Here in my part of the world we have experienced a warmer than normal February. This means we are looking at early spring conditions and lots of wildflowers already. For those of you who live where you are buried in snow or are having super cold days, forgive me! My kids live in New York state and they have been frozen most of February and I understand how long your winter seems to be this year.
Look at my wildflower photos as a breath of spring that will be coming your way before too much longer.
The above flower is one of our normal early wildflowers and it greeted us alongside our normal hiking trail. This pretty flower is the Hound’s tongue.
We also have this beauty starting to bloom along the trail and it always marks the beginning of our wildflower season. The Sierra shooting star is one of my very favorites and is going to be featured in my nature journal later this week!
Now we are jumping to a different habitat…the California coastal trail near Muir Beach in Marin County. We had the chance to visit there last weekend and I snapped this pretty yellow flower during a hike.
Here is another flower we saw quite a bit of on our day at the coast.
We also made it to Muir Woods and we had a great hike under the redwoods. The redwood sorrel was everywhere…getting ready to bloom I think. Look for an entry on Muir Woods National Monument soon here on the blog.
There is nothing so wonderful as a month of early spring wildflowers to enjoy with family and friends. As the season progresses we will no doubt enjoy many more days wandering the trails looking at flowers. I know the names of quite a few flowers but there are some that I need to learn so my field guide will be in my pack and my nature journal will get some new entries as I continue to become friends with the wildflowers of California.
Read pages 466-468 in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson #119). You can check to see if you have bloodroot as a native plant in your area: USDA article on Bloodroot. Information and images for the study of bloodroot: Bloodroot (Canada) and images on USDA, Image of the root.
Advanced Study Video:Bloodroot. Please note that I do not endorse the medicinal uses mentioned in this video.
Outdoor Hour Time:
The Handbook of Nature Study suggests that the bloodroot be studied in its natural setting so plan on taking a early spring wildflower hike in the woods. Look for the leaves and flowers of the bloodroot, remembering that the flower will be wrapped in a leaf before it blossoms.
Make sure your state doesn’t have the bloodroot on its Threatened or Endangered Species list before you pick any flowers or dig up any plants: USDA.
The Handbook of Nature Study suggests a comparison of the bloodroot and the poppy (#7). If you have access to both flowers, this is a simple way to hone your observations skills.
If you live where bloodroot is not native (like here in California), look for its relative the California poppy. There is a Outdoor Hour Challenge for the poppy: Poppies and Buttercups.
Follow-up Activity:
Create a nature journal entry for the bloodroot recording the various observations suggested in the Handbook of Nature Study lesson.
There is a coloring page included in the ebook: Bloodroot.
There is a notebook page included in the ebook for any Early Spring Wildflower you find to study.
Advanced Study: There are many flowers in the Poppy family ( Papaveraceae). Research two flowers in this family and record your facts in your nature journal or on this notebook page. There is a notebook page to compare the bloodroot and the poppy included in this ebook.
Join us for this series of challenges every week here on the Handbook of Nature Study.
If you want to purchase the Winter Nature Study Continues ebook so you can follow along with all the notebooking pages, coloring pages, and subject images, you can join the Ultimate or Journey Membership Levels. See the Join Us page for complete information. Also, you can view the Winter Nature Study Continues Ebook Announcement page for more details.
What an amazing place to explore the desert! Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizonasurprised me with all its secret delights. There isn’t anything that we didn’t enjoy about the two trips we have taken to this part of the world.
If you can plan a trip to Saguaro National Park with your family, you will experience the southwest at its best!
Of course, we came to see the saguaro cactus and we were not disappointed. These magnificent cactus actually are like a whole habitat in themselves with the way they provide food, shelter, and beauty for the inhabitants of this southwestern desert. We learned about the Sonora desert and its unique place in the web of life…creating a place for migrating and resident animals to take refuge.
Our first trip to Saguaro was in 2009 and we flew into Tucson, Arizona and rented a car. We spent days exploring the desert together with our two boys. At first glance you wonder what lives out in the desert but after hiking out by ourselves and seeing with our own eyes the many creatures and plants that are thriving in this dry sandy/rocky place, we realized the magnitude of life in this special national park. I am personally grateful that this refuge is protected for generations to come.
