Phoenix Zoo

Don’t you just love when you visit someplace and it exceeds every expectation you could have had about that place? That’s how I felt about the Phoenix Zoo. It truly is a world class zoo and a definite must see if you are in the Phoenix area.

The first area of the zoo we visited was the Arizona Trail. Its a wonderful tour of the wildlife indigenous to the area. Since this is the desert, there are plenty of lizards and snakes to the view  as well as desert mammals such as coyotes, mountain lions, big horn sheep, and adorable little prairie dogs. Just outside the trail, volunteers had stations set up with touch stations. Mari touched a Madagascar hissing cockroach. It took everything I had in me not to scream. I can handle most creepy crawlies, but cockroaches are not one of them!

Another highlight of the property is the Monkey Village. It is basically like an aviary filled with squirrel monkeys. There are no cage walls between you and these adorable wild animals. It was very neat to see monkeys in trees and on ropes less than 10 feet from us. During our visit to the exhibit, a monkey actually caught a bird that was flying by and proceeded to eat it! It seemed to be a rare occurrence because the zoo keeper seemed pretty surprised by what she was seeing. Luckily, the monkey was high in the trees and my kids couldn’t see what was going on. I am not sure Mari would have appreciated the more graphic side of nature.

Another thing I saw at this zoo that I haven’t seen at other zoos was bikes.  Some people brought their own bikes to use as transportation around the zoo while others rented those fun four seater bikes that you typically see at the beach. They even had bikes with two seats in the very front for little riders who weren’t up to pedaling.  For people who prefer to do their pedaling over water, there are paddle boats on the main lake.

For those of us who won’t be making it to Arabia any time soon, the camel rides are a great experience. It was so watching my kids laugh and smile as the camel lumbered along with them on his back.

Another thing this zoo does right is provide  incredibly fun and unique play areas. Where else can you slide through a saguaro cactus? My kids especially loved the two story wooden playhouse complete with tunnel slide. There is small creek running near the playhouse that provides a fun place for little ones to get their feet wet on a warm day.

Of course, everyone can still get their fill of giraffes, rhinos, and lions as well. Not to mention lizards large enough to take down water buffalos….

The Phoenix Zoo  is open 9-5 for most of the year, except for during those scorching Phoenix summers when the hours change to 7-2 on weekdays and 7-4 on weekends. My advice: try to visit the zoo in the cooler seasons. The animals will be much more active. Cost is $16 for adults and $7 for children ages 3-12.  Under three are free. For more information on the Phoenix Zoo click here.

For more fantastic travel photos, check out Delicious Baby’s Photo Friday here.

Family Vacation
Phoenix

Arizona Natural History Museum

My kids wanted dinosaurs. It was all they could talk about since watching The Land Before Time for the first time. We saw them at the San Diego Wild Animal Park during the summer but months had past and the overwhelming call for dinosaurs (mostly in the form of ROARS!) once again filled our house. After a little bit of internet research I came across the Arizona Natural History Museum in Mesa.  I will be honest. I wasn’t expecting much. But I can’t tell you how pleasantly surprised I was. The Arizona Natural History Museum provided us with over two hours of entertainment and I literally had to drag my kids out of there!

The first stop on our museum tour had to be the dinosaurs. The kids went over the moon when they stepped inside Dinosaur Hall  and were immediately encountered by life size skeletal replicas of the animals they had been so excited to see. Dinosaur Hall, I expected. Dinosaur Mountain, I did not. There were replicas of dinosaurs from different geological periods in different areas of the “mountain”. Many of the dinosaurs moved and made sounds. The best part was every 23 minutes a flash flood occurred on the mountain. You can see Dinosaur Mountain from many different levels inside the museum and your kids are bound to discover something new when they visit each floor.

Sorry about the quality of my photos of the dinosaurs. It was very hard to watch two very excited three year olds in a museum and take pictures at the same time!

The Arizona Through Time area of the museum includes gem collections, asteroids, some interesting reptiles like the snapping turtle, fossils from the days when parts of Arizona were inland seas, and a special exhibit about the evolution of the pronghorn antelope.

The Southwest Gallery had some very nice exhibits about traditional southwestern cultures complete with replica villages, historical artifacts, and a place where kids can move discs to make their own examples of coil pots. 

Another really cool part of the museum is the jail. The museum was built on the original grounds of the Mesa Jail. The actual cells are still available and open for tour. It is amazing just how tiny and uncomfortable those cells are!   This jail was so secure that no prisoners ever escaped. If the jail conditions today were as bad as they were back then, maybe people would be less willing to commit crimes!

