Ramsey Canyon Sanctuary

(Daniel here) When we first got to the Ramsey Canyon Conservatory, we bought permits to let us go on the trails around the park. So we started on the nature hike and went on the scenic loops that meander around off the trail. When we got to the end of the trail, there was another hike going off just to the left that went to the canyon overlook. Dad, Joe and I started on it, but halfway up Mom said she was gettin ga bit tired and then went back to the truck to wait for us to come back after the hike. So we kept going.

Near the end there was a pretty good overlook, even though it wasn't the overlook. There I found a type of cactus that made good needle and thread... without even having to thread the needle.

I took the thorn end of it's thick leaves and bent it around. Then I set my teeth into it and pulled hard until the thorn slowly came out, with the plant fibres still attached. This makes superb thread, as it is stronger than real thread and comes already on the needle.

But on the way back to the trail, Dad hit his head really hard on a sharp jutting-out bough of an old fallen tree. Fortunately, there was an Asian lady on the trail waiting for her girls to catch up, and she gave Dad some toilet paper from out of her backpack. Dad joked later that I might have had to "stitch" him up with my needle and thread. (In this picture, Joe is hamming it up -- imitating Dad's expression after he bonked his head! We all laughed with relief that it wasn't such a bad cut afterall)


When we finally got to the top, the view was breath-taking.


There was a "V" in the ridgeline, and through this you could see the town Sierra Vista sprawling far below.


We got another man to take our picture, but left his glasses on the rocks when he left. We found him on the return hike and told him; there had been another trail in a different direction, and we were worried that we would be taking them in the wrong direction. He went and got it, though.