We started out by packing the wee one in the backpack. She was not happy about it and made her opinion known to the whole world. Poor sad girl. Once we started walking, she perked up and seemed to enjoy the ride.
We walked across the park to Governor Hunt's tomb. We learned about the tomb when we visited the state capitol for a home school field trip a couple years ago and the kids have been curious about it ever since. We entertained their curiosity and let them see it up close. They weren't as curious once they actually saw it up close.
I never realized how close the tomb was to the Phx Zoo before. I guess I just never paid attention, but it is right next door to it. We could see the mountain goats, giraffes, gazelle, and everything on that side of the zoo. Ethan was wishing that he had his binoculars, though, so he could see things a little better.
Being on that hill made the whole valley look so miniscule. We suddenly realized that the mountains were just a bump in the middle of civilization, not at the edge of infinity like we had previously imagined. Even the zoo seemed so small from up on the hill.
After the tomb, we found some tables and had a sack lunch. The boys wanted to go off on their own to eat.
And V enjoyed all two sips of applesauce that she was willing to eat.
After lunch, we climbed Hole-in-the-Rock.
We saw the hole in the top that was supposedly used by ancient civilizations to tell the seasons and time of day.
Then we went out to the "cave" opening and looked at the teeny civilization that surrounded it.
The surrounding area no longer looked expansive to us.
Here is the view of the "cave" from the inside.
After we left the main area, we walked around and found another spot for the kids to play in. Jayke was excited to climb up the face of the rock.
Kate got stuck halfway and Ryan ended up pushing her the rest of the way up. Then it was Ethan's turn and when he got to the same point as Kate, he was just done. He didn't want to go any further and started climbing down. Ryan stepped in and blocked him. It took us quite a while to get him up to the opening. When he was finally pushed up there, he was so mad at us.
He just sat there and cried for a while, angry that we made him do it.
And even more upset that I was taking a picture of his silliness.
He was so upset that he went to the back of the cave and sat there, looking at the wall.
Until he discovered the crack at the back and thought it was interesting. All the while, Jayke thought he was awesome for climbing 7 feet up a wall.
Kate did a little exploring herself so she could get a picture "alone".
When Ryan climbed up, he had instant flashbacks to the train at Pioneer Park. He said it had the most pleasant odor of urine in the cave. ;-)
After much coercion, we finally got Ethan to make muscles for us, only on the condition that we drive by the Ferrari dealership on the way home. (Sadly, the dealership had moved since they last went, but Ryan made good on his promise and took the boys there today instead.)
By the time they were finished playing, Ethan actually enjoyed being up there.
On our walk down the hill, I noticed my water was not on my shoulder strap anymore. I think V was watching everyone else sucking on their water and wondered what it tasted like. It was surprising that she was able to reach it from inside her pack. She thought she was so funny sucking on my water.
After we left Papago Park, we went searching for the pioneer monument that Ryan was curious to see. When he was describing it to me, I was completely confused about what he was talking about. I had never heard anything about it. After driving on a few roads to find a connecting road, we finally crossed over the freeway to a dead-end at an orange grove. We saw a teeny sign off to the side that said "Lehi trail". We figured we were in the right place.
We walked down the trail a little way and found the monument Ryan was looking for. What was even more amazing was how close it was to the freeway and I had never really noticed it before. We were literally right over the fence from it. We were close enough that people driving by probably saw Aimee's bum as she was peeing. ;-)
The monument was right next to the dry Salt River bed.
Kate wanted another "alone" picture.
In the parking area, we saw remains of christmas tree bonfires and lots of junk dumped around. It reminded me of "the pit" that was down the canal from us growing up in Gilbert. (The pit is now filled in and turned into a neighborhood.) It was obvious that this is a very active teenage hang-out spot. That fact was even more obvious as we were leaving and a few cars started showing up, full of teen-aged kids. There was one group target shooting over the dry riverbed, another group was golfing over the edge, and more were still coming as we were driving away.
All in all, it was a nice day, the weather was perfect, and we actually got out of the house during our vacation. It was a nice start to our vacation that was quickly coming to a close.
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