When:
Monday, August 7, 2017, 10 am - 12 noon
Tuesday, August 29, 2017, 1 pm - 3 pm
This hike is about 2 hours long but since its out and back you can make it as long or as short as you want it to be. This hike's turn around point is a creek and waterfall so you can stay and play as long as you want. 

Where:
Trail head at N. Mill Rd and N. Fairwood Drive (not Lane), Spokane. The trail head is a few hundred yards north east of the Bozarth Mansion on N. Fairwood Drive.

If you like the Little Spokane River, you may want to go on the Kayak/Canoe trip on the Little Spokane River.

Using the 95 page Little Spokane River Journal booklet by Jan Reynolds, you'll venture out on a  journey exploring the sciences of the Little Spokane River. On this hike, you'll learn about the geology, people, edible plants, and ecology of the river area. We'll begin with a "Scat & Snacks" animal signs activity. In a zoo, there are signs that tell you what animal to look for, such as “Moose” or "Beaver." But in their natural habitat, animals don't stand next to a sign that labels them. However they do leave us clues as to who was there, in the form of scat. Come learn to identify some Little Spokane River inhabitants by their scat. Just like a naturalist, look for real scat and tracks on our hike. We will give each scientist-in-training marshmallows, jelly beans and other foods, which have the same size and shape as some animal scat. Additionally, we'll discover the aquifer in action and find out where our trail will take us to find a hidden beauty (a waterfall and small creek!)  We'll see evidence of the historical Waikiki dairy ranch (now Bozarth Mansion). Our hike begins with a half mile gradual descent down to the river. Of course that means that the hike ends with a half mile gradual up hill walk back to your car. We will cross a few little streams by walking on fallen branches and 2x4 boards so your shoes may get slightly wet.  

When
The beginning of August 2017
The time is not yet determined.
The slaughter process takes about 1 hour but you can come and go as needed.

Where
A family beef farm in Chattaroy, WA

A slaughterer is coming to Larry's beef farm to prepare a young 2000+ lbs bull for ground beef. The slaughterer will shoot the animal and then drain the blood. Finally, he will cut it into large pieces of hanging meat which takes about 45 minutes. He will then take the meat to his butcher shop and return 1000+ lbs of ground beef to Larry about a week later.

The slaughterer will call Larry and set up a day and time to work at his farm. The slaughterer gives Larry about 1 day notice that he is coming and the slaughterer gives Larry a window of time when he will arrive (kind of like the cable guy.) As soon as Larry has a day and then a time from the slaughterer, he will contact Exploring Families. Then Exploring Families will contact those who have registered and pass along the details of when and where. Sorry there isn't more confirmed details but this is just the way slaughterers work.

Beef for sale! If you want to pre-order your ground beef now, contact Larry directly at 509-499-6369. The last time Exploring Families "advertised" Larry's beef, he ran out of meat. He had more buyers than meat available.