Gilcrease Bird/Nature Sanctuary

I don't fancy myself a huge bird fan, so when I proposed a trip to the Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary, also known as, The Gilcrease Bird Sanctuary, I didn't anticipate having a supremely great time. But we did!

First we visited the birds. As you do, at a bird refuge.



They have tons and tons of them. I never realized how delightful talking birds are. Especially when you are in a room with 50 of them and they all want to talk to you. It was awesome! And I  am not even saying that sarcastically.



Making a play for Eric's shirt:



Sade would dance in front of this birds cage, and it would mimic her movements:



Talking bird video:



While we were there, a lady brought a WHOLE BUNCH of produce from Smith's and we were lucky enough to be able to help them feed it to all of the geese and ducks:



There are quite a few other animals besides birds to visit with too. Sade was mighty afraid that this ostrich was going to get her:



This ostrich was ultra cooperative while we were taking pics:




Megan and emu. Also so cooperative! 



They have lots of other animals too, like turtles, miniature horses and llamas.



I LOVE a petting zoo, and this place has a pretty big one, filled with mostly goats and sheep:



This little one kept standing in the food bucket. The older goats didn't care for that very much and kept going over and butting him out.



Our favorite goat was named, "Diablo." He was born with a birth defect that caused his tongue to hang out of his mouth at all times:



Sade's reaction after witnessing a goat doing his business right next to her:



It is a total craze fest when you bring in food to feed them. They can't contain themselves.



This one just about knocked Jackson down:




Jackson dropping all of his food on the ground and escaping:



After leaving, the kids mentioned that this place was lots more FUN than they thought it would be. And I totally agree.

Conquering Cold Creek - Unsuccessfully

A few weekends ago we set off to conquer Bonanza Peak at Cold Creek. We had tried to make it to the top a few years ago, but had to turn back when it got dark. On-line it says that the you reach the peak after hiking through 80 switchbacks and then have to leave the trail and go rogue (i.e. off trail) to reach the top. It also mentions that this is considered a HARD (not moderate or easy) hike. I remembered it being difficult when we attempted it a few years ago, but apparently had forgotten how DIFFICULT it really is. It was a struggle.

To get there you go past Mt. Charleston, and then turn left when you reach the two prisons. The road takes you right to the little town of Cold Creek. My MOST favorite part is seeing all of the wild horses right off (and on) the road.





My LEAST favorite part is the LONG, LONG extremely bumpy dirt road you have to take to get to the Bonanza Trailhead. It's bad.

But we made it:



The hike up is quite picturesque.



These trees are cool. This one smelled like chocolate, and another one smelled like strawberries. I'm dead serious. Just peel off a piece of bark and sniff away.



We had to take lots of breaks on the arduous hike.



Including lots of breaks for snacks.



On this particular break I informed the kids that the only parts of your body that grow your entire life are your nose and ears. Sadie responded, "Oh really. I would have guessed butt and boobs."

I really don't know where she came from.




More breaks:



Sade's fruit strip temple:



We hiked, and hiked, and hiked, for 4 hours, and then Sade had a mental breakdown. She cried and hiked (but mostly cried for 45 minutes).

Megan and Jackson waiting out the fit.



It was kind of freezing:



Awesome hair:



She eventually somewhat recovered:



But not fully as evidenced by the look on her face:



She's a crack up.

With darkness once again closing in on us, we made the decision to abandon our goal of reaching the summit, and started the 2 hour long walk back down the mountain.

On the way down we counted switchbacks and found we had only hiked up 58. That means we still would have had to hike up 22 more before we would have reached the top. Oy vey!

A few pics we snapped before leaving:



I will leave you with a series of pictures I have named, "Wood that looks like animals."



And for your Halloween pleasure, "Ghost wood":