In addition to the pioneer jail, there is a replica mine that you can walk through and a place for gold panning outside. I think my kids could have done that all day long. Water, sand, and bowls to put water and sand into. What’s not to love?

After a couple hours of exploring, I literally had to drag my kids out of this museum. If you are in the Phoenix/Mesa area I highly encourage you to check this museum out.

 The Arizona Natural History Museum is located at 53 N. Macdonald in Mesa, Arizona. It is open Tuesday through Friday from 10-5, Saturday from 11-5, Sunday from 1-5 and closed Mondays. Adults are $10, kids 3-12 are $6 and students 13 and up are $8 with ID. For more information and current exhibitions click here.

Family Vacation
Mesa

Family Vacation
Phoenix

Papago Park

Whenever I am in a big city I look for an oasis of nature. A park that gives urban dwellers an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life and allows families to spend some quality time together outdoors. In Phoenix, their perfect oasis is Papago Park.

In addition to being the home of the Phoenix Zoo and the Desert Botanical Gardens, Papago Park is also home to fishing lagoons, an archery course, and hiking opportunities. One of the most popular hikes is the short jaunt up to Hole-In-The-Rock. The appropriately named rock dominates the scenery and just calls out to be climbed.

Its a simple climb up to where the hole is located, aided with steps carved into the rock. Once you reach the top, climb through the hole and take in the views of Papago Park, Tempe, and the greater Phoenix Area.

 

    

If you would like more information on Papago Park, click here.

If you would like to see more fantastic travel photos check out Delicious Baby’s Photo Friday here.

Family Travel Tips
Phoenix

McCormick Railroad Park

When I think of Scottsdale I think of world class golf, superb spas, and upscale shopping. Scottsdale certainly knows how to do leisure time right. It also knows how to create one fantastic park for kids!

The McCormick Railroad Park has everything a little kid could ask for in a park: a really fun  railroad, a carousel, a train museum and two awesome play areas. For $2.00, passengers can take a ride around the park on a miniature train. Little ones can even sit in a cargo section in the back and pretend to be livestock. During the holiday season, the area along the track has some really fun decorations (we saw them setting up some of the displays while we were there).

For one dollar your child can take a ride on the carousel. My kids can never get enough of the “up and down” and having one in the same spot as a train is beyond exciting.

The play areas are so much fun. There is one area set up like an old west adobe complete with jail and stagecoach.

The other playground features an enormous playscape complete with multiple slide, swings, a rock wall, and lots of shade for those hot desert days.

We didn’t have time for the train museum that day but for only $2.00 it is certainly worth checking out if you have a train lover in your group. For more information about  the McCormick Railroad Park click here.

Family Travel Tips
Scottsdale

Tucson Part 4: Go West My Friend

I couldn't finish my series on our trip to Tucson without writing about the fantastic resort we stayed at called the Westward Look Resort (and I couldn't finish this post until I recovered my pictures from my dead computer. Thank you Paul!). I found a fantastic deal on Travel Zoo and saw nothing but positive ratings on Trip Advisor so I was very excited to be staying there. Westward Look is the oldest resort in Tucson and has seen many changes during the many decades it has been around. It is located at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains on 80 beautiful acres of rolling desert.

 

My expectations of the resort were not met, they were exceeded.  The rooms were incredibly nice and recently remodeled. Our room had two flat screen tvs, a comfortable living area, and two queen sized beds. Pack n plays were provided by the hotel for the kids to sleep in. Our balcony gave us an excellent view of the grounds and the gorgeous mountains beyond.  The room service was excellent and I highly recommend the chocolate nachos. They are to die for. Drool is slowly running down my chin just thinking about them.....

The grounds are amazing They are landscaped with desert flora and the fragrance of desert blooms followed me wherever I strolled. It was impossible to not notice the sweet chirping of birds who were enjoying their warm winter grounds. There were two different trails on the property that the kids and I loved walking. We found a chef's garden , a stone labyrinth, and a variety of different ramadas to explore. The kids loved spotting woodpeckers, rabbits, and lizards as we strolled around the property. The highlight for Mari was visiting the horse corral and saying hi to all the horses.

 

There is a Sonoran Spa on site (oh how I wish I could gotten to know that aspect of the resort better), horseback riding, sports fields, multiple pools, and tennis courts. The onsite dining includes  the more casual  Lookout Bar and Grille  or  fine dining at Gold.

