First Day Hikes

From a First Day Hike in 2014

The New Year is often about starting things fresh, making commitments, and working on goals. Our family has started out New Year intentionally the last 3 years by taking a First Day Hike on January 1st at a local natural area. It shows our commitment to getting outside this year in different temperatures and sets the mood for a year of getting outside.

In Indiana, many of the area state parks host first day hikes. We can get to about 4 different state parks in just under or over an hour. We’ve been to several places in the past. On a particularly stormy First Day, we chose to go to a nature preserve near our house. While we missed the comradery, group experience, and guided hike with additional learning opportunities, we still were able to have good family time and renewed our commitment to getting outside that year.

Here are past First Year Hikes we have taken:

2013—Pokagon State Park

2014—Pipewort Pond, Lieber Nature Preserve

2015—Potato Creek State Park

2016—Lots of options!  

10:00am Indiana Dunes—Three Dunes Challenge! 1 ½ mile hike ending with a fire and snacks. Meet at the Nature Center.

1:00pm Pokagon—Hike to Lake Lonidaw and back. Less than a mile. Enjoy marshmallows and a campfire near the toboggan run after the hike from 2-3pm. Meet at the Pokagon Inn Lonidaw Lounge.

2:00pm Chain O’Lakes—Take an old fashioned walk to school by walking 4 miles. Expect a 2 hour hike. Meet at the Stanley One Room House. Coffee and hot cocoa are available.

7:00pm Potato Creek—Start your 2016 Bird List by taking an owl walk! The 1 mile hike will take about an hour. Meet at the Nature Center auditorium.

We found the State Park options a great way to visit a nature center, meet others, and enjoy natural areas we visit once in a while. There have also always been snacks, which motivates my kids! There is a $7 entry fee per car for Indiana residents.  If a State Park is not up your alley this year, we have great local options in Elkhart County and nearby areas. Check out my winter or summer guide for places we enjoy visiting in the area.

While we have had unseasonably warm weather so far this winter, expect a dip in temperatures for the New Year. We use layers, warm boots, gloves, hats, etc. Sometimes, we even bring hand warmers.

As we enter 2016, I encourage readers to think about getting outside in the New Year. Perhaps, a First Day Hike fits in your plans. Perhaps, you have another outdoor option in mind. Let us know in the comments how you plan to commit to getting outside in 2016!

First Day Hike at Potato Creek State Park

A few years ago, we started the tradition of going on a First Day hike, starting at Pokagon State Park, going to a nature preserve near our house, and then going to Potato Creek State Park for 2015. It's a great way to commit to getting outside as the new year begins. While waiting for the hike to start, we explored the small nature center for a bit, looking at tracks and guessing what all the items were in the touch box.

We also took a quiz about woodpeckers, trying to match the names and descriptions with the pictures of the birds. There were a few boards set up like this where the information could be changed. We've been here a few times before. I appreciate that they change the various displays to have fresh content. 

When it was time for the hike, we gathered outside with winter nature hike BINGO cards in tow. The cardboard and paperclip helped hold the papers in place while writing. I met Robert, our guide, at Certified Interpretive Guide training earlier this year. He had us stop to talk about various items as we moved along the trail. There were about 70 people for the hike, which is great!

Down by the lake, we could hear the broken ice near the shore clinking together making music. My mom just posted a video of the ice making noise like this in her backyard as well, so it was neat to hear it for ourselves. We were told about the history, did a little winter tree ID, and found tracks nearby. At each stop, the boys looked around, trying to find the various items on our quest. Our five-year-old was working on his literacy skills as he worked at reading the words. They all had their observation powers on full blast. 

 

Along the hike we were introduced to various behaviors of animals in winter, such as the beaver who likes hanging out in his lodge or modified bank burrow. 

We learned about sassafras and sycamore trees. We even were able to smell the distinct sassafras smell on the twigs.

Along the hike, I met Chuck Golubski. I heard the name Chuck and had seen many pictures shared by Potato Creek. He had a camera with a  big lens, so I figured it might be the same guy. It was neat because he could share where he sees the eagles hanging out. When hiking, talk to the people around you. They'll often share what they like, what they've observed, etc. Chuck takes great pictures. Find his Birding Photography page here or his regular Photography page on Facebook here. 

I met a couple of other families that were out hiking as well. One family was staying in the cabins there. That sounds like it would be fun sometime! Another family home schools and looked like an outdoor family. I enjoyed learning about where they like to find nature in the area as well. They even took a second hike after this First Hike. Way to go outdoor family! 

We found several nuts along the way. My son was especially enthralled by this black walnut. 

Another young boy had quite the stick collection going on. :-) We also found poison ivy along the trail in various places. Watch for the hairs. The naturalist reiterated that we can have a reaction from the vines as well. 

One tree even had rectangular woodpecker holes throughout the tree. Pretty cool! Back at the nature center, we had hot chocolate and cute tree cookies. Robert's mom made them to share with us and even took the time to serve all of us. How sweet! She said they often went to the park as her kids were growing up. It's neat Robert can work there now. 

After the hike, we checked out the beaver and our wingspans. 

There is also a puppet theater, reading nook, and a place to explore seasonal objects. I like how they had a tray for various items with information printed about them. Here my son is exploring and irridescent turkey tail feather.

We checked out the osprey. There are several nests in the park. The migratory birds often return to the same spot each year. We noticed a large nest in a tree as we drove in and Robert told us that it was an osprey nest as well. There are various platforms around the park for nests too. We spent a fair amount of time looking out the wildlife viewing window, too. It's nice that there is a lake in the background. We have known this one as the cardinal window, as there are often lots of cardinals here. We saw up to 8 at one time today, though there were also chickadees, nuthatches, tufted titmouse, bluejays, and more. 

