Explore Arizona

We've started a family quest this year. A Quest to Explore our own state. There is so much to do and see right here in Arizona, but many of us residents do not take the time to do it.

We want our kids to see the vast diversity and richness of our very own state. Plus - it is a fun and relatively cheap way to do something interesting with the kids from our normal routine and boost the economy of our own state. Thus the Cottrell Family Explore Arizona project has begun.

We did our first trip this weekend and we started with a sure-fire winner, Sedona. Sedona is gorgeous, totally different from the look and feel of Phoenix, peaceful, and has lots to do and see.

It is fun to do horseback riding, jeep tours, hiking, even helicopter tours...but with our kids just 4 and 6 years old, we picked a more appropriate activity for our first AZ adventure.

Slide Rock National Park!

Basically, Slide Rock is a part of Oak Creek that winds through this part of the Coconino National Forest. It is what it sounds like, a slide that has been formed out of rock in the middle of the creek. Besides the slide, there are parts deep enough to jump into from the beautiful cliffs along side, there are shallow parts to splash and play in, and there are plateaus to spread a towel and sunbathe on as well.

Throughout the day we talked about how rock formations are formed over time, looked for rocks/mountains that looked like certain things (Snoopy, Coffee Pot, etc...). The kids collected special rocks for their collection. Shaun told us about what he's learned in school about people a long time ago that lived in caves and made houses out of these rocks and drew pictures on the walls of their story and lives.

We splashed, climbed, and played - at one point Matt even had to jump in to a deep part fully clothed and save a boy whose parents were not watching him and he couldn't swim. Shaun helped pull him out since it was so deep that Matt couldn't touch. My boys - my heros! ;-)

We did it all, as well as a picinic lunch and a short hike. Finishing off the day was fun in the small town of Oak Creek where we did some souvenier shopping, ate dinner, and of course topped it off with some Home Made Ice Cream before heading home.

It was an amazing day for all of us in a beautiful place right here in our home state!