Field Trip to - King Gillette Ranch

 Yesterday, the whole third grade at my school took a marvelous field trip to King Gillette Ranch!  They told our class that we could go the day before we went.  That meant that we had to get all of the permission slips to our teacher the next day or we couldn't go on the field trip.  Successfully, everybody got there slips in except one person who was sick.  


I was so sad that I did not bring my camera to take pictures of the beautiful sights, but I felt sensational when Mrs. Yollis said that the class can use the pictures she took for our blogs!  I am giving all of the credit for the pictures to Mrs. Yollis, not myself. 

When we first got to King Gillette Ranch, we got to meet our great naturalist, Nick.  (A naturalist is a person who shows you or your group around and explains things if we have questions).  This is his  patch that makes him part of the staff. 

After the third grade got off of the buses, we were led to the "Big Backyard!" The big backyard is King Gillette Ranch because each one of us can go to our "Big Backyard" anytime we want for free!  In this photo, the naturalists, like Nick introduce themselves and tells us which naturalist we were getting for our class. 

Nick taught our group a lot about the Chumash Indians and how they lived.  Most of the women made baskets like the one above.  If you look carefully, the pattern is like stairs. 

One of the funnest things we did on the field trip was play Chumash instruments!   This is one of the instruments Nick pasted around in a circle.  It is a maraca filled with beans!  When the Chumash had their ceremonies, they would sing songs and play instruments like this. 

This is another instrument the Chumash used.  It is like drumsticks.    Your bang them together and makes a percussion noise.  

This instrument was probably the most relaxing.  It is a branch with little seeds.  When you turn the branch around, it sounds like rain pelting on the ground.  

This is a photo of Mrs. Yollis spinning the "bull roar."  

The bull roar looks like a book mark tied with a long string at the end.  You wrap the string around your hand and swing your arm in a circle.  When you have got the hang of it, it sounds like an airplane taking off. 

It was very fun taking nature walks or hikes in our "Big Backyard."    It was very calming walking threw the trail, although it was scary when I almost stepped on a beetle.  I know insects can't harm you, but I am still scared of them.

This tree is beautiful.  It grows pink, hairy flowers all over the place.  This tree has a funny name, the eucalyptus.  It is hard to say, and hard to spell. 

This tree was probably the most beautiful tree I saw at King Gillette Ranch.  The sad thing about the tree is that in a storm, a big branch plunged to the ground making a big gap in the trunk.  

This is a photograph of a great blue heron.  I truly admire the shape of the heron.  It is very astonishing.  On the right of the heron, there is its nest where it lives.  

Right before we were going to leave the spot we were in, Jakob spotted a white bird called the snowy egret.  I and other people thought it was a swan, but Nick said that it wasn't.

In this photo, Nick was teaching us about an owl.   I thought that an owl could spin its head 360 degrees, but it can only spin its head 270 degrees.  Did you know that?

This is a nice picture of the state senator with our naturalist, Nick, and our class.  I had a magnificent time and I hope I can visit the King Gillette Ranch again. 

Have you ever been to the King Gillette Ranch?

If so, what was your favorite part?

What was your favorite plant, animal, or tree?