I did quick drawings out the car window on the 1.5 drive to the Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness. My 9-year old niece drew in her sketchbook as well.
We took our lunch break near the river, and then the kids, their dad, and Jeff built a dam across the river with some impressively large logs, while I sketched. So we all got to play.
One of the great things about Christmas with my inlaws in Tucson is that it’s usually around 20˚C (70˚F) at that time of year, which is perfect for hiking. So on December 26, my brother-in-law and his three oldest kids, 14, 12, and 9, all great hikers already, took my husband and I to Aravaipa Canyon.
It’s a beautiful wilderness area which requires an advance permit to enter, and I believe they only allow up to 50 people a day. We had to wade through an ice-cold river for much of the hike because there wasn’t a continous path along it. But my brother-in-law had warned us that we would be hiking in wet socks and boots the whole time, and the warm air temperature made it tolerable. I felt like an explorer and I know the kids did as well.
We crossed through a deep canyon and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery in the bright Arizona sunshine.
We were hiking right in the stream. Here, one of my nephews demonstrates that the cold, shallow water is full of algae, meaning it probably has too many nutrients.
