We have been playing 'picnic' a lot in our living room lately. It seems that our tea parties have morphed into picnics. We have been told by many locals that Mt. Lemmon is the place to go for hiking, camping, picnics, and to escape the heat. Thanks to the holiday, we decided to adventure up to see what Mt. Lemmon was all about. We drove straight up to the top bypassing all of the lookouts. With three toddlers in a car, going somewhere you aren't too sure about, we wanted to stay focused on our goal...the top of Mt. Lemmon.
Growing up in Seattle where the trees are giant, grass is green, and climate is moist, it has been a big adustment living here. Well I have finally found my Seattle fix. A good hour from our house at about 9000+ feet exists this amazing place. A place where there are no cactus and instead giant trees. A place where there is definitely water (and even snow) in the winter. A place where the temperatures are 20 degrees cooler and I actually said to myself - wow we should have brought hoodies for them (side note: we haven't worn long sleeves since April). It is so very different from our new norm.
The girls (daphne/yellow, stella/purple, fiona/blue) did well on the car ride and helped us navigate using a map we drew out for each of them. When we arrived, they saw it....a picnic table. Screaming ensued. They rushed to sit at the picnic table, who knew this would be a highlight for them. Coupled with blueberry muffins they helped make the day before we had some happy girls. We filled our morning picking flowers, playing with sticks (aka magic wands), throwing rocks down the cliffs, playing the beanbag game, snacking and of course playing hide and seek behind the giant trees. The picnic area we ended up at wasn't ideal for hiking which just means next time we will try somewhere else.
Before we left the girls each took turns 'nourishing trees'. In lieu of a real potty, we brought out our old travel potty which didn't seem to bother the girls one bit. We talked about how they were providing 'water' for the trees to keep growing big and strong. Stella also decided to provide some 'extra nourishment' which I later buried....ahh wilderness.
On our trip back down the mountain we stopped at several lookouts. The views were amazing. I had no idea what to expect but I was impressed. We were even able to climb on some rocks to see amazing views of the mountains but made sure not to get too close to the edge....Brant and I are outnumbered after all.
This place looks amazing! And that Stella is so giving! ;-)
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