The League of American Bicyclists website has a list of the Bike Friendliest States. The top five states are Washington, Wisconsin, Maine, Oregon and Minnesota. Bike On!!
May is National Bike Month
May 11, 2009
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Nature Activities, Places to Explore | Tagged: biking, child, children, exercise, family, fun, grandchild, grandchildren, grandma, grandpa, grandparent, Green Hour, kids, League of American Bicyclists, Maine, Minnesota, Oregon, Places to Go, Washington, Wisconsin | 
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Posted by mygrandmasue
Kids Active In Nature – Lehigh Gap Nature Center
May 6, 2009The Audubon Magazine is one of the most beautiful magazines I get. I just read the Citizen Science article in the May-June 2009 Audubon on Whiz Kids by Susan Cosier and photographed by Chip Simmons. Eastern Pennsylvania kids help collect butterflies, moths, bees and flies for real, hands-on scientific research at the >Lehigh Gap Nature Center. Nature is so important for our well-being. Birding is a great way to get kids interested in science and to learn scientific methodology. It is a great article. Now that I’ve teased you, click on this link to get more….
This all folded into another article in the same Audubon magazine on a Guide to Birding Trails (Part 3 of a series). This link sends you to a list of birding guides on the Audubon website. You can probably find a birding trail for your area of the country there.
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Posted by mygrandmasue
Quail Botanical Gardens – Chocolate Festival
May 2, 2009The Quail Botanical Gardens is located in Encinitas, CA, just twenty minutes north of San Diego. There is a special Children’s Garden (The Seeds of Wonder) that opened to the public in April, 2003, as the West Coast’s first interactive children’s garden. Other gardens, covering over 35 acres of exhibits, include rare bamboo groves, desert gardens, a tropical rainforest, California native plants, Mediterranean climate landscapes, the Undersea Succulent Garden, the new Mexican Garden, Landscaping for Fire Safety, a subtropical fruit garden and a Miniature Railroad with a 1920-1930 local Southern California layout.
On Saturday, May 9, there is a Chocolate Festival with children’s activities, chocolate tastings, cooking demonstrations and Mother’s Day gifts.
On Saturday, June 13, from Noon to 4 PM the Public Grand Opening of the Hamilton Children’s Garden will take place. There is no admission fee.
Ongoing Programs from the website:
Ongoing programs complimenting the new children’s garden are rotated periodically. Most are geared toward children ages 18 months through 6 years old, although all ages are welcome. Ongoing programs are free with regular garden admission and pre-registration is not required unless otherwise noted.
Programs for Preschoolers:
2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th Tuesday: Tales and Tunes 10:30am – 12 noon
Children and their caregivers participate in stories and songs at 10:30 – 11:00. Play in the garden and pot plants to take home 10am – Noon.
Every Wednesday: Garden Arts and Crafts 10 AM – Noon
Children may participate in a variety of arts and crafts at 10:00 – 11:30. There will also be plant potting and other fun activities.
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Thursdays: Plants, Wings, and Crawly Things 10 AM – Noon
Children will discover the plants and bugs that live in our garden. Preschoolers will participate in special science activities from 10:00 – 11am.
2nd Friday of each Month: Friday Fun! 10 AM – Noon.
Children may pot a plant and play in the garden… Presented in cooperation with the San Diego County Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures.
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Posted by mygrandmasue
Tanaka Farms Strawberry Tours
May 1, 2009Tanaka Farms in Irvine, CA, is holding Strawberry Tours through June 21. Kids can learn how fruits and vegetables are grown. The whole family could come pick strawberries! There is an hour-long tractor-pulled wagon ride around the farm. Lots of locals have lots of memories of going strawberry picking at Tanaka Farms!
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Saguaro National Park
April 29, 2009The Saguaro National Park outside of Tucson, AZ, is a majestic place to hike around. The tall – and very old – Sagauro cacti reach for the sky and you feel so very small – and young – in comparison! So many outdoor activities are available to do: hiking, biking, camping, birding, horseback riding, and wild flower seeking ( in the spring ). Grandpa Ron and I really enjoyed the park.
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Posted by mygrandmasue
Activities in the Sierra Nevada
April 28, 2009There are all sorts of activities to do in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The Virtual Sierra Nevada website is quite exhaustive: gold panning, hiking, skiing, biking, horseback riding, backpacking, kayaking, river rafting and more. Then there is lots of sightseeing as well – Yes, there are LOTS of little towns: Reno (biggest little), Truckee, Virginia City, Lake Tahoe, Mammoth, Bishop, … and beautiful parks like Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, oh, I’ll get myself in trouble by trying to list them all and forgetting some so I’ll stop while I’m ahead…..check out the linked websites!!
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Posted by mygrandmasue
Verde Valley near Sedona, AZ
April 27, 2009Montezuma Castle — many years ago I passed the road sign several times before I knew Grandpa Ron but I never took the road to find out what it was. Then one weekend Grandpa Ron took me to Sedona, AZ, for my birthday so we could explore the luring area. We did follow the sign to Montezuma Castle and began a whole new journey of Native American Indian studies. It wasn’t a castle. It wasn’t built by Montezuma. We explored the Sinaqua ruins that had been abandoned in the early 1300s that afternoon and talked about our impressions all night long.
The next day we explored the nearby Tuzigoot Monument and added to our newfound interest. Since then we have explored many Southwest Indian National Monuments but there are still a lot left to see.
We also enjoyed the Verde Canyon Railroad trip. The station isn’t far from Tuzigoot. The scenery is fantastic. We pointed out many cliffs and caves where the Sinaqua may have lived so many years before us. It was a very spiritual experience.
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Posted by mygrandmasue
Plumas-Eureka (CA) State Park
April 27, 2009Lots of summer activities go on in the Plumas-Eureka State Park besides the usual hiking and fishing and exploring. This year is the 50th anniversary of the park’s opening so there will be special events including “Gold Discovery Days” (July 18-19) planned for visitors this summer. It is part of the California State Park system. Last summer Grandpa Ron and I caught the Living History Day
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Columbia River Gorge
April 26, 2009The Columbia River Gorge is beautiful any time that you visit! Multnomah Falls is probably the most famous of all the waterfalls on the route and the second highest (620 ft) year-round running waterfall in the US, but Grandpa Ron and I enjoyed finding them all. I took lots of pictures. We even brought Gigi, Cyndi, Bella and Austin to see some of them. It is well worth doing!
Quoted from www.bestgorge.com:
“The Columbia River Gorge is a spectacular river canyon cutting the only sea-level route through the Cascade Mountain Range. The Gorge is 80 miles long and up to 4,000 feet deep with the north canyon walls in Washington State and the south canyon walls in Oregon State.”
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Posted by mygrandmasue
Earth Day Trees Planted
April 25, 2009Grandpa Ron and I just finished planting 4 trees – to replace ones that died this winter and for Earth Day. Boy, are we tired!!! They are all different sizes. I’ll again try to get some pictures!
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Posted by mygrandmasue
MyGrandmaSue 