Phoenix---Entertaining Two Kids

The Enchanted Island Amusement Park is a small "kiddie-land" type ride center meant for children aged 2 to 10. It features nine rides, four of which can accommodate adults. There are also arcade games, coin-operated rides (of the variety found outside of some grocery stores), and a snack bar. In addition, the little amusement park is set within the much larger---and free---Encanto Park (run by the city of Phoenix). So you can combine a trip to the rides with a picnic lunch and some playground time, if you wish. Enchanted Island may not be large, but it's important, nevertheless. Phoenix is a city that REALLY needs more family activities---from tots to teens. (What in the world is a metro area of several million people doing WITHOUT a major amusement park??? I'm a new resident here, and this is something that really irks me!) But at least we have Enchanted Island, a cute little place that opened in 1991.

The nine rides are:
(1) the train, which is a one-third replica of a real steam train, the C. P. Huntington. It takes a 7-minute scenic-overview tour of Enchanted Island and the adjacent Encanto Park. Adults are permitted.
(2) The Encanto Carousel was built in 1948. Adults are permitted.
(3) There is the Parachute Tower, which lifts the kiddies up into the air and brings them down again slowly and gently. Adults are permitted.
(4) The Bumper Boats are similar to standard bumper boats, but smaller. These are made for the 48-inch-and-under crowd only. They operate in an 18-inch-deep pool with staff supervision.
(5)The Dragon Wagon is a mini-roller coaster for kids.
(6) The Kiddie Cars move around in a circle while the little tykes beep horns and flash lights.
(7) The Rock-n-Roll is a spin-the-car type of ride on the order of Disneyland's Mad Tea Party ride. Adults are permitted.
(8) The Red Baron airplane ride has little red-and-white planes that "fly" in a circle while the children "steer" them to fly high or fly low.
(9) In the Mini Enterprise, kids "fly" a little helicopter around in a circle. And that ends the list!

All-day passes are $10 for kids under 54 inches or $6 for those over that height. Individual tickets are also sold. We had a buy-one, get-one-free offer for children’s all-day passes, so both the grandchildren rode as long as they wished for just $10. The BOGO offer came from the Entertainment coupon book for Phoenix, which is actually a book nearly 2 inches thick and stuffed with coupons of all sorts, especially for dining. If you're coming to Phoenix and plan to dine out or do several activities, you may save money by ordering this $30 book before you come. (You can preview all the coupons and order at Entertainment.com.) In summary, my 5-year-old granddaughter was completely thrilled with Enchanted Island. My 9-year-old grandson at first declared, "This is baby stuff!" but then he went on to have a good time as well.

Encanto Park is a beautifully landscaped and maintained Phoenix city park. Its attractions are: pedal boating on a large, man-made lake; golfing on a nine-hole, executive golf course; swimming in the large public pool; picnicking; and playing various sports, like basketball, softball, or raquetball. The little children's ride center, Enchanted Island Amusement Park is set within Encanto Park. For golfers, a second course with 18 full-length holes is located nearby and is also run by the city of Phoenix.

Other than just enjoying the beautiful trees and landscaped greenery of the park (because Phoenix is a desert city, and those aren't things we can see all of the time!), my favorite activity was exploring the lake via pedal boat. We paid $6 for a half-hour rental (which was adequate for seeing all of the lake). My daughter, the two grandkids, and I all fit comfortably within the boat. The children had to wear life jackets, which were provided at no extra cost. We pedaled around a palm-covered island, watched some ducks swimming in the lake, and got a good view of the Encanto 9 Golf Course.

After our little cruise, we let the kids play at the children's playground while we sat in the shade and watched. We ended the outing with a picnic lunch at a shady table. The March weather was balmy, and we all agreed that we'd love to return to Encanto Park the next time that they come to visit Phoenix.

The Deer Valley Rock Art Center preserves, protects, and showcases over 1,500 ancient Native American petroglyphs. Most of the museum is outdoors, where you stroll along a dirt trail (don't wear high heels!) marked with signs pointing out a few of the petroglyphs and also species of native plants. The outdoor nature of this museum is what makes it most attractive for bringing children--they can walk, skip, hop, etc., instead of having to stand still. There is, however, a nice indoor exhibit area, in addition to the trail. The displays explain facts about petroglyphs, Native Americans, and desert plant and animal life. A short film gives a history of the area. My grandkids, however, were anxious to get outside to the petroglyph trail, so we skipped seeing most of the indoor exhibits.

The receptionist gave the kids a check sheet of specific petroglyphs to watch for, plus a clipboard and pen for marking them off once spotted. The kids were eager to find the petroglyphs listed on the sheet, so I'm happy the Center provided this little feature which piqued their interest. We were having a nice time strolling along the trail, yet it was an especially pleasant surprise when a Native American guide strolled up to us to explain some of the things we were seeing. (Guided tours don't happen on a daily basis, and we came on one of those days when there weren't any.)

