More Spring Break Fun

When Uncle Andrew was visiting last week, we took a little jaunt to the playground, one of Desert Boy's favorite places. One of the pieces of equipment had been overturned, which actually made it more fun than its original intended use.

Uncle Andrew and his friend peer into the upside-down container. What could possibly be so intriguing?

Maybe a little toddler, absolutely enthralled to have a blue clubhouse that no one else can get into. (Of course he can't get out of it by himself, but he wasn't thinking that far ahead.)

You can tell by his grin that playing hide and seek with the adults is so much fun. He doesn't even have to work hard to hide.

Meanwhile, over on the grass, a little dog named Lluvia has come to play with Henry. Or does Henry have other ideas?

Henry is licking his chops. He looks like he might want to eat little Lluvia. She could be a tasty morsel.

Lluvia is on her back, pleading for mercy.

Please, don't eat me. I'm really not tasty.

Will Henry resist and not take a bite?

Henry decides the excitement is just too much and lies down to take a break. Lluvia lives another day.

Desert Boy Makes Animal Sounds

I'm traveling, so I don't have time to do my usual Monday Desert Destination post (but I have some great photos from the Spring Break trip that will be posted soon!).

In the meantime, here's a fun video of Desert Boy hamming it up.

New Exhibits in Great Basin Visitor Center

In 2006, a new visitor center opened at Great Basin National Park, down in the town of Baker. The old visitor center, up at Lehman Caves, is still open, but focuses on caves, while the new one looks at the entire Great Basin region. It took time and money to get the exhibits, but they've finally arrived and are really neat.

The visitor center is the building on the right, and the resource center, which includes a classroom, lab, office space, and a small library, on the left. Jeff Davis Peak, part of Great Basin National Park, is in the background.

One of the first things you see when you enter the exhibit area is this life-like bristlecone pine tree. It looks very much like the old-growth bristlecone pines found up near the Wheeler cirque and rock glacier at over 10,000 feet high. These trees are known to live over 4,000 years, but only in harsh conditions. In addition, only a small part of the tree is alive, like the exhibit shows.

There's a wall with cultural exhibits, looking at how the Fremont and Shoshone cultures lived. There is also this sheep camp exhibit, complete with the border collie lying underneath it. Kids love looking at the dog.

Another wall has exhibits about the different life zones that are found from the valley floor all the way up to the mountain tops.

Desert Boy was fascinated with the stream exhibit, which was down at his level and had fish. He can say "fish," which probably was part of the reason he liked it so much. I have to admit, having a small child made me look at exhibits in a totally different way. 

This rattlesnake made a few people jump. It stayed put, though.

There were some cutaways that showed what lives in the ground, which in the desert is quite a lot. The sagebrush vole is one of the creatures that hides from the temperature extremes in a burrow.

Here are some gigantic ants that look a little creepy.

Each exhibit has birds included with it. There's so much more to see, but I figure if I show it all, then you won't have an excuse to go and see it for yourself! To find out when the Great Basin Visitor Center is open, call 775-234-7331.

And if you have a little one, ask where the toy drawer is. They have puppets of all different sizes that don't even mind someone riding them.

Sledding Date

Our snow is melting rapidly, so I figured I better get this photo up before it's all gone. Desert Boy and his friend "Aya" weren't too sure about the snow on this sledding trip, but I have a feeling that by the time next sledding season rolls around, we won't be able to keep them out of the snow!

Monkey

We're still recovering from traveling, so today's post is going to be short! But I thought you might enjoy this photo of Desert Boy as a monkey. He was supporting all his own weight as Grandpa tilted the tube upright. It's nice to know we don't need expensive toys!

Desert Boy Drives

Sometime soon I will have a photo that needs a caption that doesn't involve Desert Boy. But for today, this one is just aching for the right words to describe it!

Desert Boy Conquers the Box

I asked Desert Boy if he wanted a box to play with. He looked at me with his big blue eyes, nodded his head emphatically, and said, "Yes." So I got a box and put it on the floor. He started out looking at it, trying to figure out what to do with it.

First he stuck his head in. Do you like the monkey on his back? I was trying to get him ready for an upcoming trip. He likes wearing the monkey, especially with a little flashlight attached so he can be an explorer like his dear friend, Dora the Explorer.

Next came an attempt to step into the box...

...which was successful, but a box can be unsteady...

...and out fell Desert Boy.

He tried to get in again...

..but ended up crashing. My, how much entertainment one box can provide!

He was on the floor, but decided he wasn't going to let the box win. Go, Desert Boy, go.

He's stepping back in...

...but the box overturns.

Desert Boy pouts. He's definitely getting ready for those terrible twos.

He gives me this whimpering look, and I tell him to suck it up and try again. Don't let a cardboard box beat you, boy.

And then, success! He manages to sit in the box. With the monkey.

Ah, what sweet contentment.

But it doesn't last for long, because after all, it's kind of fun to crash.

I'm wondering how much more use Desert Boy and the monkey can get out of the box!

Desert Boy Strikes a Pose

Captions?

Desert Boy Goes Sledding

We've had a couple good storms lately bringing some much needed moisture to our desert area. So we packed up the sled and headed up into the mountains to a sledding hill to enjoy the wintery fun. There were about 20 people in all sledding (or spectating). I thought we should get started right away and hauled Desert Boy and a sled up a hill, where we were joined by a cute redhead. We were all ready to have fun...

...and then we met reality--snow in the faces! Neither Kara nor Desert Boy were happy about it. But not to worry, the fun didn't end there. 

The sledding hill was relatively big--that blob part way down one of the sled runs is two people on a sled. Now why is it that sleds are magically attracted to trees? Notice how many of the sled trails lead down to the one lone tree at the bottom?

Yep, Desert Boy found out about it the hard way.

And then again. He had the hardest time keeping his mittens on, and his little paws got cold and he hollered. Desert Boy doesn't exactly have a quiet voice, so everyone knew he wasn't happy. I decided to take him on another run to try to cheer him up.

But whaddya know, we ended up in that same tree. Desert Boy was not amused, so it was time to find a better sledding place for him. That better sledding place turned out to be the road. No snow up in his face, and a gentle ride where he didn't feel like he was at the mercy of gravitational pulls.

The bright side for us was an easy walk uphill.

And then a fun ride downhill. Desert Boy is actually smiling in this photo!

He got to ride with Daddy, too. 

And then Desert Boy got a ride with his little friend. She was having some issues with snow and gravitational pulls, too, and preferred the road to the big sledding hill.

Finally Desert Boy decided he was done and bailed. Maybe next year he'll embrace the fun of sledding. And maybe by then all my bumps and bruises will have healed--that sledding hill sure looks like fun but contains a lot of hidden obstacles!