NSS Convention

 As you might have guessed from my last post, I spent some time last week hanging out with cavers. It was time for the annual National Speleological Society (NSS) Convention, and it was held in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. That meant it was within driving distance and we could go!

It had been several years since I've driven across Utah on I-70, and I had forgotten what an absolutely beautiful drive it is. There were many scenic pulloffs, but we only stopped at one, where we got out to stretch our legs.

 We didn't want to dawdle, because we had a destination in mind:

 The Dinosaur Museum in Fruita, CO. We checked out some of the exhibits, watched the movie (which was mainly about Dinosaur National Monument), and did a couple activities. The best part was the moving dinosaurs.

 This T Rex terrified Desert Boy and Desert Girl. They wouldn't even pose for a photo in front of it.

Afterwards we went to the visitor information center, ate dinner at Old MacDonald's (that's Desert Boy's name for it), and decided to go visit Dinosaur Hill.

 Dinosaur bones were excavated from this hill and shipped back to the Museum of Natural History in Chicago. We couldn't actually see any dinosaur bones, or at least I didn't. A certain four-year old saw them everywhere.

 We took a trail up and around the hill. The kids weren't always the happiest, but I figured it would be good for them. I can be a mean mom like that sometimes.

 The view from the top was great. We could see the swollen Colorado River and several ponds.

Then it was time to decide where to stay the night. I hadn't been camping yet this summer and I kind of wanted to save money, so I was leaning towards camping. I wasn't one hundred percent sure, though, because huge storm clouds loomed to the south and it was 95 degrees. But it was getting later, the clouds were dissipating, and the temperatures slowly dropping...

...so we went to a nearby state park and they had space. But silly me, when I mentioned we wanted to tent camp and the lady asked if we wanted the walk-in tent camping, I said yes.

 That meant we parked, put all our camping stuff in a wheelbarrow, and walked to a campsite. That was a little more adventure than I had anticipated traveling alone with two little kids!

 We set up the tent, and then it was time to explore. It was a state park, which meant it had wonderful amenities, like a playground and hot showers. I like camping so much better when I can have a hot shower!

 I took a photo as the sun was setting. Nearby was Colorado National Monument, with gorgeous sandstone cliffs.

 We all slept pretty well, although the kids were up soooo early!

 Here's the sunrise photo.

After breakfast and church, it was on to Glenwood Springs, where we picked up our registration materials. Then we met up with my brother who had flown in for the week, and my parents, who had taken Amtrak to watch the kids while I did convention things.

I didn't take a whole lot of photos at the convention, as much of it was spent in rooms listening to talks. Somehow that doesn't make for the most compelling photos. But I did take a few photos of the more photogenic events.

 One of those events was the climbing contest. Participants compete in 30 m or 120 m distances using classic 3 knot, sit-stand, or mechanical climbing systems. The competition is divided into male and female and age groups. I wanted to do well, so I had been practicing in my yard periodically for a few weeks before the contest.

I use the sit-stand, or Frog system. Here's Dan demonstrating it:

Meanwhile, Desert Boy was fascinated with CaveSim, a fake cave with formations wired so if you touched them (or got close to fragile ones), it would beep and keep track of your mistake. He also liked the big BLM blow-up cave.

Here he is at the entrance.

And how did I do in the climbing contest?

Let's just say that the world record board will have to have a new entry for my age group!

yippee!

Where in the World?

Where in the world have I been? I've been sorely neglecting this blog due to a trip out of town last week and lack of time/technical difficulties with Internet connections.

So here's a hint of where I've been:

What should I get for our van?

Tree House Expansion

 The tree house is looking splendid now that the leaves have sprouted, and Desert Boy spends more and more time there. He takes his honored guests to the tree house to hang out, and some of those honored guests have left their mark.

 Ernesto was one of the recent visitors, and I snuck in through the back to see what the boys were doing.

 You see, not only is there a back fire escape (which requires crawling), but there's also the new tire room, complete with balancing boards.

 It provides lots of fun, plus it's nice and shady.

 Desert Girl isn't about to be left out! She can climb into the tree house all by herself. She still has to learn to get down, but that doesn't seem to bother her much.

 Ernesto coming in from the back fire escape.

 Ernesto wanted to work on the tree house, too, so we found a hammer and nails and he started hammering away.

 He might need a little more practice. But at least no one went home with bruised fingers!

 Construction activities were monitored by Desert Girl.

And sometimes she stole the nails.

 Desert Boy decided to hang a horseshoe on the nail. When I told him that he should hang it the other direction for good luck, he told me,


"No, this is the way I want it."

He can be opinionated like that. After all, we should keep in mind what else he has said:

"I'm four, and I know everything."


Sometimes I find that it's very hard to keep from laughing.

Meanwhile, Desert Girl is getting on the talking wagon. Her favorite words are apple, cow, moo, cat, meow, dog, agua, uh-oh, oops, and mama. She's getting better at imitating words and phrases, so we have to be more careful about what we say. Or maybe we'll just send her out to the tree house to play!

Swimming Holes

 July has brought warm enough temperatures to go swimming, so we've been over to the nearby swimming hole a few times. Caleb really liked taking a ride on the back of the alligator.

 Desert Girl and Desert Boy cooperated for awhile, digging in the sand. It's always so nice when they get along!

 The California cousins were visiting, so Desert Boy made the most of being surrounded by females!

 Meanwhile Desert Girl was busy having a discussion with Grandpa.

There's some nice shade at that swimming hole, but sometimes the kids just want to go somewhere else. This year, due to a big runoff, we have extra choices, including this flooded gravel pit I had never visited before:

 It already had enough visitors to warrant a row boat! I swam back and forth in it a couple times and found that it wasn't too deep, and thus it was substantially warmer than the other swimming hole.

 The water feeding it has made quite a ravine.

 

It's also created a nice delta that is perfect for the kids to play in.

 Lola took Emma for a walk in the muddy water.

It seems like about everywhere we swim around here is muddy. I'm actually starting to get used to not being able to see my hands in the water underneath me as I swim. I don't like it, but I can deal with it.

 The kids were busy making canals, pools, and islands.

 And just skipping around!

 Most of the adults hung out at the water's edge, enjoying the shade the storm clouds provided.

 The older girls took out the row boat for a paddle. And the dog.

 Then it was back to more playing in the shallow water. This swimming hole really had great mud flats.

 Caleb and Ruby were busy with some kind of excavation.

The storm clouds were getting closer, so folks started leaving.

 It turned out it wasn't so easy to leave!

 This swimming pool was so fun that we went back another day, and it had a new, added attraction: tadpoles! The kids quickly started collecting them and putting them in buckets.

 Kayli on the tadpole dash.

The kids studying the muddy water intently for tadpoles.

 They eventually became quite adept at catching the tadpoles.

Lucky for the tadpoles, all were left behind. Perhaps next time we go we'll see little toads hopping near the water!