Tyke Hike #29 - Monches

The last Tyke Hike before the school year hits was wonderful. Despite the heat and humidity, 19 hikers and a pooch hit the Monches Segment in search of the fungus among us.

On this beautiful segment on the edge of Waukesha County, we learned about many different things the fungus that fill the forest floor can do for both people and nature. Between some terribly amazing nature jokes and some fungi facts, we discussed the different types of mushrooms and how we can enjoy some of them for food. Then, we shared information about how they can be used for medicinal purposes.

Lastly, we focused on how fungi are important to the health of the forest. As always, I used questioning to get the children to share what they know and what they think about the topic. An impressive answer from one of our tykes brought up the concept of decomposers. From there, we talked about how trees break down and help keep the forest a great place for both plants and animals to live.

Of course, talking about fungi isn't nearly as much fun as searching for them.  Finding a special place where some decomposing trees were near the trail, the hikers enjoyed some natural play time and found many things. From fungi and lichens to frogs and logs, we enjoyed our discovery time.

The school year slows down the Tyke Hike schedule, but only a bit. We are back to our once-a-month hike, continuing next on Saturday, September 17th at 10AM at the UW-Waukesha Field Station. We will be searching for prairie plant seeds and enjoying a beautiful hike near the Waterville Segment.

Tyke Hike #28 - Hartland

Upper eighties and humid isn't ideal hiking weather, but twelve sweaty souls and one four-legged friend enjoyed a hike through Hartland anyways. This waterways-focused hike began at the Hartland Library, where a new Ice Age education area is being created in preparation for a special event later this month. This is all part of Hartland recently becoming an Ice Age Trail Community.

Early in the hike, we traveled through something apathetic for adults and exciting for kids: the Ice Age Alley. With the trail cutting through downtown Hartland, it is a bit different than the more natural terrain we experience on other tyke hikes.

Along the way, we discussed waterways impact on Wisconsin's history. From the rivers being used as transportation in the Fur Trade era to tourism and recreation impacts today and in the future, Wisconsin's waterways are extremely important to who we are and who we become.

Of course, we couldn't just talk about waterways? We had to enjoy them. It was a very "cool " experience in the sweltering heat.

After our dip, Nancy from the Hartland Library read us a wonderful story written by Jim LaMarche entitled The Raft. Growing up in Kewaskum, this author wrote this story based on his own experiences on a Wisconsin waterway, thew Milwaukee River.

After the story ended and we enjoyed another quick dip, we began the trek back to the library. Were the kids ever surprised to see a special guests on the way. While it was great to run into of the greatest Ice Age Trail Alliance volunteers the Waukesha/Milwaukee County Chapter has to offer, I have an inkling the tykes were more intrigued by a furrier friend.

It is always great to see the official Ice Age Trail mascot, Monty the Mammoth, especially on such a hot evening. I am also sure Monty was happy to see his smiling fans and his good friend, the Tyke Hike mascot, Mojo.

Another wonderful Tyke Hike in the books. Please consider joining the last Tyke Hike before the school year starts. We're going on a Fungi Hunt Wednesday, August 10th at the Monches Segment. Also, please consider checking out the grand opening celebration of the Ice Age Education Area at the Hartland Library on August 23rd from 2-6pm.

Yosemite National Park - Yosemite Valley

Yosemite was touted as a beautiful and popular place to visit and it delivered on both those promises. Battling triple digit temperatures and large, large crowds. we managed to see a good chunk of the park and still keep our sanity.

Our daughter was an amazing trooper on the long and sometimes winding car rides up and down the mountain. Though we are now two for two on having her lose a lunch in a rental car, she rebounded quickly and didn't let a little motion sickness ruin her exploring time.

She loved seeing El Capitan and Half Dome, though climbing on stumps and rocks along the trails was much more exciting. Her trek through the sequoia a forest and rock climbing at Glacier Point seemed to preferred.

Standing on her stump seat

Mule Deer who was not intimidated by humams in the least bit

Though she was a bit sad we wouldn't let her take a pine cone home, she is aware that "nature stays with nature" and made sure to remind us that at various points throughout the trip.

Embry in her "dinosaur track"

Enjoying a fallen giant

This fallen giant was hollow the whole way through.

While anytime in nature is a good time with me, getting up close and personal with giant sequoia trees was a highlight for me. Unfortunately, the highly-touted Mariposa Grove was closed this season. However, we weren't disappointed by the smaller grove we visited. Sitting in shadows of a fallen giant, walking through a dead stump, and just taking in the sights and spectacular smells made the long drives and sweaty treks worthwhile.

A very dirt-filled nature loving girl

Hanging with one of daddy's favorite naturalists

Tyke Hike #27 - Lapham Peak

With a pet emergency forcing a postponement of the latest tyke Hike, I expected a smaller crowd, if any at all. My premonition came true as Embry and I ended up going out alone on a daddy-daughter Tyke Hike. While she was initially  a bit bummed "none of my friends are here," her spirits perked up quickly when I told her we could still explore nature.

