it is named the Great Swamp: because it's totally EPIC! :)

The second stop for the day was at the Raptor Trust. Before leaving the parking lot , we played a quick round of The Question game. This was the first time that I've seen it played and I must say it takes madd skillz. Michelle reigned supreme. At the Raptor Trust, I was surprised by how many birds they had! We saw Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, Red-Tail Hawks, a Raven (which we attempted to communicate with, sadly without success), Turkey Vultures, a Barn Owl, and even a Snowy Owl which closely resembled that of Hedwig in Harry Potter which made me suddenly feel magical for some odd reason.

Today was SO epic that we even had a third place to go! Once in the vans we headed off to Schooley's Mountain for lunch and some hiking. Three cheers for hiking! While waiting for the other crew to arrive, our crew all engaged in an intense game of JOUST. So intense in fact, that Jon even got hit in the face by a forceful play from Bryan. The day only continued to get better when we went on our hike. I immensely enjoyed the hike since it was a loop and relatively flat (which is a nice change of pace when the trail we normally work on is a massive hill consisting mostly of rocks). The trail brought us to a gorgeous lookout point where you could see for miles (well maybe not that far, but who knows, I'm bad at judging distances what can I say :p ). Further down the path we discovered a couple totally awesome waterfalls. At the waters edge, some people including Terri and myself felt the urge to rub sedimentary rocks together to make mud which we then applied to our faces like war-paint. RAWRRRR! As we headed back we stopped for a moment where we were all captivated by Pat's preaching skills. Hallelujah! With about an hour left the crew leaders had a not so secret secret meeting where the decision was made to engage in an epic Ultimate Frisbee game: Team Narwhal vs. The Other Team. To be 100% honest, I don't remember their team name. Don't be hating on me I just have a horrid memory lol. Anyway, the battle began. Vlad amazed everyone by serving the Frisbee with such beastly force. In the end our crew won: six to one. We ultimately won though since we successfully completed our secret plan: get the Frisbee to Jackie at any cost.

After a long fun, but educational day, we returned to Voorhees. If you think the fun end's here you are mistaken my friend. Later that evening in Clinton, many SCA members (including Greg, Pat, Max, Zach, and Terri) came out to hear my band perform. Dan (aka Dandolf the Great) amazed the crowd by playing drums with my band. Chris' band (really long awesome name I don't remember) also played and rocked the streets. Overall I would have to say that by the feedback from the crowd and fellow members, the night was a huge success. We'll that's all I got. Peace out Cub Scouts! (I stole that from Jon)

-Jenn-
(The Jen-erator)

check out the link: click on "Jon and K80 boogie. http://www.vimeo.com/album/31305

Greg's awesome Rock Tower

Greg and his Rock Tower

Photos!!!

Jenn, Allie, Brittany, & Liz on an EE day hike at Schooley's Mountain. (AKA where Jon got married.)
The view from the overlook at Schooley's Mountain
Rex and Marlon at the top
Marlon & I at our tree where we fight over the good spot. (Marlon has it in this pic)
Rex & I at Sandy Hook
Jackie gave lots of people henna tatoos.
Narwal?!
Sweet tree tatoo.
Rex being goofy and me laughing at him.
The boys in the back of the van on the way to Sandy Hook. Pat looks enthused by the finger puppet he got out of a vending machine at the rest stop.

Great Swamp NRA and The Raptor Trust!

I've Had A Few Things On My Mind

I've had a few things on my mind concerning the first three weeks of our SCA program. There has been not many, but a few, minor grievances that I have encountered thus far. And I thought, that this blog would be the perfect place to unload these on you all. You know, let you guys know what I really think about a few things.

Honestly, I want to know, what in the world is up with "Hidden Driveways"? The "Hidden Driveway" myth is a perplexing one, if you ask me. You see the sign, and you look for the questionable driveway. Now here is the catch. I always find at least one driveway, and usually it seems to me to be plain obvious?! How in the world is that hidden? But then, let's not be hasty, what if it is possible you didn't see the driveway, because it was hidden in the first place? It seems ridiculous. Absolutely, and entirely. (Just this week my road had a "Hidden Driveway" sign put up. I always thought I knew every nook and cranny of this road, but now, am I to suppose it is possible there has been a stealth driveway tucked away this whole time?!)

