Carrizo Plains National Monument

I find through our travels and educational journeys that I too learn alot along the way.  When we began our Landform studies I foolishly assumed most of the central valley was a Plain.  Until I found out the only Plain left in the state of California was Carrizo Plains National Monument.  Once we arrived we explored using the Junior Explorer Field Guide.  This activity book can be picked up at the Goodwin Educational Center or printed from home.   I highly recommend printing out the Junior Explorer Field Guide prior to visiting.  We were able to complete pages 3, 7, 9 and 10 before we even arrived.  This laid a great foundation for what we were going to explore during our visit.  Another reason for printing it out ahead of time was The Goodwin Educational Center is located in the Center of the monument and we had half of the book completed before we even arrived.  

We woke up before the sunrise to be able to get to Carrizo Plains at first daylight, so we could avoid hiking late in the afternoon during the hottest time of the day.  Our drive to Carrizo Plain took about one hour from our hotel in Taft.   When researching the Monument we found that there are numerous entry points, some are even shorter drives from other hotels and cities.  We choose Taft due to it's proximity to Goodwin Educational Center,  the list of services that were provided in town and the level of accommodations available.  A majority of what needs to be accomplished to complete the Junior Explorer program takes place on the California Valley side of the Park. 

Equipped with our clipboard and binoculars we entered the park on the California Valley side off of Highway 58.  Throughout our entire drive Jaxon was kept busy with the Carrizo Plain Checklist.  As he searched for wildlife.  He even had the excitement of seeing a snake.

Our first Hike was up Overlook Hill to answer the questions from page Five of our Junior Explorer Book. All of the answers were all located on the plaque at the top of the hill.  This was a very short, steep 500 foot hike that left from a small dirt parking lot.  Overlook Hill gave us the opportunity to see just how large Soda Lake below us really was and our next stop.

Our next stop was Soda Lake Boardwalk Trail which, was located directly across the street from the road we turned on to reach overlook hill.  We started by taking a short dirt path to the edge of the lake where a boardwalk begins that runs along the lake.  The lizards kept Jaxon entertained the entire walk down the dirt path.

This walk was extremely easy and was under a mile round trip.  At anytime during your visit you can complete page twelve as it is a journal entry the children fill out about their experience in the park.  

This area gave us the opportunity to see some small wildlife.  While walking on the boardwalk we were able to not disturb their habitats.  During this stop we completed page six of our Junior Explorer.  

We then stopped and took a short walk up to Wallace Creek and the San Andreas Fault.  This walk can be made as a short walk to the plaque at the end of a short trail which then gives you the option to connect to other hikes that can last much longer during your visit.  We opted for the short walk up to the creek and were able to complete all of page eight during this stop.  This concept was very difficult for Jaxon to understand as we had never discussed or studied what an earthquake was.  I would highly recommend at least a one day discussion with activities just so they understand more of what they are observing at the fault line.

The last two pages can be completed at The Goodwin Educational Center. The Goodwin Education Center was a great ending to a wonderful day.  The Center is only open from December to the end of May.  When we arrived they were actually packing up to close for the summer months.  Their exhibits were extremely well kept and informational.  The Ranger that was there was a wealth of information and interacted with Jaxon.  He pulled out a Rattlesnake Rattler, Horns and Antlers showing him and allowing him to touch and ask as many questions as he felt necessary.  We ended our visit with Jaxon taking his oath and receiving his Junior Explorer Badge.

We were able to explore the Monument and complete the entire Junior Explorer Field Guide in just one day.  The only exception that was Painted Rock.  There are only two ways to visit Painted Rock.  During the months of July 16 until the end of February you have to obtain a permit to take a self-guided tour of the area.  During the months of March 1st until July 15th you have to take a guided tour which you must book ahead of time.  Everything for the time we were visiting was completely booked.   I was sad that we were unable to do the Painted Rock Tour and I hope to return next year to visit that area of the park.  

Feathers for Lunch

We actually had an unexpected head start on our bird study when we joined the Ritz Kids at their Grand Lakes location for a bird study day.  This was our first experience joining the Ritz Kids program.  The Ritz Kids is an amazing program where not only do the kids get some freedom from their parents but they have fun learning about the area.  For this specific topic Jaxon painted a bird house while they read books and played games all revolving around Birds.

Our Bird Study began with the book Feather's for Lunch.  Which was suggested to us through a Thematic Unit on birds.  Anytime I can find a Thematic Unit on a subject we are studying I love to include them as they have creative ideas on incorporating crafts, cooking, math and writing.  This was Jaxon's first time ever learning about birds and I was not sure if we would find the study exciting.  Inside the thematic Unit they provided one single page to be used as a Bird Watching Journal.  Since we travel so much I decided to expand our bird watching on our trips and purchased this Bird Watching Journal to do so.  I also picked up a couple books to learn more about bird watching and the birds we are observing.  Feather's for lunch introduces the children to some of the most common birds found across the United States.  The only deteriant of this book is that the pictures are paintings so they do not show the children a realistic picture of the bird they are studying.  To solve this problem since I wanted Jax's to have the ability to see a photograph of each bird I searched elsewhere.  I found that the National Geographic for Kids books does a wonderful job showing the children pictures and facts about the birds.  For this study I picked up Ultimate Explorer Field Guide: Birds (National Geographic Kids Ultimate Explorer Field Guide) and National Geographic Kids Bird Guide of North America.  

Though the Thematic Unit suggested we raise an egg in an incubator I was not that dedicated.  So we opted to improvise by finding a nest in our yard and observing the birds through their entire cycle of life.  It added a sense of excitement each time we checked the nest.  From the beginning as we anticipated the eggs hatching all the way to the end as we were able to see the changes in the birds as they grew stronger and stronger.

So we found that sometimes nature needed some persuasion when it came to attracting the birds down to a level we could observe them better.  So we started on our adventure of making all types of bird feeders.  

As we continued our bird watching we began being able to identify birds by sight.  Jax's began enjoying the challenge of figuring out which bird was which.  As I searched for areas outside of our own yard to venture to I found a great program located just outside of San Francisco, at the Marin Audubon Society.  The Marin Audubon Society has a program for Junior Birdwatchers ranging from Kindergarten to Fifth Grade.  So we will see where this adventure takes us.  We've decided to start with the Kindergarten level so we do not miss any of the steps.  I always like to add any type of visual educational toy that can be used during our lessons.  I came across these great plush toys made by Wild Republic for the Audubon Society to help Jaxs in learning the different types of birds along with hearing their individual calls.

To end our bird study we attended the Annual Lake Tahoe Bird Festival.  It is held annually at the Taylor Creek Visitors Center by many organizations in the community to educate visitors on the local birds that migrate to the Lake Tahoe area.

The Tahoe Institute for Natural Science leads bird watches through the Taylor Creek area the entire day.  It was a great opportunity for Jax's to bird watch with a group of people outside of our yard.

Following our Bird Watch we attended a Falconer presentation at the amphitheater put on by Marie Gaspari-Crawford.  Of course these birds of prey held Jaxon's attention.

There were a long list of organizations that set up booths to help educate visitors on numerous subjects.  The boy scouts caught Jaxon's attention since he was able to build his own bird house.

Again the Community in Tahoe has exceeded our expectations.  We love how everyone in the community always comes together to pull off amazing events for our youth.  We only wish more communities would do so.