Berry Well (Arizona)
When the Best kids went to Arizona, the seasonal flu was especially strong. Edith and the kids’ mom had a nasty bug just one week prior, so they were both sucking Elderberry Lozenges to boost their immune systems. The lozenges were much tastier than typical vitamins and they were careful to take them daily – they were desperate to push past the illness of the previous week.
A couple days into the trip, it was their dad’s turn to choose the activity. His choice was the Apache Trail, a rural road that took them through the Superstition Mountains. Along the route, the kids stopped for excursions at Lost Dutchman State Park, where they hiked a desert trail, and Goldfield Ghost Town, an old western mine area where they shot bright blue toy rifles at targets to win a prize.
The road was steep and curvy with incredible vistas. Along the Apache Trail, there are forests of Saguaro Cacti – an amazing sight. It looked like the setting from Looney Tunes where Wile E. Coyote tries to catch the Road Runner.
At the end of their journey, they came to a tiny town in the middle of nowhere called Tortilla Flat. It was a small tourist stop with a one room museum, a post office, a restaurant and an ice cream shop.
“Can we get ice cream???” Hugo asked.
Their parents agreed, but first they needed lunch. The Best kids filed into the local tavern where the walls were decorated with dollar bills and the bathrooms were laden with paintings of cartoon cowboys and cowgirls. The nachos they ordered weren’t great, but the decor was very memorable.
After dinner, the kids ran quickly down the old, wooden boardwalk to the ice cream shop. They served all the regular flavors like chocolate and mint chip, but the kids’ dad spotted a flavor that was pretty unique – Prickly Pear, a pink ice cream that comes from the fruit of a Prickly Pear cactus. He dared the kids to try it. Frederick took him up on it.
The Bests sat down on a weather-worn wooden log by the parking lot. Together, they enjoyed their cones in the sunshine. Without much success, they tried to lick the melting ice cream that was cascading down their fingers. In this moment, they knew the elderberry was working because they were feeling healthy and happy to have traded berry lozenges for Prickly Pear ice cream.