Blog
Browse this page for blog postings related to middle- and high-school-teacher Adventure Learning workshops taking place across Idaho. Use the widgets to the right (or at bottom of this page, for smaller devices) to filter blog posts.
Floating the Portneuf - My Favorite MILES Experience Last Year!
Looks like you guys spent time near Lava today and got to float the Portneuf. This was probably my favorite day of the workshop last summer. Not only did I enjoy the float, but I hadn't ever realized how clean the Portneuf was until this very day last year as an on-site learner. As we moved on to learn more about Marsh Creek, I finally understood why our local river looks like "chocolate milk" once it gets to Pocatello. Collecting organisms from the river and hearing how the health of these critters gives scientists information regarding the riparian system brought me back to my... more
A Tale of Two Portneufs
The Portneuf River has a split personality.
The Portneuf River channel comes west from Lava Hot Springs, then turns north to head towards Pocatello. However, not all of its water goes the same direction. In fact, there are times when none of the water turns north.
As shown in my photo, much of the Portneuf’s water is diverted for irrigation to the south. Whatever isn’t needed in Marsh Valley is “allowed” to flow north, to stay in the Portneuf channel.
But, sometimes, all of the water goes to the farms, and the Portneuf River ends right there, at the Topaz station.... more
My favorite place!
I love the mountains right behind my house they provide my family and I with a lot of joy! We love to hike, jog the trails, ride our motor cycles and atv's on these trails. We love the smell of the sage brush after it rains and the beautiful willd flowers in the spring, the rock formations, and the wildlife. However, I would love to get rid of the rattle snakes but that might disrupt the eco system. I really hate them and they scare me to death. So, I consider them ugly, deterimental, and the something that needs to change. However, I know they are part of nature and help to keep a... more
Life on the River
Today was a full day in the Portneuf drainage valley. Ecosystem services were again the focus. It is easy to see how we depend on our surroundings like the Portneuf for services like irrigation and recreation like fishing and floating, but the challenge is to think of some other ways that we interact, influence, and are influenced by the Portneuf and it's tributaries. Our lessons today included using data in graphical format to help tell these stories, understanding how certain organisms can be used to measure the health of natural systems, and relating our past rationale and desired... more
Woohoo! My first time swimming in the Portneuf!
Maybe the GoPro will reveal photographic evidence, but my first kayak float also included Jennifer McIntosh, a Russian Olive tree, and my first (unintentional) swim in the Portneuf River. I learned that my enjoyable swim was amongst an invisible world of fauna like spikey and smooth dinosaur-age-looking sculpin (aka blobs), gold dotted speckled dace, the sparkliest blue redsided shiners, dragonflies in aquatic form (odonata), mayflies, and stone flies, and a million other creepy crawlies that ended up wedged between my toes. Loved every minute! Here's to my next float and yours!
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A Day on the River
Today was a big day of learning! We spent time fishing, collecting macro invertebrates, learning about how you can use graphs an data to tell a story, and even a quick conversation about how humans have impacted the Portneuf River basin. Here are some pictures from today's great adventures!