We played some games and then had circle where Katie showed us pelts and skulls of local desert animals. It was fun to feel the soft fur of so many animals (ranging from ringtailed cat to mountain lion!).
Afterward we had snack and then loaded up to go to the Wildlife Center. This was wonderful. We had a tour and got an up close look at a Barred Owl, a Red Tailed Hawk, and a Peregrine Falcon.
Afterward, we walked around and saw all kinds of animals. Highlights included a bald eagle, vultures, falcons, a grey fox, bobcats, pygmy owls, and a turtle! We then chose an animal to go and draw, read stories, had closing circle, and played some games!
Today we began with some fun warm up games, buddies and snack. We then headed off to Galisteo where we love to find clay and cool off in the river.
LITTLES: As soon as we arrived there was a huge area of clay and mud. Before we had time to hike the kids had jumped right in and were overjoyed to be splashing and playing in the mud. Once they were sufficiently muddy, we went to the river for them to try and rinse off. It was a challenge to get the sticky mud off!
We had lunch by the river and read a folk tale. Then we went on a short hike both on land and through the river. After more time to get stuck in the mud and play with the clay, we hiked back to clean off, have closing circle and head home!
BIGS: TWe really found a lot of animal signs! We found turkey vulture feathers, fox scat, raccoon scat, coyote tracks, little tiny mouse feet tracks in the mud, mayflies, dragonflies, a toad, tadpoles, water snails, a few birds that had died and been washed into the river, and of course lots of mud! We talked about how the animals come out after the rain and leave their tracks and scat everywhere because they can’t smell any human scent after the rain. It was a fun day in the river at Galisteo!
Today we went to beaver ponds! We began the day making a group contract, where we all agreed to the rules of camp.
Serenity and Ziggy as beavers!
At circle we dressed up Serenity and Ziggy as beavers to learn about how beavers live in COLD water, and stay warm, make their homes, dig, chew down trees,etc. They were good sports and looked pretty funny and cute! Each camper got a buddy for the day and they had snack together (we do this every day with new buddies).
At the Beaver Ponds, the LITTLES took a short hike and then stopped for lunch. We saw wild mushrooms, dragonflies, lizards, and butterflies. After lunch we hiked farther to a spot where we played ‘meet a tree/plant’ with our buddies. Then we hiked farther and each camper got an animal assignment for the week. They got a picture with facts about their animal and then worked on a drawing of their animal. After playing a few more games we hiked back to the vans.
The BIGS had a great time at the beaver pond. We found some really large fossil shells, and learned the difference between igneous and sedimentary rocks. We played camouflage in the Chamisa, saw a red-tailed hawk soaring, and had personal sit spot time. Overall, a great start to the week!
Back at the museum the LITTLES and BIGS shared what we had seen with each other.
LITTLES: We practiced hiking single file over rocks and through the river to the lower part of the falls. We ate and played in the falls, which was fun a very COLD (compared to the HEAT of the day!)
We played games with buddies, found beautiful driftwood and listened to a story about rocks: “Everybody Needs a Rock.” We made up a story about the driftwood and water and rocks at Nambe Falls. Then shared our own stories from memory.
BIGS: The Super Hikers took a trail up to a beautiful overlook view of the waterfall. It was hot but well worth the view! Afterwards we went down to cool off and play in the river. We saw a giant bird’s nest in the cliff and water pouring from the rock walls. We read, “Everybody Needs a Rock” to wrap up a great day at the Falls!
Everyone spent the day at base camp today. Groups of BIGS rotated through archery, mountain biking, slack line, papermaking and a water fight! LITTLES did all the same activities except archery. Several kids chose to make forts in the afternoon, while others made more paper and then listened to a story about how the Blackfoot tribe found the shape of their teepees. We were all happy to cool off at the end of the day with watermelon and a run through the sprinkler!
We started our day all together at the Children’s Museum playing games and making our Group Contract for the week. We played a name game and had a snack before we loaded up in the Adventure Vans to head to the Beaver Ponds.
At the Beaver Ponds we saw plenty of wildlife. We met an expert from the Nature Conservancy who spoke to us about the Northern Leopard Frog reintroduction program. He was there to release tadpoles as a part of the program. We also got to meet a wandering Garter snake. We saw a bullfrog and lots of butterflies and dragonflies.
We did sit spots and observed the pond and then drew what we saw. We found wild roses and raspberries!
One group hiked around the pond to find fossils. Everyone was VERY excited about the fossils! Another group stayed to play games and draw lots of fossils seen by hiker group.
It was a super fun day full of lots of exploration and discovery!
Katie started the day by reading her book about Sandhill Cranes and showed the kids the process to create a picture book.
LITTLES: Buddies created stories together and then hiked to a spot to work on their books or build shelters. Some of the kids made a shelter for a queen fairy and her pet dragons, while others worked on more serious tee pee structures with the counselors. We used watercolors to paint a story on some fallen bark and talked about the stories we saw the day before carved into the rocks and caves. We told bear stories and did a group game of sharing stories about places they had been and what they had seen.
BIGS: Played in the river, and used a map to discover a less traveled trail. We spent time quietly writing our animal stories and enjoying the peace of the forest. A beautiful and relaxing day in the mountains!
We started the day by offering kids an opportunity to participate in the World’s Largest Swim Lesson. We had twelve kids participate: both BIGS and LITTLES. It was chilly but a great opportunity to practice a really important survival skill! Mountain Kids joined swimmers around the world to make it the largest simultaneous swim lesson ever. We hope. 🙂
Afterward, we headed out to hike and marvel at Tsankawi, a part of Bandelier National Monument. It was a beautiful and perfectly cloudy day for such an adventure (for the morning anyway)!
The paths there are grooved three feet deep in places (!) and there are many, many caves from the “masters of survival skills” – the Ancestral Pueblo people. It was a big hike for the LITTLES but we took plenty of breaks along to way to drink water, and to look for pottery shards, apache tears, petroglyphs, and hollow rocks! We all climbed several ladders and got to enter several big and small “cavates.” We learned that Cavates are caves that were dug out by the Ancestral Pueblo people. They were not naturally formed.
The BIGS did the same loop and stopped to eat and listen to a story told by Ashley in one of the caves. They had fun exploring and imagining what is was like to live here. In the van everyone enjoyed listening to My Side of the Mountain, a great tale of survival to complement our day!
