Prairie Dogs

No pictures -- we forgot the camera phones -- but we had a great time today watching and feeding the prairie dogs along the bike path in the foothills. There were lots of prairie dogs -- adults, nursing mamas, babies. They all came close enough to watch, some even ate from the kids' hands! We got there early afternoon, tho, and it was too hot (high around 90) for most of the little ones. Next time we go, we'll choose either early or late, when it's cool enough that we're not interrupting siesta time.

We learned about what the prairie dogs like to eat, and that they get water from the grasses they eat, but in a true drought, they will eat cactus to get water! We read about the relocation program done by Prairie Dog Pals, an outfit that also feeds the prairie dogs.

We arrived early, and Andy insisted we walk the half-mile to the pedestrian walkway over Tramway Rd. Did I mention it was hot today? At the other end of the walkway we found a cute little park with a playground. The boys wanted to stay right then, but our friends were meeting us at the prairie dog park, so we walked back, getting there just as our friends arrived.

Afterwards, we drove over to the little park, spent about half an hour then headed home. We drove by the house I grew up in here -- it's so different, and ugly, with a big upper level that looks like an airport observation building. And it's unfinished. I'll be the neighbors are just crazy about what's been done to the house by the current owners.

It's all so different in that neighborhood from when I was a kid. Tramway Road was 4-lane packed dirt until 1983, and there were no strip malls or pedestrian bridges. In the 70's that part of town really was the edge of creation for us. Now it's city all the way to the mountain. Still hard to wrap my head around.