*Information obtained from the Junior Ranger Activity Book.*
Upon arriving to the Florrissant Fossil Beds each of the girls were given a Junior Ranger Activity Book. The books are filled with a wealth of information as well as age appropriate activities. However, before we entered we ate a picnic lunch.
This was how she ate her tomato so she wouldn't get its juices all over her clothes.
A grassy mountain plain.
The is the petrified stump of a redwood. It is on my bucket list to go to CA to see a live one. Since I was in awe over a stump, I can't imagine how I would feel seeing all 240 feet of one (and 10-15 feet in diameter, FYI). Now that's a tree!!
Both of the girls worked diligently on their Junior Ranger Activity Books. They were each instructed to complete a certain number of activities based on their age. Once completed, they could take their book to a ranger who would review it and sign their Junior Ranger Certificate (located at the end of the book) and present them with a Junior Ranger Badge.
From this point on there will be very few pictures of Madeleine because we divided into two groups (something I later felt guilty about). My mom, dad, Natalie, and Madeleine went to a Fossil Lab located in an outdoor tent. It was there that a park ranger/paleontologist allowed Madeleine to split open two pieces of shale revealing the fossils of a twig and a beech tree leaf. However, before she did, the ranger told her that doing so would make her the FIRST person to see the fossil. Ugh! I was so sad that I missed that! Instead, the rest of us walked through the Petrified Forest Loop and the Wilderness Loop.
Steven and Audrey are walking underneath a Ponderosa Pine.
Another petrified redwood stump.
The following pictures were taken during our walk on the Petrified Forest Loop.
Audrey asked Steven to take a picture of this rock she found since we weren't allowed to take rocks or fossils from the National Park.
Since Steven was taking so many pictures, I thought I'd pose for one instead of having him catch me off guard like he usually does. Oh, and I'm sitting on another petrified stump.
Just skipping along like she always does.
And yet another petrified tree stump, making the Petrified Forest Loop live up to its name. This one is named "Big Stump" because it is the biggest fossilized sequoia (redwood) on the Petrified Forest Loop.
Once we completed the Petrified Forest Loop we moved on to the Wildlife Loop. I had high hopes of seeing lots of wildlife such as deer and elk. However, all we saw of them was their droppings giving Steven the idea to rename the trail the "Poop Loop".
A picturesque church at the beginning of our hike.
None of us knew what to expect as we set out for a hike on the Wilderness Loop.
I thought it was going to be reminiscent of our walk around the petrified forest loop; a scenic walk along a flat trail where we would see the occasional deer.
Instead it was a strenuous hike up into the mountains.
Any time we entered dense forest I became incredibly nervous, especially when I had a child with me. Visions of Mountain Lions leaping out of the trees to grab Audrey kept dancing in my head. Audrey, on the other hand, had no fear. She turned into quite the experienced hiker on this trip and will be backpacking with Papa and Natalie in no time!
However, even the best hikers need a break every now and again.
After traipsing through the wilderness for what seemed like an eternity, we finally started to see signs that the loop would indeed take us back to where we started (and in the nick of time because it was starting to rain. A horrible thought when carrying around a $500 camera).
An Indian Paintbrush.
Audrey and Grace were singing VBS songs, complete with actions, on the way back.
We returned to discover that Madeleine had completed her activity book and was sworn in as a junior ranger; a title that she takes very seriously.
After returning from our hike Audrey qualified to become a junior ranger as well.
She clammed up when it was time to take the oath, so Madeleine helped her. It also served as a way to get pictures of Madeleine since we weren't there when she took her oath.
After a full day we returned to the cabin where Natalie taught Madeleine how to play bananagrams (a spin off on scrabble)
and the girls relaxed in the hot tub. They did this every evening.
After dinner Steven, Scott, Natalie, Gracie, and I embarked on another hike.
Natalie likes to get creative with angles when she takes pictures.
A tree that fell over in the forest fire.
The grand finale of the hike was that I finally got to see a deer!!!
I was fascinated with how she leaped through the trees with ease. After this deer sighting we saw several more on our trip making me a very happy girl.
This concludes day 3. Day 4 brings a trip to Seven Falls, my favorite day of the trip. To be continued . . .
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