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Expedition 2005: The Great Plains |
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The objective of the 2005 Great Plains Expedition was to visit all the Trunk of Discovery locations in the Great Plains of the United States: Council Bluffs, IA at the Western Trails Heritage Museum; Milesvilles Elementary School in Milesville, SD; Twin Buttes Elementary School near Kildeer, SD; Edwin Loe Elementary School at New Town, ND and Wolf Point and Glasgow Elementary Schools at Ft. Peck, MT. The focus this time was to have more time to spend with the children in all of these locations, and to focus more on educational lectures, and answering questions, so that the interest level would continue and perhaps escalate.
Overall, the 2005 Great Plains Expedition was a great success, despite the delays due to weather conditions. The expedition took place over the course of approximately 10 days, which still was quite an
ambitious schedule.
Day 1 Sept. 17, Deming, NM |
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There were four members of the original 2004 Expedition present in the 2005 trip. Mike Harding, the Expedition Leader, headed up and planned the 2005 Expedition, and three pilots from the 2004 trip
also participated, Jill Baker, Kari Meadows, and Greg Pellar. Mike was also able to find three new volunteers, who offered their time and expertise to the Expedition. Amy Mossett met the Flight of Discovery
in New Town, ND, during the 2004 Expedition. She joined the 2005 trip in Weydahl, and travelled with the Flight of Discovery over the course of several days, giving talks at several of the schools along the way. Another
new member, Kim Atkins, piloted one of the planes on the 2005 Expedition, and offered herself as a role model for the children who were interested in perhaps one day becoming a pilot and flying. The Flight of
Discovery also had the honor of welcoming another new member, Tony Fowler, who is with the U.S. Dept. of Education, and who flew in from Washington, DC, specifically to join the trip and participate with the
meetings with the children and parents.