Deb's Posts for Jan 8 & 9 - Estrella Mountain Regional Park

Jan 8
Mom, Rachel & I woke up early to do the bird walk. We saw lots of birds, but we missed going to the river  (to see more) because we wanted to go to the Elvis birthday party. It was fun and we learned how to use a compass and a map. We also got to dress up as Elvis!

Jan 9
Today we are going to leave for California - baby, here we come. Whoo-hoo!!! We went on the hike to Grandpa, the 5th largest cactus in Arizona. It was so humongous, it was cool. Then, we saw an insect show & slides and found out that anthills are like huge human cities, ant-sized, underground. It was amazing. Then we had to say good-bye to Ranger Pat and everyone else and head on to Quartzsite to spend the night.

The Grandpa cactus

Benjamin's Post for Jan 7, 2011 - Estrella Mountain Regional Park

We did the kid’s “4 Senses” hike. We tasted agave nectar, four-winged salt bush, mesquite bean cookies, and some prickly pear cactus jelly. Then we smelled some stinky skunk juice!
  

Later, Dad & I went on a 2 hour long bike ride (it was a 20 mile long competitive bike loop near a Nascar race track), while the girls went telescoping.

Deb's Posts for Jan 2 & 4 - Apache Junction

Jan 2
I got to ride a horse for my birthday. Yipee! It was super fun. the horse that I rode was called the Cat - short for Cat Be Nimble. I also learned how to make her walk, trot & gallop, and make her walk on a bridge & in a tire. I think I was better at stopping than anything else. After, I went with mom & Rachel to get a cake. It was a black forest cake and it was good. we had a barbecue and watched True Grit (without Mom - she was asleep).

Jan 4
Did another horse ride today without the other girls, only Miss Rosemary. We rode around the town. i got to saddle and pick the Cat’s hooves. I had a fun time and was sad we had to say good-bye. I promised to write to her. Now we are back in Estrella Park.

Brushing up after today's ride

note from Mom - Miss Rosemary operates the Tecolote School of Horsemanship in Apache Junction. She's also a great teacher of life skills, not just horseback riding, with the right combination of grit & sweetness to train up her students. I highly recommend her!