Our Fishing Expedition

First I have to start with a few photos that my brother and sister-in-law took on their super duper fancy camera. They took awesome photos! And they let me keep the ones I wanted. How great are they! And the best part was I didn't have to lug the heavy camera around. Because I would be highly likely to break it. I usually break my camera every year or two, and in fact both my cameras are cracked, one from a caving trip and another from photographing calves. But I digress.


Here are my brother and niece Maria clearly enjoying our gorge adventure.

A little assistance now and then made it possible for the little ones to do most of the trip on their own. Desert Boy's cowboy boots perhaps weren't the best choice for climbing footwear, but he managed. I have a feeling he would have done most of the hike wearing just about anything.

Oh my goodness, I look pregnant again! That's just Desert Girl tucked away next to me. She was a happy camper. And now we're ready to start the next adventure, the adventure that got Desert Boy into the van. We were going to go fishing.

We went to the rocky shore of the nearby lake. After we all piled out of the van, the two guys who had been camping there left. I guess we were making a little too much noise for them! Usually no one is at this lake, so we were surprised to see them.

Desert Boy loves to go fishing, even though he's never caught a fish. We knew he wouldn't catch anything here, even though there were Sacramento perch and catfish in the lake. How did we know? Because we took off the barbed hook to avoid painful injuries and replaced it with
a sinker.
Maria's approach to fishing was using the net in the puddles. You might be able to tell that her pants are soaked from the knees down. She was so happy to do fishing her way.

The pole was a little long and heavy for Desert Boy, but he didn't let that stop him.

It was a perfect day for a fishing excursion, with the rocks blocking the wind, the warm sun keeping us comfortable, and nothing else on the agenda. We would have stayed longer, but somehow two little kids managed to get very wet in a short amount of time. Desert Boy was already in his second outfit of the day and didn't have any other dry clothes in the vehicle, so he got to go home wrapped in blankets.

Fun Visitors

We are enjoying a visit with my brother, sister-in-law, and their cutie pie daughter Maria. Desert Boy and Maria started off the visit by playing in water. Clean water (for a change). I thought Maria took Desert Boy's welcoming gesture with quite a bit of grace. Desert Boy is learning a little about fairness. After he poured water on her head, he asked her to do the same to him. And she did.

The next day we went on an adventure walk. Maria is also familiar with Dora the Explorer, and it is amazing what you can get kids to do if they think they are exploring like Dora. We even got out the map (a stick drawing in the dirt) to learn that after we went through the willow tunnels, we had to jump over the cow pies, walk in the ditch, and cross the gate to get to the van. There was excitement in the air! We had a destination and obstacles to cross to get to it.

Maria and Desert Boy were a very good height for negotiating the willow tunnels. They could go many places the adults couldn't--or wouldn't go.

The willow tunnels also held surprises, like a cow skull. They had fun examining it. Then we had to look for other bones.

And we found the best surprise of all--a huge dinosaur bone. It came home with us and is waiting to be excavated in the sand box.

Like Desert Boy's irrigating boots? They are his favorite footwear for adventure hikes so that he can get wet. We didn't get wet on this particular adventure walk, but in an upcoming one you will see him drenched. Despite the irrigating boots.

Happy Second Day of Winter

We're in the middle of a snow storm, which is appropriate for the second day of winter. The good news is that the days are getting longer now!

To celebrate, here are some photos from last weekend, when we went to get our Christmas tree.

Our plan was to drive up high enough in the mountains to get a white fir tree. They are so pretty, and the BLM permit is only $4. But the snow got a little deep.

We drove until the trucks wouldn't go any further, and we were still far from the white firs. So that meant plan B: get out the sleds and have some fun!

Megan is concentrating hard as she pulls two sleds. She is always warm, so that's why her coat is open.

Desert Boy didn't get along with the snow quite as well. He quickly tipped out of his sled and got snow covered and didn't like it.

Sometimes sledding isn't so fun.

Fortunately a little hot chocolate and some cookies can quickly brighten everyone's attitude. Not that you can tell by this photo! I love the grimaces--but they really did feel better soon.

Yum!