Our second trip was in 2010 when we drove from California to Tucson to visit the park again in the spring (April). This was the perfect time to experience the burst of life from the wildflowers and flowering shrubs, a bit early for the saguaro themselves to be blooming but we saw big flower buds up on the top.
One day we parked along the edge of the park and went in at the Broadway Trailhead to hike the trails from there. It is hard to describe the many, many things we found to observe.
The cactus and brightly color flowers were each a work of art…what a blessing to time our visit to see them.
Birds…so many birds! I spent lots of time with my binoculars and field guide on both trips, making lists of birds each night when we returned to our hotel.
Our favorite bird of the desert is the Gambel’s quail. They have such beautiful feathers, jaunty little top-notch, and sweet song.
Wildflowers to make your heart sing.
Insects like this tarantula hawk eek out a life in this part of the world. (read it’s life story…creeps me out!)
Saguaro National Park actually has two sections that are located on opposite sides of Tucson, Arizona. Find more information here at the Plan Your Visit page.
The photos above are from the eastern section of the park called Saguaro East-Rincon Mountain District. This section of the park has a large visitor center that we enjoyed on both of our visits. The Cactus Forest Drive is a must do for everyone to get their feet wet with this national park. There are several spots to stop and view the landscape and a short nature trail that features the desert habitat. You can reach the Mica View trailhead and picnic area off the Cactus Forest Drive.
Also along this drive, we stopped at Javelina rocks and hiked. There is a trail out to an old homestead that was interesting and on this trip was lined with colorful wildflowers.
One of our favorite moments during our trip was the day we were driving through on the road and there was a sudden downpour where the rain came down in buckets. Shortly, the rain stopped and the sun came out….I cannot describe the scent of the air. It was magnificent and I hope someday to experience that fragrance again. The wet earth, the damp vegetation, the creosote bushes, something else…amazing!
The other section of the park is on the western side of Tucson and is called: Saguaro West-Tucson Mountain District. There is a visitor center at Red Hills and is a wonderful source of information and you will find displays and helpful rangers to make the most of your trip. Here is a wonderful printable list and map for hikes in this section of the park: Trails in the Tucson Mountain District.
The western section is a little more rugged and has some fantastic aspects that make it worth the effort to visit it as well. One trail has petroglyphs to view along the way.
Keep your eyes open and hike along quietly and you never know who you will see! We saw evidence of pack rats and coyotes. One day we heard coyotes howling in the distance.
We saw more birds in the desert than we have ever seen in any other habitat. The many ways they have found to survive in this harsh environment are a wonder. Here is a nest that we found with the opening on the side.
I spy a dove!
If you time your trip just right, you are going to see a display of wildflowers so colorful you can’t believe it. I love this place!
We made sure to plan a sunrise walk one of the days we were there. It took some effort and it was COLD but well worth it to us. It was awe inspiring to watch the sunrise as it transformed the desert from a shadowland to a blaze of daylight. We saw deer and rabbits and flocks of quail. My boys loved it and we hope to do this again someday.
Other Tips for Saguaro National Park:
There are six picnic areas in the park with tables and shelters. We found the shelters were helpful to keep off the sun but we got wet in the rain! There are no restaurants in the national park so pack a lunch or several snacks.
There are trails for all ages, some that are wheelchair accessible.
Make sure to bring along a camera to record the numerous plants, birds, flowers, rocks, and landscapes you are going to come across.
Bring your binoculars and a good bird field guide for the Arizona Sonora Desert region. You are going to see and hear lots of birds if you get out and hike even a short distance.
No camping within the national park but hotels galore of all sorts in Tucson, Arizona. We stayed at a condo for a steal of a deal…look online at places like Expedia.
At the very least, plan a long day in the park, visiting one section if you are limited on time. If you can stay two days, explore one section each day.
If you can, plan a sunrise or sunset hike to experience the changing light and creatures that come out during those times of day.
