Hiking Fun

 It's been a really busy week, so I was glad to go take a hike today. And what's better than going hiking? Hiking with friends!

 Unless you're a kid. Then the best part of hiking is stopping for a picnic with friends.

 The kids soon showed that they still had plenty of energy after hiking.

 Mission almost accomplished.

I'm not sure what the mission was, but they had  a few projects that seemed important to them.

 Desert Girl and Isaac tottered down the meadow and started sharing something. It was too cute for words.

 The uneven ground made it seem like they would fall any minute, but both managed to have a pretty good sense of balance.

 Meanwhile, the bigger kids were getting cold in a little snowbank they found.

 After a few warm days, they were ready to play in snow again!

 Jenny adjusting Emma. It was a good workout for the moms!

 We found a side channel of the creek that was just right for the kids to putter in.

 The flowers are really amazing. All this spring moisture has provided us with a bounty of color.

What a great way to spend a morning!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

The Great Dinosaur Adventure

Last Saturday I wanted to get out of the house, and I knew bad weather was coming, so it was now or never. There was a place at the southern end of the mountain range known for having plants not found anywhere else in the area, so that was our destination. I loaded up the kids, told my husband where we were going so if we broke down he'd come find us, and off we went. We didn't see any people the entire day, but we did see some sheep.

 The southern mountains were beautiful, and colorful flowers dotted the benches (slopes coming down from the mountains).

 We stopped near some rocks to go "rock climbing." Desert Boy decided after a quick try that it wasn't quite right for him. Desert Girl tried out her newly acquired bush-whacking skills. She did quite well.
Then we had a picnic lunch. That always makes every trip fun. Afterwards Desert Boy wanted to climb the hill on the other side. I wasn't too enthused, but he really wanted to go, so up we went.

 I did find a couple interesting flowers on the way up, and the views were really nice.

 At the top, Desert Boy found a couple bones. He was delighted.

 We wandered over the flat top and looked down at the wash on the other side. The bottom was bright green with round circles.

 It was so quiet, and it felt so desolate! One of the things I like best about the desert is the sound of it.

 But then little cries irrupted the silence. Desert Girl had found what made all those circles down below--harvester ant mounds. She had been intrigued by one and wandered close enough that the ants started crawling on her. One bit her, and she was none too happy. We hiked back to the truck and continued on our trip.

 The next road we traveled was nearly a tunnel through the sagebrush. These are some of the tallest sagebrush, and densest, that I have ever seen. The kids napped while we bumped along on two-track roads. There are very few signs out there, so it's a really good idea to have a map.

When Desert Boy woke up, he wanted to go home. I told him we weren't quite done with our adventure. He wasn't happy, but when I told him we would look for more bones, he perked up.

 Then we found LOTS more bones, and he was so happy! I wouldn't let him take anything that still had hair or blood on it. I guess I'm a mean mom.

 We went farther and he found even more bones. I found flowers. Desert Girl found more ants (but observed them from a distance). So we were all happy.

 It was getting cloudier and windier, so it was time to head home.

The next day when we woke up, we were in for quite a surprise:

 Back to winter! It was a great day for relaxing. And for Desert Boy and his daddy to work on their project: putting the bones together. Because these weren't just any bones, they were dinosaur bones. And they were both very determined to recreate the dinosaur.

This is what they came up with:

It's a very dangerous dinosaur, even though it's small.

This dinosaur skeleton now holds a place of honor in our house.

It may take us a while to top The Great Dinosaur Adventure.

Spring Hiking with Kids

This is a long post--just warning you in advance! Yesterday I decided to go on a spur-of-the-moment hike, so we packed some "picnic snacks" and headed to a nearby trail. Desert Boy carried a little backpack of his favorite snacks and juice and "activities"--just in case he felt crafty out on the trail. (I figure if he's willing to carry it, he can take it--within reason.)

When we got to the trailhead, Desert Boy was ready to get going--in his two right foot shoes. He didn't seem to mind at all.

 We had fun looking at all sorts of things. Desert Boy really thought we should climb up to a cave and eat some food in a shelter. He was a bit concerned about the storm clouds. I told him we were going to keep going down the trail to the first stream crossing. That was about a mile up the trail and I figured a good distance for a beginning of summer warm-up hike.

The trail had a gentle incline, but I could feel it with Emma on my back. We looked for interesting things to talk about so that Desert Boy would keep hiking. Then we saw something very interesting:

A big gopher snake in the middle of the trail! It quickly slithered off.

The trail had some obstacles, like this fallen aspen tree. Desert Boy decided he'd rather go under it than over it. Going under required some belly crawling. But there were bigger obstacles ahead.

We reached the (first) stream crossing. Usually the stream is just a trickle, but with snow melt the stepping stones were submerged. So I crossed on the little log. Then Desert Boy gave it a try.

He started out well, keeping his balance. But the log was really narrow, and it wasn't flat.

Still, he hung on.

But then he started slipping.

And down into the stream he went. Then he tried again. How did it go?

Here's the answer.

We didn't need to go any farther, so it was picnic time! Desert Girl was glad to get down.

Desert Boy curled up in his sweatshirt and played rolypoly. We had seen some in the garden the other day, and he thought it was great fun to roll around like a rolypoly. He also enjoyed eating lots of snacks.

After our snacks I lifted the kids back across the creek and then it was time to head back to the van. Since it was down hill, I figured Desert Girl could walk--and she did, more than half way.

Desert Boy was now dressed in his sweatshirt and a rain coat wrapped around his waist. He liked leading the way. We had a little talk about how he had to stay close, where he could see me, because there were mountain lions around. He didn't like that because he thinks that since he is four years old he can do anything he wants, but after a little more talk about mountain lions, he agreed.

We reached the fallen aspen, and this time he decided to go over. Desert Girl thought it was a fun place.

Desert Boy was happily eating candy, so he was willing to pose for a photo.

Then it was time to walk again.

Desert Girl thought the flowers were nifty, and some just at the right height for closer inspection.

This walking outside is fun!

Desert Girl isn't exactly a great walker yet, so she bobbled and weaved and fell a few times. Even when she fell, she was all smiles.

A pollinator finding some food. Some time in May was Pollinator Week, but I missed it this year.

Desert Boy went behind a tree, so Desert Girl had to follow, even though the branches were low. After thrashing for awhile, Desert Boy had to go in and help her out.

Back on the trail, Desert Boy let out one of his ear-piercing train whistles. If any mountain lions were around, they knew we were there! I told Desert Boy if he ever gets lost, he needs to stay put and pretend he's a train. We should find him in no time.

Desert Girl found some colorful Indian paintbrush and investigated.

Then she found another flower. Still pictures don't quite capture all her excitement, so here's a little video-be sure to have your sound turned up to hear her talking (babbling):

Desert Boy had a little camera and he started imitating me taking photos of flowers. Desert Girl was there to help, of course.

Then Desert Boy found some old toys in his pocket and was absolutely delighted. That was almost all he talked about for the rest of the hike!

 

We crossed a bigger creek to get back to the parking area. The water is just starting to get a little brown. It should be getting a lot darker in the next few weeks as the snow continues to melt! The high mountains are still very white.

And that was the end of our hike. Desert Girl slept on the drive back, but Desert Boy kept talking and after a bath to warm up, we went to the playground to "help" the other kids pulling out weeds. Needless to say, he slept very well last night.