Last Hike in March - Part One

 We met up with our friends Anna and Evan at a yard sale this morning and decided to go for a picnic and hike. We collected a few picnic items, then headed down a back road. It was windy today, so when we found a rocky area down by the stream and somewhat protected from the wind, we decided to take advantage of it.

The only problem was that the stream was so attractive to the kids, it was hard to get them to sit still to eat! It was a really cool section, with water cascading down a rocky gorge.

 Who knew we had such a fun mini-canyon? The pool above was about three feet deep at one end--deep enough that we'll have to come back and test it out this summer. Hopefully there will still be water!

 We all had fun negotiating the rocks and trying to keep our feet dry.

 I noticed a spot of color, some desert Indian paintbrush. The red really brightened the landscape.

 This flower was fairly inconspicuous, a yellow member of the Mustard Family.

 Anna found a couple caddisfly larvae, with sand casings. It was neat watching them crawl around, with their houses on their backs.

 Evan and Desert Boy wanted to keep going down the stream, but we decided we wanted to keep our feet dry so we could go hike up a hill on the other side of the road. But we'll be back, when it's warmer and we want to get wet!

We probably never would have explored this area if the kids weren't with us. It's nice to slow down and enjoy these overlooked special places.

Coming next...the hike on the other side of the road...