Distance from Las Vegas – 400 miles or 6.5 hours, Phoenix, Arizona – 110 miles or 2 hours, Albuquerque, New Mexic0 – 445 miles or 6.5 hours.
Other Things I Suggest Doing While in Tucson, Arizona
Arizona Sonora Desert Museum – MUST DO! I could easily spend a couple of days at this museum/zoo/amazing garden! It is pricey but well worth every penny! My boys loved it so much we hope to visit there again someday.
On an absolutely beautiful autumn day, we hiked out to the river to enjoy the sunshine and fall colors. We were on the lookout for some fall seeds and we discovered a new flower!
I have no idea what this plant is but it was about four feet tall and was swaying in the breeze…waving us over to take a closer look. Aren’t these the prettiest little flowers?
Each branch ended with these delicate flowers and the stem of the plant was purplish red.
We also discovered a patch of evening primrose dispersed among the big boulders lining the river’s edge.
We also spied this massive mullein plant with its soft rosettes of leaves.
We were so distracted by the plants and flowers that we didn’t collect any seeds for our nature journal entry. I am thinking that it will take a change in the weather before I am inspired to collect seeds and sit down long enough to make a page for our fall seeds. Can you blame me?
Hiking in Utah we saw an area with these plants that had HUGE leaves. I was intrigued and took a photo so I could later look it up in my field guide. I had no idea that what I was looking at was first year burdock!
Later on in the hike, we spotted these blooming plants and I was pretty sure what we were seeing was burdock. I had read all about this plant when I was writing the current ebook and was sort of on the lookout for it in our travels this summer. I apologize for the blurry photos but it had started to rain and we were moving quickly off the mountain.
Here is a closer look at the leaves.
And here is the underside of the leaf. It is much whiter than the top of the leaf.
Here are a couple more images we took to document our discovery.
In reflection, the plants and flowers are much larger than I anticipated.
The flowers look like prickly balls with purplish color. The flower is ringed with spiny hooks all around.
We noted that the first year leaves are large and wavy looking while the second year plant with the flowers are much smaller and less wavy.
This was a case of preparation in identifying a wildflower/weed…reading up on things and then looking for them when you are out for your Outdoor Hour Challenge time creates such a sense of satisfaction. Since the Handbook of Nature Study was written for a specific region, many of the topics are not found naturally in California. This never stumbles me since I view the time reading and researching topics for future use a very valuable tool in learning more as I go through life.
Did you find some burdock this week?
But, guess what? We found something right alongside our walking trail that looks remarkably like burdock. We snapped some photos and made some observations.
Doing some additional research online, we found out that this plant that looks like burdock is a the cocklebur plant!
Both the cocklebur and the burdock plants are in the asteraceae family…which is probably why they have some of the same characteristics.
The first teasel I ever saw was in New York at Anna Botsford Comstock’s cottage on Cayuga Lake.
This week’s Outdoor Hour Challenge was to look for and observe some Teasel. We were not expecting to see any teasel this week and we didn’t…not too disappointed and we didn’t let it stop us from taking some hikes to see some other weeds with prickles and interesting flowers.
We observed something with prickles….Yellow Star Thistle. This is a menace in our neighborhood and I immediately pull it out by the roots if I see it in my yard. We have friends that have a honey business and they insist that star thistle honey is the best. It is very light tasting and is one of my favorites.
Sometimes you just need to go with whatever subjects present themselves.
We are experiencing the King wildfire in our area which is a little scary. Each day we looked at the smoke and clouds and wondered how far it would come our way. Some of our friends were evacuated but so far we are safe here at home. The drought conditions in California are so severe and those dry conditions coupled with heat and windy afternoons make for perfect “fire weather”. This is from the bottom of my road.
This is from yesterday in town looking towards the fire. They call those clouds above the smoke “pyrocumulous“.
Yikes.
We are all praying for the fire to be contained and for all those evacuees to be allowed home to their homes. My husband is working on this fire but is in management with a job behind the scenes at base camp. He is tired but doing okay…this is what they do and they are accustomed to being under stress in emergency situations.
Hope you had a chance to get outside and look for some teasel or other weeds this week!
