Hawaii 8/26/99
Alaska 9/1/99
Oregon 9/8/99
Idaho 9/14/99
Montana 9/21/99
Wyoming 9/23/99
Washington 9/29/99
Hawaii: Due 8/26
Barbara Potts, Haiku School, Haiku, HI 
August 26, 1999
Dear Journal,
Oh my gosh! Let me start by saying that my journey across the Pacific was
quite bumpy. My friends at the U.S. Postal Service were rough in their handling of me. When I arrived in Hawaii and was taken out of my box, I was amazed that my body was not battered and bruised because my box was totally demolished. My shock was short lived because Mrs. Potts' fifth grade students where there to put me at ease.
They whisked me off and moments later I was on t.v. I was the star of
their morning broadcast, Good Morning Haiku. On air, my story was shared with
the entire school. I was presented a lei and a pin to add to my harness. Ms.
Markgraf, the principal, gave me a warm welcome even though she is partial to
cats.
I spent the rest of the day in Mrs. Potts' class perched on top of her
computer where I had a good view of the classroom. Not only was I able to meet
her students, but was able to meet Mrs. Graydon's and Ms. Daly's fifth grade
classes as well. Because of her students' aloha and the awesome ocean view, I
am reluctant to leave this beautiful island of Maui.
Mrs. Potts has prepared a new box for me to make my journey to Alaska. I
sure hope my the trip back across the Pacific will be smoother than my trip to
Maui. Keep your fingers crossed.
Love and aloha,
Owney the Traveling Dog
Alaska: Due 8/31
Anchorage, AK
9/1/99 I have both Owneys..... I received the old one when I returned from summer vacation...I was gone all summer...I just received the new one yesterday...I am doing the journal and project with him today and will mail him off tonight to Beverton, Oregon...... I am mailing the old one to you Beverly. Thanks so much. The kids are loving it.
Lauri Peters
Oregon: Due 9/6
Beaverton, OR
9/8/99 Dear Journal,
I arrived here at Hiteon Elementary in Beaverton before Ms. Burnett's third graders did! The room was decorated with colorful pennants of the state of Oregon and the state flag was hanging on the wall. The kids sat down to hear the story of Owney the Traveling Dog and were quite impressed with my sense of adventure. They enjoyed the few pins on my harness but wished they could see me at the end of my journey when the harness will be filled with souvenirs from the many states. They passed me around and all gave me a friendly pat and introduced me to some of their favorite stuffed animals. I felt very welcome.
We posed for a class photo before the kids got busy with some Oregon state research. Did you know that Oregon's capital is Salem and that its state tree is the Douglas Fir? Each student shared with me his or her favorite thing about living in Oregon. Skiing at Mt. Hood, visiting the Pacific coast, and just having a lot of green trees around seemed to be the most common responses. At the end of the day we had a tasting party of foods grown in Oregon. We had Tillamook cheese, marionberry jam on bread, peppermint candy, hazelnuts, dried cranberries, and apple juice. I learned that Oregon is also a major grower of Christmas trees! I had a wonderful visit and am sorry to be off so soon. But, I know that more fun is in store for me in Idaho!
Until then,
Owney
~in care of Andrea
Idaho: Due 9/10
Idaho Falls, ID
9/14/99 Hello out there from Idaho. Owney is here and was starved half to death.
We fed him an Idaho spud and of course with sour cream and bacon bits. I
think he liked the bacon bits best.
Don Thompson
Montana: Due 9/15
Billings, MT
September 21, 1999
Dear Journal,
Hello from The Big Sky Country!! I arrived yesterday, just as the students
were leaving so I had a night to rest up before meeting Mrs. Kosmickiıs
Third Graders. I woke up early this morning to see several deer crossing in
front of Alkali Creek School. They werenıt quite as scary as the moose, but
were very shy. The children were very excited to see me and pet me--pets are
like hugs, you can never have too many. And I made friends with Munches,
the classroom bunny. Munches gets to run around the classroom and be pet all
day! Mrs. Kosmicki had just been to Helena, the capital of Montana and she
told me about the trip from the prairies to the mountains. You can see it
all in Montana. Billings is the largest city in Montana, but with just
100,000 people it is much smaller than most large cities in our country.
