Evan Harr
This last expedition we went canoeing in the Everglades. On the way there we got to stop by Dustin’s mom’s coffee shop and get some free hot chocolate and coffee! We first stayed at a couple state parks, and just chilled out there. When we finally put our canoes in the water, we paddled a lot and had many fun experiences. It was a great experience overall.
I enjoyed fishing, and I caught 9 fish! Some of these fish included Spanish Mackerel, Ladyfish, and Silver Trout. We usually ate them for dinner when we caught them. It was probably my favorite thing to do this expedition, and I was really stoked when I caught my first fish. My personal pole snapped after the first time that I used it. Luckily, my parents are going to send me a new one that is much better. There was a lot of wildlife on this expedition. It included raccoons, bald eagles, vultures, more birds, and fish. We also saw sea turtles, crocodiles, dolphins, and sharks. More animals included rabbits, squirrels, and a manatee. My favorite animal of all would have to be the sharks that we saw. They were really cool and we think they were bonnet sharks.
In all, there were three storms on this expedition. The first one was the worst one and that is when I caught the Spanish Mackerel. The rain hurt when it hit you, and the waves were pretty big so we got to ride them on the way to our island. I was with Billy that day in the boat, and we had a lot of fun together. At one point during the storm, we couldn’t see the two canoes ahead of us. The other two storms were pretty mild compared to the first one, and some people freaked out, but I toughed it out.
After the first two nights, we never stayed at the right islands that we were permitted to. At the beginning of the week, we got a permit to stay at certain islands, and most of the nights, we ended up at the wrong islands. Some of my stuff got wet because apparently the dry bags that we used weren’t good enough. Next time, I won’t pack as much stuff in the dry bags so I can roll it up tighter.
I learned how to steer in the back of the canoe for the first time. Both of the days that I was in the back, the canoe would either keep turning right or left. This got frustrating and often slowed down my canoe because I had to keep using my paddle as a rudder.
At most islands we went to, they were like horseshoe graveyards, because they had so many dead horseshoe crabs on them. On one of the islands, we found a live one. At another island, we actually found a gravesite for a person where there were a couple American flags. Over the expedition, I got to sleep in Evan Small’s hammock a few times. It was amazing, and my parents are going to send me my own ENO hammock. I can’t wait, because they are also going to send me a pair of 5 points shoes. They are shoes that have five different toes separated and can work as any type of shoe, like running and water shoes. Evan Anderson let me borrow a pair of them, and I like them a lot.
Another thing that we did over the expedition was Evan Anderson made his own island, and chose jobs for all of us to do on it. I am the second in command because my name is also Evan, and that alone gives me 4,000 shillings. Most other people get less than 900 shillings. I am also the fisherman and the flax farmer, which are pretty important jobs. A shilling alone is worth 10 American dollars.
Overall, it was a great expedition, even though I couldn’t wait to pull our canoes out of the water. My favorite part was fishing, and sleeping in Evan’s hammock. I had a great time with everyone!
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