This Outdoor Hour Challenge is included in the new Autumn Nature Study Continues ebook. It is only one of fifteen nature study topics included along with notebook pages and coloring pages. If you have an Ultimate or Journey level membership, you will find this ebook in your library!
Make sure to have your outdoor time this week even if you don’t have any teasel to study. We don’t have any in our local area so we will be looking back on photos from past trips and also looking for local weeds and wildflowers to view.
Inside Preparation Work:
Read pages 539-542 in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 147). There is a lot to learn about this plant so read the narrative carefully for facts about the stem, leaves, and flowers that you can share when you observe your teasel.
Here is an interesting YouTube video on teasel: http://youtu.be/3-aEQYk3hs0 It is a little long and includes quite a bit about the medicinal properties of teasel so preview and share as much as you find helpful. This is another more academic video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/gCWDkkCJBnY
You can follow this link to see what kind of teasel you have in your state:USDA Teasel.
Ebook Users: Make sure to view the images in the ebook together with your child so you can will know what to look for.
Beware! The teasel plant has extremely sharp spines both on the flower head and on the stem. Take along a pair of heavy work gloves if you intend to touch the plant, cut it for your nature table, or bring it home to examine more closely.
Outdoor Hour Time:
Use your outdoor time this week to go on a teasel hunt.
If you find a teasel that is blooming, examine the pattern of blossoms. This is what makes this plant so interesting. The blossoms will begin at the middle!
Look for water in the little cups made at the base of the teasel leaves.
Allow time for an outdoor sketch of the teasel.
You may wish to record the location of your teasel plants so you can return to observe them during the winter to note the changes.
NOTE: If you don’t have teasel to observe, pick a different weed or wildflower to view during your outdoor time.
Follow-Up Activity:
Create a nature journal entry after discussing all of the teasel’s unique features. Ebook Users: You can use the notebook pages in the ebook for your entry. Younger children can use the coloring page.
Advanced Activity: Start a seasonal study of the teasel plant by starting a nature journal entry with a sketch and detailed description of your autumn teasel. Make a note to return to your teasel plant sometime in the winter to make a comparison and add to your nature journal entry.
Advanced Study: Take a look into this topic:Teasel. You might also like to read and view the images on this site: Teasel. For information on medicinal uses, you can view this page: Teasel Root. Add any information you find interesting to your nature journal page. If you are using the notebook page in the ebook, you can continue making notes on the back if you run out of room.
Join us for this series of challenges every week here on the Handbook of Nature Study. If you want to purchase the Autumn Nature Study Continues ebook so you can follow along with all the notebooking pages, coloring pages, and subject images, you can join the Ultimate or Journey Membership Levels. See the Join Us page for complete information. Also, you can view the Autumn Nature Study Continues content list on the announcement page.
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Great Basin National Park is a surprising place…way out in the middle of a lot of nothing-ness (close to both the Utah and Nevada borders). It takes some planning and forethought to get there but it is worth the effort. We stayed three days earlier in August along with my husband, son, and two of his friends.
We camped in one of the five campgrounds in the park, Baker Creek which is three miles up a gravel road that is accessible to most cars whether they have four wheel drive or not. We looked at each of the other campgrounds during our stay and they each have their own benefits so make sure to read about them on the website. All are first come, first serve so arrive early in the day for the best selection of sites. There are no hook-ups for RVs, all have simple vault toilets, and there are no showers….making for a real camping experience. There were lots of trees, nice picnic tables, and a babbling creek that some children were exploring when we were there.
The nearest place to perhaps find a room is in Baker, Nevada but Ely, Nevada is not too far either. Baker had a little grocery store (very limited), a cafe, and a gas station. The national park does not have a store except for a gift shop. There is a small cafe at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center.
There are two visitor centers at Great Basin National Park. The Great Basin Visitor Center (closest to the highway) is superb! We thoroughly enjoyed the interactive exhibits, historical displays, and nature based information that was presented. You can learn all about the bristlecone pines, the Great Basin habitat, and all the creatures found in this unique desert environment.
