About Us
Glad your dropped by to learn more about your science teacher. You're probably wondering, "Why a beaver?", or "Why is it parachuting?" Weird!... It was the name of my 14 month sabbatical and originally came from a documentary that captivated me. Did you now that beavers were dropped out of air planes in sets to repopulate unreachable or primitive areas in the late 1940's.
You can watch the documentary here!
I adore the outdoors and all that it provides. Long distance hiking allows me to, learn, and grow independently from my current surroundings. Each different trail adds to my knowledge of science,my self-reliance, and reinforces that I am connected to all other humans and that I can personally impact the environment for good or ill and that that impact can ripple out to effect so many others. These skills have helped me to grow into a better educator. I can't wait to collaborate with you all this year!
Christine was born in Phoenixville PA in 1978 and grew up in an idealistic semi-rural setting. In this landscape she learned values and lessons that have held her in good stead as she grew up to become a secondary Science Teacher, 10 miles from her childhood home. From unsupervised play in this rural upbringing, she gained self-reliance, teamwork and the ability to evaluate honestly her own strengths and weaknesses.
At 18, she started her secondary education at the University of Pittsburgh. Christine loved the freedom that college afforded her. She spent her free time working as a door girl at the most diverse bar in Oakland, and traveled domestically/abroad as much as money would allow. Travel gave her a global perspective to domestic issues and allowed her to excel in her Political Science degree.
After college, no one cared that she had a liberal arts degree and she happily worked as a railroad contractor for Union Switch and Signal. She helped to make trains from New Jersey talk to trains from New York. This job pushed her into acknowledging her lifelong love of science and math.
In 2003 she entered a masters program at Chatham University and earned an MAT degree in Social Studies education, graduating in the top 5% of her class. Later she realized that her real calling was to teach science to students who do not yet realize that they could be great at this challenging subject. Why has she become so successful at teaching a subject that she did not study in college? One of her colleagues said it best: “Since you taught yourself science so recently, you must remember how hard it is to memorize details that seem irrelevant until you can see the big picture, don't you? ”
Since then, teaching, traveling and long distance hiking have dominated her life. She achieved an Ed.D from Immaculata University in 2014, has visited 53 countries on four continents, and finished her hike of Appalachian Trail in 2018. This summer she went on the Continental Divide Trail and is currently hiked from Mexico to Colorado.
The Lodge
Phoenix 19 ft. Camper
The Beaver Lodge, as it is affectionately known, started its life as a Dodge Ram 3500 van, which was converted into a camper van. While the van has many creature comforts from the factory, such as air conditioning, heat, refrigerator, and a microwave, its main use will be as a place for R&R between back-country excursions.
The Beaver Lodge has been outfitted with a 300W solar array and battery bank to allow off-the-grid living. LED's have been outfitted to reduce power consumption, as well as awnings to provide additional outdoor living space. There is also a 40-gallon water capacity, allowing for total compact living.
The many small modifications have been done to help increase the minuscule amount of storage while prolonging the expected amount of time outside of civilization.
The Lodge has now traveled around the earth 2 times! Over 50,000 miles logged in just 2 years.
Mike is an avid outdoorsman, respecting the ecosystems he finds himself in, while also sometimes pushing the edge of adrenaline. He has experience in long-distance hiking, orienteering, fishing, hunting, and camping. He enjoys other outdoor activities, such as rock climbing, kayaking, snorkeling, snowmobiling, and snowshoeing. No matter the season or location, there is a hobby that leads to the great outdoors. One of his favorite quotes to follow is "The mountains are calling and I must go" - John Muir. There is so much to learn and experience from the wilderness that can be integrated into the fast-paced society the world is currently in.
Mike began his career in the outdoors working as a landscape contractor, focusing on integrating native flora and attracting native fauna into the many designs and implementations he was a part of. The business grew over the following few years, allowing Mike to follow other career interests. This led to the technology sector, which has currently placed him as a Developer/Analyst.
Mike believes that combining technology and environmental science isn't as difficult as many perceive it to be. The experiences during the trip will provide many events and elements to learn from, allowing for development in long term planning, situation awareness, and handling unexpected situations and diverse cultures. While Mike's plans for after the trip are relatively unknown and will unfold at a later date, everything that this trip will provide will make him a stronger person, and a more self-reliant worker, wherever life leads.
Follow the Lodge! While this lodge does not sit in one place, all the locations it visits can be found in one place. We will be editing the trip as we go, and will attempt to keep it in the order that we visit.
If you have a suggestion, drop us a line! We would love to hear your input to help create the best road trip!