Colorado National Monument – Colorado

Colorado National Monument
Colorado

https://www.nps.gov/colm/index.htm

Junior Ranger – Senior Friendly

Completed: June 30, 2019

A great place to explore, by car or foot. This site may not be on everyone’s list to visit, I would move it up and make sure to visit next time you are in the area. One thing we have realized over the past few years is Grand Junction, CO is close to Moab, UT which has better known park sites. The access to camping and lower cost lodging is much better in Grand Junction, and only a 2 hour drive away. During the busiest season rooms and campsites may not be available or too expensive in Moab, consider staying in Grand Junction and enjoying Colorado National Monument while in the area.

When I visited we were traveling through the park from West to East, with a stop at the visitor center near the beginning of the visit. When I picked up the booklet I asked if I could mail in the completed booklet after our visit, I was told that was acceptable. When planning to visit you can also print out a booklet in advance, the current link is listed below.

This program is considered Senior Friendly, the oldest age category is listed as Over 10. Other age groupings are 7 & under and 8-10 years old. For the older crowd at least 7 activities with eleven possible are to be completed. Besides completing the activities in the booklet you are expected to take a hike or attend a ranger program.

I took a delightful, short hike from the visitor center on a hot day along the Alcove Trail. I spent time photographing the view, tiny flowers, cryptobiotic soil, a lizard and a prehistoric-looking crane fly. A short trail, which allowed me to focus on the views and critters along the way.

Activities in the book included;
Explore – Trail Report, Learn – Be a Geologist, Learn – The Wear-Away Forces, Learn – Wild Ways, Learn – Living Soils, Explore – Meet the Plants, Learn – Otto’s Dream, Learn – Living off the Land, and Protect this Land Forever. Several activities focused on geology, a main theme of this park. Learning about the through John Otto’s Dream was enlightening. The focus on biology through Meet the Plants and Living Soil was the most interesting for me. Overall the booklet is well designed and was enjoyable to complete.

I finished up some of the drawing activities after I got home from the trip and mailed it to the address on their website. My booklet was returned with the standard Junior Ranger badge aling with a congratulatory letter from Ranger Abby. I really appreciated the persoal comme ts she added to the booklet.

Download the Activity Guide;

Click to access Activity-Guide.pdf

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park – Colorado

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Colorado

http://www.nps.gov/blgu/index.htm

Completed: June 23, 2016

Senior Friendly

Be prepared for spectacular views of a river flowing – down in a narrow canyon. There is so much to see and do in Colorado and easy to bypass this park -Don’t! Do turn off the highway and come explore, both the North and South Rim.

Before I arrived at the South Rim Visitor Center I had stopped at the Curecanti National Recreation Area, just east on US 50, and picked up a Junior Ranger Activity Book for Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP. I completed the booklet by driving the road along the rim and stopping at several overlooks. When I turned in the completed booklet I learned I had been given the booklet for the youngest crowd (designed for ages 4 – 6), however the staff awarded me the Junior Ranger badge. On my next visit I’ll complete the more advanced program.

The booklet I completed had five activities, and four had to be completed to earn the badge.
The activities are; Draw the Black Canyon!, Are you my Mother?, Explore the Wild Inner Canyon!, Who lives Here? and Tic-Tac-Toe! As with other basic Junior Ranger programs I enjoyed this booklet, especially taking time to work on Draw the Black Canyon.

Are you my Mother? had you match a picture of the young with an adult animal, like a caterpillar with a butterfly. The nine squares for Tic-Tac-Toe were fairly easy to complete three in a row, some of the activities that I completed were; having a picnic, spot a soaring bird, visit two overlooks, smell a sagebrush and take a picture, as well as other activities.

Ranger Amy was enthusiastic in reviewing my booklet, signing the certificate on the back of the booklet and issuing my enhance wooden Junior Ranger badge. The badge depicts steep canyon walls and the Gunnison River.

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument – Colorado

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
Colorado

http://www.nps.gov/flfo/index.htm

Completed: July 17, 2017

Booklet: https://www.nps.gov/flfo/learn/kidsyouth/upload/ffb_junior_ranger-pc.pdf

Less than an hour from Colorado Springs, along US 24, you will see amazing fossils in a beautiful setting. I love visiting this site and for the first time completed their Junior Ranger program during this last visit. Their collection of plant and animal fossils is amazing, both inside and outside. The hiking trails range from very short to longer through pine forests and open meadows at 8,100 feet elevation. During the summer, afternoon mountain thunderstorms will move in and the trails are closed for your safety.

This program is considered Senior Friendly as the upper age group is not set. The groupings and number of activities to complete are; 4-7 years – 3 pages, 8-10 years – 5 pages and 11 years and older – 7 pages. With 13 different activities, at a variety of skill levels, there are plenty of activities of interest for all of the age groups.

Activities include; Dot to Dot, Map Maker, BINGO!, Leaf Detective, Learning the Layers, Fly Maze, Email Friends, Be a Paleontologist, Influential Women, From the Ute Perspective, Take A Hike, No Ordinary Homesteader, and Pick Your Next Adventure!

I enjoyed their BINGO format, 16 squares, with a short description of what to look for and space to draw what you saw, answer a question about the item or complete an activity. Questions were about the color of lichen, bark, type of fossil, and an animal home. Activities were hiking, attending a ranger program, having a picnic and visiting a historic site. Leaf Detective had you sketching a modern leaf and a fossil leaf from their collection in the visitor center and answering some questions about each one.

A couple of the activities, Learning the Layers and Be A Paleontologist, were based on displays in the visitor center. The display area is small, but packed with excellent information. Sometimes too much information is given and it is hard to stay focused, these displays are just right! A word search activity, Influential Women, provided great information about local women, as well as professional female paleontologists who strongly influenced this area. I appreciated that facts about the women were given and key words from the facts were used in the word search.

Behind the visitor center is a covered area with big fossilized tree stumps and picnic tables. After completing the hike and gathering information needed for his booklet I enjoyed sitting outside to put the finishing touches on this program. Once I did compete the booklet I took it back inside for a ranger to check it over. After that I was administered their Junior Ranger pledge and given the standard badge.