Spacing Out For Me!

This post is a bit late, but a few weeks ago, Zane and I spent a weekend out at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. We went camping, hiked almost every trail we could, explored a bunch of caves and lava tunnels, and became Lunar Rangers! (its the only place in the world you can become a lunar ranger!!)
Craters of the Moon is truly other worldly. The lava covered landscapes reminded me (for unknown reasons) of the movie Labyrinth and were nothing short of amazing! Pictures truly do not do this place justice!
Needless to say, my first Idaho camping trip and our first camping trip together was pretty great- despite getting rained on while hiking on the first day and my new Jetboil malfunctioning.

I can't wait to go camping again and explore even more of this incredible state!

How Neat Is That?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discovering Wildlife For America!

Last week were the final days of our Discover Wildlife Journeys Spring field trips! Though the last few weeks have been a bit hectic with so many field trips going on, I can honestly say that they all went really well! With the end of the Spring field trip season comes the essential end of my time leading field trips here at Deer Flat. There will be a few sporadic and brief field trips scattered throughout the summer, but for the most part the rest of my term here will be spent writing lesson plans, revising existing documents, and ensuring that my knowledge and experience is reflected in documents for future AmeriCorps members to use and build off of. I am definitely sad to be back inside and at a desk for the majority of my remaining term, but it has been SUCH a great experience. I have loved my time here and will continue to make the best out of the remaining two months of my term.
In just a few short months I will be off on a new adventure at my next job in Washington where I will get to teach kids about nature and the environment EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK! Needless to say I am extremely excited for this next opportunity.
How Neat Is That?!

Bioblitzing For America!!!

 Yesterday we finished our second and final day of the brand new field trip I wrote for our SEEDS4 Nature Detectives Program. The lesson plan, as a whole, is a bioblitz where we get the kids out exploring the refuge and recording anything and everything that they observe along the way. They rotate through stations throughout the day, each with its own focus to allow for a more diverse and inclusive species list. I lead the "evidence in nature station" where I got the kids thinking about and looking for signs/evidence that an animal was there, even if we couldn't see the animal itself. My station included a visit down to see New Deer (the newest of all the dead deer) where they got to add at least three more species to their bioblitz list (mule deer, coyote, and maggots). The other stations focused on plants (roots and shoots), bugs (buggy bushes), and flying organisms (up in the air). In addition to collecting the species observations, students worked to construct an ecosystem model using the biotic and abiotic obervations they made throughout the field trip. They drew lines to represent connections/interactions between various organisms and their abiotic environment. The model was then used in discussion about what would happen if certain things, such as the object with the most connections, were to be removed from the ecosystem entirely. The kids really seemed to enjoy the field trip, so it was definitely a success all the way from the lesson plan I wrote to the facilitation by myself and our awesome volunteers!
I will say that much of the lesson plan incorporated the existing work of the BEETLES project, which is a really awesome organization that writes some pretty great environmental ed based curriculum. The rest was written by me as either supplement or additions to the BEETLES lesson plan. I'm pretty proud of how it turned out, especially being that I've never written/designed an entire four hour long field trip! That being said, I far prefer facilitating programs to writing them, so I am really looking forward to my next job in Seattle!
How Neat Is That?!

 

 

 

 

 

Hiking Rapid River Trail For Me!

This past Saturday we took a three hour drive North to Riggins to hike the Rapid River Trail (a trail I have been DYING to explore pretty much since I moved here) and boy was it worth the trip!
The drive took us through part of the Payette National Forest and the road followed a pretty little river for a good while. The trail head is right next to a hatchery, but we didn't get the chance to check that out-- though there's always next time!
The trail starts out above the river, surrounded by some beautiful rock formations, full of little caves and other outcroppings. As you continue down the trail, it takes you down alongside the river where the mist from the little rapids made for the perfect temperature. There was SO much green it was crazy to think that just a few hours earlier we were in the desert that is southwestern Idaho. I never would have guessed that Idaho could be this beautiful before moving out here, but what a treat it was. We followed the trail for about four miles or so before deciding to hike out, though I definitely wouldn't mind coming back and backpacking the entire length of the trail- camping along that river would have to be incredible.
On our way back home, we stopped for dinner at a little Huckleberry Café in the middle of nowhere and had the most amazing lemonade ever- Huckleberry Lemonade and some tasty burgers and fries (burgers are my favorite post-hike meal)
I'm definitely starting to get bummed out that my time in Idaho is coming to an end, but I'm excited to fill the rest of my time here with more adventures like this. Before too long I'll be on my way to start a new adventure in Seattle, with SO much more nature to explore!
How Neat Is That?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exploring Box Canyon For Me!

