Theme: Who Lives in Our Forest? This Nature Quest fun outdoor experience is similar to a treasure hunt or scavenger hunt. You will enjoy this unique way to learn about our area's natural environment, history, conservation, "Leave No Trace" guidelines, and the preservation of our forest's plants and animals. Here is all you will need: - A Nature Quest Site Map - A List of the Nature Quest Clues and Places to See - Hiking shoes or tennis shoes - Hat and Sunscreen - Water for you and/or each person in your group - Binoculars, if you have them Go to the Environmental Learning Center near the Mormon Lake Lodge's Western Village.1) Ask Reservations for some binoculars you can borrow…What fun things do you think you will see as you explore nature on our "Trail for Tomorrow?"2) Walk under the "Trail for Tomorrow" archway and turn right. Walk 34 short steps and stop right away. Look for a large tree with orange tape, and then look up in the tree's top where the branches sway.3) Can you find the bundle of wood sticks where bird nests have been built by Egrets, Herons, and Osprey in the top branches? Up high their babies will be safe - they don't take any chances.4) There's more than one nest, how many can you see? If you are lucky and your timing is right…you might even see a baby bird's parents in flight. Or the parents may be up in the nest…feeding their babies or taking a rest.5) Now, TURN AROUNDand return to the sign with a number "1"…to explore some new places that will be lots of fun.6) Stay on the "Trail for Tomorrow" and keep walking until the trail forks. Take the fork on your RIGHTand keep on walking until you see a sign that says "3." At this sign start counting 38 short steps, then stop and look down on the ground. If you are looking carefully tracks of an animal footprint may be found!7) Walk ten short steps from here and you will see a thicket of Oak trees that are very close by. Oak trees have pointed leaves and you may see little acorns, if you try. The deer, bears, and squirrels love to eat acorns down on the ground…can you find an acorn anywhere around?8) Walk to where the trail bends to the left beyond the Oak trees and to the right of the trail you can see, the droppings of some elk who were here before you.9) Keep walking on the "Trail for Tomorrow" until you see a sign that says "4" - stop and look to your right. Do you see a very special stump of a tree in eyesight? This tree was cut down more than 50 years ago…using hand saws at waist height before power saws came to be.10) At sign #4 start counting your steps and go 64 short steps where you will see a big tree log on the ground. This log is cut so the trail and you can pass through…it was a perfect place to sit down and rest until a bear removed the top of the log looking for insects to eat.11) While you are sitting down on the log, listen very carefully to hear the sounds of the forest. Be very quiet…do you hear the wind in the trees? Do you hear any birds? Do you hear any pine cones dropping down on the ground?12) The forest has many soft, subtle sounds…and if you are very quiet for a few minutes, you will know why the forest animals can hear you as you walk, talk, or move around.13) After your rest you can stand up to see a very special place in the forest near you. Look to your right and you will soon see…a yellow sign marked "National Forest Boundary" on a post near the trees. 14) Do you see the two old dead trees called "snags" behind the sign? These precious dead trees provide homes for insects, bats, birds and squirrels, and they are perching sites for hawks. too. So even after a tree dies it is still very valuable to the forest's wildlife, it's true.15) When you keep walking you will come to a left curving turn in the trail. Look at the big Ponderosa pine trees with the yellow-colored bark on the right side of the trail. Walk over several feet and smell the trunk of one tree. What do you think it smells like? This tree's bark color tells us this tree is mature and more than 300 years old…that's nearly 100 years before the United States was even a country!16) As your "Trail for Tomorrow" journey continues you will find sign #5 up ahead. Look down on the ground near the sign for pine cone "cobs." These are left over after the squirrels have harvested the seeds off of the pine cone. How many cobs can you see? Count them, but leave them there for others to see.17) On your left at sign #5, look over the top of the sign at all of the many small pine trees that make this area an unhealthy forest. These trees are so crowded together they cannot grow in a healthy manner to become big trees.18) When you reach sign #6 look to your right and you will see a "selectively thinned" forest where all of the unhealthy little trees have been removed, as you can tell. These healthy trees now have more water and minerals…so they can grow tall and strong and live very well.19) Your journey on the "Trail of Tomorrow" will soon come to an end. As you continue your steps you will reach sign #7, the last sign on this trail. Do you know how far you walked on this trail today? You've gone nearly one half mile…hip hip hooray! And you can be proud that you've discovered all of the places shown on your map…and you've found every clue…now you can clap!Look for your codeword near the registration box at the beginning of the trail!