We live about five to ten minutes away from the trail head of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. Now, don't get the wrong idea...I live smack dab in the middle of suburbia. The reason it might take me a whole ten minutes to get to the trail is if I hit the traffic lights wrong. But tucked away right in the middle of all these houses is an awesome expanse of nature. We love it!
On this hike Brian was focused on finding two things: a Saguaro cactus that looks just like they do in the cartoons
and a heart-shaped rock...Success!
and a heart-shaped rock...Success!
I was intent on finding examples of weathering and erosion, since that would make the trip educational and all...Success again!
As an added bonus, we saw some pretty cool fauna...
including this fine example of the extremely rare Furry Octogenarian.
We also saw an interesting assortment of prickly desert stuff like this cholla
and this ocotillo.
This is the bloom of an ocotillo.
I think this is a creosote bush. The dingle ball reminds me of Christmas!
Warning: poop alert!
Now this is true homeschooling...investigative journalism at its finest!We're not sure, but our best guess is a coyote.
PS: Geoff, when you come home we're totally doing this hike together! When we got to the top we could see Alltel Ice Den, Pinnacle Peak, the JW Marriott, Desert Ridge, the 51 and the 101, and Shadow Mountain HS...and the pyramid church, and Trader Joe's, and PV Mall...and...and...and...!
4 comments:
Hey Lori,
I want to direct you to Molly's blog. http://blondy0526.wordpress.com
She has a good post about the hike she went on. Warning: she was not home schooled, and has a terrible spelling issue. But if you can roll past that, it's pretty fun to read.
I loved your furry octogenarian. What a fine example.
Cathy, what a fun hike! Wish my kids would blog...ah, but they facebook and have banned me from joining.
and BTW homeschooling hasn't improved anybody's spelling around here ;)
What a fun lesson. You are the ultimate home teacher!
I miss teaching my daughter so much...
My hubby & I lived in Scottsdale & Phoenix before we moved up to Washington 5 years ago. All those things you saw at the top the mountain on your hike I TOTALLY know.
My ma-in-law lives in Scottsdale & we visit her every year & a half or so there.
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