THE WALKING STICK

BACK SOON

2010-07-23T22:06:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

My family and I have been having such an awesome Summer, that I just haven't had the time to blog! I've been practicing what I've been preaching, and taking my young ones outdoors! Here's a snip-it of all the fun we have been having:

Princess caught her big frog prince --he was HUGE!

The sweetest and most friendly frog, oh, and HUGE!

Learned about snakes! In the process got to pet a Bull Snake. We learned they some times imitate Rattler snakes.

Created imaginary trains out of rocks, while playing in our backyard.

Caught a crayfish at a local pond. Learned about the art of camouflaging in nature. Crayfish are not easy to spot in creeks because they blend well with their surrounding rocks. The kids were amazed by the Crayfish's ability to go unnoticed underwater.

Touched a butterfly...a huge highlight for a 2-year-old.

Growing our organic veggie garden. Having fun harvesting our first "Beef Tomato", and eating it.

It was yummy!

There is more fun that I should document, but I must go to bed. I will be back to write about my amazing Yellowstone Park adventure in a few days!

I hope you all are having a phenomenal Summer like we are!

WYOMING: GRAND TETON

2010-06-28T17:04:00.170-07:00

Well, we did it! We rented an RV and went on our road trip to Wyoming! As promised, we took my lovely Mom with us (it was her Mother's Day gift), and something she and our kids have been looking forward to for a very long time.

Our trip was all sorts of amazing and wondrous! Wyoming is a beautiful State, blessed with so much natural resources and glorious landscapes.

My hubby and I were so happy that were able to take our two little ones on a family oriented outdoor adventure that we were sure would make them fall in-love with Nature. Yes, our trip to Wyoming did that!

Here is my hubby, camera in hand next to the RV we rented for our trip to Wyoming. Bless him, for he drove for 10 hours straight (he started driving from Colorado at 3:00 AM) while we all slept comfortably in our beds. We want to let him know that we all appreciate all the driving he did...and we love him for taking us on this amazing trip!

Of course, our little peanut thought he could do the driving too. He actually told us "I'm driving the bus". Maybe next time buddy! LOL

Here we all are at the beginning of our trip.

For the first three days in Wyoming, we decided to stay and check-out the Grand Teton National Park. Once we saw these amazing mountain range, we had to get out of the RV and take a picture!

My Mom wanted a picture with me, and the beautiful mountains in the background. It was so emotional to see these strong beautiful mountains and have my Mom there sharing it with me. It's a memory I'm sure we will both cherish for the rest of our lives.

Hubby's turn to take a picture with the Grand Teton in the background.

Oh, let us not forget the kids! :-)

There is a God.

After driving through The Grand Teton, we headed to an RV Park located in Colter Bay. Here we were able to refill our water tanks, dump our sewer (an experience my hubby is still talking about), and plug into some electricity. Here is our little princess somewhere in one of the RV Park's wooded area trail.

These two loved the RV Park in Colter Bay! It had one of the most beautiful views of the Grand Teton!

Lake view in Colter Bay of the Grand Teton.

Colter Bay Marina.

My kids were so happy to make some new friends in Colter Bay!

Oh, did I mention they got to see a female Moose! Wow!

Moose!!!

Moose and the Grand Teton!

The next day was a bit rainy and cold, but we were all determined to go fishing! We went really early to the Marina and rented a small boat, brought our fishing license, some worms, and off we went!

Here I am freezing my butt! :-)

It was raining really hard by the time we were fishing on the lake. It was so cloudy that we could hardly see the Grand Teton anymore.

My Mom could not keep her raincoat's hood on so she tied a paper bag around her neck to keep it from falling off. She's so inventive!

Hubby made light of the fact that we were all cold and wet!

But don't be fooled by his silly behavior, he was all business and was serious about fishing.

Princess and her worms...

Must get fish.

Too bad it didn't happen that day.

My theory was/is, that it was just too cold and wet for the fish to come out and eat. My theory, and I'm sticking to it!

The hubby was determined to go fishing, so we unplugged our RV, and got on the road to go fishing at a close by Dam. The Colter Bay natives swore to us that it was the best place to catch fish.

On the way to the Dam, we were pleasantly surprised by our first Bison sighting!

There were three of them by the side of the road. They were so HUGE!

Sorry, I just couldn't resist!

We made it to the Dam!

Daddy was serious...MUST GET FISH!

Mom was not interested in fishing, but she really enjoyed the view!

Oh, and we got to see our first Brown Eagle. It was just perched majestically on a tree across from the Dam's running water.