But the best part of the day came after all of the children had held me and
they had given me the Montana pin with the grizzly bear on it (I think he
might be scarier than the moose!) Because then we ate---lots of stuff!!! We
had cookies and bread made from wheat raised here. We had huckleberry
candy--yumm--and fresh carrots out of Chelseyıs garden. We had honey and
strawberry butter to go on the bread. But my favorite was Montana beef
jerky. I was able to see cattle not far from Alkali Creek School.
So now with my tummy full, Iım ready for a nap. Mrs. Kosmicki is packing me
up and Iıll wake up just down the road in the neighboring state of Wyoming.
Juline
Wyoming: Due 9/20
Big Piney, WY
September 23, 1999
Today I made it to the great state of Wyoming! Mrs. Hunter's class
received me just after 9:00am. I was wide awake and ready to check
out this new place after sleeping all night on my trip from Montana.
Mrs. Hunter's 4th graders were very excited to see me. They
told me they had been expecting me all week! Right away, we all went
outside and took a class picture with the pretty yellow and gold
aspen trees and the mountains in the background. Then we went to the
computer lab where I got to play some math games. What fun! During
recess, I watched the kids play outside while perched on a crate in
the window. After recess I helped some of the students with their
Wyoming history assignment, then we all went to art. I learned a
little cursive writing, but the pencil was hard to hold with my paw,
and got to help Mrs. Hunter with a science lab. It was a very busy
day for me!
The students were all very sad to see me go, but since I was a
little behind schedule, they thought they better send me off to the
next state, Washington, right away. They said they wanted to make
sure I got to meet the president this year!
You can see a picture of me with Mrs. Hunter's class at their
website.
Jennifer Hunter
4th Grade Teacher
Sublette County School District #9
Big Piney, Wyoming
Washington: Due 9/24
Yakima, WA
Owney's journal entry 9/29/99
I just arrived to Washington today. The children in Mrs. Segura's
classroom were very excited. I shared all the the things that I learned about the other states. The children were so supprised that the cabbage in Alaska was
the same weight as Cesar Luna. The kids were wondering just how do the
Alaskans pick cabbage??? I went apple picking this morning with Mrs. Segura, in
the afternoon I helped the children cut up apples and make an apple pie. I
really love those Washington Apples? I went on the zipper at the Washington
State Fair and felt naucious. I howled until some kids brought me an elephant
ear, and long curly french fies. Then I felt good enough to go check out
Mount Rainier. I can't believe it, you can see it and Mount Adams right from
Yakima. The kids tell me that they go snow boarding and skiing all
winter long. I also went on a white water canoe trip right through the center
of Yakima. The water is very cold because its from snow melt from the
mountain. I saw the blue heron and an osprey while being splashed by the waves as we went down the river. I hear that a pod of whales passed by coast near
the San Juan islands this past summer. The temperature has dropped to 30 at
night and the sixties during the day. I helped Mrs. Segura start her fireplace
this morning. I was shivering. Well, I'm ready for warmer weather... I'm on
my way to California.
Things We Like Best About Our State
Our state is kool because there is nice people Jose Martinez
I like all the beautiful animals like eagles, hawks, salmon, and trout.
Daneil
I like Seattle because you can see Mount Rainier from there and
Anacordus because thats where my grandpa lives. Britteny
I like the coyotes howling at night. Kody
I like Washington because I like the sage brush hills and the owls
hooting. Carlos
I like the robins and I like it in the winter because I go snow
boarding. I also like to ride my bike at rimrock lake in the mountains. Tyler
I like Washington because the mountains are covered with snow. Eric
I like the mountain,elk and the pine trees.
Waldemiro likes the clear night skies.
the apple, grapes, apricots, peaches, nectarines, strawberries and
expecially the cherries.
Garrett's favorite place to go is Washington is the Sundome when they have
wrestling.
Francisco likes the pools in Yakima.
Andrea likes the Central Washington State Fair. She likes to go on the
zipper.
Kristal likes to eat enchiladas at the Ranchito in Zillah, Washington.
Marjorie likes Maryville on the coast the because there are Pow wows
there and her uncle is teaching her how to dance.
Darielas likes to go to the fair and ride the roller coaster.
Angela likes to visit Boulder's Cave because she can see the river and
the bats and the water fall there.
Heidi likes the Blue heron, the ducks and Yakima because because there
are a lot of fun things that you can do here.
Alejandra says that she likes Mount Saint Helens because it blew upand
put a big cloud of smoke in the air.
Bianca like the pine trees.
I like how all the birds chirp in the morning. Gerardo G.
Jose Monrroy likes the woodpeckers.