I often find myself pondering this theory some people have about a supposed balance between good and evil. Sure, a balance is better than all evil and barely any good floating around the world. But, what would be so wrong with mostly good and little evil? I think J.R. Tolkein would have done well to explain that bit a little more thoroughly. Perhaps Frodo could explain that one to me in a simple enough manner for it to make any sense.... But, perhaps hobbits aren't real....

Today we got a lot of work done. Seriously. The Man Crew knocked out something around roughly 1,768 buckets of Phil (or maybe it was 114 buckets of fill, I don't remember). Meanwhile, team Juggernaut plowed through to the end of our trail with great force. A lot of other necessary improvements were also worked on.

All in all, rocks were removed, fill was added, trail was leveled, people got dirty. We had fun.

I wonder if people who recite that silly riddle, "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?" realize that woodchucks aren't actually a distinct animal. In fact, it is a nickname for groundhogs. And clearly groundhogs wouldn't be chucking wood. They are far to busy eating your garden.

Also, I don't understand Monster Energy Drinks. Well, I do, in the fact that they are a drink, full of caffeine and other "natural" chemicals that will keep you awake. I don't however, understand how certain crew members have come to believe that a drink will make them have super-human powers. That's ridiculous, really. Don't sell yourself short, the drink has nothing to do with how many buckets you beasted in a single day.

Until next time,

- Dan "Dandolf the Great" Klein

Tuesday, NOT Thursday

Well since i am so computer savvy it took me two days to figure out how to actually post a blog, so i am a few days late..
So, the day started like any other amazing Sca work day, everyone cramming into the vans and listening to music. but after that, the day was not as usual as most the others. During this day we had a special guest apperance, a outbreak of a deadly, and seemingly contagious disease(giggling), and EPIC work(which is kinda normal because were in the Sca, but it doesnt count).We First started our work day by hiking up the perilous hill, with very nice check steps which also took awhile for me since i was carring the water cooler with Chris. But During as we were collecting tools to use, Rachel Potter showed up and then Vlad took her on a tour of the trail. After that we went to work, and the first sightings of the deadly virus in the tread crew started popping up every now and then. But before it could set in Snack was called, and the Virus symptoms disappeared once snack started... And at that time Rachel and Vlad came back from their tour of the trail and joined for snack. During snack she told us about her experience of her time with a National crew that was based in Alaska. Her stories were very intresting, entailing run-ins with mooses, 40* days, the Envoirnment and the very, very far away Hospital. After story time with Rachel, we invited her to play a game of mafia, which she obliged to since she never really got to play up in Alaska with her crew. the game was short since Rachel had to leave in the middle of it, but the mafia didnt win so it turned out all right. After snack John, Terri and Dandolf the Great(Dan) formulated an idea of having a late lunch to accomadate a longer work time, that gave time for an EPIC amount of work to be done on the trail before the day was over. And so on the crews of people left, a fill crew and a tread crew. The tread crew had the misfortunate run in with the deadly virus, yet again!! but this time the Crew of Terri,Dandolf the Great,Brittany,Jacqui,Chris,Niffer(jenn), Rexifer the Merciless(Rex) and I(Me/Bryan/Voices), Ran into the Deadly virus, of THE CONTAGIOUS DEHYDRATION EMOTIONALISM GIGGLING STRAIN OF DOOM, which is extremely contagious and not much to do with Dehydration,(except in Rex`s case). Anyway, two of the faithful crew were stricken with the disease first, Rex and Jacqui. They started off working as usual, Working hard, Then Rex started singing songs in a very silly matter, and Jacqui started Giggling uncontrollably.Then next was Brittany, who succumed to the Giigling Inferno, which was Jacqui, and Rex almost infected Jenn, Chris and I. But we pulled through and overcame Rex`s own rendition`s of show tunes and songs. Then Terri and Dandolf the Great came and saved the day by calming down Jacqui and Brittany, and giving Rex some water. Then the Strain of CDEGSD,(teh all caps stuff up there^) was silenced for the day, and after such we did EPIC work and got really far. I dont know how much i just wrote but i think its alot... Quote of the Day:"You might have won this time dandolf!!,But we`ll cross Staffs later, and THEN we`ll see who wins!!!HA HA HA!!!!" by "Rexifer the Merciless" said when he was infected by the strain of CDEGSD, when he was told to drink his water from Dandolf the Great.
This ends Tuesday`s Post... (done on Thursday)