Meet Danny: he took pity on us and gave us the fish he just caught (a 7 to 10 lb Cut Throat). He said he had been fishing all week and that his wife would kill him if he brought home another fish. I'm actually smiling while I type this...

Princess holding Danny's gift. She loved how it was still wiggling a bit inside the bag.

Danny also clued my husband and I on how to catch fish in the Dam. He mainly told us what we were doing wrong.

Apparently, our main problem was that we were only using worms as bait. Danny told us that we needed to use a lure AND a worm to attract the fish in the Dam.

And keeping with his generosity, Danny gave us a couple of his lures...

...and we attached one of our worms to the hook.

And lo-and-behold, my hubby caught his first fish! YES! Thank you Danny, where ever you are!

As you can see above, my hubby was trying to say that his fish "is-this-big"...HA!

Again, thank you Danny!

With new information and confidence, I gave fishing a try.

And I tried...

Eureka! I caught one too! A lake trout! The kids were thrilled!

After our successful fishing expedition was over, it was time to once again explore the Grand Teton National Park.

What a beautiful place!

Serenity.

Glorious.

I wonder what he was thinking about when we drove by and first saw the Grand Teton from the RV window. This is a child that hardly sits still. However, on this trip we caught him many times glued to the window for long periods of time. The landscape was just that captivating!

Divine.

A lone Pelican flying on one of the rivers located in the Grand Teton National Park.

We were so lucky to see this little fella! It's a Pika!

This little bird is missing a leg. Poor thing. The kids wanted me to take him home so that we could teach it to walk with only one leg. Awe!

We need to identify you...

My kids are all about bugs these days, so we made sure to bring on the trip their favorite toy of the moment: the bug vacuum! It allows the kids to safely collect/trap any bug of interest, and then view them under magnifying plastic bottle. It also makes it easy to safely release the little creatures once we are done looking at them. The kids take their bug vacuum gun everywhere!

They wanted to look at this large Red Fire Ant. Daddy helped them "vacuum" it up. I'm glad they were safely able to look at this little creature...they are known to sting!

After bug catching, hubby wanted a hug! So I obliged!

We drove to Jackson Hole one day, and rode the New Aerial Tram, at Rendezvous Mountain. The Tram took us to an elevation of 10,450 feet! It was scary, but it was just so breathlessly beautiful up there!

Awe! A daddy and princess moment.

The princess loved being up so high!

We just couldn't believe the view!

This was the last day of us exploring The Grand Teton National Park. I still can't believe I was there!

This is divine Nature!

We weren't done with Wyoming yet...after the Grand Teton, off we went to Yellowstone National Park.

Our adventure wasn't over! There's more to come, and more to blog about!

GONE SO FAST

2010-06-01T10:14:00.002-07:00

Wow, I can't believe it's been three weeks since I last blogged! I usually try to squeeze in a weekly write-in, but these past few weeks have been busy, busy, busy at our household. Not to mention, we have had quite a ride (weather wise) here in Colorado, with Mother Nature throwing many temper tantrums before settling down. We even got a couple of snow storms thrown in the mix before Spring decided to grace us with her presence.

Despite the weather and schedule challenges, our little family did manage to have some fun in the lovely outdoors. Of course, our fun was a bit restricted, and most of our adventures were in our own backyard, but boy were they fun!!!

Here is a snippet of how our three weeks have been:

We got some snow overnight, so we decided to "paint" the snow by mixing in some Kool-Aid packets (different flavors gave us different colors), and water in a spray bottle. This is an activity we found in the book "Go Outside"! Of course, by midday, most of the snow started to melt, and only the children's swing-set had snow around it.

Here they are spraying away. I love how the snow is there canvas!

Of course, it was a matter of time before someone got sprayed in the face! Unfortunately, being the little one, peanut was the first to get it. Poor thing! It's a good thing that it was cherry flavored water!

Tired of painting snow, my little princess decided she wanted to make us some "PRETTY PIE'! The ingredients: dirt, water, grass, leaves, and of course Kool Aid water! LOL

This is the finished product! Yum , it's Pretty Pie!

Want some mommy?

It's really good, I promise! Try it!

The kids also dug a big hole in our backyard! And it was not Daddy-approved! Teehee!

They got their clothes really dirty! Not mommy approved...but it's okay.

And they found worms...

...and were so happy with their find!

We also made it to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo located in Colorado Springs, CO.

We fed some Giraffes!

Hung-out and expressed ourselves!

Looked at some interesting animals.

And rode a pony!

