Fall Leaves

The weather was great earlier in the week, so we've been raking up leaves. We got some extra help to move the leaves out of the yard. That involved loading the leaves into the back of the pickup, driving them to the meadow, and dumping them out in a low place far enough away that they won't blow back in our yard. The kids did a great job getting the leaves out of the truck.

 Well, at least the older kids did!

 The younger ones were good observers. (Like Desert Girl's leaf raking outfit? That girl likes to dress up for every occasion!)

 Henry took a rather laid back approach to the whole thing, too.

Once the leaves were out of the truck, it was time for the fun to begin.

 Jumping time!
(The blue flagging tape is from an earlier game of tie each other up. It was educational. Sort of.)

 I have to say, frilly dresses make for the best jumping photos!

Ava got some air on this jump!

It was a fun diversion, and so nice to have a treat at the end of a task!

A Surprising Cave

I've been doing cave-related things this way, so I thought it would be a good time to share a family trip to a cave from last month.

I had heard about this particular cave years ago, but was told that it was fairly small and a long hike, so not necessarily worth the trip. But for some reason I decided we should go check it out, especially since we would already be in the vicinity (meaning within 15 miles by high clearance two-track road).

This particular canyon has lots of caves, including the one above. We couldn't see the one we were aiming at, so we weren't totally sure if we would make it or not. But I thought we would (cavers are often optimistic, but I will admit that I've had to turn back from more than one caving trip because we couldn't find the cave entrance).

 

Desert Boy and I went ahead and located the entrance, which really wasn't that hard to find. Desert Boy really enjoyed climbing at the entrance!

While we waited for my husband and Desert Girl to catch up, I had fun taking some photos.

Soon we were heading into the cave. (Like Desert Girl's hiking attire? She really likes to wear dresses!)

We found lots of packrat middens and their oozy goo running over cave formations. Fortunately we didn't find a lot of dust, which made this cave rate high in my book. So many Great Basin caves are dusty with a putrid packrat smell that it really makes an impression when you find one that's not!

 It turned out that the cave passage kept going, so the kids had fun leading the way.

 I couldn't help but look for cave biota, and here the kids take a closer look at a tiny beetle.

 Not only was the cave quite a bit larger than I had expected, it also had a second entrance!

 The cave formations weren't super spectacular, and some had been broken off, but we still appreciated those that were left.

 We found another cave passage that led to some formations.

 Butterscotch flowstone!

 On the way back we tried for a family photo.

 After checking out a few more features, we could see light from the main entrance.

 We probably spent about an hour in the cave, going quite slowly. It was perfect for the kids, not too hard, but not too easy. I'm hoping that they will want to continue to go caving with me as they get older (perhaps a fun way to spend quality time with them when they're teenagers?), so going to a cave is a special treat. Fortunately this time it worked out well as a treat for us all.

After leaving the cave we still had the steep hike down to the vehicle. Fortunately Desert Girl was in a marvelous attitude and sang most of the way down.

Here's to fun outdoor (or underground!) adventures!

A Fall Jaunt up Strawberry Creek

 The fall colors have disappeared at the higher elevations to be replaced with a dusting of snow on the bare aspen branches, but at the lower elevations two weekends ago, the colors were still great. A group of us decided to head up Strawberry Creek for a hike.

 The kids didn't mind posing on the rock wall at the trailhead.

 We've hiked here below, a simple loop about two miles long. There still aren't any signs, so we didn't know exactly how long. And I had heard rumors of a new trail in the area. I kept that in the back of my mind as we headed up the trail. The kids took off running. They couldn't go too far ahead, because Rule #1 was Stay in Sight of an Adult at All Times.

 Soon they came running back and pelted the adults with snowballs. That made us decide on Rule #2: Snowball Throwing at Legs Only.

 Jenny, nine months pregnant, was ready to enjoy the hike. She's so awesome!

 Soon the kids were ready for a snack, which we decided we would have at the first bridge, along with a photo op. It works well--sit still and you get a snack!

We had one more rule for the hike, Rule #3: No Whining.

Desert Boy managed to fall into the creek from the bridge and drenched himself, immediately breaking rule #3. Lucky for him (and for me), I had a change of clothes with me.

 The kids loved the bridges and watching the water go under them.

 After about an hour, we reached a trail junction and headed uphill to a nearby sign that said Osceola Trail. We decided to give it a try, hoping my info was good that a trail would then connect down to our vehicles.

 The Osceola Ditch was constructed over a hundred years ago to transport water to a mining area. Much of the ditch still exists, and we happened to be in a shady part of it, which meant more snow!

 We kept moving in the shady part, it was a bit chilly.

 Then we came out into the sunlight and the kids discovered ants.

 All the kids were good hikers. And one decided to climb a tree. Guess who.

 By this point Desert Girl also required a change of clothes, but I didn't have any more, so she got to wear my fleece as a dress. She was quite stylish in it.

 We reached an old road that looked like it headed in the right direction,  so we headed down. A few trees were in the way, but the kids had fun crossing them.

Then we came out on a trail! It was easy from there. It will be helpful when some signs are installed so you know where you're going. Overall, we had fun on the loop hike, with about two hours of hiking at a very leisurely pace.

Kids Challenge: Build a Bridge

 The kids like a good challenge, and I like getting them outside. So I told them, "Go build a bridge."

Fortunately it was a warmish day, because you might be able to guess how this challenge ended.

 Simple bridge.

 Bridge testing.

 Desert Girl not so sure, but the "big" kids ready to help.

 Twinkle toes made it!

 Ah, easy peasy.

 One bridge wasn't enough, so the kids moved on to make another bridge, near an irrigation diversion.

 Well, now they've crossed two creeks and have to find a way back. They take their bridge building supplies with them.

 Henry isn't so sure a bridge is necessary.

But the kids try a new bridge-building technique.

 This almost worked. (Do you notice some wet pants?)

 A slightly different bridge system.

 The teamwork was great.

 Just one more creek to go!

Success! They all made it back, and only slightly wet.

We'll have to do this again when we find a warm day.

Where have you tried to make a bridge?