Desert Destination: Hampton Creek Trail

Every Monday we visit a desert destination.

I felt the need to go hiking, so I packed up Desert Boy and Henry and we headed to a nice mountain trail, Hampton Creek. We drove on a long gravel road to get to the trailhead, and upon arriving we saw that we would have the trail to ourselves. Desert Boy wasted no time checking out the informational sign.

With the backpack loaded, we started up the trail. Desert Boy quickly got distracted by the big boulders that block vehicles from the trail. 

A few steps further on he investigates what's been digging in the dirt. I can see that this is going to be a slow-paced hike. We have no real destination, so it doesn't matter. The Hampton Creek trail leads up to The Table, a high-elevation meadow renowned for its ancient bristlecone pines and herds of bighorn sheep. I figure we probably won't make it that far today, after all I only packed one meal.

Desert Boy observes Mama has a hiking pole and wants one for himself. He hikes with it for a few steps.

And then he decides it's more fun to use it to dig in the dirt. I need some exercise and want to feel my thigh muscles burn, so it's time for Desert Boy to go up in the backpack and we start making time going up the steep trail.

A short while later we pass the sign indicating that we're entering a wilderness area. High cliffs peek out from the surrounding forest, and it feels pretty wild, especially knowing that we're the only ones out there. We hike awhile, and although it's the Hampton Creek trail, the trail stays far away from the creek. Henry is getting thirsty (and Desert Boy is getting heavy), so I know that once we find some water, we'll take a break. Gradually our surroundings change from pinyon and juniper woodlands to ponderosa pine and aspen forest. More plants appear in the understory, including some that are still flowering. (I took 240 photos this particular day, so although this post is on the long side, I did show a little restraint. Some of the photos of the vegetation will appear in future posts.)

At our break, Desert Boy wanted the juice box. He thinks it's really fun to drink out of a straw.

He's all business here, no giggles or laughs. He wants a drink!

After he's refreshed, it's time to wander around. Desert Boy finds one of his favorite attractions: something to climb. 

He struggles awhile to get up on this log. I figure he can eventually do it, so I leave him to find a way to ascend.

He tries several different techniques...

...and eventually finds one that works. He's happy.

And then he gets this look on his face, and I can only worry. What's next?

I should have guessed what's next--water. Henry had been happily traipsing in it, so Desert Boy followed and managed to get himself soaking wet. So after a bit of happy splashing in the moss-covered stream, I change his clothes and realize I don't have any extra socks or shoes. So it's probably time to head back down to the truck. 

On the way back, Desert Boy falls asleep leaning to one side, which doesn't make the backpack too comfortable. 

Nevertheless, we make it back to the trailhead, content with our little adventure and ready to go looking for the next one.

So if you'd like a quiet mountain hike, Hampton Creek is a good place to go. The trail just gets more beautiful as you get higher, although the trail is steep and crosses the creek in several locations. It's good for both day hikes and backpacking.

Desert Boy Rides a Horse with Uncle Dave

The other afternoon Desert Boy had the chance to go for a horse ride with Uncle Dave. Uncle Dave has tons of experience riding horses and is the perfect teacher. He introduced Desert Boy to his horse, Shelley, and taught Desert Boy how to pet her nicely. Shelley seemed to like Desert Boy, so it was time to head over to one of the feed lot corrals (with soft manure rather than gravel in case of a fall).

Desert Boy had previously drenched his nice sneakers by stepping into a stream (on purpose), so he was riding barefoot. He was eager to get on and listened carefully to Uncle Dave's instructions.

Some of the feed lot pens have cows in them, so Desert Boy got a nice high view of them. Desert Boy can't quite say "Mooo," but he can say "Mmmm." The border collie following Shelley is Heidi, the trusty dog who knows how to move cattle much better than I ever will. (Henry stayed by me--he just goes up to the cows and barks and doesn't know how to do anything more than that.)

Desert Boy seemed right at home on the horse, and didn't want to stop riding. It won't be that long until he can start helping.

The view of mountains in the background and the cooler temperatures of a late summer afternoon made for a great experience. It's nice to know that Desert Boy has more interests than Vroom, vroom machines and climbing.

Flash Flood II

Not long ago I wrote this post about a flash flood that occurred on part of the ranch. The flash flood overflowed a creek channel and was probably the 100-year flood. A 100-year flood doesn't occur exactly every 100 years; instead, a flood of that large a magnitude has the statistical chance of happening once every 100 years. So after the flash flood we weren't expecting more water. 

