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

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!

Deborah's Post - Coronado State Park

Because our blog is also a home school project, it's time for me to hand the reins over to the kids. Here's Deborah's entry & pictures for Dec 5:

Today we went to another National Park. This time Joel tried to win a badge too. We met this teacher, named Danielle, she was a teacher for 35 years. she made her own house of adobe and told us of a really neat zoo and art museum. she also told us a lot about the Pueblos people and yucca. Yucca roots can also be used as soap for your hair - it makes it really soft.

We even got to go in the Kiva. The Kiva was used for ceremonial worship for the native men. The women only went in there to give food to the men and their sons. Later on we got to see the Festival of Lights.  It was really pretty to see it turning dark and all the lights lit up.

At the Visitor Centre we met this funny ranger who gave Rachel some answers to he Junior Ranger Guide, like saying the answer rhymed with adobe, then whispered the answer in her ear. He also taught us the junior ranger's secret handshake. Mom & I are hoping to go back there sometime.