Friday Family Fun Days, Pt. 1: Getting In Touch With AZ

Aaah, summer...that time of year when at least one of my kids is bored, like, all the time. They'll grouse that I'm not letting them watch enough TV, or they'll constantly lurk behind me, waiting to seize the computer and play computer games as soon as my back is turned. Or they'll bug me for snacks (usually something frozen) all day long. Or they'll retreat to the playroom, where they get into start fights with their sisters. Thus it goes, on and on and on...always with the dreaded background chorus of "Mom, I'm bored" murmuring nearby everywhere I go.

Thus far in my mom-hood, I have purposefully left our summer schedule pretty loose and free. However, while this has its advantages, I've discovered that the school-year schedule (while much more crowded, rigid, and high-maintenance) also provides a nice structure to our family life, a structure whose absence can be keenly felt during summertime. Some of my friends have shared some of their solutions to the summertime boredom: they have Craft Days for their kids, or New Food Days, or even Science Days for their school-age children.

Still another friend told me that when she was growing up, her family would always reserve Fridays as "family fun days," where the family would pick a special destination and then go there as a family. While all my friends' ideas are good ones, the "family fun day" idea really struck a chord with me, perhaps because my own mother took my siblings and I on many such "days out" when I was a child. As luck would have it, this idea dovetails nicely with the Summer Reading Program at the Pima County Public Library (we are frequent library visitors).

Since 2012 is the year of Arizona's State Centennial, the reading program encourages all its participants to not just set personal reading goals, but to get involved in the community by choosing several activities to complete. They are often personal activities (Read a ghost story! Write a poem! etc.), but many of their suggestions are designed to further your education about Arizona (Go on a hike! Visit a museum! Read a book by a local author!). This is when the light-bulb went off in my head; we'd spend the next few Fridays visiting several Arizona-specific locations. We'd not only have fun (hopefully!) and learn more about our state, but we'd get closer to achieving our library goals as well!

Friday #1: We "go on a hike"!

On June 8, we decided to visit Sabino Canyon Recreation Area, and explore its wild terrain. Our goal, taken from the library's summer suggestions, was "go on a hike." This is a park that Nathan and I visited (and hiked in) several times when we lived in Tucson,mostly before we had kids. I thought it would be nice to revisit it with my girls in tow.

Technically, we cheated just a bit on the whole "hiking" thing. Sabino Canyon actually has a shuttle service that will drive you all the way up the canyon (for an additional fee). I'd heard tales of the Old Watering Hole up near the top of the canyon--a small pool near the source of the canyon's stream--which was a great place to splash and cool off. I decided to spring for the shuttle trip; and the kids were very excited!

While we waited for a shuttle to arrive (and for our friend Lexi to get a little cash to pay her way up), we ended up taking our "hike," which was really a quarter-mile nature loop just outside the visitor's center. I know, I know--wimps. However, this ended up being a super-hot day (it topped out around 106 degrees), and with little kids in tow I had suspected our "hike" would be a bit underwhelming by adult standards. However, it was still an enjoyable experience--especially because this big guy walked right in front of us as we started off the trail!

For those not in the know, this is a Gila monster, one of only two venomous lizards in North America. They're protected under state law because of their "threatened species" status (mostly due to increasing human settlement). They're also pretty darn big--very unlike the finger-sized lizards you see zipping around everywhere. This gila monster was about a foot and a half long, and I'm sure he weighed about 3 pounds. We kept our distance (despite being venomous, they've never been found responsible for any human deaths), but luckily, he didn't seem too interested in us...or in any great hurry. He just moseyed across the path, and off into the bushes! I managed to snap a few quick photos of him as he walked away. It still gave the girls and I quite a thrill!

After that we took in some nature on the nature trail, then arrived back at the visitors' center just in time to board the next shuttle!

Lorelai and Celeste are clearly very excited to get going! Aurora was pretty happy too...except she didn't want to sit on my lap, which the tour guide had asked that she do. I ended up keeping my arm wrapped on her shoulder, or holding on tightly to her hand...anything to keep her from falling out the side of the shuttle car! She didn't take to kindly to this, but what can you do?

The trip up the canyon was narrated, with explanations for the rock formations we saw, as well as a history of the settlements in the canyon and the local flora & fauna. The kids loved listening to the tour guide, and loved spotting all the things he mentioned. The only drawback to our trip up the canyon was that our shuttle car wasn't covered, so we all got a lot of sunshine on the tops of our heads. Oh well. Sadly, the Old Swimming Hole was all dried up. That's what we get for visiting in June! However, the girls were so excited by the trip up that they didn't seem to mind. We decided to disembark at the top of the canyon and rock-climb a bit while waiting for the next shuttle to take us down:

Celeste was the most excited by this idea (odd, since she's usually the biggest complainer when we go hiking). She was quite the little mountain goat that day. Aurora, on the other hand...

