Our Pumpkins

 It's pumpkin season! Desert Boy decided he wanted to make a house pumpkin this year. We started with him drawing on the pumpkins. His idea (borrowed from a magazine) was a door and windows (and a face) on one pumpkin and windows on the other. I cut out the tops.

 Then it was time to gut the pumpkins. As you can see, Desert Boy wasn't thrilled with this step.

Then my husband and I did our best cutting them without accidentally amputating any digits. Fortunately we succeeded.

Our end result looked neat. Due to rapid pumpkin rot, these won't be lasting till Halloween. They were fun while they lasted, though!

Hiking with Ten Kids

 Friday was fall break, which meant Desert Boy didn't have school. I took the day off work, and figured with the good weather we should make the most of it. That meant inviting some friends to join us on a hike. We ended up with ten kids. (I didn't count them till the end--I guess maybe I shouldn't admit that!) We also had a few adults, thank goodness!

We decided to take the South Fork Baker trail and try to do the loop around to the Baker Creek trail. According to my book (page 70), the hike is 3.1 miles long with a 950 foot elevation change. A little ambitious for ten kids? Maybe. But we had lots of snacks. And lots of energy. And we could always turn back.

We set some ground rules: the kids had to be able to see an adult, no sticks taller than you are, and no whining.

 One of the biggest things to decide was the leader. The kids took turns, and even the little ones had a chance. Desert Girl thought it was cool to lead the pack.

 We still had some fall colors, but many of the aspen leaves had already fallen off the trees. We even found some frost, which was beautiful on the fallen leaves. (I didn't manage a photo, thinking I would take one later!) The hike reminded me of one we did last year with friends, where we picnicked in a nearby meadow.

 This time we made the second bridge over the South Fork our first snacking stop. Wow, you should have seen how fast the kids whipped out their snacks. They were ready to chow down! We told them to fuel up, because we had a steep hill to conquer just ahead.

 Before we did that, the boys had to try their best to get wet. The adults were quite surprised that no one fell in. We were glad, though, we still had a ways to go.

 Here we are, heading up the steep trail! I was so impressed with Maria, who was carrying 11-month old Izaak. She hasn't done many mountain hikes, but she did great.

 I made Desert Girl hike. She was slow, but she could be persuaded with some extra snacks and cajoling. When she was in a good mood, she let her tongue hang out. I hope that isn't a habit that sticks!

As we hiked, we saw some icicles hanging from a tree. Brrr! The nights must be getting cold. It was perfect hiking weather for us, though, not too hot or cold. Lack of heat also meant that we didn't have to carry as much water, which was a real plus. 

Before too long (none of us had watches, so we didn't know how long!) we made it up to the big meadow, which is about the half-way point of the loop.

 Izaak was free! Snacks and lunch came out! Everyone ate and drank. And then the games began.

 The kids found a shady spot for a fort.

 I sent them on a mission to collect a leaf from the bush. They ran to it--so I knew they had plenty of energy left!

 They also ran back!

 Well, most of them. Ryleigh decided she wanted a turn in the backpack!

 Izaak crawled all over, exercising his little muscles.

Before long, though, we heard the cry, "Charlie got wet!" His boots, socks, and bottoms of his pants were wet, but it was warm, so he didn't mind. I wondered who else would get wet.

It didn't take long to find out. Soon I heard wails from Desert Boy. He had ended up in a deep spot and was soaked from his chest down. We wrung out his clothes and put them back on to dry. I hadn't brought any extra clothes, but I figured he would be okay. In just a moment, we found he'd be more than alright, as Ernesto was wearing a double layer and shared his extra clothes. We all decided that Ernesto was the perfect hiking partner, as he would literally give you the shirt off his back.

 The adults hanging out in the meadow. Have I said what a nice day it was?

 Eventually it was time to go. Ava caught a grasshopper.

 She doesn't let her cast slow her down at all!

 We reentered the woods, went up a slight rise, and then descended through the forest to the bridge at Baker Creek, where once again the kids did their best to get wet.

 I didn't have much time to take photos, as Desert Girl had fallen and declared she needed a bandaid. Our rule is "No blood, no bandaids" (thanks Grandma and Grandpa!). She had an itsy, bitsy scratch with the teeniest amount of blood, so I gave her a bandaid. And then another to make her happy.

 The big kids hiked without complaint. They followed the rules well. The little kids all fell asleep on the way down. It was quite the trek for them!

 Desert Girl woke up for the end and insisted that her pant leg be rolled up so her bandaids would have plenty of air. She was grouchy, but she did it.

We made it back to the trailhead about four hours after we started. It was a great hike! And I think all the kids slept well that night.

