July 22: Wonders of Water

The Mountain Kids had an exciting introduction to the many wonders of water on Monday, a day spent venturing through the nearby Beaver Ponds, where the team learned about the adaptations of beavers, discovered many fascinating (and wildly unexpected) fossils, and played in the refreshing water of the Santa Fe River.

Tuesday was a day filled with much more water (and mud, too!) at Abiquiu Lake. The children were able to imagine the scarcity of water in our waterways with the Water Scarcity Game, before heading out to Abiquiu. It certainly did not take the Mountain Kids! long before they were jumping into waist-deep mud and making a real splash with a cannonball contests into the lake!

The Hummingbirds caught a glimpse of the unyielding strength of water during our hike, on Wednesday to the waterfall at Rio en Medio. Some children recognized how the trail had completely changed in some areas due to recent heavy rains, and that several of the river crossings were much wider and more difficult to maneuver. We were super impressed with the hearty group, making it all the way to the waterfall! A big hike for little legs.

With a challenging hike under our belts, Thursday came as a breath of fresh air. We discussed where our water comes from in Santa Fe, and learned about our local watershed before enjoying a much shorter hike through the refreshing water on our way up to the Nambe Falls. Here, the children splashed and played, made mud pies, practiced stacking rocks, and enjoyed the cool refreshing water in the falls.

It surely was an exciting week filled with lots of wonderful water! Friday was a lovely day for the team to come together, once more, and enjoy several games after a hike down the Little Tesuque trail. Thanks for a great week, all!

Survival Hunting Tools: July 15-20

This was a week full of watery fun, skill building with knives and bows, and some good heart pumping hikes with views for miles and miles.

Monday we started with spear making at the Big Tesuque. Knife safety was the most important lesson of the day. Campers made some pretty nice looking spears in preparation for our Atl Atls on Wednesday. We played games to get to know one another and explored nature in all of it’s glory. (Caterpillars and all.)

Tuesday was a Rio en Medio adventure, a good wet hike to a waterfall where the campers enjoyed plunging into the icy water. They quickly chose to wear rain jackets to protect them from the icy flow. It was a joyous day on the Rio en Medio trail.

Wednesday was our day of Archery and more tool making in Chupadero. We worked on our spears and Atl Atls (an ancient hunting tool which provides speed and leverage fro throwing a spear). We then tried our hand at archery. Bark Bunnies was a fun game for all – aiming for chunks of bark, laden with jerky. If you hit the bark, and knock the jerky down, you get to eat the jerky. Yum!

Thursday we headed up the Winsor Trail for Raven’s Ridge. It was a challenging climb, so Michael helped break it up by teaching the kids how to make animal traps in the wild. Super simple and cool. The view from Raven’s Ridge was worth the climb! Nice work, all. We had a great week of tool making, hiking and playing with you all!

The Secret Language of Birds & Bugs: July 15-20

It was a bugging good week for the Mountain Kids! Monday’s adventure on the Aspen Vista trail, accompanied by the Hummingbird’s hand-crafted bug catchers, provided a lovely introduction to a variety of our local bugs and birds. Tent Caterpillars painted the dirt paths and climbed up the aspen trees which allowed for fun and easy hands-on access to the little critters! After spending the morning reviewing some of the characteristics of different birds and bugs common in our area, the Hummingbirds practiced their creativity in a few rounds of bug and bird charades!

Wade, our wonderful bug friend in town, met with the team on Tuesday and guided us on a hike to several different bugs. The Mountain Kids learned about local spiders, beetles, ants, grasshoppers, water insects, and many more during their time at the Beaver Ponds.

With lots of new information concerning different bugs, the Hummingbirds were ‘antsy’ for their visit to the Bug Museum on Wednesday. The team met with Wade, again, at the Harrell House Bug Museum, where they held different bugs, watched the spiders and tarantulas get fed, and explored several different caged critters.

On Thursday, the Hummingbirds buzzed on over to the Santa Fe Raptor Center where they met with a variety of different owls and falcons and learned about their characteristics, diets, and different habitats. Each child was able to spritz one of the falcons with water to help him cool off in the heat. Boy – it sure was a hot one! The Hummingbirds also had their chance to cool off by splashing around in the river in El Rito.

We finished our day with watermelon and ‘appreciations’. It was sweet to hear the kids appreciating new friends they had made, the birds they saw, bugs they met and the counselors who lead them throughout the week.

Friday was a sweet end to the week spent playing in the mud and water at Nambe Falls!

July 8-12: Robin Hood’s Secrets

“The story of Robin Hood evokes clever and thoughtful adventures in the woods, stealthy river crossings, balancing on logs and fine homes in trees.” The Hummingbirds had an adventurous week discovering ways to heal wounds, practicing archery and fire making skills, and uncovering techniques for keeping invisible and camouflaged in the woods! A Monday spent at the Norski Trail was the perfect opportunity to learn about the Leave-No-Trace Principles, how to stay prepared with the 6W’s (who, what, where, when, why, and weather), and to gain some practice building shelters and hiding huts.