105 buckets of fill...the record has been broken.

so i just wrote this whole blog then accidentaly deleted it. ya so good day, mad fill buckets, mr. did and gymnastics. Found where rocks go to die, apparently that happens alot. Jon and rex cut lots fo branches. Nice to finally know where we are going. Narwhals rule.

time for monday!

Today was a pretty sweet day. We started off with pondering what we'd do with 20 million dollars (I may have agreed to finance vlad's man-bear-pig or some similar combination,) then hit the trail. Weather was great as it has been the last few weeks (knock on wood) and we got a lot of work done. I was heading up the trail blazers guild and we boldly went where no man has cut tread before. We hit a pretty rocky patch but we did get the great morale boost of showing a few down trees who's boss with a Pulaski.
Bill the park guy came by and flagged out the mystery section of the trail that had been looming in the distance, so we're ready to sail all the way to the connecting trail. Meanwhile on the lower section of the trail the rock crews nearly caught up to the front and the fill crew is doing a fantastic job of making the trail look pretty. Major props to you guys who fixed the section of death just before the drainage, it looks awesome.
We also discussed the rec trip and the likely hood of being attacked by mole people if we go spelunking. Sounds like we're set on DE water gap, which will be sweet.

Other highlights.
Rex apparently built 2 tee pees and this pleased him greatly

Dan: You're appearance is pleasing to me
Me: Sounds like a Vulcan pick up line.

captain crunch based mafia game that resulted in vlad never having ice cream again.

Van switch day? (yeah i don't really get it either)

Good job team, don;t forget your permission slips for exon-mobile.
Also don't forget to close van doors!
-Terri

Today was an awesome day at the Sandy Hook beach area. We were kindly greeted with a breakfast buffe' that was absolutely not gregs birthday party. Steak, eggs and music was an awesome way to start the day. On the way up everyone jammed out in our awesome mini vans. When we got there we played some dodge ball, and we did not pop the Hannah Montana ball. Team poison ivy...enough said. As we hiked our way through the forest of poison ivy, towards the empty barracks, some interesting dares arose, even though they were quickly dismissed. We hung out by the edge of the barracks, that was also covered in poison ivy. After cleaning up in some distinctly flooded bathrooms we hit the beach. Two hours of relaxation, swimming, and fun in the sun. Jackie gave everyone some awesome henna's, and we went on our way back to voorhees high school.

Pictures!

These are pictures from this week, and of the hybrid crew! =]

Day 6

Today was great! I think that we cooperated really well, so WOO! We rock! Vlad, Michelle, and Greg, working together as the Fill Crew, created a new hole for fill soil and helped the other crews by filling buckets with soil and setting this soil down to stabilize the tread. Dan, Rex, Chris, and I worked on the stone staircase, installing two rocks and completing it. After adding finishing touches using fill soil and smaller rocks, we proceeded to remove rocks on the trail and took out two large rocks. Jon, Rich, and Jenn added about eleven or twelve more stone steps to the trail. Later on, we all had a heated discussion on Pokémon, considering what levels we were at (The limit for the levels is 20, not 100) and how many Experience Points we could earn with each feat. Rich, whose level was very high, broke the pickaxe, splitting the wood up the handle using his special Deft Attack or Deft Strike or Deft Something. There’s a picture here too. Meanwhile, Terri, Brittany, and Brian were building tread at the higher parts of the trail, where Brian was unlucky to receive at least five bee love-stabs. He exacted revenge by killing his attackers, but later was still followed by other bees. We stopped for lunch one hour later than usual and Jon used his teacher-storyteller skills to narrate a Star Wars-based Mafia game, raving about the planets’ United Nations-type meetings, (each person was a planet) the evildoings of Death Star and Death Star II, and the good acts of Yoda-planet, the healer, and Luke Skywalker-planet, the detective. After lunch, we all hiked up the steep trail to see what the path would be like, but we had to turn back because the recurring thunder suggested rain. In the vans, the drizzle evolved into a stronger rain, proving Jon’s instinct to return correct. We stopped by Memorial Park for a quick Roses and Thorns session (or Guns n’ Roses, as Greg calls it) then went back to Voorhees High’s parking lot, where people said their goodbyes and see yas and left to relax after another great day of hard work and fun.