When the temperature got warmer, we started planting wild-flowers to decorate our balcony.

The princess and peanut helped sprinkled the seeds.

Peanut took his turn...and yes, you are seeing correctly -- he's wearing his Christmas themed pajamas in Spring. :-)

They really enjoyed this activity! They are future gardeners!

We finally started to fill our bird-feeder, and subsequently, we are starting to see more wild birds.

Peanut enjoys looking over the greenbelt close to our house.

Hmm...what am I looking at?

We went out and looked at ducks! We love the ducks!

The princess enjoyed a brisk walk past the duck pond.

We got some more snow. This is the view from our balcony.

Nothing to do with outdoors, but a fun time nonetheless...our peanut turned two years old!
Here he is blowing the candles on his "Thomas the Tank Engine" themed cake.

He was so happy to have his friends Kiana and Luke join him on his special day!

The Grandmothers (on both sides) chipped-in money to get him this off-road electric truck.

We were all surprised that he instinctively knew how to drive it. So thank you Baba and Abuela!

His expression says it all! The last three weeks have been quite fun, and tiring.

But nothing short of an adventure in our own backyard!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

2010-05-09T10:21:00.001-07:00

A big thank you to Jessa from the fabulous blog Holiday Haven for giving this blog an award! It is an honor to be nominated by Jessa, since her own blog is amazing! If you're interested in holiday planning, crafts, decorating, recipes, and love all things beautiful, you HAVE TO check-out Holiday Haven.

Now as part of the blog award, there are some rules to follow:

1) Thank who gave it to you and post the rules -- Done that!
2) Copy award in your blog -- Done that!
3) List three things you love about yourself:

1) I love that I'm a good friend.

2) I love that I still feel like I'm a 10 year-old inside.

3) I love that I still love to learn, and try new things.

4) Post a picture or quote you love:

I'm actually breaking this rule a bit (and I hope Jessa will not mind)! See today is Mother's Day, and it's a very special one for my family, and I.

For over 16 years my mother, Maura (sounds like Laura), has been battling breast cancer. She is an amazing woman, and I love and admire her so much. Not only do I owe her for giving me life, I owe her for making me the strong, generous, loving person I am today. Everything that I've become, is due to my Mom's strict upbringing, and loving spirit. As I raise my own children, I can see myself becoming more and more like my mother! Of course, that always shocks me because I'm sure I'm not the only one that swore up and down that they will never be like their mother...but nope, I'm proud to say I'm a lot like my mother! My love of animals and all things connected with Mother Earth, comes from my mother. I can't say it enough...she's an amazing woman and mom. So now that she's on stage four cancer, it is so important that we see her and show her how much we love her, and want her to continue to fight for her life!

As a Mother's Day gift, my lovely hubby will be picking-up my Mom in NYC, and bringing her back to Colorado for a visit. We are also renting an RV, and taking "Grandma" on the road trip she's been wanting to make...we are taking her to YELLOW STONE PARK! We are looking forward to hiking, cooking, camping, and staring at stars with my loving Mom!

So back to the award...I've chosen not one, but four, pictures of the last time we were on vacation with my awesome Mom! We all went to the Grand Cayman Island, and we enjoyed every moment we had with her! My kids loved it too...especially the princess, since she got to spend the most one-on-one time with her Grandma roaming the beach! Love you Mom...we can't wait to see you soon!

5) Tag 3-5 people you wish to pass this award to.

Easy!

First up, is MaryLea of Pink and Green Mama! If you are looking for arts-n-crafts to make with your children, MaryLea is the queen! Check her blog out, and be prepared to be amazed!

My second choice is Liz from The Flowering Dogwood! I found her blog while looking for a good chicken recipe. That night I made fresh Teriyaki Chicken...and it was yummy! I love reading her blog, especially when she makes her weekly meal plans to feed her family.

And lastly, but not least, I love reading Kari's blog, The Snail's Trail! As a former teacher, Kari shares with her blog readers ways to teach their preschoolers at home. She also shares lots of technology information on ways to improve your blog. But of course, the best reason I love reading Kari's blog, is that like myself, recognizes the importance of having children out in Nature. She loves to write about her children's Nature explorations. And as a result, I love reading her description of their discovery, and obvious enjoyment. Kari is an amazing mom, and I hope everyone gets a chance to visit her blog sometime soon!

Well, that's it! I've completed the rules! And again, thanks to Jessa for nominating us!

One more thing: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL OF YOU PRECIOUS MOMS OUT THERE!

