Final Entry

Spring 1806

Dear Mr. Jefferson,

The journey was the Corps at its best. The journey was America at its best. The Corps is and will remain to be the greatest explorers America and possibly the world will ever know. We couldn't have made it without Camburgers lusciousness, Curtis' hunting skills, Chris and Heathers entertainment, Christina's positive attitude, Harrison's cooking, Michael's knowledge of plants and animals, Morgans motivating music, Sam's poetry, Sarah's fishing skills, Sophie's fashion and Captain Johns leadership. Every body in the group always agreed and got along fine. I thought of all the obstacles we went through. What we had to do to work around them. Everybody in the Corps had a special talent that helped us along the way.

Signed,

Joe Murillo

P.S. For my weekly labors, discoveries... for all my endeavors have brought to this journey, I believe I should be paid the grade of a B+.

Animal Discovery

 June 6, 1806

Today we discovered another flying animal.  We named it the Western Tanager.  This animal is unmistakable.  This animal has the brightest colors on any animal we have ever seen.  The Western Tanager has a brilliant red head, bright yellow body, with black back, wings, and tail.  The body is about 17 inches long.

Animal Discovery

July, 11 1805

We have not found an animal that is able to fly for a long time. Today we discovered a very fascinating eagle. We called it the Grey Eagle (it is now called the Golden Eagle). The Grey Eagle is much larger than any bird I have even seen. We were all stunned when we laid eyes on it. The Golden Eagle we killed was about 40 in tall. It's wingspan was about 90 inches long! The weight of this over sized bird was about 15 pounds. The plumage colours range from blackish-brown to dark brown with a golden-buff crown and nape (hence the name, Golden Eagle). The upper wings are lighter that the rest of the body.

Animal Discovery

December 2, 1805

Today we discovered an animal that was even bigger than the Grisely Bear. This animal is called the Elk. The Elk has very interesting features. The Elk has antlers just like a deer, but are much bigger. The antlers can be up to 4 feet long, making the whole Elk up to 9 feet tall! I spotted two Elks ramming their horns into each other, I guess that it means they are fighting or attracting a female. The Elks body is very large. Its fur can be a light brown, or a dark brown. The Elks shoulders, neck and their faces are a very dark brown color. The Elks face is dark brown. Its snout is about one foot long and its ear stick out and are also dark brown. THe Elks legs are somewhat thin and are dark brown.

Animal Discovery

June 14, 1805
Today we saw a very interesting animal. We named it the Wolverine. It has long, brown or black fur that is very thick. A long, brownish stripe across the back is sometimes visible. Wolverines have large claws and pads on their feet to help them move in deep snow. They are about 2-3 feet long.

Animal Discovery

May 16, 1805

Today we discovered another animal, we called it the Mountain Lion. The Mountain Lion is a very large cat. Its fur is mostly light brown or reddish- brown with black markings on its face. Mountain Lions have bright yellow eyes. The Mountain Lion that we killed probably weighed about 150 pounds. They also have razor sharp teeth that can rip apart any animal. The Mountain Lion that we killed was about 8 feet long (including the tail).

Animal Discovery

April 29, 1805

The biggest and strongest animal we have discovered on the trail was no doubt the Grisely Beare (Grizzly Bear). We had to shoot a Grisely Beare more than 10 times to kill it. It's fur can be various shades from tan to dark brown. We called it the Grisely Beare because of the white tips on their fur. It's claws can grow up to 4 inches! Their height can be from 4-8 feet tall! We mostly saw them on mountains and near the river. I guess that the weight of the one that we killed was about 500 pounds. These animals have razor sharp teeth and are carnivorous. These animals are also very fast at swimming.

Animal Discovery

July 3, 1805

The most interesting animal that we have discovered was the Beever (Beaver). This animal would create dams in stream and rivers and making their lodge homes. I am pretty sure that the Beever's have a warning signal because I saw one slap its tail against the water and then all the other Beevers fled. The Beever must have seen something that scared it. Also, the Beever's teeth are as strong as an axe. We kept seeing Beevers chew through trees and plants. The Beever's fur is all brown and very soft. They have very small, but powerful teeth. They also have a long and scaly tail that they use for swimming.

