Day Three of Amazing Race

Is this really Arizona? Driving in a Winter Wonderland

6:00am Sunday Morning Amazing Race staffer Jen and I drove down to Bisbee to join the girls for the final day of the Amazing Race adventure. As we drove through the city, we could not believe our eyes. It was snowing, and snow had even stuck to the ground by the airport! That would not be the only snow we saw that day. As we made our way to the first stop, Copper Queen Mine, more snow continued to fall. Team X sprinted inside after parking to warm up by the fire. Arriving a close second to the Mine was Team Green Extreme. These early birds got to go on the 9am tour of the mine. Our third group Road Warriors came in just a bit after 9am. Unfortunately, this meant they had to wait to go on the next tour that would depart at 10:30am. Although an hour and a half seemed like a long time, Road Warriors, The Force, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Girl Scouts took advantage of the wintry weather, made snowballs, and of course, had a snowball fight. After the Copper Queen Mine DETOUR, the next clue led the teams to Shady Dell and the following task: Choose an airstream trailer of your choice and have a team photo taken in front of it.  Be respectful of those who might be renting these trailers!

After Shady Dell a ROUTE clue was received: It may be the “town to tough to die” but in this graveyard there are plenty of people who did!  Make your way to Boothill graveyard.  Here the teams searched for the famous residents of Tombstone and met Coco to receive their next assignment- a much needed lunch break! Whew!

Next clue: Photo of the Thing sign… nothing more. When the teams discovered what The Thing was referring to they made their way over there and met Timalee who handed out their next task- a digital scavenger hunt of the museum and gift shop. Team Teenage Mutant Ninja Girl Scouts not only enjoyed the task but helped themselves to a Dairy Queen treat as well!

The next ROUTE clue received was: Are you a Wildcat fan?  Do you bleed red and blue?  You’ll want to head to the Wildcat statue. Unbeknownst to the teams, the University of Arizona would be the finishing stop of the race.

Find it or Yell it! Find it: All team members participated in finding 5 different statues around campus where a cookie magnet had been placed. Using the clues provided, teams had to find the statue and take a picture by the magnet.

If you’d like to test your knowledge here is what the teams received:

1. Find the statue of the football player who famously told his team to Bear Down in 1926.

2. Let’s honor those who served our country. Find the statue of Bill Lowell, member of the 1942 University of Arizona football team, who died serving our country in World War II.

3. The ‘invention’ of football goes back as far as the 11th century in England. During those days the football was an inflated bladder, usually from a pig. This is where the term ‘pigskin’ came from. Find the row of giant pigskins.

4. Ever wonder why the sky is blue or how a telescope works or why you are able to read this page? The answers lie in optics. Head to the campus building where this department would be, to find the optical statue

5. There’s a statue outside that gets lots of looks,

Find the main place that houses lots of books

Yell it: Show your spirit. For the final assignment teams had to learn a cheer from four of the University of Arizona cheerleaders, Amanda, Kendall, Emma, and Megan. Amanda- the red head was a former Girl Scout at our Council! Not only did all members of the team have to learn the cheer, they had to perform it by themselves to the cheerleaders’ satisfaction! If they did not perform it correctly, the teams had to start over before getting their next clue. At this task, daughters, mothers, and even a grandmother (Ma-maw) rocked their Wildcat spirit. Way to go ladies!

After the cheer routine, the next clue was given: This isn’t a mall where you shop but lots of other things happen here.  Leave your car where it’s parked…You’ll be racing to the finish on foot at the UofA Mall.

The finish line… finally! Team X started out and ended the weekend with a bang, 1^st place. The Force, Road Warriors, Green Extreme and Teenage Ninja Girl Scout Turtles finished close behind. The Ninja Girl Scouts even skipped their way to the finish line where their families and other teams were all waiting and cheered them on! We capped off the Race with a group picture all teams, staff, and volunteers. The girls exchanged numbers with each other and we said our goodbyes. What a great weekend! Thanks to all the girls and moms who participated.  Y’all are the best!