EDUscape, one of the many unique aspects of life at GMC, offers many options for students ranging from community services to snow skiing.

This year, a group of students (me included) went to Gatlinburg, Tenn. for the day to explore, shop and eat.

The itinerary for the day was to arrive at GMC at 5:45 a.m. and leave at 6:00 a.m. to get to our destination at around 9 o’clock.

Everything was smooth sailing for the majority of the trip and, despite the windy road, we continued at a slow and steady pace.

Tight turns and busses, however, don’t always mix well, and, as the driver was backing up to attempt a wider turn, there was a sudden jerk, and the bus came to an immediate stop.

At this point, whoever was sleeping was now awake.

This was also the point during which other schools might have considered turning around and heading back. GMC students, however, aren’t ones to back down from adversity and, knowing Daddy Mac was behind the wheel, we kept going.

The second turn was tight, but it looked like we had plenty of room to turn.

Daddy Mac tried to turn in one attempt but had to back up to try again…

and again…

and again…

Eventually, even we had to admit we were stuck.

For an hour and a half, the students passed the time chatting, playing on their phones, or exploring the immediate vicinity.

One group found a mailbox half the size of one of the students and also found a house chimney with no house.

Once the tow truck arrived, all it took was a little shimmy, and we were free. It was so quick, Daddy Mac almost ran into the man helping us to get the bus moving.

Keep in mind, while all of this this was happening, some of the students saw a black bear which did not help ease tensions!

When the bus finally moved, a portion of the road had been disturbed, so some of the students grabbed a piece of asphalt as a mememto. So, if you see a GMC student carrying around a piece of road, just know they survived the ’24 Gatlinburg EDUscape trip and the time the GMC bus was stuck on the side of the mountain.