We arrived in Phoenix with all of us eager and excited to spend some time in one spot. We chose to spend over a week in Phoenix as Carrie needed to fly out for school interviews. This gave the kids and I a week to explore the entire city and beyond. When we first arrived, we chose to stay in a RV Resort park. This allowed us a day to get caught up on e-mail, do our laundry (4 loads), allow the kids to swim in the pool and take some time away from the road for a bit.
After 2 nights at the RV park, we decided to stay at a McDowell Mountain State park. 
Not only was it significantly cheaper, but there was mountain biking near by. The State park was about 30 minutes away from the town of Fountain Hills, which is a quaint suburb of Phoenix. At the entry to McDowell, there was an established mountain bike area with 3 distinct loops (Sport, Extreme and Long). I was able to bike a few days in the morning, while Carrie was able to get a few runs in. The kids and Carrie were able to spend one morning with the Park Ranger for a nature hike.
We also took time to explore Fountain Hills, which is named 
for…..the large fountain in the middle of town. It goes off every hour on the hour and shoots up over 500ft for about 1 minute. It was what the whole town focused their tourism on. Other than that, not much else happening in Fountain Hills. The average age of the area appeared to be in the retirement category with many things moving pretty slow.
April 21-27: We dropped off Carrie at the airport in 
the morning and then we began our week of doing everything there is to do in Phoenix. We started the first day with a tour of the Hall of Flame. This is a family owned museum that pays tribute to the Firemen and their machines. They had over 100 authentic fire engines on display with the oldest 
dating to the late 1700’s! The kids and I spent a good few hours enjoying the museum. It was a good thing as the weather changed to a drastic cold wind throughout the day. We finished the day with a presentation at the 
library about martial arts. It was advertised as Chinese Acrobatics, but was more of a local martial arts class presentation. The kids were keen on the karate and even showed an interest in taking classes in the future.
While in Phoenix, the kids and I did all that we could including a few errands. The kids enjoyed the Puddington stuff animal factory where they were able to get a tour. At the end of the tour, they were both able to stuff their own stuffy of their choice. We also went to Culture Day at Arizona State University, attended a craft show and witnessed a few different styles of music and dance. 
Later in the week, we spent a day at the ballpark watching the Arizona Diamondbacks play the Philadelphia Phillies. The Ballpark, Chase Field, was an awesome stadium. The roof was opened, but could close if it was too hot outside or bad weather. If closed, the stadium is then fully air conditioned. When opened, many
of the side panels (40ft high) open as well. Inside it, there was a swimming pool near center field, a kids play area, restaurants looking over the field, and seats that offered all-you-can-eat meals. This is where our tickets were and they were great. 
We sat in the first row of the second level, along the 3rd base line, overlooking the Diamondbacks bullpen. It was free hat day, so the kids each received a children's Diamondbacks hat. Our tickets were $30 each, with the all-you-can-eat!!! This included hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn, chips, juice, pop, bottled water and fruit! Needless to say, we all filled up and I was even able to take about 12 bottled water with us. What a score!
One evening, the kids and I spent an evening at the Drive-in as we watched “How to train a Dragon”. It was a nice experience as we all sat in the front seat, ate pizza and had the windows open. The kids thought it was really neat and want a drive-in in Canmore!!! All in all, it was a very busy week while Carrie was away. However, we are all happy to have her back with us as we all missed her!!
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