Great Basin National Park is trying to make a name for itself as a dark sky destination for viewing the night sky beauty. It bills itself as “one of the last true dark skies in America“. We wish we had been able to experience that part of the park but because of the super moon and the clouds…it wasn’t a great star viewing weekend. It will go back on the bucket list for future visits. You can find a schedule of astronomy events on the park’s Astronomy page.
The second other visitor center is the Lehman Caves Visitor Center. This wasn’t as updated or interactive as the other center but still very informative and interesting. We booked our cave tour here early in the morning and we only had a few choices of times available. Make reservations or arrive early to make sure to fit in a tour of the caves. There are two different cave tours and we took the ninety minute tour which takes you to every room open to the public. It was amazing!
I have been to quite a few caves but this one by far is the most interesting and beautiful of all. I also want to note that this cave has lots of tight confined spaces that you have to fit through (usually by turning your body sideways) and lots of low ceilings. I am fairly tall (5′ 10″) and many times I had to walk a distance with my head down to avoid touching the ceilings. Just a warning. This tour is appropriate for all ages as long as they are comfortable with walking since you can’t take strollers, carriers, or even backpacks on this tour.
There are also Park Ranger programs you can attend by viewing the schedule in the park newspaper or asking at either visitor center. The day we were there they were offering up scopes to few the sun and an interpreter to tell you all about what you are looking at.
There is a Jr. Ranger program at Great Basin National Park that we observed quite a few of the children participating in….ask at either visitor center for information. They also have a “Cave Cadet” pin so ask about that too!
My guys enjoyed the viewing scopes to look down from the park across the Great Basin…
Our group split up on hiking day. Three of use hiked the Bristlecone Trail and two hiked to the top of Wheeler Peak!
The trail up to the Bristlecone pines was empty when we hiked up early in the morning (around 8:30 AM). There is a rather large parking lot at the trailhead but it was FULL when we got back later in the morning. There are vault toilets (clean) in the parking lot once you wind your way up the road from the visitor’s center. It is a very high altitude and the views as you round the corners are majestic.
Bristlecone Pine Trail:The hiking trail itself is a little longer than posted at closer to 3.1 miles and not 2.8, as measured by our pedometers. It is a moderately difficult hike because of the length and elevation when you end up at a little over 10,000 feet.
Our group thoroughly enjoyed the hike and then the interpretive trail with signs teaching you more about these ancient trees. More information on the hike here.
Fascinating to think about how old some of these trees are and after going through the interpretive trail I am fairly sure I can identify these interesting trees.
View from the trail…amazing light and clouds the whole day long!
Wheeler Peak Summit Trail: We dropped the other group off at the Summit trailhead and they started off at around 8 AM. It is advised to start early so you aren’t up on the peak when the threat of afternoon thunderstorms roll in. There is a very small parking lot for this trailhead so plan to have someone drop you off or get there early. This is a very strenuous hike and fairly long at 8.6 miles roundtrip. You start at 10,100 feet in elevation and gain 2,900 feet going up to the summit. My son said the last portion of the hike is all exposed with no tree cover.
These two young boys completed the hike and said it was worth the effort because of the beautiful view from the top. I will take their word for it.
There is a turnout alongside the road where you can use these telescopes to look up at the peak. We could actually see people up there but not our boys.
One evening we walked along this trail which parallels Baker Creek and ended at our campground. What a beautiful place with the aspen trees, green grass, and the sound of running creek water.
There were lots of wildflowers which makes me happy.
Plenty of fungi to observe too!
Not so very glamorous after a week of camping and no showers at Great Basin. Our children are all growing up so we treasure the time we have to spend with even just one of them during a camping adventure. Planting seeds of appreciation for the natural world gifted to us by a loving Creator is something we highly value and have tried to do throughout our years as parents. Seeing our youngest share his love of the outdoors with his friends makes me smile from ear to ear.
Thanks for coming along on our Great Basin experience!
Some other things to know about Great Basin National Park:
No entrance fee!
There is a ticket cost for the cave tours.
This is the desert but it gets cold here so make sure to bring a jacket or sweatshirt even in the summer.