HAVE NO FEAR

2010-05-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

I love taking my children outside to play -- that's not a secret. My IMMENSE fear that one of my kids will get injured outside -- is a HUGE secret!

But I think it's time to let go of that fear!

And for clarification purposes, let me outright state that I really only have fear that my little peanut will get injured. My daughter has always been very cautious and careful, and although she's injured herself here and there, she's generally been accident prone-free. Her little brother -- not so much!

Case in point:

I took peanut to a simple outing to one of our local park while his sister was in preschool. It was a cold day in Colorado (since Spring has been a bit shy this year), and snow was still on the ground.

He was also enjoying out door play, with his gal pal (A.K.A princess Mia). He followed her all around the playground having a great time.

Where is my buddy? I can't see him (says Mia).

Oh...there he is she continued. We all turned, and saw little peanut go down the slide! Weeee!

Oh no! Peanut went for another turn down the slide, but this time he decided to slide down on his stomach, and fell flat on his face! I saw when it happened, but I was too slow to stop him coming down. After he fell, he picked himself up and started running towards me. Initially, I thought he was okay, and even took the time to take a picture (the one above). It wasn't until he came closer tha I noticed that he was in total shock and was not able to cry. I took a good look and I started to panic!

OH MY GOD!

He was actually injured! His face was all scraped-up, and I could see that he was bleeding around his nose and close to his right eye.

He finally found his voice and started to cry. And then he started to wail!

After I was able to calm him down. I reached for the first-aid kit in my backpack. And of course, wouldn't you know it -- it wasn't there! Peanut himself took the kit out of my bag a few days before, and I had forgotten to put it back before heading outdoors. So what to do? What to do? I think that for a moment, I actually stopped breathing!

Determined to cure peanut's wounds, I took a deep breath and proceded to clean him with baby wipes. Once that was done, I realised that some of the scrapes on his nose would not stop bleeding. Left with nothing else on hand to put on his nose, I dabbed diaper rash cream everywhere he was bleeding. I was amazed...IT WORKED! You can clearly see the cream on Peanut's face in the picture above.

Ah. Crisis contained, wounds no longer an issue, let's look at some ducks!

DUCKS!

Beautiful scene! And it calmed both peanut and I.

Duck tracks.

Peanut's wounds healed just fine, and as terrible as it looked, he currently does not have any visible scars.

Even though I still suffer small anxiety attacks everytime I take peanut for outdoor fun, I tell myself to have no fear and just make sure to bring the first aid kit!

ROXBOROUGH STATE PARK

2010-04-25T14:47:00.007-07:00

This is my second post about Roxborough State Park. It is my family's favorite place to hike! We try to go at least once a month, no matter what the weather is like in Colorado. I think we keep going back because we ALWAYS see and find something new. It's not JUST a hike, it's a marvelous adventure. One year, we saw a rattle snake slither across our path, a friendly red fox, and mule deers galore, all on the same hike!

If you're ever in Denver, I suggest you venture to this amazing park. There are hiking trails for all level of fitness, and you won't regret making the trip!

This is the first rock formation you see upon entering the hiking trails. Beautiful.

Here we go...Obachan (Grandma), is so happy to be outdoors!

This is why my blog is called "the walking stick"...it's the first thing the princess gets when she starts a hike. She loves her "sticks".

A scenic shot.

Peanut got curious...he thought he could get his own walking stick from this dried-up brush. Maybe next time, buddy!

Oh look here! What little bird are you?

Oh, you're a Black-Capped Chickadee! Well, you're beautiful and gorgeous, and have an amazing song!

For the purpose of photography, I only focused on one bird, but there were many Chickadees on this tree. They were chirping and they were super-friendly. Apparently, they adapt well to humans being around them, and are a highly recognizable endearing songbirds. We heard them...they sound heavenly-sent!

We continued our trek!

The kids slow us down, but that's okay. They are really enjoying their hike, and playing with their sticks.

At one point of our hike, our little girl wanted me to take a picture of this rock formation. Apparently, it reminds her of her big toe! What an imagination.

A little acorn.

Our journey continues...the landscape is amazing.

Why is daddy taking picture of the princess there?

Oh, she found something. What is it?

Why, it's Mule Deer scat! Great discovery princess! Good to see that you have been studying your scat book. I hope we can find some Mule Deers on our hike!

Let's keep going.

Do you see what I see?

I definitely see something...

OH MY G..!

Yes!

Mule Deers in the distance! Yay!!!!!!!

