4H Adventure

We went on the most fabulous adventure a few weeks ago. We drove up to the mountains, past BFE, completely out of cell phone range, down a gravel road, to an old 4H camp. It was an ideal summer camp with a field house, dining hall, classrooms, and lots of quaint little cabins. Of course we were only there for day classes. We all had so much fun that we might return for an overnight adventure.

Our first class was herpetology.  Here we are exploring the differences between
amphibians and reptiles using a fancy (hoola hooop) Veen Diagram

Here our instructor (who looked a lot like the son of Grizly Adams)
showed us frog eggs and tadpoles in the lake.

Next he showed us some "stuff" about turtles.  I wasn't really listening.  I'm sure the kids could explain it all to you.

Yes, those are my kids raising their hands. 
They have an answer for every question although not necessarily correct.

Grizly saved the best for last..touching the snakes.

It was such a perfect day.  It was just a few weeks ago and no leaves.  By now it will be fully "leafed out"

Not a cloud in the sky.

"T" wades across the creek.

"J" looks for tadpoles.

Look what we found. I still don't know what it is. 
The kids decided they should float sticks and leaves down it.

I LOVE the mountains.

Our next class was "Pioneer Life"

The kids were shown how to do all sorts of dangerous things using sharp things and hot things.

"J" took the bark off a whole log.  So if you have any logs needing de-barking you know who to call.

"T" making his candle with parafin melted over the camp fire.

Yes, "J" is still scraping.

If you think an adult was on the other end of this saw...you are wrong. 
Not even adult supervision.
just a couple of kids using a sharp two-man saw.

"T" drills a hole.

We also got to pan for gold.

"J" was the only person to find gold that day. 
The fleck is so tiny that you can hardly see it.
Nevertheless it made her day.

The childnre found candle making too time consuming, especially when there we sharp things to be held. 
I was left with the task of dipping and cooling.

The finished product.

Well our day is almost over, but first "T" must chase the chickens.