The Kingfishers Discover the Joys of Spider's Web at Whatcom Falls Park

Working with our youngest groups can be a ton of fun.  Everything we do is new and exciting for the Explorers, but some activities just seem to be even more fun than most.  One of these is "Spider's Web", a game that requires stealth, teamwork, and a willingness to crawl on your belly through everything the forest has to offer.  Based on our observations of the group so far, the mentors decided that the Kingfishers were ready to learn...and we had a blast!

At our opening circle, the boys showed some good progress in understanding the basics around effective communication.  We're taking less time with distractions and gaining the benefit of more time to explore!  From there, we moved north to check out the fish hatchery on our way to the woods.  All the pens are full of rainbow trout right now, so we had a chance to check them out a close range.

Meeting some rainbow trout.

There are a million of them in there!

Our next stop was the bridge at the falls, which was particularly impressive that day due to the high volume of the flow.  The water was really crashing down!

Whatcom Creek was running hard and fast!

So cool...

Moving downstream, we followed the creek to another spot that Explorers love, an area full of fallen trees.  The boys spent quite a bit of time free-exploring the area, playing "Hide", balancing on the logs, and playing a game of "Nature Scavenger Hunt".  The scavenger hunt was a fun way for them to learn more about Douglas Firs, Huckleberries, Western Cedar, and Sword Fern.  And, all the games of Hide we played really helped them prep for the upcoming game of Spider's Web.

Bouncing on "The Trampoline Log".

Kind of like spotting a bear cub in the wild, right?

Getting ready to start the scavenger hunt!

Plant identification is a team sport.

Heading off the beaten path, we worked our way further downstream to a spot where very few people go...and it's a perfect set-up for Spider's Web!  After covering the rules and boundaries and placing our "web" and "food source" bandannas, we jumped right into our first game.  Mentor Joey was the "spider" trying to spot all the rest of the group who were "flies".  The object of the game is for the flies to sneak from the "web" to the "food source" and carry it back to the web without being spotted by the spider.  If a fly gets spotted, he or she has to go back to the web and stay there until waved off by a live fly.  Joey gave the boys a good challenge, but all that practice in hiding payed off - the flies won!  Everyone had so much fun, we ended up playing another round before gathering back up for closing circle.  In sharing our Attitude of Gratitude, we heard a lot of "I'm thankful for Spider's Web!".

Climbing all over the hemlock tree that would later become the "web" in Spider's Web.

The Art of Camouflage on display as the boys go over their strategy.

There was a whole lot of sneaking going on as the "Flies" worked their way around the "Spider".

Captured flies wait at the web for someone to wave them off.

When it was all said and done, we had some tired Kingfishers on the walk back to the parking lot.  But, these guys wouldn't let that stop them from having a bit more fun mugging for the camera on the way back...

Goofballs...

Be sure to check out the rest of the photos from our day here.

The Kingfishers Learn about Layering at Chuckanut Creek

A rainy and saturated outing is something of a right of passage for all of our new Explorers Club groups. Sometimes, the mentors call these “Be Prepared days” because they highlight the importance of being prepared so well These wet, soggy outings almost always provide a us with two special opportunities. First, they allow us to learn about and practice layering and staying dry in a wet forest (as our Northwest forests so often are).  Second, they provide the group with a shared challenging experience, and that shared experience helps the bonds of connection within the group to grow stronger.

We started our outing as we always do, with an opening circle. This space allows us to check in with the group and share our intentions and desires for the day. Based on this input, we work together to make a basic plan for our day. It is also the time when we pass out the jobs that we carry with us on every outing. By distributing these amongst our packs, we are able to carry all of the gear that we need without someone being stuck with carrying it all.

We also took time to have a discussion about how we can give ourselves the best shot at staying dry during our exploration. We agreed that staying dry was necessary for staying warm. We all decided that today we would make an extra special effort to keep our waterproof layers on and to be careful not to slip into any water.

After our opening circle, we set out to Cougar Rock, our first destination of the day. On the way there we marveled at gushing mountainside streams, examined some interesting fungi and played a few games of Hide. The hike did a good job of warming us up, and when we got to the rock, we all took some water and had a snack to keep our internal furnace’s roaring.

Taking a moment to examine this waterfall closer

We took time here to partake in one of our favorite activities: free exploration! Especially because it is our first year, and for many of us, the first chance to really take some time and explore off trail, we appreciate slowing down and wandering through these woods. Some of the discoveries we made near Cougar Rock include a big, orange mushroom growing out of the base of a huge Douglas fir, a fallen log that is now a tunnel you can crawl through and even some deer tracks.

Arriving at Cougar Rock

After a couple more rounds of Hide, we packed up and began our walk down to the creek. It felt good to move again and take moments along the way to notice and investigate all of the the trailside treasures we found.

Playing Hide!

We eventually found our basecamp down on the banks of Chuckanut Creek. After scouting for any remaining spawning chum salmon (our efforts did not yield any confirmed fish sightings) we set up a tarp that the mentors had brought. At this point in our day, some of the Kingfishers had wet layers under their rain jacket and they were beginning to get cold. Now, with the tarp up, we had a dry space to replace some of our soaked under clothes with dry fleece layers and wool socks.

Much appreciated refuge from the rain

We were lucky to run into a Girls Explorers Club group down at the creek. We shared our tarp shelter with them and in return, they taught us some fun, big group games that served the double purpose of providing lots of fun while warming us up at the same time!

Playing games with the Fiddleheads, a GEC group

Using our thumb-o-meters to share with the group how warm/cold we were

Eventually, the time had come to gather for our closing circle and wrap up our day with our Attitude of Gratitude practice. We shared thanks and apples and made our way back to the parking lot to meet our guardians and their warm vehicles.

The Kingfishers don't mind a little mud on the trail. In fact, they love it!

To see the rest of the photos from our day, click here.