S.H.S. Travel club had their first field trip of the year, which was overseen by club advisors Heather Johnson and Cami Hartman. They visited the John Deere Historic Site in Grand Detour and Lowden State Park in Oregon all in one day. The advisors took 14 students on this trip and are planning their next trip for Dec. 2.

  Freshman Caylee Lyons said she really enjoyed “touring John Deere old house where we got to see an old doll.” This doll was found in the walls when the house was being remodeled. The doll is believed to be John Deere’s daughter’s and his son put it in the wall to mess with the daughter. 

  Lyons also commented on things they ate, saying she liked tasting new foods at the local bakery they went to. 

  Additionally, junior David Oelrichs loved the blacksmith, saying he found it “was very interesting to watch, as well as talk to.” 

  Oelrichs had a blast with the interactiveness of the trip; it was his favorite part. Whereas senior Alejandra Calderon’s favorite part of the trip was “going to see the Blackhawk statue.”

  A fan favorite amongst the group was hiking the trails. Oelrichs finds it a good way to socialize with others; however, Calderon thought the atmosphere was perfectly enjoyable since it had just rained earlier that morning. 

  There were a few new faces amongst the travel club with it being Lyons and Calderon’s first trip. Oelrichs, however, has gone on many trips; he started going on these field trips as a freshman. 

  Johnson decided to take a trip to this location because she “wanted to be ‘tourists in our own backyard’ to begin, giving students an opportunity to experience a little travel close to home, while also learning and exploring some neat destinations in the Sauk Valley.” She made this decision with the help of Hartman. 

  Johnson and Hartman have decided on the travel club’s next field trip; they are going to Davenport to do an escape room and see the Bix Beiderbecke Museum. 

  Johnson says she chose this location “based on feedback from students who showed an interest in Travel Club. They’ve hinted that they wanted to do an escape room, so we decided to see what all we could squeeze into a day with an escape room, while giving students a chance to have fun AND learn.” They take in student recommendations to ensure students are having their best time and learn at the same time. 

 Travel club has two trips that they will take next semester and they are always willing to have new people join.