Thursday, September 13, 2012

Fall Camping = Outdoor Ed

Hi everyone! Some of us girls are homeschooled, so that means we got to go camping last week. HOWEVER, Meli made sure it was a learning experience since this is fall after all!
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Clara and I did all the usual camping things like hiking...

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... until our little legs got tired and we got carried!

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And of course we roasted marshmallows...

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... and got to play in this cool teepee that someone built.

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We also studied wildlife behavior. Bears are attracted by food in dumpsters so these have special locks that even Meli can hardly open.

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A bear was seen in the campground just a few days before we arrived, so we were extra careful to clean everything up at night before going to bed in the trailer. If a bear becomes a problem they have to kill him, which is really sad, so it's best not to attract them to areas where people are.

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You know I love birds, so I was busy studying my favorite bird guide every afternoon. We saw downy woodpeckers, stellars jays, and lot of other birds.

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But, my favorite one was this western tanager that we saw when we first arrived.

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There were lots of chipmunks and squirrels around, too. They would pack their cheeks full of food and then run off to their homes to store it for winter.

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Clara loves plants! She identified and wrote about the ones we saw. This is sage and smells wonderful.

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And a few Indian Paintbrushes were still in bloom.

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This is called harebell and is very dainty!

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I liked these pretty red berries, but Clara warned me that they are poisonous! There are kinnikinnick or bearberries.

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Look at this baby pine tree that Clara found! There have been a lot of trees killed by a pine beetle, so some new one are being planted. The tree is protected so animals won't eat it.

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We learned how to cook on a campfire by raking the hot coals out and burying the food in them. It was so yummy, especially the sweet potatoes!

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Clara and I agreed that camping is a great way to learn about nature!

See you again soon,

Kiki

5 comments:

  1. Hi Kiki,

    You and Clara are so lucky! I'd love to go camping. We don't do much of it here, sadly. I love the teepee that you two discovered, and I think it's so cool that you got so close to a squirrel. Squirrels are always too fast for me, which is a shame because they are some of my favorite critters!

    I miss you!

    Your friend,
    Sophie

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  2. Hi Sophie! We miss you, too. If you ever want to come back to Colorado we could go camping together. That would be so much fun! :)

    Hugs,
    Kiki

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  3. Hi Kiki! I awarded you an award! Come to my blog to find out more! Very cute pictures too!

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  4. Kiki, I love your adventures! Thanks so much for the great reporting and the wonderful pictures.

    *hugs*
    Jeanette (aka Dollygrandma)

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  5. WOW! What an awesome camping adventure! Thank you for sharing this, and I love the bigger picture format! Can't wait to see what else you guys get up to!

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