A day of hiking at Rio en Medio, on Tuesday, allowed for the Mountain Kids to romp throughout the woods and experience several beautiful and refreshing river crossings. A handful of the Hummingbirds chose to challenge themselves with an extra long hike all the way back to the waterfall – a glorious feat well worth each step!

Wednesday, the Hummingbirds began their morning learning how to create Pinon Pine Salve which can be used to help in healing small scrapes and wounds. After their fun craft, the Mountain Kids headed out to Chupadero where they worked with, Michael, a wonderful primitive skills educator, who taught them new archery safety and skills and how to create fire with sticks! After a day spent in the sunshine, Thursdays trip up the Santa Fe River, allowed the Hummingbirds to use their imagination while balancing on logs, crossing the river, and walking stealthily up the waterway!

The Hummingbirds and Eagles joined together, on Friday, for a day spent splashing in the mud and water at Abiquiu Lake. The low waters allowed for endless amounts of clay and mud which was just perfect for practicing camouflage skills!

July 8-12: Forest Survival School with Archery

What a full week of fun and skill building we had this week.

A Monday spent at the Norski Trail was the perfect opportunity to learn about the Leave-No-Trace Principles, how to be prepared with the 6W’s (who, what, where, when, why, and weather) and what one should do if one were in a survival situation.

Shelter is a high priority, so we learned the finer points of the Debris hut, the most suitable shelter for our climate, and tried our hand at making them. Two groups worked together to make a couple of pretty amazing shelters in a short period of time. A shelter tour ensued, bisected by a tour of our local Catarpillar Sanctuary, which had been created by a third group of empathetic campers.

We used Leave No Trace principles and dismantled our shelters, which can be very fun, and an important part of our play in the forest.

We played Eagle Eye to end our day, a great way to practice our hiding and sneaking skills.

Caterpillar Care was an important part of the day for some campers.

Fire is another important aspect of wilderness survival. Tuesday took us to Chupadero where we learned several primitive ways to make fire from Michael, a wonderful Primitive Skills educator. We tried our hand at the bow drill and the hand drill in small groups. Primitive fire making takes a lot of practice, and the campers all practiced…. soon there was a good fire smell wafting around the tent and wisps of smoke could be seen. Ultimately we all worked together to make a coal for a fire. Team work saves the day! Not inly does team work help in a survival situation, we spoke about the importance of attitude (keeping it positive!) in a survival situation.

The Bowdrill takes more coordination, but ultimately many find a good way to get your first survival fire.

Archery was a popular activity, especially when we began to play “Bark Bunnies”, a game where small targets of bark are donned with some Turkey Jerky. If you hit the target, you eat the jerky. Yum!

Arching for Jerky during a game of Bark Bunnies

Wednesday took us to the Borrego trail, with handmade fish hooks and rods. We charted our hike with a topographic map, determined which direction we were headed and how far we had to go. While the length did not seem daunting, the topo lines also show us that there was some significant elevation drop and gain along the way, making our hike more difficult than it would be if flat! We spoke about the importance of telling someone where you are going and when you will be back.

How long is the hike? Which direction are we going? How to remember the four directions? (Never Eat Soggy Waffles) Time to use a Topographic Map!

Thursday was all about water, and games! We played another sneaking and hiding game called “Pig” and talked about various ways to filter and purify water in a survival situation.

Actually, Friday was really all about Water! We spent the day cooling off by swimming and practicing our camouflage, getting muddy at Abiquiu Lake.

Camouflage at Abiquiu Lake, an important skill! 🙂

Thanks for an action-packed and fun week, Mountain Kids!

July 1-5: Mud, Clay, & Camouflage

Monday was a great start to a week full of mud, clay, and camouflage for the Eagles and Hummingbirds! Our first adventure location for the week was Deer Creek, where the Mountain Kids found giant pools of mud in which they rolled, jumped, and played for hours! The Eagles got into full camouflage mode and quickly were ready for stalking and hunting in the jungles of New Mexico!

On the Hummingbirds hike, several of the campers witnessed their first rattlesnake in the wild, enjoying the shade covered rocks. We gave the snake its space and moved along, full of excitement for what we had experienced.

Tuesday was all about clay! Each child had the opportunity to get their hands dirty in clay during our morning craft, making little pinch-pots and tiny clay structures. A trip to Galisteo allowed the team to romp about hunting and gathering buckets of their own clay – which was used Wednesday morning to create miniature ‘adobe’ bricks for clay houses. More messy mud fun followed, with a day spent playing camouflage games on the Little Tesuque trail.

The Mountain Kids! had a wonderful day, Thursday, discovering the Galisteo River, finding clay, making pigments, and whipping up some ‘algae pancakes’. We gathered cattail pollen as a last little treat and wandered along the dragonfly river path.

A refreshing end to the week was had at Nambe Falls on Friday. The Hummingbirds and Eagles hiked up stream together and cooled off with a splash in the lovely pool, created by the beautiful, roaring waterfall. It was certainly a clean and cool finish to a fun and messy week!