Animal Discovery

August 8, 1804

Today we discovered a new animal, the American White Pelican. We saw these birds floating on the river in a pack of 5. We also saw these birds flying over head in a huge flock. One of my men got pooped on. The beak on this bird is an orangey yellow colour and about 1 foot long. The body is very plump and is all white. I am not so sure how long the wingspan is because they were flying so far over head. On the border of their wings is black. The eyes and below the beak are both orange. They also have orange webbed feet.

Animal Discovery

November 9, 1804

Today we discovered an animal with strange features. The body is about 10-18 inches long including their 6 inch tails. Their legs and arms are about 1-2 inches short. They are gingerish-brown in color, with yellowish-white belly fur. The animals live in burrows in the ground always near to each other. They are very good at climbing trees, we even saw one swimming in the river. We decided to name this animal the Long-tailed Weasel.

Animal Dicovery

February 21, 1806

Today we spotted a very unusual animal that looked very fascinating. We called it the Silver Fox. We have only seen these animals twice so I'm not sure if my information is correct. The body of this animal was about 2-3 1/2 feet including the 15 inch tail. The Silver Fox has a round head with a snout that is about 3 inches. The fur of the Silver Fox is black and white on the body. The legs, tail, ears and snout are all black. The tail is all black except for the tip which is white. The teeth are small, but very sharp. The Silver Fox is a meat eater because we saw one eating a Cotton-tail Rabbit. We do not know what kind of habitat this rare animal lives in because we only saw one running around the water, and the other in a large field.

Animal Discovery

February 28, 1806

Today we found this very unusual animal that we named the Pole-cat (Stripped Skunk). Today we have seen about three and its only midday. These animals are black with two white stripes going down from their head to the end of their tail. Their whole body (including the tail) is about 20-28 inches long. The Pole-cats body is about seven inches wide. We found some of these animals under boulders, in burrows in the ground and under a rock pile. The Pole-cat is an Omnivore because we saw a few eating mice and some eating plants. We mostly saw these animals out at dawn and dusk, but sometimes we saw some during the day. One of my men tried to capture one but it sprayed him with a very unpleasant smelling odor from its anus. I believe that if this animal feels threatened by another animal, it sprays its odor at the animal it feels threatened by. The smell lasted for about two weeks and then finally went away. Pole-cats can spray the odor up to 10-25 feet! I would consider these animals more dangerous than prairie wolfs because of the smell they give off.

Animal Discovery

One of my favorite animals that we discovered is the prairie wolf (coyote). We first spotted these animals on September of 1804 in South Dakota, and that wasn't the only time. Almost every week we saw about two or three. Every once in a while we even saw a whole pack of them. We did not know the were carnivores until we noticed a pack prairie wolfs snacking on a deer. The color of the coyotes pelt varies from grayish brown to yellowish gray on the upper parts, and the throat and belly have a white color. The forelegs, sides of head, snout and feet are a reddish brown color. They have ears that stick up about four inches and long fluffy tails the same color as their body. These animals may look friendly, but hey are very aggressive when they are in a pack. They also have razor sharp teeth that can tear anything into bits.

Week One

Good-Bye Santa Barbara, Hello America

Date: Summer 2002

Location: Somewhere on East Coast

This first week has been loads of fun. I cant read the future, but I can tell that this will be the greatest experience in my life. The highlight of the week is when we ate at Ben's Chilly Bowl. I'm gonna be honest at first when the waitress gave me my bowl of chilly it looked like poop in a bowl. I thought I was going to throw up. I kept inching the spoon to my mouth, the first bite I took tasted like heaven in a bowl. It was GREAT! I ate the whole thing and licked the bowl clean. That days ride wasn't too hard. I think we rode about 15 miles. The rest of the week was a breeze. I cant wait for what in stock for us next. Bring It On America...

Getting To Know My Mess

Cam: Cam is one of the most important people in the group. He is a great navigator. So when ever we get lost, we will all turn to him. Another one of Cam's skills that will help us on our journey is his ability to cook. Cam wis also the entertainer in our mess. Cam also really wants to find the pacific ocean. If we fell like all hope is lost Cam will navigate us, cook for us and make us laugh.

