Today we started the ecology aspect of this trip. One of the reasons we decided on California as our destination was so that I had a great natural laboratory to help them learn about ecology. One of their projects while they are here is to collect data on climate and dominant species occupying the areas we will visit throughout the trip. California is famous for its variety in landscape, climate and the flora and fauna found from one place to the next. You could be on the coast of San Francisco in 50 degree, cloudy weather, and then hop in the car, drive 45 minutes to Napa where it could be 90 degrees and sunny. There will be palm trees in one spot making you feel like you're in the tropics, and pine forests in another giving you a north woods feel. California's variety in landscape and climate has a lot to do with proximity to the coast and mountains, altitude and location relative to the equator. Today we started hopping from one place to the next checking out and recording the similarities and differences between our destinations. We will post our findings on here when we have put the data into something understandable.
Today the kids woke up and made sausage and egg tortillas. I didn't bring many cooking utensils because they were too heavy to travel with. So the kids got creative and literally attracted a crowd. They simply molded tin foil into the shape of a pan and fried up some hash browns in it!
Then we went on our way. We spent our last day in the San Francisco area a little north of the city. We visited the Muir Woods, famous for its towering, old growth redwood trees. These trees are coniferous (meaning they have pine cones) and live several hundred years when undisturbed. They are also the tallest trees in the country. They are not the widest, that would be sequoias, which are also in California, but redwoods are still pretty wide. Redwood trees grow close to the coastline. The mist from the ocean is important moisture for redwoods survival.
Next we drove just 6 miles up to the summit of Mount Tamalpais. The kids stood at the top taking in the spectacular view of the Pacific and the city below. Tamalpais is also near the ocean, and the summit is 1300 ft above sea level. As you ascend the mountain the air gets colder and the oxygen thinner. The nutrients in the soil also change. That is why you see very few plants and animals as get closer to the peak. The animals and plants that can tolerate high altitudes are those that have evolved specific traits to do so. There aren't many, hence the sparse plant community at the summit.
Finally, we ended our day with a quick drive into the city to do some window shopping in the famous Haight Ashbury neighborhood. The kids found some great finds at a few of the thrift shops on Haight.
Until tomorrow! Goodnight Minnesota!
Today the kids woke up and made sausage and egg tortillas. I didn't bring many cooking utensils because they were too heavy to travel with. So the kids got creative and literally attracted a crowd. They simply molded tin foil into the shape of a pan and fried up some hash browns in it!
Then we went on our way. We spent our last day in the San Francisco area a little north of the city. We visited the Muir Woods, famous for its towering, old growth redwood trees. These trees are coniferous (meaning they have pine cones) and live several hundred years when undisturbed. They are also the tallest trees in the country. They are not the widest, that would be sequoias, which are also in California, but redwoods are still pretty wide. Redwood trees grow close to the coastline. The mist from the ocean is important moisture for redwoods survival.
Next we drove just 6 miles up to the summit of Mount Tamalpais. The kids stood at the top taking in the spectacular view of the Pacific and the city below. Tamalpais is also near the ocean, and the summit is 1300 ft above sea level. As you ascend the mountain the air gets colder and the oxygen thinner. The nutrients in the soil also change. That is why you see very few plants and animals as get closer to the peak. The animals and plants that can tolerate high altitudes are those that have evolved specific traits to do so. There aren't many, hence the sparse plant community at the summit.
Finally, we ended our day with a quick drive into the city to do some window shopping in the famous Haight Ashbury neighborhood. The kids found some great finds at a few of the thrift shops on Haight.
Until tomorrow! Goodnight Minnesota!