Vacations can be many things. Our trip to Utah and Nevada was rich in nature study opportunities and family adventures too! I love that type of vacation because it leaves us refreshed and full of memories.
The road between California and Utah is really captured in the image above. Open roads, big skies, and lots of NOTHING. We had a long trip to get there but watching the clouds and then early evening lightning in the sky was enjoyable. Plus, there are many rest areas that you can stop at along the way to stretch your legs, get a cold drink (most have vending), and use the clean restrooms. We didn’t have a single rest area where that wasn’t clean and inviting.
We took several longer stops where we all got out and walked a bit before hopping back on the road. This rest stop (Grassy Mountain/Cedar Mountain Wild Horse Range) in Utah had a path up to where you could see the pioneer trail across the Great Basin. We had our youngest son and two of his friends on this trip which made for a lot of boy time…I felt very outnumbered.
Yep, the sign says snakes and scorpions. The boys were disappointed that we didn’t see either of those things on our hike to to top of the hill and back. What we did have was an awesome view!
Just another road shot on the way to Utah along Hwy 80. More rocks, more sky, more clouds, more road…..along about this time I was ready to be at our destination.
We arrived at Jordanelle State Park and had a terrific spot in the Hailstone Campground. This is a super place to camp and a great home base for our trip….between Park City and Heber City (where we were visiting friends).
The Jordanelle campground was filled with lots of wildflowers which surprised me. It was nice to talk walks in the evenings when it was cooler.
We spied a large patch of milkweed!
We all were invited to hike up in Park City up at Summit Peak. We started off with sprinkles of rain but it never did get us too wet. What a beautiful trail! We had a lot of fun hiking here and getting to know the boys’ friends.
Along the trail there were lots of wildflowers growing and my husband and I noted this plant in abundance. At first I wasn’t sure what it was, so I took some photos of the big distinct leaves. Later on I discovered one with flowers and was able to identify it…burdock! I was thrilled because that is one of our new Outdoor Hour Challenges coming up in September. This gave me an opportunity to observe it up close and I will share more photos next month.
Lots of these along the trail too!
One night we walked up and down the historic downtown of Park City. I love doing window shopping, finding a nice place to eat, and then strolling through a town to get the feel of it. This is a very casual and friendly place that I would love to go back to in the winter…skiing!
Loved this sign downtown that shows the direction and distance to other Olympic game sites around the world. I live closest to Squaw Valley…how about you?
With three teenage boys around, they were always eager to have a campfire after dinner. This night though it was my husband that got it going and I sat and enjoyed the warmth and glow of the flames. Jordanelle has these awesome cement fire pits complete with grill that swings over and a hook for hanging a dutch oven.
This was the night of the really bright moon….too bad we had clouds that obscured the light and brightness. We still enjoyed sitting out late and watching it peek in and out from the cloud cover.
We reluctantly left Utah and headed back home at the end of the week. Here is our smiling faces somewhere on a summit near the border of Utah and Nevada on Hwy 50. We were heading back into Nevada to Great Basin National Park. This is a very remote park but very much worth the effort.
Here is a little sneak peek into our campsite at Great Basin….more on this national park in an up-coming post!
I fell in love with Utah on this trip and we are eager to go back again maybe next fall to experience Zion National Park. We just couldn’t work it in this time but it will give us something to plan on and look forward to in the future!
Just wanted to let you know that both Ultimate and Journey level members have new printables that were added today. They will be useful with next month’s challenges. Log into your membership and find the three new notebooking pages available now.
Outdoor Hour Challenge:
Take a wildflower walk this week and try to find some Queen Anne’s Lace to observe up close. Look alongside your roadways as you drive…we often see it growing along the shoulders of our local roads. Use the ideas in the original challenge (and the printable notebook page) to complete you Queen Anne’s Lace nature study.
Use discount code = discount5 to save $5 on your $10+ purchase at NotebookingPages.com
Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #8. Use the suggestions in this challenge to look up close at any garden flowers or wildflowers you have in your yard or neighborhood. Follow up with the notebook page if you want to keep a record of your observations.
