First Nature Day of the Summer

In order to make the most of our summer, the kids and I (mostly me) have put together a calendar that includes all the things we'll be doing, including art camps, dance camp, visits from grandparents, and music we'll be seeing. We've loosely given a theme to the days of the week to help us plan our activities so that we don't drive each other crazy for the next 10 weeks. Tuesday is now Nature Day! There aren't any hard and fast rules, but in general, we're going to get outside, hike, examine, observe, and enjoy nature on Tuesdays. Of course if the week's schedule doesn't allow for nature on Tuesday, it can happen any other day that's convenient, but this at least will help us focus. 

Our hike today was at Gate 7 off the highway toward Bandelier, also known as Sunset Canyon between me and Aaron, because of the lovely oranges of the rocks at the top of the canyon. I was reminded how s-l-o-w the kids sometimes hike, but we were not out to set any land speed or distance records, so we trudged along and enjoyed the now.

Heading down the trail...

  Rhys insisted we go off trail for a bit...

So they scrambled up by the cliffs.

The view across the valley.

Alanna's primary goal in hiking is to get to a snack spot..

And here it is- about 6 minutes from the trailhead.

Rhys is following along, too.

About 8 minutes after we started hiking again, we reached our 2nd snack spot.

Everyone spent time observing and collecting. Rhys filled up a container.

Before heading out we stopped by the hardware store to pick up two magnifying glasses for $1.

We saw lichen...

And cactus...

And sunlight through scrub oak leaves.

And a quite a few signs that this drought is slowly killing everything.

Despite the dustiness, and learning that we need to start earlier than 9:30 to beat the heat, we still had a lovely hike. Yay Nature Day!