The first thing we learned is that the petroglyphs are much easier to spot when they're in the shade--and he held an umbrella over one of the boulders to prove his point. Suddenly little figures appeared where only faint lines had been before. (The guide suggested that we return after 3pm for the best view--which is when the petroglyph hill moves into the shade.) We also learned why many of the petroglyphs are so faint--the newest ones are several hundred years old, and the oldest date back several thousand years. Petroglyphs are made by the artist's removing the outer DARK layer of rock to reveal an inner, LIGHTER-COLORED layer in the spots where the picture is to be. The longer the lighter-color layer stays exposed to the elements, the darker it becomes, and therefore, the contrast between the picture and the background rock diminishes with time. The petroglyphs range from simple spirals and squiggles to pictures of objects and animals (such as the "kissing deer" petroglyph, which the Deer Valley Rock Art Center uses for its logo.)

We also learned that the words "petroglyph" and "pictograph" aren't interchangeable. A pictograph is rock PAINTING, as opposed to rock ETCHING, which is done when making a petroglyph. When we finished the outdoor trail, we spent some time in the attractive gift shop, where prices were quite reasonable for small trinkets (like the package of stretchy, rubber snakes the kids picked out), but also included books, artwork, and Indian-made fine jewelry.

Castles N' Coasters is a small amusement park. If it were in a smaller town, I'd probably be thrilled with it. Unfortunately, this little place is not only Phoenix' largest amusement park, but all of Arizona's as well! Phoenix' several million people deserve more! But enough for the park's shortcomings. Plenty of local kids do have fun here.

The rides are: (1) Desert Storm, a steel-track, looping rollercoaster; (2) The Patriot, a tamer adult rollercoaster; (3) The Sky Tower, which lifts you up, then drops you 120 feet down; (4) Splashdown, a log flume ride; (5) Sea Dragon, a swinging-pendulum-type ride (seen in many amusement parks); (6) Free Fall, another tower that raises, then drops you; (7) Naskarts, real small cars to drive; (8) Bumper Boats; (9) Ramrods (bumper cars); (10) Magic Carpet, a fast ride in circles; and (11) The Carousel, with 60 beautiful handcrafted horses and circus animals. There are also three kiddie rides.

Another area of the park is a large building containing over 300 games--video games, air hockey, pinball, skeeball, etc. A third area is the very attractive set of four miniature golf courses. All three areas of the park have different operating hours, so it's best to call ahead. We took the grandkids miniature golfing here and were very pleased with the lush, green landscaping, the numerous little lakes, rivers and fountains, and the darling little buildings used as part of many of the putting greens. (At night, there are also dozens of festive, colorful lights turned on.)

Children age 5 and under play free; plus, we had a BOGO coupon from the Entertainment Coupon Book for Phoenix, so the outing was reasonably priced. (Other discounts coupons can often be obtained a local grocery stores. Also, after paying full price for your first round of golf, subsequent rounds receive a discount.) Each golf course is different, and all are equally lovely. If we'd had more time, we would have enjoyed trying them all!

After 50+ years of looking at Christmas light displays, I thought I'd seen everything. Then, I moved to Phoenix! This is a very UN-Christmasy city, in the traditional sense. The sun is shining and the temperature is balmy. There's no snow, and no pine trees. But, the locals decorate enchantingly with the native desert plants. Twinkling lights are hung in the palms and palmettos, and around the saguaros and barrel cacti. A fascinating plant, the ocotillo--which looks like an octopus buried with its head down in the sand and its limbs waving up in the air--is quite difficult to string up with lights, but they do it anyway. Another tree that I immediately fell in love with is the GREEN-TRUNKED Palo Verde, which is a treat for the eyes even during the daytime when the twinkly lights are turned off. Also, a number of Gringo families have incorporated the traditional Mexican Christmas decorations--the "luminaria"--into their seasonal decorating. These are small, colorful bags which are lit up by little candles inside them. (You'll see an example in the photos below.) When the grandkids visited at Christmas, we had fun driving past the yard displays of the local residents. I was living in the Ahwatukee Village section of Phoenix at the time, and it's an area noted for the high number of home-owners who participate in this yearly tradition. Ahwatukee Village, itself, decorates the plants in its beautifully landscaped medians--many thousands of lights must undoubtably be used! They have a little festival each year marking the "turning on of the lights," which shine along Chandler Blvd. throughout all the month of December. Another noted light-viewing area is the Mormon temple grounds in Mesa. I haven't seen this display myself, but I hear that it's lovely, and that many desert-native plants are also used there.