<\/p>\n
Twenty youngsters and their parents gathered at the Boggy Draw trailhead Saturday to learn about nature and enjoy a mild winter day.<\/p>\n
The \u201cSensing Winter\u201d tour was led by Gabi Morey, an environmental educator with the San Juan Mountains Association, one of several educational programs put on by the organization.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a light winter so far, so we won\u2019t be needing snowshoes this year,\u201d Morey said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to use all of our senses today to learn about the forest.\u201d<\/p>\n
The silence of the forest is broken by the garrulous excitement of children moseying down the trail, some playing soccer with huge pine cones, others tripping and humorously sprawling unscathed onto the forest floor like kids do.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at the tracks in the mud,\u201d Morey says. \u201cIf there are no claw marks, then it could be a bobcat. Large prints are people\u2019s dogs going for a hike. These others are from deer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moving on to a ponderosa pine, everyone takes turns smelling the sap.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt smells like cinnamon,\u201d proclaims Emmie Beckler.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nice to get outside,\u201d says her mom, Breezy. \u201cWe\u2019ve been cooped up for too long, and these hikes wear off some of the crazies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Investigating coyote scat gets the kids attention, and they all gather around a pile to the snickering of parents.<\/p>\n
\u201cFigures that would get their attention,\u201d observes one parent.<\/p>\n
Gabi\u2019s husband, Paul Morey, a biologist with Mesa Verde National Park, gives the low-down on scat and the information it reveals on diet.<\/p>\n
He once analyzed 1,429 coyote scat samples in Boulder to determine if they were dining on pet cats, but mostly they were not, he tells the kids.<\/p>\n
Shane and Darci Hale\u2019s child is busy exploring with other kids, socializing, and gathering sticks to smash.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is very engaging and educational,\u201d Darci says of the tour. \u201cIt is nice to have the kids learn from somebody else, and I learn something too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThese tours are very kid-friendly,\u201d adds parent Shaine Gans. \u201cA lovely way to spend time outdoors with family and friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gabi organizes the \u201cThicket Game,\u201d in which kids try to hide the way a prey animal would from a mountain lion, in thick cover but keeping the predator in view.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s play again,\u201d says Fielder, after successfully hiding with his dad under oak brush, camouflaged by a pile of leaves.<\/p>\n
Next its on to galls, those balls on bushes where an insect has taken refuge to mature. Seeds are analyzed, basic botany is explained and a search for bird\u2019s nests takes place.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw one, but I\u2019m not sure if it was a bird\u2019s nest or a squirrel\u2019s nest,\u201d says Zion Pena, age 8. \u201cBeing outside is the best part.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suddenly two hours have passed, and the group is all accounted for to make the half-mile walk back to the parking lot.<\/p>\n
Schedules are marked for the next hike and outdoor classroom experience.<\/p>\n
Feb. 1 will be \u201cCritter Curiosity\u201d from 10 a.m.-noon at Chris Park north of Durango. Feb. 8 and 15 is the Winter Festival at Morefield Campground at Mesa Verde National Park. And \u201cBecoming a Junior Snow Ranger\u201d is scheduled for Feb. 22 from 10 a.m.-noon at the Chicken Creek cross-country ski area, north of Mancos. For more information, contact Gabi at 385-1256.<\/p>\n