Walnut Canyon National Monument, Arizona

Walnut Canyon National Monument is dedicated to a collection of cliff dwellings of the Sinaqua people. They farmed and hunted on the canyon rims and lived in the cliffsides (homes are believed to have been built by women). Lexi and AJ enjoyed the walk through cliff dwellings and completing their Junior Ranger books. Of the 17 National Parks/Monuments we have visited in the past year, this Monument stands out in my mind because it was the only place where a Ranger gave us hard time because AJ didn't complete the entire book in his handwriting. I have to roll my eyes at this because although AJ will be 6 in September, his handwriting and fine motor skills are no where close to Lexi's at the same age. It would have been an extremely laborious task for him to write his own answers to every question and honestly, the book wasn't big enough for him to write his answers because his letters tend to be quite large and his words end up trailing across the page in a downward slope. I really wanted to give the Ranger a piece of my mind, but I refrained because we didn't have the time and I doubt she cared enough to listen to my geeked up tirade about age and developmentally appropriate demands on young children. Fortunately, she allowed AJ to still receive his Junior Ranger Badge.