Treasures of west coast trail

Published on isbi School News dated Tuesday 1st of October 2013

A landmark expedition has taken adventurous geography students at Wisbech Grammar School to the west coast of the United States of America.

The epic road trip for 26 pupils and four staff went from Salt Lake City to San Francisco via the National Parks of Western USA and the unexpected treasure of Bryce Canyon was quickly followed by the Narrow Gorges of Zion National Park and the broad vistas of the Grand Canyon.

An exhilarating raft trip down the Colorado allowed the students to enjoy the Grand Canyon from a different perspective and to experience a surprisingly freezing dip in the river.

Las Vegas sparkled over the next few days as the base to explore the engineering marvel of the Hoover Dam and the parched moonscape and sand dunes of Death Valley, where the thermometer topped 47 degrees Centigrade.

The majestic peak of Half Dome signified the party's arrival at Yosemite National Park, with hiking trails taking the young people to viewpoints for the many waterfalls, sequoia groves and the dominating granite monolith of El Capitan.
After clocking up 2634 miles the students rolled into San Francisco, where at journey's end they viewed Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge before some well earned retail therapy and a farewell meal at Hard Rock Cafe on Pier 39.

Group leader and head of geography Russell Killick said: 'It was a pleasure to share the experience of visiting these amazing places with so many motivated and enthusiastic pupils. Hopefully the trip will have inspired those who went to plan their own future adventures whilst also giving memories to last a lifetime.'