...was not having the greatest time. Normally, Aurora loves to hike, climb, and generally run amok. This day, though, it seemed the heat was really getting to her.

We all cheered up quickly when we got onto the next shuttle--especially because it was covered!

So, the heat of the day ended up abridging our plans somewhat (note to self: hiking in June in Arizona is not the greatest idea), so our "hike" ended up being a short walk plus some rock-climbing a bit later. Still, the kids and I all had fun, plus we had friends along to make it even more enjoyable! I think we definitely want to come back again later in the year, when there's water in the canyon and we can splash around! We read a little more info about the canyon back at the visitors' center, where we ate our packed lunches. After that, we stopped by the nearest Eegee's to get a fruity slushy treat, as a reward for braving the heat. All in all, a fun day.

 Friday #2: We visit an Arizona State Park, and an Arizona State Museum.

 Our next Family Fun Friday (June 15) was pretty ambitious, at least on the "educational" front. We also ended up driving all over the place, but it was worth it, 'cause I think the kids learned stuff! In summertime!!

Our first stop was about 30 minutes south of Sahuarita, in a tiny artists' village/golfing mecca called Tubac. As luck would have it, there's also an Arizona State Park located within Tubac...it's the Old Presidio, which was first built by the Spaniards to hold back the hostile Native Americans. It was later used by both Mexican vaqueros and American settlers. It's the oldest European settlement in the area now known as the state of Arizona (the Presidio was founded in 1752!). There were several things to explore there: the underground (excavated) foundations of the original Spanish presidio, lots of antique weaponry/kitchen goods/furniture/etc.; a handful of buildings remaining from both Mexican habitation and American colonization...

...but the building my girls enjoyed the most was definitely the Old Schoolhouse!

This schoolhouse served all the local children in the area for more than one hundred years; it was constructed back in 1885, and is now on the National Register of Historic Buildings. As you can see, it's been restored to look much as it did around the turn of the 20th century; this was fascinating to the girls. Also fascinating to them was the little "student" sitting in his pew; they liked to pet him & shake his hand. I found him a little creepy, myself...more so when, after a particularly vigourous handshake, his hand popped off & clattered onto the floor. Yikes! (luckily, it reattached easily).

The large teacher's desk had a big bell which rang loudly; the girls loved ringing it!!

For that, I had to put them in the "punishment" corner. The facial expressions that ensued were worthy of being photographed...

Here's a shot of a chalkboard in the schoolroom. It includes a list of punishable offenses for students (circa 1848!), complete with a list of the required "lashings"! I especially like that "playing with cards" is worth more lashes than swearing, hitting other students, or "being mean to girls"...

There were several other stops in the Presidio we enjoyed, including a museum with a working, turn-of-the-century printing press inside. It also contained many artifacts small and large, like these leg irons! Sort of like medieval stocks, vaquero-style:

The Presidio was a really interesting place; I plan on visiting again when the girls are a bit older.

After stopping to fill up gas in the car (our two destinations for the day were a fair distance apart), we drove up to Tucson...the University of Arizona campus, to be exact. That's where we took a gander at the Arizona State Museum, whose primary mission is to share information about the many Native American tribes of the American Southwest.

The girls watching the orientation video

At one point, the girls were supposed to write the museum a note, telling the staff which Indian quilt was their favorite. This mostly devolved into them scribbling, but at least an attempt was made!

The girls didn't quite understand the distinctions between the tribes the way I did; however, they did appreciate the section dealing with the Tohono O'odham people. They still remember that this tribe is the one that kept their daddy gainfully employed for many happy years!

Plus it had a cute, touchable cactus nearby

Just like their mom before them, the girls really enjoyed the dioramas throughout...

This diorama depicted a spiritual "deer dance." Aurora really enjoyed it.

However, Aurora was totally spooked out by this diorama, which featured participants of a "ghost dance." Those Native Americans have lots of awesome dances in their repertoire.

All the girls also enjoyed riding on creepy sheep statues and admiring Navajo rugs, not necessarily in that order

I was happy they got as much out of the Arizona State Museum as they did, especially considering this wasn't really a place aimed towards children. I confess to being quite the "museum nerd"--as a child, visiting museums (any sort of museums, really) was a huge highlight of my life. I loved learning new stuff and looking at cool stuff, and museums amply filled both those desires. I hope my children will grow up with a similar passion for learning, exploration, and discovery. I firmly believe it will enrich their perspectives and bring joy to them throughout their lives.

So...my first two Family Fun Fridays this summer were successful! (well, more or less). This coming Friday, I plan on taking the girls up to Phoenix, to explore some new territory!