Adventure Walk through the meadow

On one beautiful day when I was feeling restless and the kids were bickering over electronics, I told them we had to go on an adventure walk. They grumbled. But I stood my ground. We'd walk down to the shop and get a ride back with Dad. But we wouldn't follow the road, we had to go a more interesting way. That started with crossing an irrigation ditch. A little challenge soon had them concentrating and happy.

Of course if Big Brother did, Desert Girl had to do it too! Henry stood by watching.

Henry had a little adventure of his own. He likes to chase cows, but they also like to chase him. It's always interesting to see which one is going to move first. I think the cow won this time.

We followed the creek for a long time, and the kids loved these little "islands."

Then we found tunnels through the willows. They were a lot of fun, and the kids were the right height to go through them easily!

Later we found some bones. Big excitement.

Before long, we had another obstacle: a ten-foot high fence put up to keep the deer out of the hay. Desert Boy easily scaled it, but Desert Girl came through the gate with me.

Before long we ended up at the sand pile near the shop (the sand is for making concrete). When it was time to go, the kids didn't want to leave.

Hurray for excuses to spend more time outside. The kids often grumble when I tear them away from their electronics, but they end up being happier outside.

Sledding!

 We sure haven't gotten much snow this year, but finally we got some. March is coming in like a lion, we'll see if it goes out like a lamb! We weren't about to miss the opportunity to enjoy the snow, so we packed up the sleds, invited friends, and went up into the mountains.

On the way we saw some turkeys cross the road.

We paused to take a closer look. They sure are funny looking birds.

As we got higher, we found more snow, well over a foot deep. Hurray!

The kids were all suited up to make the most of it.

But just getting up the hill proved to be difficult!

We tried out a sledding hill that had some big rocks covered with snow. And then sometimes they weren't covered. It made the sledding extra exciting (or for me, scary!).

We also tried sledding on the road, but it was pretty warm and the snow was sticky.

Nevertheless, when you don't get much snow, you're going to enjoy it, no matter what the condition is.

I love Ava's expression.

Some folks joined us on skis. The wind didn't blow at all, making it a great afternoon to be outside.

Then it was time for the all-important hot chocolate. A sledding trip doesn't quite seem complete without it!

Here's hoping for more winter adventures!

Wild Goose Chase 2015

Every February for the past few years we've had the tradition of going to Delta, Utah for the Snow Goose Festival. Thousands of snow geese are migrating, and this is one of their favorite stops. They hang out for weeks, finding food in the fields and resting on the nearby lakes and reservoirs. Delta has made the event an occasion for a festival with many events. Our favorite event is the Wild Goose Chase, a 5k/10k with kids' races.

My husband and I ran the 5k and both were pretty happy with our results, especially with the very limited training we've gotten in.

Then it was time for the kids. Desert Girl was all ready for the 1/4 mile run.

It was a very wet snow coming down with a slight wind, which made it hard to stay warm. The kids lined up at the starting line. Desert Girl isn't too aggressive, so she hung out in the back.

Ready, set, go! She took a few steps and one of her shoes fell off. Oh no! I helped her get it back on and secured the other one. She was crying, so I held her hand and we ran the race together.


Once she got close to the finish line, she felt better and raced ahead of me, finishing dead last in three minutes and something. She got a medal, so she was happy.


Then it was Desert Boy's turn for the one-mile race. Except they made it a little shorter, which kind of surprised the race director.

Desert Boy did a great job, with dad running with him for a good part of the race. He finished and was also very happy with the medal.

We were all quite cold, so we decided to forego other outside activities and had a lunch of champions. Then we went to the swimming pool and had a great time.  We went to the grocery store and got a couple weeks worth of groceries. Finally it was time to head home. 

But I still hadn't seen any snow geese, and since this was the Snow Goose Festival, I thought we really needed to see some snow geese. My husband rolled his eyes but managed to find some. I took photos and was happy.

Checking Out the New Calves

 The heifers have been calving for over a month, and I've been wanting to take a closer look. Finally we had an opportunity on President's Day. Cousin Clay took the kids and me out to look at them.

I think one of the reasons I like looking at the new calves is that they seem to have a lot of fun, running around and playing.

And they look a little funny, but in a cute way.

The calves spend a lot of time nursing, which means mom needs good food.

Our next task was to take some hay to the pasture that's in between the Circle Field, where the heifers give birth, and the Lane Pasture, which is where they go when they're about a week old. In between they spend a night, and they need some extra food. Clay backed up the truck to a pile of hay and lifted the heavy bales on board.

The human kids are always playing games, too, in this case hide-n-seek.

Almost done!

The kids had discovered some old hay and couldn't resist playing on it.

Then it was time to load up.

I drove in circles in the pasture while the kids helped Clay push off the hay.

The fun wasn't over yet. One heifer had gotten sick and wasn't producing enough milk, so her calf needed extra milk. Clay mixed up some milk supplement and the kids happily fed the little one.

They needed a little guidance on how to hold the bottle correctly so the nipple would stay on.

What fun!

And the calf was certainly happy.

What a wonderful couple of hours. Thanks, Clay!

Climbing at Ibex

 Once we had eaten breakfast and woken up a little more after our night camping on the Tule Hardpan, the kids were ready to go scrambling. We just opened the door of the trailer and one minute later were on the rocks. That's why I love camping, you're right there at the fun places!

The kids were seriously into exploring and we parents had a hard time keeping up! I could feel my quadriceps burn with all the ups and big steps. It felt good to get some exercise.

Here is Desert Boy disappearing inside a boulder.

When he could choose to climb or walk around a section, he always chose climbing. We were thinking we should have had them put helmets on.

The views were spectacular, and I kept stopping to take photos. (Maybe that's why I couldn't keep up.)

We were at the bottom of the Quartermoon tower.

We could see a glimpse of water out on the lakebed.

Going around the corner, we could see that the rock island was perhaps really an island. With how dry it's been recently, we were surprised to see the standing water. We had wanted to go bike riding out there, but figured we might have to take an alternate route.

What the kids wanted to do next, though, was to do some real rock climbing. So we used James Garrett's book West Desert to locate an easier climb a bit to the south. It's been so long since I've done real rock climbing! I geared up and led the sport climb, and then it was time for the kids. Desert Boy couldn't wait. He took a slightly easier line on the side.

Moving around to where he was supposed to be.

Then it was Desert Girl's turn. She was definitely nervous, but willing to give it a go.

Look how high she got! She had to be talked through trusting the rope and coming down, but she liked it enough that she did it again, as did Desert Boy.

Hurray for climbing! It was a little scary, but oh, so much fun! I'm hoping to do more this year. Time to practice on my rock climbing pull up board and develop those little muscles in my fingers.

We looked at another climb and then decided it was lunchtime. Back at the trailer, the north wind had strengthened significantly, rocking the trailer. We ate quickly, fearing we might tip over with the 50 mph gusts. Biking was out of the question, so we packed up and left. But we weren't totally done with Ibex. We headed to a rock outcropping to the north to look for a geocache.

Desert Boy found it and enjoyed exchanging trinkets.

The rocks on the mini rock outcrop are the same as the main Ibex cliffs. This would be a great place for more exploring (or a game of hide'n seek).

We searched for one more geocache on the way home.

We didn't find it, but we did find our first wildflower of the year. In February!