making an identity

For labor day weekend I had some visitors, okay I had a lot of visitors! My mom and dad, Jackie and Pierce, Heidi and her three kids, Channy and Lee and their four kids, Chea and Wayne and their four kids all escaped the heat of the valley by coming to Flagstaff. What a weekend! My story begins with Chea concerned that we weren't making memories by just sitting around and talking, reading, and watching tv. What kind of identity are we making for ourselves if we are just sitting here?, she told us. So much to the dismay of the teens and tweens, we decided we would do something cultural, something that required some sort of physical effort. We were going to give ourselves an identity of a family that is cultured and we were gonna have fun doing it, even if it was forced on us. I mentioned hiking to the Indian ruins at Walnut Canyon. Perfect, it was settled. After stock piling snacks and gatorades into various backpacks and then squeezing all twenty four of us into three vehicles we were well on our way to making memories. Here are a few of the highlights from the excursion:
* The fee to get into the park was $5 for 16 and over, all others was free. Chea and Wayne had 5 persons in their car over the age of sixteen while the rest of us only had two. Sorry 'bout that Wayne.
* There was a Native American weaving a basket outside the visitor center just before you start the hike. We stopped at her table to admire her work and right then Reed asked if we were going to see any dead Indians.
* I could see that Papa (a.k.a. Cliff) was a little less than thrilled about the 240 steps down to the Indian dwellings. But Reed came to his rescue. The path was steep and the drop was far. No persuading was going to convince Reed that he would be safe if he held my hand on the way down. So Papa "sacrificed" his opportunity to see this landmark and stayed at the visitor center with Reed while the rest of us proceeded.
* Trey and Blue, the youngest and most rambunctious hikers of our group, couldn't understand why they had to hold a grown up's hand and not just each other's.
* Wayne carried Beau and Heidi carried Josie and Chea carried Grammy(Cathy). Okay, maybe Chea didn't actually carry Grammy. But Grammy was not so sure on her feet after walking down the steep 240 steps. With her health conditions, she probably should have stayed at the visitor center with Papa and Reed. Her actions might have caused a little scolding from the daughters.
*Beau and Josie were thrilled with the little rooms made by the Indians. They could finally run around. They were not pleased when we proceeded onward with the rest of the hike.
* Pierce and Jessica were very disappointed that there were no walnuts to be seen in Walnut Canyon.
I do believe we made an identity for us... three ring circus.