Of course, nothing at this point could compete with the discovery of Mule Deers! BUT, my daughter made an observation that really astounded me..."mommy, why is that the only green plant in this area?" . She was referring to the Yucca plant. I have to admit, I NEVER noticed this plant, even though it's actually all over place here in Colorado. It's been everywhere we have hiked...and my daughter was correct, it always looks green. I was so happy to be able to identify it the plant for her, and I'm currently reading about its special pollination process. I think she will love it, since it involves a special relationship with a Moth! I will post more about it once I feel completely versed in the subject. So stay tuned!

I'm still amazed how my 4 year old notice this plant...and we the adults did not. This is why I love taking my kids outdoor! They actually SEE nature. And through their fresh eyes, I get to see a whole new world!

Here's a close-up of the ever-prevalent Yucca Glauca plant. It really is beautiful! DON'T TOUCH though, it's quite prickly (I found out the hard way...ouch!).

It was the end of the hike (approximately 2 miles...one of the shortest in the State Park), and my little one was just too tired to keep on going on his own two feet.

Here's a close-up my beloved hubby took of me giving my baby-peanut a lift for the last bit of the hike. We were both exhausted at this point...a sign of a successful family outing!

EARTH DAY!

2010-04-21T15:59:00.000-07:00

So Earth Day is tomorrow! If you're looking for things to do with your kids to celebrate the occasion, here is a blog with ten things you can do.

Enjoy!

P.S.: My daughter just told me all she wants to do for Earth Day is to go out in our backyard to look and identify bugs! I love it!

WILD ANIMAL SANCTUARY

2010-04-08T13:30:00.000-07:00

Our family took a small break from hiking trails, and visited the Wildlife Animal Sanctuary.

For over 29 years, the Sanctuary has rescued and housed carnivores across the United States and Mexico. Most of the animals rescued have been either illegally kept, abandoned, abused, and/or exploited. Once rescued, the animals are kept at the 320 acres rural Sanctuary for the rest of their natural life.

My family is especially enamored with "big cats", so we were all happy to know that a place like this existed, and couldn't wait to visit and show our support!

Rescued animals are first kept in large cages in order to get them used to being handled by people. Plus, they are observed to see what their personality is like if they get along with others, and can be paired.

Here are a couple of Tigers who obviously got along well with each other.

Princess, on the observation deck. She said that the cats were "gorgeous".

How beautiful are these two?

I love how this Lioness blends so well with her environment. I almost didn't see her.

My daughter wanted to know why they were separated by the fence.

I love her innate curiosity.

You know these two are married! Ha!

Yes, they even rescue Wolves!

Miss Tigress!

LOL

Am I seeing correctly?

Yes, that's an Ostrich!

On the way out we saw a bear! I'm guessing he's going back to sleep. :-)

The Sanctuary is an amazing place. We left so uplifted, and happy that there are people in this world that would come together and be passionate about helping these animals. Of course, it's not a cheap endeavor. I was amazed that for all the animals they rescue, they take ZERO government dollars! There program is solely funded by individual contributors that know the importance of wildlife conservation. We were happy that our money help them a bit...

If you wish to contribute, please do so here!

READY FOR SPRING!

2010-04-07T17:55:00.001-07:00

My reference books have arrived, and I'm so excited! Spring hiking here we come! Our family outdoor adventures will become more incredible than they already are! We can now find and identify everything we observe in Nature!

I got some adult-friendly reference books, alongside child-friendly ones.

I especially, love the Fandex series that I learned about from my one of my favorite blog!

Trees Fandex

Colorado Birds Pocket Field Guide

Colorado Butterfly & Moth Field Guide

Plants of the Rocky Mountains

Colorado Trees & Wildflowers Field Guide

Wildflowers of Colorado Field Guide

We are going to use all of these guides through-out our Spring/Summer outdoor adventures...and we are so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!

CRS

2010-04-06T12:44:00.005-07:00

I am happy to say that as a family, we definitely are getting out and enjoying Nature. Whether it is going on a hike, planting flowers, collecting bugs, reading about different species of birds, or simply playing in our backyard; we are reaching our goal of basking in Nature's glory. And that's good news.

However, recently my husband and I have been discussing how we should start teaching our children about how things work in Nature. I'm not just talking about identifying trees, birds, animals, etc..., but about Nature's ecosystem. We want to teach them about the order of things, the relationship animals have with their environment (and vice-versa), and the impact humans have (good or bad) on Nature.

We want our children to understand that they should not only enjoy their environment, but also respect it and realise that as human beings we have to take care of it. But most importantly, that they, as individuals have a positive role to play in making that happen.

