Trip to Arches National Park--Part 3

And now, here is the installment you have all been anxiously awaiting--The Critters of Arches National Park and Surrounding Area! Megan, Ian, and Erin refined their observational skills and were quick to point out lizards and other animals they saw along our hikes.

We found this fuzzy caterpillar on the hike to Delicate Arch. Sadly, we do not know if it will become a moth or butterfly. We need to hone our lepidopteran larvae identification skills...

This is the most dangerous critter we encountered during our trip, a black widow spider. She was hanging out on her web under a rock in a BLM campground along the Potash Road where the children stopped to catch lizards. We admired her then left her alone to her solitary existence.

Erin got so excited each time she saw a raven, such as this one who was greeting visitors at the Delicate Arch.

This desert cottontail is the only mammal we were able to capture on film (since bats fly too fast in the dark and our coyote and pronghorn sightings were while driving along the freeway). It was hopping close to the trail to Landscape Arch. Most people passing didn't notice it until the children pointed it out to them.











These are young bullfrogs resting in the water by the bridge near the beginning of the Delicate Arch trail. They were not present in the earlier morning (we looked on the way), but for some reason were out later on our return trip around 1:30 p.m. We counted a total of 11 of these non-native frogs!







The Lizards






This side-blotched lizard was basking on the side of the trail to Delicate Arch. It is one of the most common lizards in southern Utah and is named for the dark spot behind the front legs (not very visible in this photo).













The children also saw this sagebrush lizard on the Delicate Arch trail. These lizards do occur in northern Utah as well, but we think they look better on red sandstone than in sagebrush.




















Whiptails were abundant along the trail to Landscape Arch. We counted at least 15 of this species during our hike. They are very active foragers and rarely hold still.












All on her own, Erin found a tree lizard basking on a rock and pointed it out to the rest of us. Tree lizards are similar in size to side-blotched lizards but have a noticeable double row of enlarged scales running down the midline of the back.

April proudly takes credit for this find. We were watching a whiptail that Ian had found, when she glanced over to another bush and saw this beautiful female leopard lizard sitting in plain sight. It was difficult to respect the national park policies and not try to catch it, but we took only photos and left it unharassed.

This female fence lizard was the fifth species of lizard for us to observe along the Landscape Arch trail. She refused to turn her head for the photo, and the male fence lizard took off running.








Since the children were so obedient and good to not catch any lizards in the park, April rewarded them by taking them onto BLM land where they could run unrestrained with lizard nooses in hand. We drove along the Potash Road and the Kane Creek Road, stopping frequently for lizards. The only drawback was the heat of the afternoon. Erin amused herself by playing in the sand while the others caught tree lizards.

Thus concludes our impromptu Arches adventure!

Trip to Arches National Park--Part 2

The following morning we returned to the park for more sightseeing. The morning sun highlighted the rocks in a beautiful way. Below left are "The Gossips" and "Sheep Rock." The children named the formation on the right "Bantha Rock" after the Bantha creatures from the Star Wars films. We do not know if it has an official name.

We decided to start off the day with a hike to Landscape Arch, the longest arch in the world. In 1991, a large chunk of it broke off, so visitors are no longer allowed to walk all the way underneath it. This was a relatively short hike (compared to Delicate Arch), but we spent a lot of time observing 5 species of lizards (see Part 3) and stopping frequently for Erin to dig in the sand.

Pictured below are the children posing in Devil's Garden at the trailhead to the arch and Erin demonstrating how to carry sand from one place to another.

Here is a photo of cryptobiotic soil, which is found throughout the arid high deserts of the Colorado Plateau. It contains cyanobacteria, soil lichens, mosses, green algae, microfungi, and bacteria, which hold the sand together and help prevent erosion. People are asked to stay on trails and not walk on it because the damage can take 5 or more years to recover. We were good and remained on the trails in the national park, which was not always easy with all the lizards running around.

We ate lunch at the Balanced Rock Picnic Area, then we left the park and drove along the Potash Road (heading west) to view some petroglyphs. According to a rock art book, the bear on this particular panel was added years after the original sheep.

The children had a chance to chase lizards outside the park, which was a fun conclusion to our trip. The following morning we packed up camp and drove home, accompanied by frequent protests and screaming sessions, followed by bribes of gummy bears.

1 pack of gummy bears = approximately 300 miles of child appeasement

Trip to Arches National Park--Part 1

We have been suffering from a severe case of Spring Fever. When April suggested taking a camping trip to Arches National Park, Kevin said to "go for it" even though he would be unable to make it due to his teaching commitments. After asking a couple of different families if they would like to accompany us and being turned down due to their previous commitments (we lack the skill of planning our spontaneity in advance), we packed up our camping gear and a lot of food and took off Monday, 11 June.

Two hours into the drive, just past Provo, when Erin was screaming to get out of the car, April wondered if she had perhaps been a bit too ambitious in thinking she could attempt this solo. However, we found a lovely picnic spot near Utah Lake (known to us from our BYU birding days) and appeased her for a little bit.

A few hours later (after minimal fussing on Erin's part due to entertainment provided by Megan and Ian as well as her taking a nap), we arrived at our destination. Our first priority was to find a camping spot before dark, so we drove along Highway 128 and found room at the first BLM campground, Goose Island. Our tent was too big to fit underneath the tamarisk trees, so we set it up next to the picnic table.

