A Quick Hike

 A couple weeks ago I was really worried that all the fall colors would disappear rapidly (as they do some years), so I dragged the kids up into the mountains to go for a little hike. The vibrant rabbitbrush along the way caught my attention. Most years I am allergic to it, but for some reason this year it hasn't bothered me. (Ragweed, however, is another story.)

 We stopped at Mather Overlook, but I had a hard time getting the photo I wanted. The sky was overcast and kind of blah, but there were nice colors scattered all around.

 As we continued higher, I just got more excited by the colors. I stopped, hopped out, and looked for scenic vistas to capture to remember of all the color when we soon enter the monochrome season of winter. My kids weren't nearly as impressed. Someday they will be.

 The sun peeked from behind the clouds to dust these aspens with a few rays as we drove by.

 I was grateful that hardly anyone else was on the road, as I kept stopping to take more photos!

 This dead limber pine is one of my favorite trees in Great Basin National Park. It's just past the Wheeler Peak summit trailhead.

 Finally we reached the parking lot and got out. You can see how excited my kids were. Desert Girl was really tired, so I knew there was no point in even trying to get her to hike. Instead, I put her in the stroller.

 Soon Desert Boy was feeling better.

 Even Desert Girl managed a hint of a smile.

 This aspen tree is part of the reason I wanted to go up there. I love how it curves.

 Desert Boy even helped me with a smile.

 We decided we had enough energy for  a walk through the campground.

 But first I had to run and get a different camera battery and couldn't resist a photo of the trail to the amphitheatre.

 It was so incredibly beautiful that I wanted to dawdle and spend as much time as possible. However, it was a little on the chilly side.

 I tried experimenting with more creative compositions. I figure if I take enough photos eventually I'll end up with something good. I need to learn to be a little more aggressive with the delete button on the computer so I don't fill up the hard drive too fast.

 Desert Boy really enjoyed pushing his sister, and she was content. She just let her feet, encased in cowboy boots, dangle, as it was too much work to put them on the footrest.

This has to be one of the prettiest campsites anywhere. We're going to have to try to stay there--next summer! I'm not too eager for camping in freezing conditions!

A Walk in the Woods

Shoes? Check.
Cameras? Check.
Water bottles? Check.
LOTS of snacks? Check.
Pirate gear? Check.
Princess paraphanelia? Check.
Train sounds? Check.
We were ready to go hiking, a little walk in the woods.

 I was on the lookout for photos for a photo challenge, with this week's theme being fruit and flowers. I found some Oregon grape (Mahonia repens) berries.

 Desert Boy had expressed some interest in taking photos, so I let him use my old camera. Desert Girl just wanted a snack.

 Redroot buckwheat (Eriogonum racemosum), one of the prettiest late summer flowers.

 Our hike suddenly got exciting when we found we could eat some of nature's bounty. The wild raspberries were delicious.

 A butterfly landed on my shirt. It turned out to be a Pine White.

 The currants were at their peak, and the kids quickly learned how to forage for them.

 Yum!

 I saw this dragonfly (or is it a damselfly?) and that made me take the photo, but I didn't notice the spider dangling underneath till later.

 We made it to our destination, a bridge where the kids snacked and spent twenty minutes throwing sticks into the water. They really didn't want to leave, but finally conceded it would be okay as long as they had hiking sticks.

 The sun peeked out from the storm clouds and made the mountain mahogany seeds glow.

 The trees look so cool!

Here are the kids sharpening their wood pirate and princess knives. They made up lots of games on the hike back, which made me delighted as in the past I've had to make up games for them. They also thought it was lots of fun to run down the trail, and Desert Girl would yell out, "Running," and then take off. They already want to hike again today, so I think that means we had a successful day.

Up to the Snow

 I'm taking fire training this weekend, so I took Friday off so I could spend more time with the kids. We decided to go up the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive at Great Basin National Park, as the road had recently opened and I was eager to look at the high country. Anna and Evan joined us, and on the ride up I thought the trees looked funny. We took a second look and found that they had icicles on them! We pulled over to take a closer look.

 Apparently the weather had been just right after our recent snow to make these wonderful decorations on nearly all the trees. It was spectacular.

 We had thought about walking the quarter-mile nature trail, but we weren't the best equipped for snow, so opted instead for the recently plowed but still closed Wheeler Peak Campground.

 The kids liked finding their very own icicles.

 The walking was easy until we  got to a shaded, icy patch.

 We found that it was so icy because the creek had jumped its banks and was making a new channel through the snow. The kids threw snowballs into the water and watched them float downstream.

 The water had carved a two-foot canyon through the snow and ice. It was moving fast and sure looked cold!

 Around on the other side of the meadow we found a bit of color.

 The snow might have only melted in this spot a few days ago, but the plantainleaf buttercup (Ranunculus alismifolius) couldn't wait to catch some rays.

 The aspens didn't look like they were even thinking about leafing out. Even so, this spring is so different from last year! We had so much more snow and cold all the way into June last year, and this year the campground is already plowed out before May.

 On the way back (amid complaints from Desert Boy that he was starving--I think he's going through a growth spurt!), we wrote our names in the snow and made footprints. Desert Girl and Evan had their shoes on the wrong feet, so their footprints were a little strange looking.

 Finding the biggest icicle was a fun diversion.

Then we made it back for a big snack break. Afterwards we weren't quite ready to leave. We still had to take out the sled.

 The boys nearly crashed on their first run together.

 Evan doesn't look too sure of this bigger hill. It's slightly higher than the picnic table behind them that's mostly covered with snow.

 Then Desert Girl decided she wanted to get in on the fun.

 Their expressions are priceless!

 I'm not sure if these kids know how lucky they are! I grew up in such a flat spot that I called a three-foot high rock on the other side of the block my mountain. These kids have such an awesome backyard!

It's cooled off this weekend, but I don't think the snow will be around for much longer. This could be the last sledding trip for awhile. It was great to have one more winter adventure and then descend 5,000 feet in elevation and enjoy the warm spring weather.

Hope you're having a good weekend!

Horse Canyon Hike

 We bumped our way up a really rocky road recently to go for a little hike. We were wishing that the new addition to our family was up to speed so we could get there in a little more comfort! Finally we arrived at the trailhead for Horse Canyon. I had been there before but had not hiked past the trailhead, and I really wanted to this day, despite the snow.

 So we trekked up the trail, which I found extremely beautiful. There were all sorts of things to look at, like this hornet's nest. I was glad it was winter and I didn't have to worry about them.

 Desert Boy thought it was fun to run. He had a lot of energy.

 He slowed down to get a stick. Why is it that every kid needs a stick to hike?

 We eventually got to the sign marking the Mount Moriah Wilderness. The kids thought that was far enough to hike, so they snacked with Dad while I went up the trail a little farther. I didn't want to turn around, it was so pretty. I will have to go back another day!

 They were still snacking when I got back. Snack breaks are very important.

 I couldn't resist a few candids of the kids.

 My, what big blue eyes you have, Desert Girl!

 On the way down Desert Boy wanted to run some more, so I went with him. (We teach the kids they have to stay in sight of us when hiking because we don't want them to become a mountain lion snack.) Desert Boy slid along just fine. When we got to this little branch across the trail, he decided he wanted to go under it. That required him laying in the snow, but he didn't seem to care.

When we got back to the two-track road that led to the trailhead, Desert Boy had so much energy that we kept hiking down the road, past the big, beautiful ponderosa pines. It was a really fun hike, more than any of us expected. It turned out that a little snow and cold didn't put a damper on the day.