{"id":229492,"date":"2017-05-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/mission-trails-regional-park-foundation-news-may-19-2017\/"},"modified":"2017-05-19T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-05-19T07:00:00","slug":"mission-trails-regional-park-foundation-news-may-19-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/mission-trails-regional-park-foundation-news-may-19-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation news \u2013 May 19, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>por Jay Wilson<em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Explore Mission Trails Day <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em>\u201cConnecting with Nature\u201d<\/em> is the theme for the 2017 Explore Mission Trails Day which will be held on Saturday, May 20 at the Mission Trails Regional Park East Fortuna Staging Area.<br \/>\n<!--more--><br \/>\nThis popular event features free guided nature walks and talks and programs throughout the park, including live animals and special programs for children.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5021\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5021\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5021 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/missiontimescourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/A90A6232-web.jpg\" alt=\"Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation news \u2013 May 19, 2017\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 650px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 650\/433;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5021\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Explore Mission Trails Day features pony rides, a mountain bike track and learning booths. <em>(Cortes\u00eda MTRPF)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There will also be free pony rides beginning at 9 a.m. The pony rides operate until 2 p.m., but the line will close at 12:30 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>There will also be a mini mountain bike track presented by the San Diego Mountain Bike Association, a climbing wall, crafts for children, and many Discovery Stations.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Concurso de fotograf\u00eda amateur <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>You are encouraged to enjoy the park and pause to take that special picture to be entered into our Amateur Photo Contest. Take advantage of all the spectacular wildflower blooms and spring growth provided by the winter rains and warming weather.<\/p>\n<p>Children 12 and under are encouraged to participate; they will be judged separately.<\/p>\n<p>Entries will be accepted through May 31. Reception and awards will be held at the Visitor Center on Sunday, June 25. The photos will be displayed from June 17 until July 14.<\/p>\n<p>The two ways to enter the contest are: (1) deliver mounted photos to the Visitor Center or (2) submit digital photos online.<\/p>\n<p>Check our home page at <a href=\"http:\/\/mtrp.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">mtrp.org<\/a> and click on \u201cExplore Mission Trails Day\u201d for more information!<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Summer Camps<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This summer, there are four fun and educational day camps at Mission trails, held Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for ages 6 to 12.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>June 26\u201330 &#8211; River Camp<\/li>\n<li>July 10\u201314 &#8211; Creepy Crawly Camp<\/li>\n<li>July 24\u201328 &#8211; Nocturnal Creatures Camp<\/li>\n<li>Aug. 7\u201311 &#8211; Nature Detectives Camp<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Enjoy exploring our park and learn all about the fascinating plants, animals, and\u00a0bugs that live in Mission Trails. The programs focus on science, natural history and more.<\/p>\n<p>Each week-long day camp is $125 per child ($100 per camp if you sign up for all four). Go to \u201cMore News\u201d on our home page (<a href=\"http:\/\/mtrp.org\">mtrp.org<\/a>) for more information.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Our Unearthly Earthling: Friend or Foe<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>By Robin Hampton, trail guide<\/p>\n<p>Grisly images flew through my head the first time I saw a Jerusalem cricket. I just knew that this \u201cwhatever it was\u201d might be a throwback to its midcentury predecessors. It brought to mind the dreaded underground monster in the 1990 sci-fi film \u201cTremors.\u201d A few fact checks later, I discovered I had nothing to fear.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5019\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5019\" style=\"width: 214px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5019 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/missiontimescourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/jerusalem-cricket-web-214x300.jpg\" alt=\"Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation news \u2013 May 19, 2017\" width=\"214\" height=\"300\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 214px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 214\/300;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5019\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jerusalem cricket<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>Stenopelmatus fuscus<\/em>, the species living in Mission Trails Regional Park, possesses a few common names: \u201cpotato bug\u201d (the potato bug, not a true bug, is uncovered when potatoes are dug up); \u201cold bald-headed man\u201d and \u201cskull insect\u201d (supposedly Native American terms); and \u201cni\u00f1o\u201d or \u201cni\u00f1a de la tierra\u201d (child of the earth). As to its most familiar common name, a couple of websites suggest that in days past, when people spotted the cricket for the first time, they\u2019d yell out the expletive \u201cJerusalem!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Related to katydids, grasshoppers, and, of course, crickets, an adult can be 1 \u00bd to 3 inches in length. They burrow underground (and under rocks and logs) feeding at night on living and dead organic matter, insects, and roots. A large humanoid head, powerful jaws, and massive legs provide the strength to move it through soft soil to look for food and build tunnels. They\u2019ll bite hard if threatened; they are neither poisonous nor will they attack.<\/p>\n<p>This cricket is solitary. You won\u2019t hear it chirp like its cricket kin. It can\u2019t leap or fly or run fast, and it is not a garden pest. To entice a female, the male will drum its large abdomen on the ground. Being nocturnal this creature succumbs to predators that also prowl at night: skunks, coyotes and foxes, owls, bats, and many others.<\/p>\n<p>Our \u201cchild of the earth spends\u201d much of his time doing his part to recycle natural materials and aerate the soil. True, he\u2019s got enemies and many times they win in the end. But he has admirers in us and then we, in turn, can pay it forward to others. Suddenly the ugly anti-hero doesn\u2019t look so bad. Come to think of it, I believe I have a new twist on the title of the cricket\/worm story. What do you think of \u201cBeauty and the Beast\u201d?<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014Jay Wilson is executive director of the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation. Reach him at <a href=\"mailto:jwilson@mtrp.org\">jwilson@mtrp.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Jay Wilson\u00a0 Explore Mission Trails Day \u201cConnecting with Nature\u201d is the theme for the 2017 Explore Mission Trails Day which will be held on Saturday, May 20 at the Mission Trails Regional Park East Fortuna Staging Area.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1008,"featured_media":229493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11558","_seopress_titles_title":"Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation news \u2013 May 19, 2017","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11558,11551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-229492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-mission-times-courier","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}