My husband found a nice pinyon pine tree and we took that home.

Desert Boy was old enough to help decorate it--at least he was old enough to pick up ornaments and give them to Dad to put on the Christmas tree!

A Hike with the Cousins

One morning last week while the California cousins were visiting, Uncle Tom offered to take us for a hike along Silver Creek. It was a sunny, windless morning, thus perfect for the hike. We started right at the edge of the creek, crossing over it.

Henry came, too, and found a nice deep pool where he repeatedly swam to get sticks out. It didn't matter to him that both the air and water temperatures were well under 50 degrees F.

We hiked along the creek for awhile, dodging the huge sagebrush and greasewood brushes, and peering over the edge to get periodic glimpses of the creek. Big snow years and flash floods in 1952, 1982, and 2005 have cut down the channel considerably, leaving sheer banks of crumbling dirt over twenty feet high in many places.

Eventually a couple nieces and I couldn't resist the urge to go hiking right along the creek bottom.

We weren't wearing footwear appropriate to get wet, so it was a bit of a struggle in places to stay dry.

I was amazed at how many springs entered the creek, as shown by abundant watercress in areas. The watercress generally grows where the water temperature is steadier and there are more nutrients, which is what the groundwater provides. The faster-moving stream water generally has less nutrients and during the winter gets much colder and in the summer warmer than the groundwater.

Here's Ruby, showing her appreciation for our adventure hike.

Uncle Tom still had Desert Boy and was up on top of the channel at this point.

And the nieces wandered up to find a cow skeleton. They took some of the vertebrae and the jaws home with them.

Eventually everyone came down to the stream. We proved our balancing skills crossing the log across the water.

Grace and Lola, who regularly go to gymnastics classes, had no problem whatsoever. Notice the jaw bone in Grace's hand!

Uncle Eugene kept a stick with him to make sure he wasn't going to plunge over.

Part of the fun of the hike was the many times we had to cross the creek. It was just wide enough that it was hard to jump over, so we had to look for places with stepping stones or add some of our own.

Grace is carrying Desert Boy down next to the stream now.

I was awed by the roots of the big cottonwood trees. Much of the dirt that had previously contained the roots had washed away, leaving the tendrils hanging.

Grace, Desert Boy, and Lola continude to find a dry path next to the stream. Desert Boy was actually wearing irrigating boots, but he had flooded them fairly early on. Nevertheless, he seemed to get the concept that he was supposed to stay to drier ground. Most of the time.

And then we came to a small waterfall. It was cool looking, and the perfect end to the hike. Almost.

Lola, Grace, Desert Boy, and Uncle Tom pose in front of the waterfall.

And then it was time for the big find, a bit of aquatic life that resisted capture, but was eventually subdued...

...a crawdad! Ruby is ready to taste it. Now this was the perfect end to the hike.

Escaping the Heat

Yesterday it got to 99 degrees in the valley. So we headed high up on the mountain to find some cooler air, and sure enough, at the trailhead at about 10,000 feet it was 70 degrees. Yeah! We started out on a hike towards the bristlecones with eight kids and two moms. 

Desert Boy hiked some on the way up, and two of his cousins were really helpful, guiding him over the rocky terrain.

We stopped to smell the flowers. They all learned that these Polemonium flowers smell like skunks!

The flower is pretty, but stinky.

The real excitement came when we reached a patch of snow.

The girls made snow angels,

while Desert Boy threw snow balls at them.

Up ahead, some of the older cousins had found a wonderful snow-covered hillside and were busy sliding down it.

You could get some good speed on the slippery slope.

They did it over and over again, enjoying the speed and the cold.

Amazingly, no one even got hurt!

Eventually we had to leave, and one of my nieces helped carry my camera back to the trail. I enjoyed looking at the photos she took on the way.

Happy cousins.

"I'll make a face because I want to."

Peace, rock glacier.

"I just ate something really tart."

The end of the hike ended with a snack--animal crackers dipped in Nutella. Everyone agreed that was the best snack ever in the entire universe.

Especially Desert Boy. He slept the whole way down, but he woke up for the snack. He wouldn't miss that for anything.