Alternative Spring Break 2025 Schedule

Date	Itinerary
Monday, February 24	Orientation and planning meeting 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. in Ackerman 112.
	Original Route Map (rerouted up I-5 through Portland on the way home due to snow in the Cascades)
Sunday, March 23	Pack cars and depart EOU by 9:00 a.m. Follow the Columbia River to the Oregon coast with stops at Celilo Falls and Bonneville Dam Pick up van and students joining us from the PISA conference in Portland Arrive Rockaway Beach, OR by 8:00 p.m.
Monday, March 24	WR 310/410 course reading, writing, discussion, and activities at Camp Magruder Visit beaches, Tillamook Creamery, and cultural sites on north Oregon coast
Tuesday, March 25	Drive down the coast to Newport for a guided tour of OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center Visit beaches and cultural sites en route to Tugman State Park Mentor-led writing activities at campground (six heated yurts reserved for the camping averse)
Wednesday, March 26	Continue south through Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor to the redwoods Small group activity at Stout Grove in Jedediah Smith State Park Dinner, discussion, and mentor-led activities in Crescent City, CA
Thursday, March 27	Visit Redwoods State and National Parks, It’s A Burl Gallery, and sites along the Smith River Resupply and drive north to Selma, OR for dinner, reading, and discussion at Whisper Canyon Ranch
Friday, March 28	Graduate school tour of University of Oregon, meeting with Dr. Scott Fitzpatrick, Professor of Anthropology, and tia north and Colin Johnston in the Division of Graduate Studies Original plan before it started snowing: Drive up McKenzie River to the Cascades and spend last night at Suttle Lake Actual plan due to snow: Drive to Lyle, WA. Closing night reading and discussion at the Lyle Hotel
Saturday, March 29	Sleep in. Try to eat the rest of the food. Drive back to La Grande along the Columbia, stopping at Stonehenge Memorial and cultural sites en route Arrive EOU early afternoon
Wednesday, April 2	WR 310/410 class meeting, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. in Ackerman 112
Wednesday, April 9	Final WR 310/410 class trip: meet bus outside Hoke at 5:00 p.m. to travel to Oregon Humanities’ “Consider This: The Lands We Live On with Chuck Sams” in Pendleton Return to La Grande by 10:00 p.m.
Friday, April 18	WR 310/410 journals and final writing projects due by 5:00 p.m.

Thank you to all of our sponsors, supporters, hosts, and guest speakers, without whom Alternative Spring Break 2025 would absolutely not have been possible:

EOU President Kelly Ryan, Provost Peter Geissinger, Dean Nate Lowe, and VP of Finance LeeAnn Case for supporting our vision and our mid-year budget request

Chris Huxoll at Legacy Ford La Grande for donating four vehicles at the very last minute after Enterprise canceled our vans

Bennie Moses, Pam Fredrick, Elilai Elobt-Kailang, and PISACON students for rerouting through Portland to give us their van and Elilai’s luggage. What a trip it had.

The Wildhorse Foundation and the EOU Vending Committee, whose very rapid response grants made an additional day of our trip and a graduate school tour of University of Oregon possible

All of the students in the Speel-Ya and Bridging Roots clubs who shared fundraising opportunities, solicited donations, and collected cans

OSU’s Marine and Coastal Opportunities Program, Hatfield Marine Science Center, and hosts Simone Burton, Cynthia Leonard, David Irvin, and MariAnna Hinojosa

Guest speakers Dr. Scott Fitzpatrick, tia north, Colin Johnston, and the University of Oregon Division of Graduate Studies

Khamp and Sam for joining our caravan, feeding us, navigating, hauling our extra luggage, and playing along

Sam McCumber and family for trying to feed us and welcome us to Grant County before snow foiled that plan

Our incredible hosts Peter, Leslie, and Troy at Camp Magruder, Cody at Suttle Lake Methodist Camp, Elizabeth and Brian at Whisper Canyon Ranch, Ellen at the Lyle Hotel, and Petra and all of the staff at Tugman State Park, SeaQuake Brewing, and the Crescent Beach Motel

Oregon Humanities and Community Connections of Northeast Oregon for funding our final field trip to Pendleton for “The Lands We Live on with Chuck Sams“

And Kelly Marriott, Kristina Wigginton, Carrie Pollard, Cassie Jeffries, Kayla Carman Standley, Dottie McInerney, Jason Hibbert, Karen Wilburn, Jordan Withers, and everyone else who finds themselves wading through all of the paperwork we have generated with this one small trip.

As Lisa King writes in “Meaning, Rhetoric, and Story,” “Meaning making happens together, I can’t say that enough.” We can’t say that enough. Thank you, all. Looking forward to Alternative Spring Break 2026!