Life on the Playa

 I wasn't feeling the energy for my weekly Black Rock run while Desert Girl was in preschool. So instead I decided to do a little exploring. Since I had playas on my mind (see this earlier post if you haven't already), I went to a nearby playa.

 As I approached, I spooked some of the wildlife. Several pronghorn took off, as well as horned larks, a raptor, and probably more. I parked on the edge of the playa and got out to start walking around.

 A lone pronghorn, probably hoping I would just go away, bounded past. Fortunately I had my camera ready.

 I've never been able to see how a pronghorn runs, so I was fascinated with the photo results. Pronghorn are the fastest land animals in the Western Hemisphere, with speeds exceeding 40 mph. Worldwide they are second only to cheetahs. Pronghorn have 13 distinct gaits. I have to say I don't know what this one is.

 One of the cool things about pronghorn (cool enough to make me put it as my Favicon (the little icon that shows up next to the name of my blog) is that they are endemic to western and central North America. They have been around much longer than deer or elk, and they have evolved with the ubiquitous sagebrush and are able to use it much more efficiently than other ungulates. There used to be 12 species of pronghorn (Antilocaprids) here in the Pleistocene, but today only one still exists, Antilocapra americana.

Although pronghorn can run fast, they can't jump well. Instead of jumping over fences, they usually crawl underneath them. It looks as awkward as it sounds. Someday I might get lucky and get a photo.

I could see the pronghorn off a ways in the desert, watching the playa. I wouldn't have seen them, though, if I didn't know to look for them, as they blend in really well.

 The bone on the playa showed that not all animals are able to escape their predators.

 I found these nice pronghorn tracks.

 The tracks were near this puddle. Flocks of horned larks kept flying around. I'm sure this water is a major attractor. Playas are often dry, but when they have water, they are a hotspot of diversity.

 One of the things that attracts me most about playas is all the patterns that can be found on them. Near the edges I found small black gravel on the playa. It had filled in many of the mud cracks, accenting the dessicated pattern.

 The tree-like drainage pattern caught my eye. Even on a small scale, the patterns are fantastic.

 When you get out to the middle of the playa, it's hard to imagine what could possibly live on it. It seems so desolate and forlorn, so hard to make a living.

 The playa attracted some short-termers for a party.

 An elevation change of a few millimeters permitted a bush to grow out on the playa.

 And then I found this beetle out near the middle. What are you doing out here, little beetle?
 

 The beetle is in the lower middle of the photo--look for its shadow. It's really far from anything!

 It was moving quickly, perhaps realizing that it was more-than-a-little exposed to birds and other predators.

 These tracks that start and stop abruptly made me think of alien life. Perhaps that's due to so many alien movies being filmed out in the desert!

I was surprised by all the life I saw out on the playa. There was sign of lots more--plenty of scat from pronghorn and wild horses, burrows, bird scat, and more. At first it might appear as such a bleak place, but once you look a little closer, you can see that the playa is an important place for many animals.

Now I'm ready to go explore a few more playas!

St. George Dinosaur Disovery

 In honor of National Fossil Day on Wednesday, here's a post about some cool fossils we saw recently. We were headed to St. George, Utah to watch some friends run in the St. George marathon, and I figured that since we were going to make the trip, it would be a great opportunity to see some of the sights. With Desert Boy's love of paleontology, it was only natural that we head to the Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm. 

This is a relatively new site, discovered in 2000 when Dr. Sheldon Johnson was leveling a hill on his property. He found the dinosaur tracks, and it was quickly seen that this was an exceptionally good place for tracks. He worked to preserve the tracks instead of developing the land. I couldn't help but wonder what dinosaur tracks lay under the nearby parking lot, roads, church, and houses.

 And the tracks sure are spectacular! These are not difficult to see at all. I liked to think of the dinosaurs wandering across the landscape, unknowingly leaving prints that would be preserved for millions of years.

 At least three different species of dinosaurs left tracks at the site.

 We also saw fossilized mud cracks, which are cool looking.

 The site also has some other really interesting tracks, such as these swim tracks. Apparently it's rare to find tracks that dinosaurs made as they were entering the water and starting to swim. I also really liked the impression of dinosaur skin. It doesn't seem like it could be so old!

 The kids really liked the touchable fossils.

 I thought this fossil was really pretty--and big! We were on little kid speed through the museum, which meant I couldn't read very much.

Much of the museum protects the biggest trackway, with a dinosaur replica to give a sense of scale. Although the museum isn't very large, it sure is interesting.

 The kids especially liked the hands-on activities in the activity room.

Another favorite was the sandbox.

It looks like the museum is working on making a short trail out back, which would be a nice addition.

Hope you have a great National Fossil Day!