But only nine days later, a second flash flood went through the same area. Fortunately it wasn't quite as large, but it was probably a 50-year flood. It cut the channel even deeper and washed out roads, including one the county road department had spent the last week working on.

Yesterday Desert Boy and I went down to the creek to see the work that was being done. All you guys who love heavy equipment, this post is for you!

Because so much sediment washed away from the flood control structures, dirt was needed to pack in around the concrete and redirect the water over the structures. The ranch's huge Volvo excavator dug into a nearby hill and poured dirt into the dump truck.

The dump truck made many trips with 10 cubic yards of dirt each trip. 

Then the driver dumped the dirt at the edge of the creek. 

Next the Hitachi excavator made a work area by smoothing down the dirt into a level platform.

Then the excavator drove out onto the dirt, filled a bucket with water, and wetted down the next dump truck load of dirt so that it would pack better.

Here's the excavator packing in dirt next to the washed out side of the flood control structure.

A few hours later, the wall of dirt had been built back up and the flood control structure was back in business.

Then it was time to head upstream, to the flood control structure that was washed out so much that it had tilted over on its side. The concrete structure weighs about 50 tons, so some big equipment was needed.

The ranch has some big equipment, like the huge loader and track excavator, but even these machines weren't big enough to do the job.

Plan B was to dig out the higher side of the structure to try to get it to settle lower. If it works, then the sides will be filled in and additional concrete will be poured higher to make an extra step in the structure.

Here's the excavator at work again. It sure is a fun machine to watch. Desert Boy was thrilled.

You can see in this picture the cables that are around the structure that were used in trying to move it back into place. Will Plan B work? We don't know yet;  this job will take awhile to complete. Stay tuned...

Desert Boy Climbs the Gate

Due to the fact that we live on a ranch, we have lots of gates around to keep cows where we want them. Desert Boy is in a climbing phase and has discovered that the gates are excellent places to practice his climbing skills.

Desert Boy starts climbing, and shows a remarkable amount of coordination.

The spacing between the bars increases with each step, making it more of a challenge for a short little kid.

Nevertheless, he makes it up higher and evaluates the top bar.

To my huge surprise, he shows some restraint and doesn't get himself stuck on top of the fence. He's good at climbing up, but not so good at coming back down.

Desert Boy spent about 10 minutes climbing up and down the gate. I just happened to capture this angelic expression. It makes him look so serene, doesn't it?

Check out the video below and you'll see that he's really a bundle of energy, energy I wish I could tap into!

A Robber Fly

Today I'd like to introduce you to a Robber Fly, also known as an Assassin Fly or a Bee Killer. It belongs to the order Diptera (flies) and the Asilidae family, a huge family with 1,000 species in North America. This family is fierce, killing other insects, hence the violent common names. It's sort of like what a falcon is to other birds--out there watching and ready to dive in for the kill. The Robber Fly isn't fussy, it will eat just about any flying insect out there, including bees, wasps, dragonflies, grasshoppers, and other flies. Using its big eyes, it spots its prey, swoops down on it, and captures it mid-flight. It takes the prey to a perch and injects enzymes into the insect that immobilize it and start digesting it. Then the Robber Fly slurps up the liquid meal. Yum.

This is a male Robber Fly, probably in the genus Efferia, with 100 species in North America. Males have white bulbous claspers on the tip of the abdomen. Females have a swordlike ovipositor that extends from the abdomen and allows them to deposit eggs in dead flower heads, cracks in the soil, and other tiny spots.

The Robber Fly family can be distinguished by the "bearded" face, with lots of hair on it, and the concave top of the head between the eyes. That concave feature makes its large compound eyes seem really "buggy." The legs are strong and bristly, the better to hold onto its prey.

Do you see that sharp proboscis? Within it is a lancet, an even sharper pointy object. It allows the Robber Fly to stab its prey and inject fluids. It's reportedly sharp enough to pierce human skin, but fortunately Robber Flies haven't developed a taste for human flesh. Yet. (Insert cackling laugh here.)

Larvae overwinter in soil and emerge in the spring. It is thought that more species of Robber Flies still need to be described. Robber Flies are particularly common in sunny and arid areas and are most active during the warmer parts of the day, but I have to admit that I only noticed it for the first time this summer. It is so amazing how many different insects live so close to us and yet we know so little about them!