Fun in Greenlee

What did we do yesterday?

Cairn: We went on a hike.  On the hike we found some fossils and geodes.  We played in a lake.  We hiked and we had a picnic.  It was hard hiking and it wasn't easy.

Cerise:  We saw nature things.  And we took a picture with me and Gauge.  We saw pine cones.

Where did we go to do this?
Cerise: On a hike in the forest.  And we had a picnic.
Cairn: On the mountains.  Not Mt Graham.  We went on Daddy's mountains.

What is a fossil?
Cerise: When stuff are stuck in the mud it turns into rock and we see the pattern.  All of the lines.  And I'm thankful that Mommy letted me keep one of the fossils.
Cairn:  A fossil is a rock.  Well, no it's not a rock.  It's something that got stuck in the mud a long long time ago like when there was dinosaurs.  It could be a footprint, a seashell or a leaf.  And it forms into rock. And that's a fossil.

Were the fossils hard to find?
Cerise: Yes.  And I'm sad that I didn't find one but I'm really happy that Mommy letted me keep one of her fossils.  On the hike we haved to walk and pack up to go.  We had to look hard for them.  We also found pretty rocks and scat and it looked like rabbit poop.  And  Cairn made a bracelet out of a plant or some kind of grass.
Cairn: Yes.  The fossils were hard to find.  Very hard to find.  And we had to look very hard on the ground.  Daddy even found a geode and Mommy.  And it was their first geode that they ever found.  They were not looking for geodes but they found some.  And when we were walking back to our car I found the fossil back up one picture (immediately above).  I didn't know that I would find it but I found it because I was looking hard.

What else did we do?
Cerise: I am happy that we went to the river and played.  And that we found the geodes.  And we hiked and we didn't stay home.
Cairn:  We swam in the lake.  And I even found a big big crawdad.  I think it was dead.  It looked like an oval and some pinching thingies like the scorpion hands except there was one on each side.  And I even found a log that had a hole in it all the way through and the water was going through it.  And I looked inside and there was a black bug that looked like a black centipede.

What was your favorite part of the day?
Cerise: That we took a picture in our towels while we were shivering.  And that we played in the river lots and lots.
Cairn: My favorite part was finding the animals.  And having swim lessons with Daddy.  I even swimmed a little bit! (And put an exclamation mark at the end so it sounds exciting)  There was a rope on the tree.  Daddy tried holding onto the rope and diving in! (and put another exclamation mark at the end).  And that was silly.

Notes by Carrie:
We had been given a tip forever ago to look for fossils behind mile post 181 on highway 191.  We were told there were a bunch right off the side of the road.  We couldn't find a good place to stop after we saw the mile post... at least not a good place for three small children to scramble around.  But a mile further was a parking area with a bathroom and hiking trails.

So we followed a trail that seemed to go in the right direction.  Ok.  That's a lie.  We let the children lead us straight up a hill that was cleared out a bit but very obviously NOT a trail.  We fortuitously found a trail at the top of the incline.  And followed it in the direction of mile post 181.  And we kept our eyes peeled for fossils.

As the girls said, it wasn't easy... for them.  But we ended out coming home with a nice little haul of  fossilized shells and shell prints.

The plan was to stop at the upward side of the Gila River on our way home, but on a whim we explored Clifton until we found a good place to play in the San Francisco River.  Admittedly this exploration began with Grant saying "I think I've figured out where some of the locals go to get in the river."  Later on I realized he probably came across this knowledge from some juvenile cases he's handled...

Grant's admittedly favorite part of the trip was stopping at an overlook to look into the Freeport-McMoran mine.  Not because of the mine itself though.  As we were driving the kids started to get antsy and he wanted to talk it up a bit to distract them.  So he described it...  a place where they dig down into the mountain and dig in the dirt.  At this point Gauge laughed with excitement.  And they use big digger trucks and dump trucks.  Gauge's laughter grows.  And they also use choo-choo trains.  By this time Gauge was so excited and everyone laughing with his precious glee that we couldn't continue the discription.