Night of the Living Dead.
That’s what took place here last night at San Tan Mountain Regional Park. And it was a night to remember…!
It all started early in the morning with signs being hung, loud-speaker systems being put in place, survival stations being set up etc. etc…
Then, as evening approached, Zombies started arriving from near and far and gathered in our office/nature center. But they were anxious to start searching out their victims…and we were having a hard time keeping them contained within the confines of the building…
All they wanted to do was get out and search the trails for those that dared to hike the San Tan trails after dark!!!
We had to have one of our park hosts, Toni, call for reinforcements to help us keep the zombies from getting out…
Toni set out sweet treats and salty snacks… but the zombies would have none of that…
The only thing that would satisfy the zombies was Brains, BRAINS!!!
We couldn’t contain the zombies and they escaped…
The staff was terrified because we were hosting a fun family evening for the San Tan community. Some children were dressed up in Halloween costumes, and enjoying an evening with their family eating sweet treats, and listing to Halloween music, and some were even dancing….
The crowd kept growing bigger and bigger
Some people were participating in hula-hoop contests…
When suddenly, an emergency alert came over the loud-speaker system letting us know the park had to be closed because Zombies had taken over the park.
Everyone was instructed to stay calm, get into groups of 10-12, and follow a staff member to the main trail head where further instructions would be given on where to find survival kits for each member in the group. Each person in each group was instructed to go out on the main trail and find a voucher for each of their five survival items. Water, food, shelter, first aid, and a compass. After they gathered their five survival items, without being captured by a zombie… , they were instructed to bring their survival vouchers back to the main stage and wait for their final instructions…
Bill gathered the people into groups of 10-12, and I lead them to the beginning of the main trail head where I instructed them to stay together at all costs, never run because that triggers a chase response in zombies, and never, ever shine a flashlight at a zombie. I told them I was afraid so I was not going with them but showed them a flashing light further down the main trail and told them to follow that light. I told them if anyone in their group falls down to grab them up and keep going because if a zombie doesn’t get them the coyotes surely would… I wished them luck and told them I hoped I saw them again…
I am happy to report that all the people that went out on the trail to get their survival vouchers did return… but only some of them came back alive… If you were seen by a zombie you were given a “I’m dead” voucher instead of your survival voucher… The boy in the picture below giving the thumbs up survived but the creature with him didn’t fare as well. He got the “I’m dead” voucher.
When everyone was back in the main compound they gathered around the main stage where our fearless leader, Sarah, the park Supervisor, announced all the zombies had been captured and everyone was asked to bring up the survival vouchers they obtained out on the main trail. Each voucher was redeemed for the survival item written on the voucher, i.e. compass vouchers received a compass, first aid vouchers received a trail first aid kit, water vouchers received a hiking reusable water bottle…
It was a spooky kind of fun-filled family night at San Tan Mountain Park and everyone had a SPOOKTACULAR time…
Now on to our Halloween Bash tonight from 6:00p.m. to 9:00p.m.
Happy Halloween one and all..
Next up: Stay tuned for a Halloween posting
