Desert Boy's Eighth Birthday

 Desert Boy recently turned eight, and we were blessed to have a beautiful day so we could hold the party outside. His friends came over for a simple lunch. Then it was time for the outdoor activities. First up: zipline! We just recently installed this, and it's a lot of fun.

Although it's a little intimidating the first time!

There was plenty to eat, including some mushy frosting perfect for smearing all over a face and hands.

We brought out Desert Boy's birthday cake...

…but the wind was too strong to light the candles. So Desert Boy had to make do with blowing out a match.

 Then it was on to more activities, including playing on the swingset and hide'n seek.

Some of the girls played ship on the hammock. They were on stormy seas, with sharks circling.

They started capsizing, which made for a perilous trip.

The next game was how many kids can you fit in a hot tub. They liked that one quite a lot. Sharks may or may not have been present.

The little kiddie pool was the spacious one. Ha!

The slip'n slide had them running and cooling off, then they'd get back in the hot tub to warm up.

In the evening we had family over for a BBQ.

It was low-key fun.

Desert Boy enjoyed all the attention.

And then things got charged up with a water fight. It wasn't just any little waterfight, this was a get soaked-to-the-skin waterfight.

Desert Girl wisely chose to put on her swimsuit.

And then proceeded to chase her cousin. It was a good day!

Happy Birthday, Desert Boy! It's been a fun eight years and I'm looking forward to lots more!

Camping and Biking and Trail Running at Sacramento Pass Rec Area

 Last weekend we had Saturday night free, so I came up with the grand idea of camping at Sacramento Pass Rec Area. It was camping night #7 for the kids (12 is our goal for the Desert Survivor's Get-Out-and-Camp Challenge, so we're doing really well!). We decided we would catch our dinner at the Sac Pass Pond, where rainbow trout are stocked by the Spring Creek Rearing Station.

It didn't take Desert Boy long to catch three trout and then Desert Girl two more. They were on the smallish side, but we decided we'd eat them all.

Meanwhile the almost-full moon came up.

And Desert Girl had fun being silly. We moved to the upper campsites to get further away from the road. They were recently redone with money from a SNPLMA grant, and the whole area is so nice. Even though it was a Saturday night, we had it all to ourselves, which was quite surprising because it's so easy to access and free.

We had our little camping trailer, which creaked all night. We might get a better night sleep in our tent, but it still is kind of fun to be in the trailer.

I woke up before everyone and decided to go scamper on the nearby rocks to take advantage of the great early morning light.

The road up and over Sac Pass looked especially pretty, with the Schell Creek mountains in the background.

A bit later I left to go mountain biking. I really wanted to check out the Mineshaft trail, a 4-mile long loop trail that departs from the Lucky Boy spur off the Sacramento Pass trail. Desert Boy and I had biked much of the Sac Pass trail last fall, and so I knew it would be technically difficult. But I found I can only take so much technically difficult. Once I got to the loop part of the Mineshaft trail (1.5 miles from the trailhead), I decided I would be much happier if I just did the loop as a trail run and didn't have to worry about going over my handlebars as I navigated the rocky course.

The views were terrific on the Mineshaft trail, and I enjoyed it so much (even though I didn't have a camera!). It was obvious that the trail doesn't get much use, so I built up some rock cairns marking the trail that had toppled over. If you want technical singletrack all to yourself, this is the spot! If you want a trail run all to yourself, this is also your spot! And the trails are designed for equestrian use, but I don't think a horse has been on them yet.

If four miles is too long, there is a shortcut--a wash connects the trail at the narrowest spot, so you could  make it a much shorter loop. There's also a two-track road that crosses the southwest part of the loop, so you could bail out there if you're bike riding and the singletrack is getting too much for you. 

You can find the Sac Pass Trail map here. 

Time to head outside!

Junior Cave Scientists

The National Park Service has recently started the Junior Cave Scientist program for ages 5-12+. Those interested can pick up a booklet from participating parks or download one.

I took the kids to Great Basin National Park one Saturday afternoon to get the booklet. We headed over to the cafe to get a treat while the kids completed it.

The booklet starts out with "What are Caves and Karst?" Then it talks about how to protect caves and different scientific things to do in caves, such as geology, biology, hydrology, archeology, paleontology, climate science, and more.

It had a game about the different zones of a cave that we played by flipping a coin. The kids really got into it.

After they finished, we went back to the visitor center to turn in the booklets. Ranger Kevin determined that they had completed the necessary activities and swore them in as junior cave scientists. He had the great idea of having them put on cave helmets.

Desert Boy, Junior Cave Scientist

Desert Girl's helmet was a little big, hence the hanging onto it.

 The kids got their badges and posed for a photo.

The badges are made of wood and very cool.

My little junior cave scientists wanted to go for a walk while on their sugar high, so we headed out to the nature trail. They were being a bit mischievous, posing behind the sign for the photo.

Before long we reached the natural entrance of Lehman Cave, which is now topped with a bat-friendly gate after being sealed shut for decades. The bats seem to be finding it, as each year the numbers are creeping up. Just last week we saw over 20 Townsend's big-eared bats in the cave.

The kids really like the rock wall at the exit tunnel.

We weren't done yet, they still had to squeeze through the concrete block, a prerequisite to going on the spelunking tour when that was offered at Little Muddy Cave.

And one more stop. The kids love getting "kissed" by the cave. They found they could get "kissed" by the roof when they stood under the dripline. Nothing like desert kids finding a little water!

And just think what that water is doing as it seeps down into the ground, through the acidic pine needles, into the porous limestone, into tiny cracks that slowly, slowly become larger and larger. There should be more caves for these junior cave scientists to learn about, if they just wait patiently.

T-Ball Comes to Our Valley

 Our friend Beth decided to start a t-ball team in the valley, the first one ever. A bunch of four to seven year-olds turned up the first night to find out what it was all about.

Beth had enlisted the help of assistant coaches.

They led the kids in running around the gym (the first night was very cold so practice was held indoors) and stretching.

Then it was time to divide into groups and start learning how to catch (even if the glove was on the wrong hand), throw, and bat.

The kids had a fantastic time.

Even in snowboots.

Desert Girl hit the ball well the first two times she swung, and then hit the tee repeatedly. She needs some more practice, I guess.

At the end we celebrated that no one had gotten hurt. That doesn't mean there weren't tears, there were plenty of those as kids realized they couldn't have the ball all the time. But they were starting to get the idea of how to play as a team.

A couple practices later and it was time to teach the kids how to bat and run around the bases.

Parents hung out in the outfield to help direct the kids. The kids didn't have a very long attention span.

But before long they seemed to get the hang of running to first base and throwing the ball to first base, and then listening to the first base coach of what they were supposed to do next.

The kids are having a great time, and the spectators are getting a good dose of entertainment. I'm already looking forward to the next practice! Thanks so much to all the coaches.