Jerry had to make an unexpected business trip to Reno this week. Because we are done with our school work for almost all purposes this year, the boys and I decided to join him on his day trip.
Besides providing a nice change of scenery, the trip proved unexpectedly educational. Our two hour trip from the foothills and over the Sierra Nevadas gave us a wonderful opportunity to discuss how the mountains themselves are giant batholiths of basalt formed deep underground that are rising up and being eroded by wind and water. We reviewed the water cycle, noting how the snow pack is melting and flooding the waterways on its way back to the ocean and how that snow pack is our drinking water for the summer. We also noted that the eastern slope of the Sierras is terribly arid by comparison to our side because the clouds cannot cross the mountains without first dropping their rain. Finally, we observed the changes in the vegetation and how needles are better adapted to snowy environment than leaves.
Beyond all of that, I remembered yet again that learning opportunities are present everywhere. You just need to be open to discovering them.
Besides providing a nice change of scenery, the trip proved unexpectedly educational. Our two hour trip from the foothills and over the Sierra Nevadas gave us a wonderful opportunity to discuss how the mountains themselves are giant batholiths of basalt formed deep underground that are rising up and being eroded by wind and water. We reviewed the water cycle, noting how the snow pack is melting and flooding the waterways on its way back to the ocean and how that snow pack is our drinking water for the summer. We also noted that the eastern slope of the Sierras is terribly arid by comparison to our side because the clouds cannot cross the mountains without first dropping their rain. Finally, we observed the changes in the vegetation and how needles are better adapted to snowy environment than leaves.
Beyond all of that, I remembered yet again that learning opportunities are present everywhere. You just need to be open to discovering them.
