I didn't really explain what Expedition America was...it is a class at Highland High School which hikes for a few days and then goes to historical sites...at Chesterton High School, it is called Trail Bound, and I went twice when I was in high school. One year we did Civil War sites and the next, the Revolutionary War.
When I went with Highland as a chaperon, we did some hiking in the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina on the Tennessee border, followed by some incredible Civil Rights tours. Birmingham to a wonderful Civil Rights Museum and to Kelly Ingram Park and the 16th Baptist Church where a bomb killed four little girls. We went to Selma, the scene of Bloody Sunday on Edmund Pettus Bridge. Selma was also the starting point of the march to Montgomery. On the drive over to Montgomery from Selma, we stopped at a National Historical Site, in Lowden County, where Tent Cities were established to house blacks who were evicted from their towns so they couldn't vote. In Montgomery, we saw the Civil Rights Memorial and signed the wall of tolerance. We visited the steps of the capital where MLK Jr. gave a very famous speech to the marches. Also, in Montgomery, we went to the Rosa Parks museum which is actually on the block where she got on the bus that started the boycotts. We continued to Memphis, Sun Studios and Stax Studios, the music that came out of Memphis is unreal!
There were days we played basketball and frisbee in intense heat, but it was better than just sitting around. We really had a blast. Rob and Bob, the other teachers, are great great guys. I thought we worked well together, maybe they got annoyed with me at times, but for the most part, I think we made a great time. I hope I can go again next year! (Or start my own at Portage!!)
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