Hiking and Kartchner Caverns

A few weeks ago we took advantage of the reasonable temperatures and went for a hike up Telegraph Pass. The kiddos did great! It is fun to think back to how little they were the last time we hiked that. I can't believe that Miriam is older now than Eliza was when we moved to AZ. Actually Miriam has spent more than half her life in Arizona. Crazy!

They were all about getting their picture taken on this hike. And they kept stopping because they thought it was a good picture spot. (This behavior is what I am creating...)

It was fun to see the petroglyphs because shortly after we did a preschool lesson on different kinds of petroglyphs. I often hate doing preschool with my kiddos because it is just a battle, but sometimes it is so good. I hope they remember the good times as well!

Once again, more picture spots. :)

A few weeks later my mom came to visit and we took a day trip down past Tuscon to Kartchner Caverns State Park. We weren't allowed to actually take anything in the caverns, let alone take pictures, but it was fabulous. So some of these photos are from outside.

Lizards, caterpillars, and a blooming agave. I really wish we could have taken pictures inside. One of the remarkable things about these caverns was that it was somewhat recently discovered (It only became a state park in the last 15 years), and there is no evidence of any humans in the caverns ever before the modern discovery. This means that the formations are free from vandalism. They were just beautiful. There was a 21 foot long soda straw and a massive column that was over 60 feet tall. Breathtaking!

We rented a minivan for the day so we could all drive together. It was kind of a pain to go get and take back at the end of a long day, plus the extra expense, but it was well worth it to make the day so much nicer.

Sweet Eliza fell asleep on the way home. One other memorable incident on the way home was when we tried to have a scenic picnic overlooking Tucson from the 'A' mountain. Although the view was nice, the crowd was not. There was blaring music from multiple vehicles, a dumb girl riding around on the top of an SUV with an idiot who was obviously recklessly driving. We were approached a limo driver who was also a photographer. Great... Well, you win some, you lose some. :) Those caverns were fantastic though.