From our July 27, 2000, edition.

Local Girl Scouts make trip to Canada

On July 8, thirteen area girl scouts with five leaders left on a trip to Washington and Canada. 

The girl scouts were Lacie Fincher of Wellington; Jessica Noland, Whitney Rodgers, Caitlin Smith, Ashley Stansbury, and Erika Thompson, all of Amarillo; and Laura Dziedzic, Meghan Gribble, Valerie Taylor, Lydia Hartman, Melissa McAnear, Kelsey McQuien, and Treva Rowland, all of Clarendon.  The girls along with Debbie Oliver, Julie Hartman, Medina Gribble,  Becky McAnear, and Linda Rowland have been planning this trip for over a year and a half. 

Their first stop was in Seattle, Washington, for two days where they explored the underground city in Pioneer Square, the Pike’s Market, and the Space Needle.  From Seattle they headed for Vancouver, stopping on the way to wander through the Minter Gardens.  Once they reached Vancouver, they visited Gastown and rode the sky train.  They also crossed the Capilano Bridge, which more of the leaders were afraid of crossing than the girls.  From Vancouver the girls went to Victoria.  The highlight of the entire trip was the Empress Tea Room in Victoria.  They experienced the true form of an afternoon English tea. 

The following day they visited the Craigdarroch Castle and went whale watching.  This was the first for all of the girls and a very exciting experience, especially when one of the whales came very close to the Zodiac they were in. 

On Friday, they rode a ferry back to the states and drove down to the Hoh Rainforest, the only rainforest in the United States.  The last day before flying back, they visited Mt. St. Helen, which exploded twenty years ago.

Together, they learned about our past, had fun, and developed a friendship that will last for many years.