GSL Cloudview 2025

  Dear Blog, Today we visited Jim’s Apple Orchard! To get there, we had to drive for a whole hour where we jammed out to “hype pop music” and we observed the other farms and fields on the way. At the orchard, Jim gave us a tour of the 300 acres of his cherry and apple trees. Throughout the tour, Jim explained multiple ideas and strategies about nurturing the orchard. We learned that by using wires and poles, two trees can be formatted and grown into a V-Shape. This helps the trees photosynthesize and simplifies the harvesting process. However, the most exciting part was picking all the apples left after their fall harvest! They were absolutely delicious and scrumptious and beautiful and gorgeous! We took quite a few back to snack on with nutella and peanut butter. After our enlightening experience at the orchard, we got the opportunity to indulge in vitamin D and play! We were able to dive into a mesmerizing moment of mini golf together. The managers of the campsite were gracious a...

We had a great day today at Cloudview Farm and Soap Lake Food Bank! When we first arrived at the farm, we met and played games with the local preschoolers, singing a good morning song. We got the chance to see Jim create his own green manure (fertilizer for future harvests) out of the buckwheat, which we learned about yesterday, in order to make space for garlic, and it was interesting to learn more about the purpose of the buckwheat in helping grow other plants. Overall, our structure was pretty free, but soon after the preschoolers came, we all went to pick the squash and melons. The little kids were very helpful, and it was nice to see them having fun throwing the food into the back of a pickup truck to collect them.  Picking the squashes and pumpkins with the Lil' Sprouts (the preschoolers) was something really nice to do, even though some of the kids weren't tall enough to reach into the truck! But after they cleared out for reading time, half of our group went to do more ...

       Today we went to Cloudview Farm proper and learned all about the farm and the plants that grow there. Jim, the farmer, showed us around the farm. We learned about different cover crops – which are used to bring out nutrients in the soil – and farming techniques.      They also let us say hi to all the animals, including goats and a little bunny named Bun Bun. (Definitely a highlight of the day!)We helped clean up the garbage from their Fall Fest – picking up signs and pumpkins. After lunch, we played on the swings and the little tiny slide.      After Cloudview, we went to Dry Falls State Park, visiting the visitor center, and learning about the largest waterfall in the history of the planet. We then headed to the trailhead and took in the sights of Dry Falls State Park. A 2.7 mile hike was the best way to end a spectacular day! 

The Cloudview Farm bus ride was one of the shortest of all the GSL trips – about a three hour drive. We listened to our playlist and it was a pretty good experience. We stopped near Ellensburg at a rest stop, and continued on our trip. When we arrived we were surprised to see green trees and green grass, and a gigantic lake (knowing that we were in the high desert). The bathrooms were above our expectations, they had heating and had large showers. The clubhouse is very spacious and there is more than enough room for the fourteen of us. Once we had settled into our tipis, we played outside on the basketball court in our free time. We played football, pickleball, basketball, volleyball, and football. The tipis are larger than we thought they would be, they have enough room for a large bed and several cots.  The dinner crew (Niki, Jimmy, Leyton, and Eleanor) made a very appetizing dinner for us consisting of tortillas, chicken, beans, cheese, and chips. We had a great dinner together ...