Nature Center

We've been attending a "knee-high" naturalist class at the Nature Center in Eagle River. Each week the teacher read a story, talked about what we'd be looking for on the trail, then we'd head off for about a half hour walk. This was our last class, and I finally remembered to grab the camera. So glad I did. A gorgeous bull moose was hanging out off the back deck of the center. He was there for a LONG time.

Before the walk, teacher talking about the different parts of a flower. We were going to be looking for butterflies that like to land on flowers while out on the trail today.

Mr. Moose

See the little Snipe with his long beak to dig into the sand? We were crossing a bridge that goes over a large grassy area and these guys were all hiding, hunkered down in the grass.

Emma wanted pictures of a bee. Here's her bee from two different angles.

Moose hair that we found along the trail. Emma said, "make sure to get a picture of the moose hair."

Matthew caught a butterfly!

We got back from out walk and Mr. Moose was still there, along with a friend. See the dark spot in the upper left corner?

Sign outside of the center.....the Iditarod Trail runs through the park.

The class ended, but we brought a lunch to sit outdoors and enjoy the weather. We watched the moose while we ate. He was still there when we finished, so we got some ice cream from inside the center store and watched him a little longer. "A little longer" turned into TWO HOURS! I couldn't believe Emma and Matthew were content to watch for that long. They thought he was the coolest moose ever. He eventually got up and started slumbering around stripping trees.

That must be some pretty yummy leaves.....he's licking his lips. :-)