In essence, we want them to learn about the environment in terms of conservation, restoration, and sustainability (hence forward, I will call this "CRS"). Again, that's good news.

So where is the bad news, you may be asking by now? Our kids are four and two years old.

Due to their young age, we are finding it a tough task teaching them about Nature's CRS.

Of course, we've just started broaching this task, and will be hitting the library for books on how to explain this intricate and expansive subject to preschool children. And in a future blog post, I will share the titles of the books we have found to be helpful in this endeavor.

In the meanwhile, I told my husband that the best thing to do is to start incorporating the lessons of CRS in all of our future family outdoor expeditions.

That's how our hiking trip to The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge became a reality.

I can easily write a 30 page report about the Refuge...but I won't. Instead, I will encourage all my blog readers to check out the their website and read specifically the overview section, to understand why the The Rocky Mountain Arsenal is a perfect place to educate children on environmental issues.

In short, the Refuge started out as farmland, and then became a weapons manufacturing area during World War II. After the weapon factories were closed, the land was found to be highly contaminated. In the 1980's the Army and Shell corporation began a massive land clean-up under the supervision of the all three levels of regulatory agencies (federal, state, and local). The discovery of roosting bald eagles at the site ensured the involvement of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife in managing the wildlife in that area. Soon after, Congress passed a law designating the area a wildlife refuge. It is estimated that the clean-up of the Refuge will end sometime in 2010.

The Refuge's mission: "”To administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife, and plant resources of the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.” "

**********PERFECT PLACE TO START OUR CRS LESSON!*******

And so we went!

The Refuge has nine miles of trails. It was a cold breezy January day, so we decided to loop around the lake...which was frozen solid. Our little girl was in such awe with the beauty of the lake, that we had to nudge her a couple of times in order to get her to move along.

A lake for Mary.

Another view of the frozen lake.

It was just too pretty, and we had to take more pictures.

Me taking pictures!

Our princess found her first scat! She wanted to identify it. Woo hoo!

Close up of the scat...from the shape, and the trace of gray hair in its outer layer, we believe it came from a Coyote.

Now it was peanut's turn to be awed!

"Mommy, ice!"

The family...trying to move along.

"Mommy, what is this?"

My dear, I believe these are cattails!

Lovely!

We can't stop taking picture of this beautiful frozen lake.

Loved this! It started our ecosystem conversation with our four year old!

Bonus! We found tracks! We believe they belonged to a Mule Deer.

Next, my daughter found these round pellet-like scats! Thus, confirming the tracks we found close by were from a Mule Deer.

A great picture to keep for future reference on identifying Blue Grama grass.

Ditto for the Sand Bluestem grass.

Such a majestic tree! I had to take a picture!

It was cold, but very scenic. It inspired me to start taking black-n-white pictures.

Peanut, enjoying being outside in Nature.

Another majestic tree in the distance.

Simply, magical.

This device is used to track the animals the Refuge have been able to tag in the area.

Our kids, loving their hike. I love how they're each going at their own pace.

These trees were so eerily mesmerizing.

Our little man could not believe there was still snow on the ground!

Beautiful sky!

Once our hike was done, we ventured inside the Refuge's main office and took a look at their little museum. It was a wonder! A surprising find!

Here is peanut looking at stuffed Coyotes. We see live ones all the time near our house (our house is off of a natural reserve), but this is the closest I want him to get to one in real life.

I loved this part of the museum. It showed the different types of grass in the area, and how tall they could get.

The Refuge cannot escape its history. And I loved how they displayed WWII, and the impact the chemical warfare factories had on the land and the environment.

Our four year old little lady, is starting to get the picture of how an ecosystem works! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT! What an education going to the Refuge was...

Some times taking the kids to the museum is difficult, because usually kids are not allowed to touch the things that are on display. And, as an adult, I understand the reasons why this is the case, my kids do not. So I was so incredibly happy to see this display!

Please touch...

...don't mind if I do!

Too bad I took such a crummy picture of this display. This was a phenomenal education piece for my daughter and our goal to teach her about the ecosystem and CRS.

This simple display, explained so much about the ecosystem of the Prairie. It was so informative, and kept her attention for a very long time. She had so many questions, that my husband and I had to take turns reading to her the signs on the display about the different animals in the Refuge, and how their co-existence was important for conservation and sustainability of the land.