View of the canyon from the headwaters of the spring.

Calm blue waters at the trail's end

This weekend, I ventured out to Box Canyon State Park- home to one of the largest springs in the country!! (the eleventh largest, to be exact)
The trailhead is found just beyond a small parking lot off the side of a farm road. After a short walk, the ground opens up before you to reveal the beautiful blue waters of the spring below. A little further down, there is a cable walk down into the canyon where the trail winds along the river bank, with occasional openings to access the water. Near the middle, there is a decent size waterfall that is partly blue, which was pretty neat. At the end of the trail, there is a wide open spring where the waters are much calmer. It was everything I could do not to dive in right then and there. (I'll definitely have to go back when the weather is a bit warmer). Definitely glad I made the trip out there!
How Neat Is That?!

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking back towards the headwaters from the middle of the cable trail into the canyon

Building New Trails For Me!

This weekend I had the opportunity to get out and volunteer on a trail building adventure with REI, Idaho Conservation Corps, and the Treasure Valley Land Trust. We built about a quarter mile of new trail in the Boise Foothills and it turned out great! I've been wanting to get trail building and trail maintenance experience for a long time now, so of course I jumped at this opportunity. I had such a fun time and I'll definitely be looking into volunteering with some more similar projects whenever I can!
How Neat Is That?!

 

 

 

 

Visiting Home For Me!

 

 

 

 

 

I recently got back from a trip home to Florida! It was nice to be home and spend time with my family. I got to spend some time at the beach (which I miss terribly), I took my siblings on a fossiling adventure to South Florida and I got to see my little sister compete at her Regional meet!
I'm so glad I had the opportunity to go home for as long as I did. Not too much longer until my AmeriCorps term is up and I'll get to see my family again! :)

How Neat Is That?!

Visiting My Zombie Deer Horde For America! And Also For Me!!

A coyote has been eatin New Deer's butt!

So, it has been about nine weeks since I first started my weekly visits with LaFawnduh to photo document her decomposition. Since the first week, I have accumulated four more deer, two of which are skeletons and have since been claimed by the rising waters of Lake Lowell, leaving me with just three deer friends to visit each week.

Now that spring has finally graced us with its presence, decomposition is really kicking into gear! My weekly visits initially didn't show much change in terms of their appearance, but now its starting to get pretty drastic from week to week!
My primary focus is on LaFawnduh, as she is my main squeeze and we've been in it together the longest, but New Deer has also been an interesting subject in just the short two weeks since she joined the herd. New Deer is hidden away near the water closer to the Visitor Center so that we can take kids to see her when they are here for a field trip! She has changed the most in the shortest time though as a coyote has found her and started chowing down!

How Neat Is That?!

 

LaFawnduh wk 2

 

LaFawnduh wk 9

Leading Watershed Detectives For America!

Day 1 at the pond

Day 1 at the lake

Last week we had our first round of field trips for out SEEDS7: Watershed Detectives partnership. The 7th graders from one of the schools we have been working with all year came out to the Refuge for an entire day of fun and learning! I ran the Abiotic station, so I facilitated several water quality tests that the students ran on their own. I explained how to run each test, questioned them as to why each test is important (they learned all of these things during our four visits to their classroom earlier in the year), and then they were able to run the test themselves and record their data for reporting later. They tested turbidity, temperature, pH, phosphate levels, and DO (dissolved oxygen) [being that this test involves breaking glass, I ran the test and they each got the chance to read the results].

While at the refuge, students also got to sample and identify macro-invertebrates, play a macro-invertebrate based game, and participate in a nature scavenger hunt along the trails. Out of around 236 students, I only had one kid drink the water (despite my constantly telling them not to do that), so I'd say that round one of SEEDS7 field trips was a definite success!

How Neat Is That?!

 

Day 2 at the lake

Day 2 at the pond

 

Petroglyphs, Atlatls, and Mountain Chicks....For Me!!!

Pretty solid turnout for my first official Mtn Chicks Idaho hike!

Mtn Chicks bringing home the bacon.....errr the mammoth.

What a rad group of huntresses!

We had a blast learning about atlatls!

 

Ready....Aim.....ATLATL!!!!

Goin in for the kill!

Tonight we feast!

Reppin Mtn Chicks

Atlatls!

 

Say no more! We are on our way!

"The Sheep"- this is the most recent petroglyph in the park based on its color and texture