YEAR-ROUND WONDERS: You'd never want to be stuck under some sort of rigid heading or inside a box or within an static category. "Only eats pizza" probably isn't true for you (though everyone wonders if that might be kind of accurate for themselves, from time to time, seeing as we all love pizza as we do) and "only likes mornings" isn't exactly correct, either (even early birds sleep in on occasion). So to stick a tarantula under the heading of "autumn sights" or "fall beasties" is not serving this spidery superstar well at all. True, tarantulas and October are a longtime pairing in many minds, but we can appreciate these long-of-leg, gentle-of-temperament creatures pretty much any ol' time of the year. The Lindsay Wildlife Experience wants visitors to connect with nature, and the many beautiful beasties that call the area home, through a series of exploratory hikes. The rambles are on through July 9, 2016, and they cover a few different quadrants of animalia, from the aforementioned tarantulas to newts to scorpions (newts and scorpions also seem to occupy the weeks leading to Halloween for many people). Are you ready to give autumnal icons a little springtime acknowledgment as you stretch a leg and get some fresh air? Then sign up for...
A FAMILY HIKE: It's fifteen bucks for the general public, per person, and the strolls land in a few different locations (Briones Regional Park is where the newt action is going down, while the neon scorpion evening hikes meet at Mitchell Canyon Visitor's Center at Mt. Diablo State Park). Mitchell Canyon is also your meet-up point for all things tarantula. The hiking trails are "easily accessible" and kidlets are absolutely welcome to join up. Figure this is a fabulous way to see intriguing creatures on their home turf, doing what they usually do, which can broaden our scope of the wilder world (rather than just observing a little froggy in an aquarium). Are the sweet spring breezes making your blood run a little warm? Is the forest/woods/trails/all of the above calling? Here's a fine first family-cool step into what's going on out there among the tarantulas and newts. And, of course, on the scorpion scene, too. Details? Hike over here.
