An Evening at the CCC Ponds - late July

 So I'm still working on catching up my blog.  It's been a crazy summer, with trying to get my daughter of to college, trying to reorganize my house into more usable daycare space, and finding out our eight year old is diabetic.  We've had a lot going on.  So one evening we took a break and went to the CCC Ponds.  According to the Bureau of Land Management website, "The ponds are named for the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal program created by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930’s to create jobs for young men and women following the Depression. The focus of the CCC was on the preservation of natural resources through various construction and improvement projects to increase access and enjoyment of public lands."  If you want to read more about the project, click here.

 They have several walking trails around all the ponds, so the baby and I did a little hiking while the guys fished.

 Part of the paths are paved - and are handicap accessible.  Other parts are only for hiking.  They all loop together and make a big circle.

 There are a few places with picnic tables, and several benches here and there.

 We spotted a moose, and several other animals.

The ponds are named and set up for certain types of habitat.  Everything is labeled too so it is educational too.  In the photo above you see the Frog Pond and it's sign.  Not that frogs don't live in every one of the ponds, but this one is shallow, marshy and stagnant.

 This picture was taken from across one of the ponds.  I was on the walking trail with the baby, and my husband and three year old were fishing on the other side.

 Along the trails, they have signs identifying some of the features of the area.  They are written by middle school students.  I remember this was an upgrade project done back when I was a reporter for the local paper - almost 18 years ago now - wow.

 They have birdhouses and bat boxes to encourage wildlife.

 These two beavers were fun to watch.  They paraded around the pond the boys were fishing in, then would slap the water with their tails, and dive under when they thought the boys were too close. 

 They caught a couple of little fish, and had a lot of bites, so it was pretty fun.