Sandia Mountain Field Trip

Yesterday was a special day!

I was chosen to go on a field trip!

We rode on a bus on the freeway,

and up the mountain.

This rustic cabin looked like a great way to spend the day!


What? Nobody told me I was going for a hike!
We walked up the trail to our first "outdoor classroom"!


Hey, what do you guys see out there?

I see green stuff all over the pine tree!

Rosie was a our fearless leader,

so we would learn important things about nature,

and not get lost in it.

We hiked up and down, winding around....

...stopping periodically for lessons,

exploring, and noting observations.

Where are the fall colors?

Why is this forest all green?

Apparently this is an evergreen forest,

with a lot of pine trees and junipers.

Here is some more of the fuzzy green stuff.

It is lichen.

Did you know that there are more than 400 different

kinds of lichen?

It was kind of pretty when I could sit a spell.

Cactus in the mountains?

This is a desert/mountain region,

which means the cactus lives among the pine trees.

Rosie shows photos of animals taken by the camera

set up near the spring of water.

Is it almost lunch yet?

What is it?
My guess: a seed pod from a yucca plant

was eaten, and came out with the scat
(scientific name for animal poop).

Then, it broke open, and you can see the seeds.

Tree sap.

Hey, that was easy.

Hard earned mountian views!

LUNCH TIME!!!!