Start of Week 2

So today started out pretty darn awesome. I left my house at 6:50 am, picked up Arielle cause she's on the hybrid crew which started today, picked up Liz then we all went to Dunkin Donuts, YAY! We kinda got a late start this morning because of all the hybrid crew excitement. About fifteen minutes into the workday, Russ and Aly got stung by bees because they hit a hive with a McCloud (the spelling of that looks weird sort of like a cloud burger from McDonalds??). Russ got stung just once and Aly like 5 or 6 times. Luckily no one is allergic, so we were all able to continue working. Marlon called Tom Sheppard and he came to visit us and brought us chemicals to kill the bees. Russ, Aly and I attacked the bee hive and killed the Queen Bee and all of the smaller bees. It was epic!!! Later in the day, Tymon, Nick and I cleared new tread and scouted out a possible re-route to our trail that will (sadly) not work. Zach, Max, and Pat put in three awesome steps in one of the steepest parts of the trail. The day went by quickly, and I hope the rest of the week does too because I'm looking forward to Sandy Hook on Friday! YAY! =] Have a good week everyone.
<3 Rose

Day 5!

Today was an awesome work day. Dan, Jenn, Greg, Vlad, and I, aka, Queso Grande, put one enormous step in and almost our second. The group that worked farther up the trail did treading and the other group put in eleven smaller steps. Rich and Michelle started talking about Narwhals during stretching and came up with a Narwhal song that goes something like "Narwhals, Narwhals, Narwhals. something something something. Narwhals, Narwhals, Narwhals. They are rascally and the unicorns of the sea." I forget how it goes but it's pretty catchy. Rose from crew I says hey and that she is SO PUMPED FOR SANDY HOOK ON FRIDAY! There is no day 5 post because Rex forgot to post over the long weekend! He is being punished by either making a Narwhal dance and it will be video-taped and posted on here or swimming at the beach Friday with a cone on his head to represent a Narwhal. Our crew also played two games of Mafia and still got a lot of work done. That's all I guess.
-Brittany

Day 3!

Today was good, work-wise. The crew got a lot of new trail cut, which is awesome. It's great for team morale, which was on the low side today, if I'm totally honest. Our trail is in a difficult area because we have such a long/steep hike every morning. I just got back from grocery shopping and I bought a lot of necesseties like bug spray (Deet free), hand sani, toilet paper, IvyBlock, and Technu. Plus ingredients for GORP. (Good ole raisins and peanuts!!!) I love food shopping and I dragged Arielle, Serena, and Sasha with me so it was even more fun!! Tomorrow should be good because we are working in the morning then BBQ it up with the other crew for the afternoon. I am sensing that there will be an ultimate frisbee game going on. Must remember to bring sneakers and shorts....

Day 3

omg...what a day! We broke into three small groups and were able to accomplish some beautiful work on our trail. It is really looking fantastic, I am really proud of everyone in the crew!

Vlad, Michelle, Brittany, and I set five totally awesome check steps on the lower section of the trail. Aside from the run away boulder it was wonderful...

The rock bar crew pictured above set a 'dance floor' of a stone as the beginning to what I am sure will be some really cool stacked stairs. (I think the stone was longer than my body.)

Lastly, Terri, Greg, Rex(emotional from dehydration), Chris, and Jen continued to cut new trail and it looked really awesome. (I think that perhaps the bees wanted to join their crew as well.)

The best part of the day was that we did not have to call a tow truck!

Peace,

Jon