Winter Break Trips

 

New trip for Winter Break 2019!

Explore the Ecology of Florida Waters

Thursday, January 10th - Saturday, January 19th, 2019 (arrive in Orlando the afternoon or early evening of Thursday, January 10, 2019)

This course explores the central Florida coast, the Everglades, and the subtropical rivers of central Florida.

You’ll learn:

  • Outdoors Skills (stand up paddle boarding, canoeing, & snorkeling)
  • Marine & Freshwater Ecology

Taught By:

  • Dr. Ken Clifton, Lewis & Clark Professor and Chair of Biology
  • College Outdoors Staff & Student Leaders

Trip Fee:

  • $595  (covers all food, ground transportation, lodging, entry fees, and equipment)

TRIP LOGISTICS:

The trip fee does not include airfare. However, if you live in the Midwest or the East, working Orlando into your flights home over Winter Break, then back to Portland, adds, on average, (when we checked last) about $60-$100 to the total of all your flights over winter break, compared to just flying home in December and straight back to campus in January.  In a number of cases, the total flight cost was actually less for a flight from your home town to Orlando, and from there back to the LC campus in Portland, than the one way cost of flying back to PDX from an east coast city.

If you are heading home for Winter Break, fly home on the first leg of your flight from Portland airport at the end of Fall Semester finals.

To arrive in Florida for the start of this course, take an inexpensive Allegiant, Jet Blue, Spirit, or other flight from your hometown to the Orlando area (MCO or SFB airports) on Thursday late morning, afternoon or early evening, January 10, 2019;  getting to Orlando International (MCO)  or Sanford/Orlando (SFB)  no later than 7:30 PM on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019.  (We will still pick you up if your flight is delayed beyond 7:30 PM, of course.)

We will run free airport pick ups at both MCO and SFB airports on Thursday, January 10, between 1 PM and 7:30 PM (and later if flights are delayed). 

SFB (Sanford/Orlando International Airport) is north of Orlando and is 23 miles east of our base camp for the first half of this course. Allegiant is the main domestic airline flying into SFB.  MCO (Orlando International Airport) is 39 miles southeast of our base camp, on the south side of downtown Orlando.

Return to PDX (Portland) on Saturday, January 19, 2019 (make your flight reservation for leaving MCO no earlier than 3:30 PM on Jan. 19) from Orlando International Airport (MCO) only. The most convenient flight is Alaska Air flight 727, leaving Jan. 19 at 4 PM, which is the only non stop to Portland.  Lowest prices on flights are found usually Tuesday thru Thursday, when airlines have sales.  Use an Incognito window to look at prices or else airlines can track you and may raise the price if they see you are looking at a date several times.

If you do not take the Alaska non stop above, we recommend routing your return flight from Orlando to Portland through southern cities, like Phoenix, Dallas, or Houston, Los Angeles or San Francisco (less chance of delays due to snowstorms).  January 19th is the Saturday of Martin Luther King holiday weekend, and flights that afternoon are especially inexpensive.

We will have shuttles back to campus from the Portland airport until 11:00 pm on Saturday night, Jan 19th, 2019.  You will be able to move into your dorm room that night if you live on campus.

You can take any airline you’d like out of MCO (Orlando International) on January 19th, 2019; just make sure your flight departs MCO at 3:30 PM or later on Saturday, January 19th, 2019.  Call or email outdoors@lclark.edu for suggested flights, as we plan to have a list of the lowest priced options.

It’s important to understand that College Outdoors does not make the airline reservations for you, but we are glad to help you or your parents make the arrangements. This is because everyone is headed to different cities for the first part of Winter Break. You’re welcome to call or email the College Outdoors office for help with your airline reservations. Please ask for the director (Joe Yuska) or the office manager (Kori Rosenstiel).

Click here for the course syllabus.

How to Sign Up:

Register at the College Outdoors office in Templeton 244. If you’re not on campus, you could also register by calling us by calling 503-768-7116 and asking for the director or office manager. A deposit of $50 (VISA, MC, check, or cash accepted) is needed to hold your space in the course. The second trip deposit ($250) is due by October 16th.  If you have Federal Financial Aid, you will receive a 50% scholarship from ASLC for the cost of the course*.  (*pending budget approval in late September by ASLC, Associated Students of Lewis & Clark)

After October 16, the full course fee is due when registering.  If you cancel, you get a refund on your deposit if you or College Outdoors is able to fill your space with another student, or if someone on the waiting list for this course takes your spot. This is definitely possible, but not guaranteed.