Show Low, AZ

We hadn’t been to Show Low for seven years, so we thought what better place to meet my parents for Thanksgiving this year; the kids would get to see their cousin Tyler who they hadn’t seen in over a year. We had beautiful weather (sunny and 55) for our visit which made exploring the area even better!

Thanksgiving Day itself was a bit chaotic as my dad hurt his foot in the morning. While my mom and I prepared Thanksgiving and Evan entertained the kids, Scott took my dad to the ER (the only place open on Thanksgiving). After an x-ray they saw that he broke a metatarsal on the outside of his foot. Unfortunately, until he would be able to see an orthopedic surgeon, he was instructed to be non-weight bearing on that foot. This made it difficult for him to get around for the next couple of days. Despite the rough start, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at Evan’s house.

Over the next couple of days, the kids laughed so hard with Tyler while we explored the surrounding area. We went to Rainbow Lake to feed the ducks and then attended a super cool raptor show at the White Mountain Nature Center. The birds (a red tailed hawk, a Eurasian Eagle Owl, a turkey vulture, and a crow) we saw were so impressive. Our favorite was Azul (the crow) who was able to perform quite a few tricks including catching a piece of foil out of the air and proceeding to put in a recycle bin and close the lid.

Not only had it been seven years since we had been to Show Low, but it been that long since we had seen Harmony (Tyler’s mom). We were able to squeeze in a visit in the evening with her. Ella was just a baby when she last saw Harmony and Miles had never met her before.

With a long drive ahead of us, we all headed home on Saturday morning, but not without a stop at Petrified Forest National Park just north of Show Low. The kids had a great time climbing on the giant pieces of fossilized wood and we were able to purchase a relatively inexpensive piece to add to our rock collection in the front yard. The 200 million year old pieces of wood were a nice reminder that old is beautiful!

I am particularly grateful this Thanksgiving for good health, amazingly kind and hard working kids, and the ability to travel to see family and pretty places.