After a quick dinner, we drove through the park for a brief overview. We stopped to see the famous Balanced Rock, drove around the Windows area, and looked at the trailhead to Delicate Arch, which we wanted to hike in the morning. During the night, it sprinkled a fair bit, but our tent was dry by sunrise.





The morning was pleasant and overcast. We stopped at the Visitor's Center on the way in, and then headed to our big hike for the day.
















The trail to Delicate Arch is 3 miles round trip. The children were full of energy, excitement, and enthusiasm--even Erin walked for a good portion at the beginning. Once in the pack, Erin attracted much attention from a group of Japanese tourists who acted as though they had never seen a cute curly-haired little girl riding in a backpack on her way to an arch. Unfortunately, our nice cloud cover dissipated before we arrived, and consequently the heat factor increased. Nonetheless, we made it and the children were impressed with the arch. As we sat across from it and ate our lunches, we watched people taking turns being photographed beneath this famous landmark.

After lunch, we walked around the bowl to get closer. Megan and Ian only wanted to sit at the side--they were not comfortable walking all the way under it due to the drop-off. April then carried Erin underneath where she promptly sat down, got into position, then pointed her finger across to the other side and said, "Mom, go take my picture." April explained that she couldn't leave Erin all alone sitting under the arch to go take a picture, whereupon Erin pointed again and started yelling insistently, "GO OVER THERE!" She ended up in a full-blown tantrum over the situation, much to the amusement of other hikers and the embarrassment of her mother, who carried her away kicking and screaming. This is the only picture of Erin under the arch, taken by her mean mother who wouldn't leave her alone next to the drop-off.













On the return hike, enthusiasm had waned somewhat and the heat became more of a discomfort. Overall, the children did a fantastic job hiking and finding critters (see Part 3).

We next drove to Sand Dune Arch to cool off and rest. It is only a 3-minute walk from the parking spot, and there was plenty of shade and cool sand, in which we all enjoyed digging.






We spent a good hour playing in the sand and recouping from the morning's exertion. April was lying back watching the sky and noticed clouds starting to gather again. She suggested to the children that it might be a good time to leave, but they begged to stay longer. Within a few more minutes, the wind began to blow hard and we were caught in a sudden sandstorm (due to the sandy location). Erin started screaming, and April grabbed her and carried her to the car. We got sandblasted pretty good--sand was everywhere, in our noses, ears, hair, etc. Mom emphasized that consequences occur when children do not obey immediately...




















The wind continued blowing and soon the rain followed. We drove over to the Windows section and the children wanted to see Double Arch, (the arch featured at the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). We walked over to it while all the other people were leaving due to the sprinkle of rain. We had the place all to ourselves while waiting out the storm.

We returned to camp, cooked some dinner, then went for a walk to see the Colorado River. We watched some bats come out at dusk, which Erin thought was really neat. All three children fell asleep without any fuss that night.

(to be continued...)

Saturday Bike Ride

On 9 June 2007, we joined our friends the Bucherts for an impromptu bike ride to Willow Park and the Logan River Trail (we were also trying to help Becca induce labor). Erin and Daffodil loved riding in the new bike trailer that Becca had recently found at a garage sale. We ate a picnic lunch at the park, and then continued to the trail.

The River Trail was cool and shaded. In one spot off to the side, there was a great spot for the children to explore around a large tree. They took a break and amused themselves while Kevin and April rode further up the trail and back. Martin and Becca stayed with the children.

Here we are riding back to the Buchert's home. (Kevin rode quickly ahead to get this photo.) The children cooled off by playing in the irrigation water and eating popsicles.

Post Script: We don't know for certain if the bike ride helped, but little Anna was born 2 days later.

More Random Events

Our "New" Car

After much deliberation and discussion, we decided to retire our well-loved '89 Mitsubishi Montero that we had driven for 10 years. It was still running fine, but had been leaking various fluids for quite some time and the exhaust was getting uglier. Environmental hazards aside, Kevin was driving on his own more frequently to Brigham City (he carpools when possible), and we figured we could find something with better gas mileage--and we did. We recently bought a well-used, but well-maintained (hopefully) '98 Subaru Legacy that fit our budget.

We forgot to take a farewell photo of the Montero, but we had this lovely side view photo from one time it got stuck in the sand during lizard field work near Yuma, Az. And here is Erin helping Dad clean the "red, big car" (Erin's description).

Nap Time with Comet

Lately Erin has been taking her naps in the living room and Comet snuggles up with her.

Completion of Middle Ages Unit

We finished up our Medieval studies with final papier mache art projects. Megan made a plague mask, which doctors wore during the bubonic plague epidemic when they visited patients. They would fill the "beak" with herbs, hoping that would filter the air and protect them from the disease.

Ian chose to make a Eucharist Dove, which was used to hold sacramental wafers for the religious services in the cathedrals.

Erin in Ponytails!!!

Erin does not usually permit anyone to do anything with her lovely curly hair other than run a brush through it quickly. However, one morning she allowed her mom to put her hair in little ponytails, which lasted for about 2 entire hours. Megan helped her make a princess crown, which she proudly wore along with the ponytails--she was too cute to pass up taking photos.