Pyramid Lake Fish Ladder

A few weeks ago my friend Tara and I took our gaggle of kids out to Pyramid Lake to have a tour of the fish ladder. It was a cold, windy, grey, and wet day without any fish ready to go up into the Truckee River but it was still a great outing! We learned about the native variety of trout, the Lahontan cutthroat trout (threatened) along with the native Cui-ui a lakesucker (endangered). 

After touring the fish ladder facility with an awesome Dept. of Wildlife Ranger we went over to Popcorn beach to see the pelicans waiting on the fish and to have a bit of a picnic. There were a ton of pelicans and we learned that one of the small islands there is the largest pelican rookery in North America! Popcorn Rock is a bulbous tufa formation like the pyramid in the lake that it is named for!

Mono Lake

The kids and I drove down and made a stop at Mono Lake. What a strangely beautiful place it is! They have a great new (at least new since I was last there years ago) State Park Visitor Center. They have some really interesting displays not only about the lake itself but also about the Native people who lived there.

One of our favorite exhibits was three ordinary salt shakers one with about 1/2 inch of salt which represented the ocean, one with about 1 inch of salt which represented the Great Salt Lake, and the third with almost 2 inches of salt, that one represented Mono lake! It is crazy salty, believe us we tasted it!

We also learned why there are bubbles anywhere the waves lap up (it is super windy so there are small waves), and we have a recipe to make our own Mono water:

1 quart fresh water

2 1/2 Tbsp. salt

5 Tbsp. baking soda

2 tsp. epsom salts

a pinch of borax

a pinch of detergent

The baking soda or calcium carbonate is what forms the tufas that make mono lake so interesting to see! After Jake's legs dried they were white from all the dried salt on his feet!

The small islands in mono lake are breeding grounds for the California Gulls. They fly all the way from the Pacific ocean to lay eggs here. Also out in the middle you can see the atoll of a former volcano.

This was a wonderful stop on our very volcanic adventure!!

Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve

Friends of Mono Lake Reserve 

My Visit to Mono Lake

SPRING is upon us!! Time to get back OUTSIDE! HOORAY!!

We steal as many moments as possible outside during the winter but it is so nice to think of all the time we will get outdoors soon! Learning out of doors is one of our most favorite!

I recently read a GREAT ARTICLE from the Audubon Society about making family time and nature time co-exist.

And since we are on the subject I thought I'd share a few other fun resources our family has enjoyed!

:: Last Child in the Woods ~ Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder. This is an awesome book, I think this should be required reading for all parents!

:: i love dirt! ~ 52 activities to help you & your kids discover the wonders of nature. This one is a fun spring board to fun outdoor ideas.

:: Nature's Playground ~ Activities, crafts, and games to encourage children to get outdoors. Arranged by season this one is wonderful in that it has wonderful ideas but also explains about being respectful of nature and leaving it for others to enjoy too. This one also has great pictures!

:: Falcon Guides ~ Best Easy Day Hikes in _____. I love these books, especially for when you are just starting to look for good places to get out too but also they are great when moving to a new area! Other publishers also print similar books Best Hikes for Children in _____ are wonderful too!

:: And one to share :: The Salamander Room. A great picture book can inspire magic that pulls you out of doors (and it's a Reading Rainbow book!)!

So as you celebrate the first day of Spring tomorrow I hope you can feel the sun on your face and some dirt in your hands!

Happy Spring!