Day 3 of our trip

On the third day of our trip, we had planned to go to Mt. Rushmore. However, we woke up to about 6" of snow! We decided to go to the Badlands instead. Although there was no snow, it was cold and rainy which meant that we did not do any hiking in the Badlands. We will have to take a trip back sometime so we can do some more exploring! The Badlands is known for being rich in fossils. It was formed by the layering of different sediments. The different layers of sediments are very evident, as they are different colors. Red, tan, white, and yellow layers were very distictive, and each layer could be easily seen throughout the formation.

Day 2 of our trip we went to Devils Tower. This was the first National Monument in the United States. It was neat to see from afar, but really awe inspiring to see up close. The girls did the Jr. Ranger program there and earned "Badges" that say they are now Junior Rangers for Devils Tower. We went on a hike that took us completely around the base of the tower. It looks different from all sides. The first person to climb the tower made a ladder with wooden pegs stuck into a crevice and a rope. It is still visible today. The tower is a spiritual place for many Native Americans and they leave prayer cloths and prayer bundles around the base. On several sides of the tower are boulder fields with large chunks of rock that has fallen off the tower. Many of these were absolutely huge!

Day 1 of our Trip

The first day we spent in the car, driving to Wyoming. Wyoming is very barren, not much except hills and grass. And wind. Very windy here. We stopped at a rest stop to have lunch. Because of the wind, I made lunch and we ate in the van. All the picnic tables had two walls and a roof to protect the table. All the walls were facing the same way. Makes me think that the wind always comes from the same direction. There were also lots and lots of snow barriers next to the highway, and every time we came to a town, there were gates on the highway in case they closed the highway. I am thinking that it is a common occurence here. When we were almost to Sundance, we could see Devil's tower off in the distance. That is our first stop. The motel leaves something to be desired, though. Thank goodness it is only for one night. Hopefully we will be able to do everything we want to. The weather is not supposed to be very nice.

Our first craft project of the school year. We started with paper mache boxes and then painted them, and then decoupaged pressed leaves we had gathered in the fall. Really easy and the girls did it with out much help from mom!

Field Trip: Mining Museum

On June 8, 2009 we went to the Western Museum of Mining and Industry.  This trip was impromptu, because the day before we learned that they were celebrating 150 years of mining history, and were offering $1.50 admissions.  But hey!  That's the beauty of homeschooling!  So, we picked up and went out to the museum to see what we could learn!  We sat through a 25 minute film on the history of the gold rush, and then toured the museum with our tour guide.  He showed us many interesting things, and even started up the machines for us so we could see them in action.  All the machinery at the time it was actually used was run by steam power, but today they are run by compressed air.  We saw samples of the many different types of ores that are mined, here in Colorado and elsewhere.  The girls got to pan for gold, although they could not keep anything that was found.  After the tour, we went back through to see the things that our guide had skipped over, and then headed outside, where there were many more sights to see.  We saw the ore processing building, and there was someone there who started up the whole thing for us to see.  Quite impressive!  When we got home, I remembered that we had been given a set of Time Life books on the west, and so I got out the ones that had to do with mining, and the girls sat around for another hour at home looking at all the pictures, getting excited when they saw some of the same things in the pictures that they had seen at the museum.  What a great history day!

Field Trip: Alpaca Farm

In April of this year, we were able to go to an alpaca farm with some fellow homeschoolers and family, too.  Gran was able to go with us, and we met our cousins Seth, Sara, Scott and their mom Pam there.  We had lunch first, and then we were off to see the alpacas. We learned about the animals and got to feed them.  We were told stories of how intelligent these animals are.  We learned how they are shorn and were shown how their 'fiber' as it is called, is combed, spun, and made into yarn.  We also were able to make our own craft with alpaca yarn, and see lots of neat things that had been made from alpaca yarn.  We also learned that they like to spit!  We all got to pet them, although I only petted through a fence, but the girls got to get in the pen with them.  

Field Trip: Coca Cola Bottling Plant

In March of this year, we were able to visit the Coca Cola bottling plant in Denver, CO.  We went with a group of fellow homeschoolers, and then went to the park for lunch afterwards.  We were able to see their warehouse where they fulfill orders from their distributors, their recycling facility where they take care of the outdated or damaged products and then recycle the packaging (cans & bottles), their production lines, and their quality control lab.  We did not, however, get to find out exactly what is in the Coke recipe.  Apparently, they receive the syrup already ready to go, all they have to do is add water and carbonation.  I was very impressed at the cleanliness of the whole facility.  I suppose that they have to keep it that way, but still, for a plant that manufactures lots of sticky substances, it was amazingly clean.  And the best part, according to Hayleigh, was the end, because we each receive our own bottle of Coke to take with us.  She drank the whole thing all by herself, and then wanted to know when we could go back so she could get another one!