With the "planned" hike out the window, I gave her the option of heading to the planned destination for the hike, the prairie, or the forest. She chose the former, exclaiming "I love flowers!" Maybe it was just paternal pride, but I was excited she made that natural connection.  Luckily for me, she made many more connections along the way, confirming my entire purpose of creating the Tyke Hike program for the Ice Age Trail Alliance and developing a nature-based nature kindergarten in my teaching.

Today's post focuses on some of her natural connections.

Why walk on the trail when a "balancing board" is available? I love how she uses boardwalks, benches, stumps, rocks, and more as springboards.

She also feels the need to bop every blaze along the blaze. Some service trails with recognizable tire-created paths intersected the trail. She was able to choose correctly between the "tire trails" and the hiking trails, often using a nearby blaze as her guide.

Another fun thing I have noticed is her ability to figure out the different habitats. As we walked out of a wooded area and walked over a boardwalk covering a wetland area, she announced we were in the swamp. Then, after the boardwalk ended and the prairie emerges, she let me know that as well. Then, on our return trip, she made sure I knew she "loved the forest" as we re-entered the woods.

While every yellow flower she sees is a sunflower, I'm not too worried about her plant identification. She did however the picture above as a hot dog plant. After confirming her creative suggestion, I told her it was a cattail and she let me know every time she saw another one.

Embry loves her animals, so I'm not surprised every time she finds and investigates a "critter hole." Besides there investigations, she loves to identify anything she sees. Today, she found orange and red dragonflies, an assortment of butterflies, a frog, a "chipper" chipmunk, a "red-tummied" robin, and other insects like bees and ants. Her most scientific identification was when she correctly identified a chickadee and even sang "chickadee-dee-dee" to try and get the bird's attention.

However, in my opinion, her crowning achievement is her attention to what I've taught her about "keeping nature in nature." One thing she loves to do is to clear the trail of sticks so that other hikers don't trip. Often, you'll see her grab a stick on the trail and hurl it into the woods, often saying "get back to nature" with the toss. She also recognizes when things don't belong in nature. Today, along the path, she collected three bottle caps and went off trail to retrieve a water bottle she noticed so we could take it home to recycle.

Though I am very proud she shows care and concern for nature, I absolutely love why she does it. As the picture at the top of this post shows, she likes to take advantage of a bench for water and a snack. Today, while relaxing on the bench, she proclaimed, "This is my kingdom. I love my kingdom!"

So do I.

Muir Woods

Though I was bummed I accidentally left my John Muir shirt at home, it didn't take too much time in Muir Woods to forget about my error. The hilly drive through San Francisco bumper to bumper traffic  while crossing bridges and winding around serpentine roads was adventurous, but the sights and sounds of this national monument made all the travel troubles worth it.

When we saw the "Muir Woods parking full" sign on the freeway a few miles from our destination, we knew the woods were crowded. It's always a blessing and a curse when so many people take over nature. While it is great to see people out and about enjoying nature, it sort of takes away from the tranquility and serenity offered by the woods. However, the crowds here were quite respectful and the overall feel of the park was still very natural.

As we ventured into what Embry called the "red woods," the amazing smell first caught our eyes, or noses. So fresh. The amazing collection of trees was impressive from ground level, bit as we took the hillside trail, a trail that took you among the canopy of these towering giants, you got a whole new perspective and appreciation of just how skyscraping these beauties were.

Along the way, small cascading streams guided the way. Huge crayfish scoured the stream in search of lunch. Many trees had "caves" at their bases, perfect for exploring and mugging for the camera. There were also many rocks along the way that our daughter just had to climb and jump off of. One of Enbry's favorite tricks was being able to "squeeze the trees" as she walked between trees along the trail.

When we reached the end of our hikes for the day, we stopped by the gift shop. Besides getting a new shirt for my nature kindergarten wardrobe, I posed with John Muir himself and Embry rode a bear and we enjoyed some natural artwork.

Muir Woods was a beautiful and popular place I look forward to returning to and exploring again someday.

Tyke Hike #26 - Pike Lake

With potential severe weather predicted and temperatures nearing 90 degrees, it was a close call to cancel tonight's Tyke Hike. I am grateful the radar lightened up a bit and the breeze picked up as I made the final call.  I'm glad the hike went on. Thirteen exciting and entertaining hikers headed out to Washington County to enjoy the Ice Age Trail in Pike Lake.

With my daughter as the self-appointed hike leader, we headed out to the forest, checking out some insects and wildflowers along the way. Narrowly avoiding a fresh pile of scat, we debated if the pungent pile came from a dog, dinosaur, or one of those Pokemon scurrying around.

We discussed the impact of forests on our state's history, chatted about Paul Bunyan, and even talked about going back to school, especially since the desks where we sit, tables where we work, pencils we write with, and paper we write on are all connected to the forest.

The kids searched through the forest floor for acorns, fungi, leaves, and roots. We even caught an eastern green tree frog. Before we headed back, we read The Tree, by Dana Lyons and brainstormed why and how we can take care of the forests. Being a teacher, the educator inside me had to quiz them so we learned about and identified coniferous and deciduous trees.

No matter how many hikers come to these hikes, it is always enjoyable to meet with new kids and refresh with returners. Tonight's group was energetic and entertaining. They were also eager to share their ideas and thoughts about forests and nature in general. Just as we discussed the future of the forest, with children like these, the future is in good hands.