 

If you would like more information on the Westward Look Resort please check out my review at Travel Savvy Mom

Tucson Part 3- Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

I am not sure who loves the zoo more, me or Mari. We both take turns shrieking with delight as we spot a tiger behind a bush or a monkey swinging from a rope. Seeing Mari put her hands together to sign "more" with a twinkle in her eyes always makes my heart do a little flip flop. She truly is a child after my own heart. Sure Ben is a fan of petting a goat or catching a glimpse of a cougar but he is much more interested in  seeing how many rocks he can carry from one exhibit to the next or examining the covers on the electrical outlets near the polar bear enclosure. Let's face it, if it ain't round, it ain't his thing. Alas- there is more to the world than round objects so the boy gets dragged with me on my many attempts to try to broaden his horizons. While in Tucson I successfully broadened them a bit at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

The ASDM is more of a zoo than a museum. Its expansive grounds are filled with animals and plants that inhabit the surrounding desert. The exhibits are beautiful and  blend with the landscape seamlessly. Its as if you are taking a walk through the desert and are having the best luck ever because suddenly a coyote appears from behind a saguaro cactus.  Then a few yards later javelina pops out from behind an agave plant. Just when you think your walk can't get any better you spot a Ferruginous Hawk in flight.

The place is amazing. There is an Earth Sciences Corridor with a cave that kids can climb in and a mineral gallery for all those future geologists.

Children will have a blast looking for dinosaur fossils around "ancient Arizona". I got a thrill from getting a glimpse of a gorgeous Mexican Wolf  (I had never seen one of those before) and always love a a good cat canyon.

I am not sure which more gorgeous the view or the overlook itself.

In a not so fantastic moment I had to scold Ben after he attempted to nail the river otter with a rock while horrified nature lovers looked on. I am sure whispers of "that mother needs to control her child" were mumbled. The last thing I want is for my son to nail an otter with a rock. What can I say? He has an arm and the boy is quick! I try. I swear.

Another cool thing was the the rock climb to the viewing window in the coati exhibit. We may not have spotted any coatis that day but the kids had fun exploring the exhibit nevertheless.

Our last stop of the day was the walk in aviary. Okay, I take that back. We did attempt the hummingbird exhibit as well but I couldn't get the kids past the plastic curtain that keeps the hummingbirds from escaping. They thought it was too fun to run back and forth to bother go seeing what was in the actual exhibit. Anyhow in the aviary there were all different kinds of indigenous birds from quail to doves to the famous Arizona Cardinal. The kids loved watching the birds sail overhead and enjoyed spotting them in the trees.

The whole experience was wonderful and the park is  a must do if you are ever in the Tucson area. I certainly plan on going back again someday. The best time to visit is late fall, winter or early spring before the weather gets to warm and the animals are forced hide from the intense desert sun. 

Tucson Part 2: Saguaro National Park

The desert is full of life.  I noticed it more on this trip than ever before. Perhaps because spring was just around the corner and the desert was just beginning to bloom. Maybe it was the sound of all the birds singing as if they were enjoying the weather as much as we were. Or maybe it was the forest of cacti filling the desert with green.  Whatever it was, I was happy to be there. We had a new national park to explore!

Saguaro National Park is located on either side of Tucson. It is separated into the Tucson Mountain District and the Rincon District. We didn't have time to do both so I did some research and decided the Tucson Mountain District would be best suited for us.  There seemed to be more trails that were short and accessible which is usually a good sign that they are toddler friendly.

We began our trip at the Red Hills Visitor Center where we could get our National Park Passports stamped, check out the exhibits, and get some good advice on which trails to take from the always helpful National Park Rangers.  The ranger was very helpful and suggested we start our journey at the Cactus Garden Trail and Javelina Wash behind the visitor center. It gave us an opportunity to get learn about the different types of cacti and plants in the Sonoran Desert while stretching our legs and spotting some wildlife.

From the visitor center we took the scenic Bajada Loop Drive which was quite gorgeous.  I think the kids were more interested in Dumbo playing in the back seat than the view but I really enjoyed the drive. The road was dirt but it was easy enough for a 2 wheel drive vehicle to take.

Our next destination was the Signal Hill Petroglyphs Trail. We decided to have lunch before heading out on our hike and found a great  area with a little stone house protecting a picnic bench. It was the perfect spot for lunch because it kept us out of the sun and the kids loved playing in and around their little house.