Outside, we stole the spot the "outdoors" family used for taking pictures earlier. The mom said they use it often! 

The park is also really nice as well. It leaves plenty of room for imaginative play! 

I'm glad it was nice enough to play outside for a while! We like having a playground available for after the hike. Combining nature and recreation work well in our family!

I took a couple of the kids that were getting cold back in the nature center. After watching the birds a little longer, the naturalist took the snake out so we were able to touch it and check it out closely. Robert helped us make observations about the snake's behavior we might not have noticed otherwise. 

As we left, I noticed all the farm tools outside. The park does a good job telling its story as it changed from farmland to a state park! Thanks for another great First Day Hike! We look forward to many more hikes this year!

Potato Creek State Park Nature Center

As part of our whirlwind nature center visits over the last week, we stopped at Potato Creek State Park Nature Center. I was all ready to use our recently acquired State Parks pass, but didn't find anyone at the gate.  I was amazed at all this open space that was undeveloped and full of "nature". The website offers a neat wildlife guide. Four miles after we hit the guard shack, we found the Nature Center.

The displays look at the history, including Darcy Worster's involvement in making Worster Lake a reality.

Information about the Spring House. How cool that it remains at constant temps year round!

Exhibits looked at how the area went from Farmland to Grassland.

Upstairs the exhibits were dedicated to children. There were flaps to lift . . .

Arms to measure . . . this seems to be popular with my kids these days!

Books to read . . . this little guy has certainly been enjoying books these days,  even looking at them in the car. He found a few books he recognized from home.

Buttons to push . . .

Specimens to view . . .

And puppets to present . . . loved this puppet stage! How cute! The puppets look well loved!

Downstairs, there were rotating exhibits, like cattails, acorns, sweet gum balls, snakes skins, etc. We even saw a live snake shedding its skin.

There were several live animals inside, such as a salamander, frogs, turtles, snakes, etc.

The wildlife viewing station was also a favorite . . . my son had to go get my nature bag for binoculars and a field guide. There were so many cardinals today! We counted at least 14 at once. How beautiful and striking. I love how the orange beaks of the females stand out.

It sounds like they rely on donations to feed the birds . . . this would be a great project to help as a family. Feed adds up and any donations are appreciated at many of the centers we visited. The naturalist told us about the different types of squirrels we saw, as my boys thought they were just different ages. In reality, we saw the red squirrel and fox squirrel. We saw the usual feeder birds. Speakers piped in the sounds from outside. It was easier to hear here than at Pokagon State Park. My son found youtube videos on my phone of cardinal bird calls and other bird music. Kind of neat how technology can help us learn! We saw chickadees, nuthatches, the tufted titmouse, American Tree Sparrow, etc. 

Technology was also used for more information in the center.

Thinking about it . . . books were a new technology at one time, back during Gutenberg's time.

We had a nice visit and enjoyed combining it with sledding! I can see opportunities with repeat visits with iSpy, scavenger hunts, animal guides, etc. Watch for upcoming ideas . . .

Sledding at Potato Creek

After another Nature Center visit, we tried out the nearby Peppermint Hill for sledding at Potato Creek State Park. The closest parking is in the parking lot across the street from the Nature Center. I asked at the Nature Center and the person there easily told me about it and showed me where it was on the map. I was there by myself with four boys, so understanding the situation as best as possible before we got there was important. We started putting on snow pants, gloves, coats, etc. inside the van. I was almost astonished when we found enough gloves for everyone, even though I didn't specifically check for them before we left. I'm finding a large bag to contain all this portable winter gear is helpful to tote items in the van and keep it together when at home.

There is a clear sign marked Tubing Hill . . .

Cute boys . . . hard to see, but there was a small ramp built--these can be painful to go over. We avoided it. The boys (well, some!) became good at steering with their hands on the ground while they were going down. The three year old ended up in the bushes frequently, but didn't seem too upset about it.

The snow here was hard packed and SLICK. I was holding the baby and trying to give a kid a push at the same time. I went CRASH and the baby went CRASH as well. Risk, right? There was some crying but he eventually settled down. Once he looked like this . . .

I decided to try this . . . this is the view after we spun around at the bottom of the hill and I had water on my lens!

The boys kept sledding and sledding and sledding . . .

Another group was at the sledding hill when we arrived. They really liked the hard packed snow conditions of the hill. The grandparents brought 6 of their older grandkids to the state park for a few days. They were staying in a cabin, had a fire and marshmallows, played many, many games, went sledding on the hill, etc. Basically, they were having good time with their grandparents unplugged for a few days. This sounds great, even though they live right in Mishawaka. Hint, hint, mom and dad . . . don't you want some "quality time" with the grandkids? Actually, this would be fun for any family and/or combinations of families to get away while staying close. Let me check the schedule! The family also mentioned several of their favorite hills for sledding and tubing in the Mishawaka area, such as Baugo, George Wilson, and Bendix Woods Parks. We might have to make some visits. I will say, I think we've done more sledding this year than we have combined in the last 8 years since we've had kids. Let's get outside, Michiana!

There was a cool looking playground nearby. Of course we had to check it out. This will be great when it's not covered in snow too. My oldest asked, "Mom, do you want to come up too?" Who can resist an invitation like that? Up I went! I've always enjoyed the bridges, too. 

While we had a great time sledding, we also noticed people hiking, cross country skiing, bird watching, and bringing supplies down for ice fishing. Oh, the possibilities of winter! What's your favorite thing to do in winter?