Child's Play: Where Learning Happens: Wednesday Wanderings

Mr. E was doing some job training in Arizona last year (we came down on the tail end of the training). We went with some friends out to Toombstone. It was fun. Little E got to shoot a genuine Colt revolver. He got a kick out of that (literally!) – the bullets were filled with paintballs, and you got to shoot at targets across the room. I think it was $3 for 6 shots, or something like that. Not too bad for a tourist attraction. And Little E loved it! Baby E didn’t seem to mind the noise too much, but she’s used to her brother making lots of commotion.

At one of the many gift shops, we bought some little $.99 horses which Little E and Baby E held on to for the rest of our visit. They loved those horses. I think one has since been lost, but the other one is still around and gets played with, so I’d say I got my buck’s worth out of it.

We also took the kids to one of those shoot out shows. We ate some lunch and watched some cowboys shoot blanks at each other. Baby E was a distracted by her horse for the most part, but Little E loved all the guns and shooting. It was a little too much for me, and I don’t know if I would have taken them after seeing it myself. Mr. E probably would – he’s not as opposed to Little E watching violence as I am. We do try to teach E about the value of each life, and that it’s always a very serious thing to take a life (or give life, for that matter). But you’ve gotta give a little in a marriage, and I guess this is one place where I give a little – I just make sure we’re reinforcing the “every person is worth something” so Little E doesn’t just go around thinking he can shoot people (or slice their arms off with a light saber... but that’s another story...)

Ratings:

Value – Maybe it would be a better value for older kids and adults, but taking my kids there wasn’t really worth the money I ended up spending on food and entertainment. Although we did end up in a reptile exhibit that was free and we talked a lot to a really knowledgeable lady. That was cool. And free. So that part gets five stars. Vincente loved the snakes and tarantulas and other creepy crawlers. We learned a lot about some of the reptiles and insects native to Arizona.

Location – Kind of a long drive from Tucson. And boring. Through the middle of nowhere. Once you get closer to Toombstone there are some cool mountains/rock formations, but other than that, pretty lame.

Fun Factor – It was pretty fun, I have to admit. There were people dressed up in character all over, there were photo places (where you can get your photo taken all dressed up like you’re in a western) and stagecoaches and horses all over the little dirt roads. Just the feel of being in an actual Western was pretty cool. I half expected to see John Wayne walking down the streets.