A day hike...

We went for a hike in the Chiricahua Mountains south of here. I had been wanting to do it for a while. A friend at work had shown me her brochure a few years ago and it was on my list. Rik got a Trail Runner magazine and it was the featured run in it and I remembered how I wanted to go. We decided to take a day and go! It was a beautiful day and we had a picnic lunch in the middle of the Heart of Rocks loop which has lots of really cool hoodoo formations! The kids were busy naming all the ones that hadn't been named. They came up with much more interesting names than the ones with the signs. "Dirty Elmo" was one name that was my favorite!

And, on the way home we solved a mystery that had been bothering Rik and I for over 30 years! You always see these signs advertising "The Thing" when you head south. Not just a couple - but the road is littered with them. We both had always wondered what The Thing was, but our parents had never stopped. So, we decided to. It was $3.50 for our whole family to go and see The Thing. It turns out that our parents were just saving their money because The Thing happens to be, well, a lot of "antique" junk that is on display in some dusty sheds. There is a "mummy" looking thing, that I suppose is what all the hype is all about, but, it wasn't even labeled. The best part was the Dairy Queen we got on the way out! Rik doesn't think we wasted our money though. He said that our kids won't have to spend over 30 years wondering what it is!