Of course, being the four year old that she is, she was most struck with the idea that the Eagles preyed and successfully ate the Prairie dogs. But it was a good discussion, and an opportunity to be able to explain to her the concept of overpopulation and the impact on an ecosystem. We detailed for her that if the Eagles didn't eat the Prairie Dogs, there would be an overpopulation of them that would have a negative effect on the land's ecosystem.

It was an awesome conversation to have with her.

Display table of nests, and eggs from the different birds in the area.

I loved these. They were small with reddish-brown dots!

Close-up. I believe they were from the Western Meadowlark bird.

A Bullsnake!

I wasn't going to write about this, but I found that it was necessary to blog about. When we got to the Refuge, we immediately smelled a foul stench in the air. At first, we thought that perhaps we were smelling the Bison scat (yes, this Refuge has Bison, roaming on parts of their land), but no...it turned out that there was a nearby landfill. At times, we could smell the rotting heap of garbage during our hike. I guess it all depended on which way the wind was blowing. Of course, this did not ruin our trip to the Refuge, but it was a little disappointing. Of course, it did lead us to talk about the importance of recycling with our little ones. So I guess it was a bitter-sweet bonus of our outdoor adventure at the Refuge.

Another picture angle of the landfill.

A close-up of the landfill.

Another thing we noticed on our way out of the Refuge: Colonies of Black-tailed Prairie Dogs!

A little closer...

It wasn't close enough for the princess...we had to get out of the car!

She got to see them up close! This is her doing her happy dance!

I want to see more!

Here you go!

She was so close, she actually heard their barks! What a great way to end our trip to the The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge!

CASTLEWOOD CANYON STATE PARK

2010-03-31T11:57:00.005-07:00

In Colorado, getting the kids outside in the Winter time is always a challenge. Some times there is snow on ground, the wind is a bit too rough, and the kids can only last outdoor for a half an hour at a time. However, there are days were the sun is shining so bright that we really have no excuse to stay indoors. The latter was the case on a beautiful crisp February morning.

Hence, we packed the entire family in the car and headed to Castlewood Canyon State Park for a glorious hike.

Once we arrived at the park (it took 45 minutes to get there), we asked the Park Rangers which of the hiking trails were easiest and shortest. After all, we had two toddlers, and their elderly "Obachan" (that's what the Japanese call their grandma), to take along with us.

The Park Rangers directed us to the Inner Canyon Loop trail, which they said was the easiest of the four trails in the park. They estimated that it would take us approximately an hour to loop around, and promised us that we would have a great view of the canyon once we got to the end. However, the hike was not easy, it took us an entire three hours to hike, and we never got to the end.

Our pictures tells the story:

Here we are at the beginning of the trail. It sure looks easy...

Daddy's turn to get his picture taken at the starting point.

First signs that we were going to have to be cautious and walk at a slower pace! Ice everywhere on the trail, and Obachan did not have proper hiking shoes to deal with the slippery surface.

We loved the rock formation in this park! Plus, we got to see a couple of rock climbers enjoying their sport as we continued our hike.

We couldn't understand why our little princess kept falling behind...

...until she caught up to us, and told us she found a "treasure"! This is why we go out in Nature, where pine cones are treasures!

The scenery was beautiful. We all stopped for a few minutes just to take it all in.

More snow on the ground. Actually, it was really iced-up. At this point we were all walking carefully and very slow.

Eek! A dead mouse! The princess was very fascinated by this, and asked if we knew what ate the poor little creature. We let her use her imagination, for we had no answer to her question. Her conclusion was that it might have been one of the dogs, since she noted that the park allows people to bring their pet dogs with them on a hike.

You can't tell from this picture, but this is actually a frozen stream! We had to stop, because it was very slippery and we had to climb a couple of big rocks to cross over.

Another picture of the frozen stream. Beautiful!

There was a part of the creek that was not frozen, and this lovely dog could not resist taking a dip!

At this point, Obachan was very tired and was feeling a bit uncomfortable walking on the muddy, sometime iced-up dirt. I had to stay behind with her, hold her at times to ensure she didn't fall down and break a bone. Our little girl was so concerned, that she found both Obachan and I a walking stick! If you click on the picture above, you can clearly see us both with our sticks. Thanks princess.

This is the obligatory, take a picture of the kids together task of the day! :-)

We made it mid point on the loop, but had to stop. Too many people that were coming from the other direction told us that we should turn around and not attempt to go to the end because the icy condition was dangerous. I guess they noticed Obachan holding unto me really tight, and knew instantly that with such an elderly person, we should not try and walk down the steep hill they all described as extremely icy, and not suitable for hiking. We heeded their warning and turned around.

