Horse Canyon Hike

 We bumped our way up a really rocky road recently to go for a little hike. We were wishing that the new addition to our family was up to speed so we could get there in a little more comfort! Finally we arrived at the trailhead for Horse Canyon. I had been there before but had not hiked past the trailhead, and I really wanted to this day, despite the snow.

 So we trekked up the trail, which I found extremely beautiful. There were all sorts of things to look at, like this hornet's nest. I was glad it was winter and I didn't have to worry about them.

 Desert Boy thought it was fun to run. He had a lot of energy.

 He slowed down to get a stick. Why is it that every kid needs a stick to hike?

 We eventually got to the sign marking the Mount Moriah Wilderness. The kids thought that was far enough to hike, so they snacked with Dad while I went up the trail a little farther. I didn't want to turn around, it was so pretty. I will have to go back another day!

 They were still snacking when I got back. Snack breaks are very important.

 I couldn't resist a few candids of the kids.

 My, what big blue eyes you have, Desert Girl!

 On the way down Desert Boy wanted to run some more, so I went with him. (We teach the kids they have to stay in sight of us when hiking because we don't want them to become a mountain lion snack.) Desert Boy slid along just fine. When we got to this little branch across the trail, he decided he wanted to go under it. That required him laying in the snow, but he didn't seem to care.

When we got back to the two-track road that led to the trailhead, Desert Boy had so much energy that we kept hiking down the road, past the big, beautiful ponderosa pines. It was a really fun hike, more than any of us expected. It turned out that a little snow and cold didn't put a damper on the day.

A Snowy Adventure

We sometimes like to go on little drives on Sundays to go out exploring. Last weekend I wanted to check out a spot nearby to verify some information I have written in a non-fiction book of the area. I'm not going to say too much about it now (even though I am SO excited about it), except to say that I'm reviewing proofs and if all goes well, the book will be published in April 2012.

Anyway, we went up a canyon that my husband and I hadn't been up to since before the kids were born. It was funny comparing our memories--or memory lapses--of the canyon. On the way back down, I was amazed at the huge cave entrance that I had forgotten about.

I remarked to my husband, "I must have said we'll come back someday to take a look at it."


He agreed that I had said that. Apparently I say that often enough that I forget I say it. And I forget some of the holes I've said it about.

This time we decided we weren't just going to say that we'd come back. We were going to hike up to the cave that day, even though it looked like a really steep hike. And we had two little kids. And it was about to snow.

Desert Girl managed just fine on Daddy's back, but Desert Boy had a few rock climbing adventures.

The scree was especially difficult, as his short legs didn't let him get much farther up the hillside, and then he just slid back down to where he had started.

Nevertheless we kept getting closer and closer to the gaping cave mouth.

The storm clouds were swooping down the canyon as we made it to the cave entrance. We dug out our lunch and were glad to have a little bit of cover.

After lunch, I took a quick look around the cave. I'm not sure what its name is, but it wasn't too large. The big entrance room extended back about 70 to 80 feet, but I didn't locate any passages that went off from it.

I did find some nice frostwork. I also saw a few stalactites and stalagmites. There was one giant stalagmite, over ten feet tall and about three feet wide. It, along with all the breakdown, made us think that this once might have been a much bigger cave.

We did our best to get a family portrait (I wanted to be in at least one photo!). It turned out okay if you just ignore the Doritos bag.

While my husband was trying to find an easier way down, I had the kids stand and look at each other. Oh, they can be so sweet. I really like how this photo turned out.

Then it was time to head down. That part wasn't all that fun with two complaining kids. I don't think I'd go back with little ones, but I would go back to see what kind of birds are nesting in the cave in the summer. We saw the guano and ledges, but couldn't really see much more.

It was good to have finally checked out another hole in the ground (even if it was a hole I had forgotten about!). And we did spot a few more nearby that will warrant another visit.

A New Addition

 Yep, we've got a new addition to the family. This lovely Jeep that my husband is so excited about. He gets a big grin whenever he thinks about his "new" jeep. When we went out to get it last weekend, I have to admit I didn't quite have the enthusiasm he did. In fact, I tried really hard to bite my tongue, but perhaps a remark or two slipped out about the quality of this find.

 The doors are on the seats and a few wires are dangling from the control panel. But the roll bar seems to be in pretty good shape.

 The seats might need a little work. And maybe a few other things too.

If my husband can get it running reliably, we are going to paint it. Then we are going to take off to the mountains and have some great adventures! Stay tuned....(maybe for a year or two...)

Biodiversity and Politics: A Great Cartoon

This is something I came across on Facebook, and it really tickled my funny bone. I don't want this blog to be too much about politics (at least in this stage of my life), but I do like biodiversity. A lot. This graphic does a wonderful job of integrating the two:

This is a design by Kira Treibergs and Laurel Hiebert from the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. They competed in a fall term t-shirt contest. They are selling t-shirts of this design; message either of them if you'd like one. 

And now go appreciate the invertebrates in your life!

Halloween Hayride

 Last night we went on a Halloween hayride around town. It was a hoot.

The cast of characters started assembling about 5 o'clock.

Desert Boy decided to be a skeleton superhero--for awhile. Then he decided he wanted to be a plain skeleton.

Cute Isaac.

We tried to get all the kids to look in the same direction at the same time. I guess it was a bit of a lost cause, but they were all really cute anyway.

Then some more kids arrived and we took more photos. Fun costumes! We kept gaining kids through the evening. At the end I was surprised to see how many were on the hayride. I think most all the kids in town came. There aren't too many places where you can say nearly all the kids went trick-or-treating together. (I guess most people wouldn't want to live in a place like that!)

And here comes the hayride! Fortunately we had a low trailer, which made it really easy to get on and off.

Desert Boy thought it was so cool.

Folks piled on and started chatting. That was one of the best parts of the hayride--having time to talk to each other. Okay, the candy was important, too.

It was an absolutely beautiful night--warm temperatures and no wind. We couldn't have asked for anything better.

The trick-or-treating around town was a little hit-or-miss. Here are the kids retreating from the upstairs apartments, where nobody was home. We had slightly more houses with candy than without candy, so that was good. And all the kids ended up with more candy than they really needed. Or than they and their parents needed. (Come on, everyone knows that parents raid their kids' Halloween candy!)

One of the consequences of trick-or-treating en masse was that the big kids always got to the door first and the little kids last. Here's Emma at the end of the line. She didn't care, though. She was so excited to be mobile and be able to go trick-or-treating. She even managed a few quiet "trick-or-treats" and "thank yous." I was so proud.

The final stop was the community center, where folks who lived outside of the main town gathered to throw a great Halloween party. They had gobs of candy and cookies. They also had craft projects and plenty of good spirit.

It was a super way to end the evening, and nice to see everyone's costumes again in plenty of light.

Thanks to Carol for organizing the Halloween party at the community center. And thanks to everyone who went on the hayride. It sure was fun to be with you!