Memorial Day in Gila Valley

When we first moved to Arizona we said we would like to explore every corner of our new home. Life happens, however, and it's taken us longer to see all of Arizona than we planned. So, when Jeremy suggested we travel to Eastern Arizona and visit Gila Valley we jumped at the chance. The boys are usually game for trips like this, especially when it involves a hotel with a pool and complimentary breakfast! We stayed at the Springhill Suites Marriott in Safford and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Just down Church Street from our hotel was Spencer W. Kimball's boyhood home. It was fun to think about a prophet as a little boy! There is a nice historical marker in front of the home that tells how President Kimball's father helped shape the thousands of adobe bricks that were used in the construction of their home.

After Jeremy spent some time photographing some properties that Copperstar Bank owns in the area, we went to an old catfish farm called Dankworth Pond that is now part of Roper Lake State Park. We hiked two miles round-trip in flip-flops and without water in 100-plus degree heat. Not a smart idea, but we saw some really cool stuff.

There is an artesian spring on the property and the temperature is always around 90 degrees. That was neat, although it did not help us cool down at all! We walked out onto the boat dock and saw how beautiful the pond was.

At the halfway point of the hike they have reconstructed some Indian structures and artifacts common to the area. The boys had fun exploring the different areas, being very careful to watch for snakes! (Really, did I mention we should have been more prepared for this hike?)

Spencer finally found some shade inside one of the Indian dwellings, but all too soon it was time to head back into the heat and stumble and stagger back to the van.

We cranked up the A/C in the van and drove straight to Golden Corral for lunch and all the drink refills we could handle (and ice cream!). On the way out of town, we stopped in Thatcher to see the new Gila Valley temple site where ground was broken earlier this year.

Our last stop on the way home was in Globe to visit the Besh-Ba-Gowah archaeological site. It was really cool and used to be a ceremonial center as well as a storage site for the redistribution of goods from all over the Southwest. We are going to use this as one of Spencer's Archaeology Merit Badge requirements (always seeing the Scouting angle is a gift of mine).

We made it home safe and sound with good memories of another fun trip in the great state of Arizona!