Our little girl under a cute rock formation.

Back the way we came from! And look who now has one of our walking sticks! LOL

The peanut has been on daddy's back all this time. This is a picture I took of him just minutes before he passed out...which is something he usually does at the end of almost every hike we have taken. We can now actually time it!

However, the princess is still going...

Oh, and look! She found herself another treasure! What an amazing little rock. The colors are amazing!

She found another treasure!

Before we left the park, my princess noticed a little red berry-looking thing on the dried-up grass. It was a perfect opportunity to introduce the concept of "find and identify" to my lovely four year old.

We have yet to identify the fruit, and the grass species it belongs to...if any of you know what this is please let us know. We would be so appreciative. :-)

Here is a close-up of what we think is some kind of berry. As stated above, we have yet to identify the species, but since we will be going back to Castlewood Canyon State Park sometime at the end of Spring, we will hopefully be able to identify the grass that produces this fruit, with its more green discernible features.

It was a treacherous hike, and we didn't make it to the end. But really who cares? We were out in Nature, enjoying its divine beauty. And look at these two on the car ride back home: So happy! Exploring Nature definitely has its rewards!

As a side note, we ran again into one of the Park Rangers on the way out of the park. He told us that we have to come back at the end of May, when the cherry blossom are in bloom. Apparently, the smell from the tree flowers are so powerful and gorgeous, that people make it a yearly tradition to return to Castlewood Canyon State Park just to smell the air. So, we are going back at the end of May, and we cannot wait!

EXCUSE/INTRODUCTION/GOALS

2010-03-28T11:51:00.046-07:00

EXCUSE

Well, this blog took a long time to launch, but I did have an excuse: Life!

Sick children, Winter storms, a new relative moving in (who happens to have a disability), and a traveling husband made my regular home schedule a bit challenging these past two months. In life, you have to prioritize, and unfortunately, this lovely blog had to be put at the bottom of my list.

Not to fret, things have calmed down, and now I can share my passion of sharing my family's nature adventures with the beloved people in cyberspace! Hopefully, henceforward, life will not present me with difficult challenges and I will be able to blog, on a regular basis, the collective experiences of my family's outdoor adventures.

INTRODUCTION

With my excuse out of the way, let me introduce my family: My name is Angela, and I'm currently living in Colorado (in a suburb South of Denver). I'm married to a half-Japanese/half-European (German/English), lovely man. We have been together for over 18 years...15 of those married! We have to beautiful children: Princess - a girl, age 4, and Peanut - a boy, age 2. We are a loving family that loves to spend time outside enjoying nature.
Since I'm the main blogger in our family, let me tell you a bit about myself. I was born in the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic, to be precise. My family migrated to New York City when I was 3 years old. Since then, I had studied, worked, married my amazing husband, and lived in the "Big Apple", until I was 25 years old. After only being married a year, my husband's job transfered us to the UK, and we lived in London, for five years. We eventually returned to NYC, and lived there for two years, then moved to San Diego, California for four years, and eventually moved to beautiful Colorado, where we are currently in our fifth year.

Mainly, I consider myself a die-hard New Yorker -- an urbanite.

I was raised in Spanish Harlem, and my parents were very protective, and would hardly ever let me play outside. As new immigrants, they were afraid of letting their young daughter outside, in what they consider a "new world". Of course, now that I'm an adult, and a parent, I absolutely understand their decision, even if it was something that bothered me when I was young. They were very protective, and I love and thank them for being so loving, and caring. I wish my childhood would have been a bit different, but I've understood why they made their decisions.

GOALS

And now I'm a parent.

I have two curly heads, who are funny, energetic, and incredibly smart for their young age. I want to love them, and care for them, the same way my parents did for me. However, I'm going to take it one step further: I'm going to give them the outdoor experiences that I never got to have.

That's actually my main goal in a nutshell.

Nature is a divine gift. There is a beauty, an order, a discipline, that we can find in everything we encounter in the natural world. We see it in the trees, the birds, the flowers, the bubbling brooks, the steady stream of water in a creek, and even the bugs some of us cringe at when come upon them. There is a representation of God (whatever that means to us as an individual), that we cannot ignore. And I want my children to experience it, love it, and to bask in its glory!

And while my goal is to provide this exhilarating experience for my children, my secret goal is that through this blog, I can inspire people out there to provide that same exact experience for their children. So, without any further notice, I will kindly share my family's outdoor adventures, in hopes that my family can inspire yours!

P.S.: Below is my photo essay (no words added or needed), of some of my family's outdoor adventures: