I’m all for a good teaching/educational opportunity. Heck, we live on a place that’s full of teaching opportunities. From how harmful it is when you put gasoline in a diesel engine, how to fix that problem, how to corrugate a field to reach optimal watering, to rotational grazing on paddocks, to the migration patterns of elk, there’s tons to be learned in educational opportunities around here.
One neat aspect of the ranch is that we are only three miles away from a state park.
Our friends, the twin boys, live in the park.
Medicine Lodge State parks is situated on a former ranch. The main attraction of the park is the Native American petroglyphs on sandstone cliffs within the park. It is also the closest state park with access to the Big Horns. In the year of 2014, the park had over 35,000 visitors.
Paintrock Hunters Mentor Program
A couple of weekends ago, the campground hosted a kid’s outdoor program. It is led by the Game and Fish department of Wyoming and has donations by private sponsors. Our ranch is one big sponsor. We were invited over to watch a presentation on owls, see some insect exhibits, watch some archery lessons, watch older kids learn how to tie their own flies for fishing, make fires, learn how to reload shells, use turkey calls, put together a tent and other cool activities. Since Saturdays during our homeschool year is devoted to nature walks, exploring outside and your surroundings, this was a perfect opportunity for us.
Young man dissects an owl pellet to see what it had eaten.
Our girls and the twins were too young to participate this year. After listening to some talks, the twins, we Wooster girls and the moms set off in the park to find our own pellets and make observations.
Later on, the Game and Fish left us some sterilized pellets to dissect. We girls went back over and did a little owl study group with the boys. Ruby LOVED it. She was very good at picking out the bones and comparing them to a little chart. Sorry, no pictures of that. Clara sat with me for a little bit but was more interested in playing on the nearby playground.
Check out this to see past pictures and get more information of the PHMP.