Chris: Along with Cam, Chris also is the entertainer in our group. His mad dancing skills will keep us happy and entertained. Maybe him and Cam should start an entertainment group. Since Chris is very brave, he will be the one to lead our group into caves or into the fog. Chris also seems very smart so he can help us think of strategies. Chris hopes to find gold on the voyage.

Christina: Christina is the person that will help do anything. She also has a positive attitude so she can keep us from getting disappointed. She is also energetic, has great concentration, very fun, super neat, and very helpful. Christina also really wants to know how it feels to be away from home so long.

Curtis: Curtis is the hunter in our group. He can also teach all of us how to hunt. He will be able to hunt and Cam can cook it. Along with Chris and Cam, he is able to entertain us. He is a very talented guitarist so we will always be entertained. He doesn't want to collect anything but he hopes to have fun and explore.

Harrison: Harrison, along with Cam, is the chef in our group. I am positive that everyday Harrison will cook us a gourmet meal that is like nothing we have ever eaten and will fill up our tummies. Harrison is also the taste tester. If we come across an unknown food Harrison can tell if it is good or not. Harrison is not only a chef but a magnificent artist. He wants to draw everything that he thinks is interesting.

Heather: Heather is one of the other entertainers in the group. She is skilled at dancing, singing and act. Heather is a great friend and won't leave any one behind no matter what. Heather is not much of a climber, but a very strong swimmer. Heather is very social and good with kids.

Michael: Michael is a great companion because he will encourage you and not leave you behind. Like Heather, he is very social which is a very good thing. Also like Chris, Michael is very brave no matter what situation we are in. The best thing about Michael is that he is a tireless worker. When we are climbing big mountains or rowing across river, Michael will encourage you and will never stop working. Michael wants to discover what kinds of clothes people wear around the USA.

Morgan: Morgan is a great musician and will entertain us with her violin whenever we need it. Morgan is also great with animals so she can get us milk from cows or eggs from chickens. Morgan also is a great at drawing scenery. She is a plant expert. She can tell if a plant is bad or good and she can tell if it is edible. She is great with kids and wants to learn new languages.

Sam: Sam is in love with music and is a great guitarist. He also loves to keep a journal around to keep track of where we have been. Sam is also the inventor. He can create things to help us on our journey. He is also the plan maker (like Chris). He can help get us out of sticky situations. Sam hopes to find a lost tribe or rare never been seen instruments kept by indian tribes.

Sarah: Has many great talents. She is an excellent chef that can whip up some yummy meals. She is a leaning guitarist. She is a great companion that can help you when ever you need it. She is an experienced sailer that can help sail out ships across rivers. She is a great fisher that can catch some fish and grill them up. She is a great baby sitter and she has lots more talents that can't be written on one piece of paper.

Sophie: Sophie is a great fisher that can catch some big delicious fish. She is a great photographer that can capture every single breathtaking scene. Sophie is also the fashion freak with lots of swagger that can help us what to wear on rainy days or hot days. Sophie hopes to collect stickers from every stop so she can add the to her sticker collection.

Introduction

Dear Captain John,

One of my talents that can help us on our long journey is that I am a great at playing with young children. I am very good at playing because I have 5 kids in my family (3 that are younger than me) so I have lots of experience.

I am also a very good motivator. I think motivation will help us on our journey because it can help other people not to give up. I can also help carry other people’s belongings so the journey is a lot easier.

Another important thing that I am good at that can help us on our journey is my speed. My skill to be fast can help us because I can run ahead and then come back and tell the group what’s up ahead. This can help us so we don’t run into anything bad or to tell them if there’s any source of food or water.

An additional thing that I am good at is setting up camp. I am good at setting up camp because I always used to camping and I know how to set up tents really fast. This can help us because we will have more time to rest and eat.

I am hoping to collect along the way is a post card from every state that we travel through. I want to collect post cards so I have proof that I traveled across America. And I also think it will be cool to collect post cards also because I would like to have a whole bunch of post cards hanging inside my room. I also want to find new unseen animals.