 

The trail to the petroglyphs is short but it does involve quite a few stairs up the side of the hill. The kids did great and we made it up the hill relatively quick.  At the top we were able to get up close and personal with pictures carved into rock over 800 years ago. I tried to explain to Mari that their were pictures on the rocks and that one of the pictures looked like a horse. She thought I was pretending that the rock was a horse and proceeded to point out which rocks were kitties, which were elephants, and which were monkeys.  The concept may have been lost on her but at least she was having fun. Ben was more interested in the rocks that he could throw. That's my boy!

On the way back down the hill we met a very nice family who got a kick out of the kids and let them try out their walking sticks.

By the time we got down the hill the weather was getting a little too warm and the kids were getting tired so we continued our drive and I stopped for photo ops as the mood struck me. I found this area to be exceptionally beautiful.

I was thrilled to find an area of the desert had started to bloom. There is something truly special about experiencing the short time in which the desert is filled with flowers. It is something I hope to see again soon.

That was the end of our day at Saguaro National Park but certainly not the end of our Tucson adventure. Tune in next time to hear all about the fantastic time we had at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Its a fantastic zoo that showcases life in the desert beautifully. I hope I have inspired some of you to start planning your own adventures in the desert.

Part 1: The Road to Tucson

Call me a geek but I always get excited the first time I travel a highway that I have never traveled before. There is something invigorating about cruising past sights my eyes have never seen and not knowing what to expect around the next bend. I research my route and take mental note of landmarks to look for and cities that we will cruise through along the way. This time it was Interstate 8. Yes, I got exciting about an interstate.  I have driven to Tucson on Interstate 10 but never on Interstate 8! I stared at my route on the map and read about Interstate 8 history. I became giddy knowing I would drive on the lowest part of the interstate system at -52 below sea level near Seeley, CA and that I would be within 2 miles of the border while driving through Imperial County. I know this isn't the kind of thing that sends everyone's heart a flutter but it certainly does make an 8 hour drive more interesting.

The highway did not disappoint. It starts in San Diego near Mission Bay and crosses over the rocky In-Ko-Pah Mountains. As you climb in elevation there are boulders, boulders, everywhere. I felt like I wanted to jump out the window and start climbing. There is something about the rocky desert that I have always loved.  I think in some ways it reminds me of Simi Valley where I grew up.

The closer the interstate creeps towards the border the more you start to notice the overwhelming presence of US Border Patrol. We went through quite a few checkpoints and at almost every one I noticed somebody pulled off to the side of the road for questioning. Pretty impressive considering the road was only sparsely dotted with vehicles. At one checkpoint there was a sign that stated in 2008 over 1700 illegal immigrant arrests were made at that one location along with plenty of drugs busts. I can't remember the exact statistics but it was enough to get a "wow" out of Paul and I. As I was driving along I noticed a large black fence in the distance. It was the border fence. I woke Paul from his nap so he could see it because I thought it was quite exciting.  He probably didn't feel it was worthy of being woken from a nap but he indulged me. I am not sure what I was expecting but I have to say there was something ominous about that fence.  I couldn't help but think about the millions who have tried to cross and their stories, both good and bad. I fully support border security but I also understand why people want to sneak across the border and have a better life. 

There is a stretch of desert near the border that is nothing but sand dunes. You begin to feel as if you are in the Saharan Desert instead of the Sonoran Desert. The light hitting the dunes at sunset paints the sand pastel shades of pink and blue. Oh yeah, and they also look like a blast to roll down!

We crossed over the Colorado River (which was nothing more than a trickle by the time it got that far south) and into Yuma, AZ aka: RV central. Holy cow, I have never seen to many RVs. RV dealerships , RV resorts, RVs on the highway. What was the reason for so many RVs out in the middle of nowhere? Old people. Yes. Old people. Evidently the population of Yuma triples in the winter due to snowbirds. They gather in the dry heat of the desert and play canasta and golf far away from their snow covered homes in the northern portion of the country. I completely understand the desire to flee the frost but Yuma? Maybe because its cheap? I don't get it...

The final stretches of Interstate 8 are desert, desert, and more desert. Saguaro cacti start popping up along side the road and  a more traditional southwestern desert landscape takes hold. Towns are few and far between (including Dateland, home of the world famous date shake) and the occasional cattle ranch permeates the air. Finally Interstate 8 ends as it merges with Interstate 10. It may not most popular route or the prettiest but it does have its charm.  I encourage you to take a road you haven't taken before and to stay tuned as I tell you more about the fun you can have in Tucson with kids!

 

PS- Don't forget to enter my Ski and Stay giveaway here!