Nine Years of Exploring ~ ExGld
Greetings Explorers-
Nine years ago today, the Bay Area troupe of the Explorers Guild embarked on their first expedition. We didn't know what we were going to see or how the day was going to fully play out, but many of the same hallmarks that we carry with us today were present since that first trip: we crossed a line in the sand, documented our experiences with stellar cartography, and practiced storytelling. Field Guides would be introduced at our Pinnacles National Park expedition (which coincided with our one year anniversary), and merit badges would come about a year after that.
We've travelled far and wide, befriended a dragon, created remote expeditions during lockdown, rescued the Mars Opportunity Rover, raised a toast to each New Year, become an official organization, and built a community of friends and fellow explorers.
I don't know what our years ahead look like, but I hope our paths continue to cross with exciting adventures and meaningful tales.
March 29th also coincides with the ideal time of year to find, document, and potentially even capture the elusive porcalope (an animal which is a cross between a jackalope and a porcupine). Whenever we've had events at the end of March, we made it a point to try and find one for ourselves. In 2017, during our first tidepooling event, Frequency even brought a pair of porcalope grasping gloves. These thick rubbery gloves also had various attachments on the gloves to make sure the one trying to grasp the porcalope doesn't get stung by their quills. We were unsuccessful that day and as a guild we are still on the hunt to see one in person.
About a month ago though, I found myself in Park City, Utah. While walking along the street I spotted a curious sign indicating that one of the bars was home to the elkupine. As I walked in, I immediately made eye contact with Al, an elkupine and the official mascot for The Cabin. I talked to the local historian/bartender about how they were successful in bringing Al to their establishment, but it seemed that Al had been there so long, no one knew the secret anymore.
Now an elkupine and porcalope aren't the same thing, but they are certainly related. So perhaps for our next late March adventure (let's say March 2025) we bring with us some drinks to toast in the field and create a similar condition to a bar and see if that brings out the porcalope. Worst case scenario is we get to share in a drink and some laughs, but if we are lucky perhaps we'll finally see a porcalope with our own eyes.
Lastly, there's a lovely write-up on our efforts as a guild to "explore everything" that went live today. Big thanks to Katy Atchison who wrote this and joined us for our stuffed animal taxidermy workshop. If you have a moment, give it a read.
Semper Explorandum Explorers,
Dr. Professor