We Do the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

We arrived at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum right when they opened at 8:30 this morning. We decided to buy a membership for $50.00 so we can go in and out whenever we want to. The day was rather cloudy but we did have a sunny break or two this morning. There was a tour starting just as we got through all the paperwork so we went on a tour with Laurel, one of the docents. She told us what a lot of the cactus, plants and trees were and there were exhibits along the way with other docents explaining rocks and minerals, dinosaurs and the like.

A mountain lion was nice enough to come right in front of the glass so we could get a photo of him and the ocelot slept wedged in the rocks waiting for his photo to be taken too. There were bears, deer, wolves and lots of others that we have to go back to see.

And the mountain lion in his natural habitat.

The ocelot in his rock.
We ended up at the Raptor Free Flight at 10:30 a.m. They had a roadrunner (pictured below), a raven, a barn owl (pictured below) and a Ferruginous Hawk.

The barn owl in flight.A photo stop at the aviary and the hummingbirds was next with photos of some of them too. As I've said before my camera doesn't do well on small birds and animals so some of them are kind of fuzzy after cropping.

The female cardinal.
The cactus wren.
This is a broad billed hummingbird. He's really a beauty! His chest is a blue/turquoise color with a red beak.
I finally saw an organ pipe cactus (photo below) or two as well as all sorts of other varities including, of course, the saguaro.


I also saw this cactus that appears to have fur on top. I couldn't see anywhere what kind it is and all I have been able to find on the internet is that it's a Mexican Cactus.

This is desert mistletoe.
And an agave plant. Doesn't it look like a really big asparagus?


At the Ironwood Terrace Restaurant we had a pretty good hamburger then walked around a bit more before deciding to call it a day.

Our front step popped a rivet the other day so we stopped at a Home Depot to get a bolt, some nuts and washers to replace the rivet so Gordon looked after that when we got home.

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is an amazing place. I'm glad we got the membership. I think we'll be spending quite a bit of time there over the next month. Who knows, maybe we'll stay longer!

A Slow Sunday

It was a bit warmer this morning at 41F (5C) with bright sun, no clouds. I did my usual walk in the desert and Gordon went out as well although I left first and we wound up on the same path! I met him coming back. Nice walk but didn't see any critters just a few birds that were too far away to identify or photograph. Of course I took more photos. Everyone is going to be tired of seeing mountains and cactus if we're staying here for a month! Too bad! LOL

Is this guy giving me the finger?


This morning I got the dreaded laundry done. I'd still rather go to a laundromat, in this case the one in the campground, than have laundry facilities in our RV but it is a pain. There's always something missing, in this case, a place to hang things and the table for folding is way too small but at least it's done for another week or so!

The owner, Doc Justin came by as I was doing laundry and we chatted for a while. I asked him if they were doing anything for Christmas and he said if enough people were here he'd have a potluck. I also offered to help his wife set up the library. He says all he needs is more books! Too bad I left the big bag I had back in Tijeras, NM!

I thought I'd also tell you that after two nights of sleeping on my new pillow, my shoulder problem appears to be gone. Let's hope that's the case! However after two hours of sitting at the table making bracelets, my whole back hurts. Getting older is a pain! With all these bracelets, I could be an Egyptian princess!

I also made another stew today. The days have been cooler so since it's one of our favorite meals and easy to make, that's what we're having for the next couple of days.

I've been trying to change my profile photo on Blogspot and it's giving me all kinds of grief so there may be no photo for a while until I figure out what the problem is. I guess there's enough photos of me in my blogs that I don't have to worry too much about it though!

Looking out toward the mountains tonight it looks like there's quite a dust storm so I don't think I'm going out to photograph the sunset. Anyway I have to watch the stew.

Out and About Around Tucson

It was colder this morning, only 38F (3C) when I got up so I dressed appropriately for my walk in the desert. I took a different trail going and then switched on to one of the trails I've been on before on my way back. The owner of the park has put plastic adirondack chairs here and there in the desert. I've come across three of four sets of them so far, kind of a nice touch.

This mornng I photographed desert plants and cactus.



And here's the little Gila Woodpecker that was right outside our living room window in our mesquite tree this morning.

Later this morning we went out our first stop being to get fueled up. On Kinney Road there's a full serve gas station with the nicest people. They even wash your windshield. When was the last time that happened? And it was the best price we had found at the time. Our main objective on this little trip was to go to Camping World to pick up some more of the light bulbs that we got in Albuquerque. We only got one card as the last ones we bought in Rockport last year turn dark and consequently the light dims. We took the scenic route and drove across Irvington Road to East Irvington Road. After Camping World we drove around Tucson a bit, driving up the Catalina Highway to take some photos of the Catalina mountains.

Tucson is quite a clean city with lots of pretty buildings. I didn't take any photos of the buildings. Maybe I will another day. On our way back we came across Speedway which turns into Gates Pass Road which goes through the mountains and comes out at the junction of Saguaro National Park and the county park. It was there we saw this little guy. He's quite a handsome little coyote. He was at a pullout. People must drop food for him to be hanging around there.



We got home and had a late lunch then went for a walk in the desert. Gordon hadn't been out there yet so I dragged him with me. Here's a photo of me beside a large saguaro cactus.

And another view of our mountains and desert.

On our return we both had a brief nap then commenced watching the skies to see if we were going to have a sunset. It looked like it would be a nice one so at the last minute we drove over on Bopp Rd. (fairly close to us) for photos.

Our high today was only 63F (17C) but compared to other parts of the southwest, not bad!

Just Another Anniversary Photo

I uploaded this here so I could use it as my new avatar on the rv-dreams.com site.

Hot Air Balloon and Shopping

It was a few degrees cooler this morning when I went for my walk but not a lot and by the time I got back it was 57F (14C). As I walked out the door I noticed there was a pretty hot air balloon over the mountains so I aimed my walk at the balloon and walked quite far out into the desert to get some photos.

See how the sun shining on the cactus makes the tips look red.

When I first came to the southwest a couple of years ago I was disappointed that the desert here didn't look more like the Sahara but now I've come to enjoy the beauty of this desert even though it isn't just sand, in fact, it's more gravelly than sandy with lots and lots of different types of cactus and vegetation.

Here's some of the vegetation including a dead saguaro cactus or two and the paths that I was walking on. I heard a lot of sounds on my walk but didn't see anything this morning other than birds in the distance but I sure heard a lot of them.

And here's a live saguaro cactus.

Mid morning I left to go shopping and get some groceries. I made several stops the most significant of which was the SuperWalmart that we stopped at yesterday. It was no less busy than it was yesterday however I persevered since I was alone. I didn't buy anything interesting except for a new pillow as I think my pillow is what's causing my neck and shoulder problems. Let's hope this will cure them.

We reached a high of 72F (22C) today but when I got back to the RV the wind picked up and although I tried to sit outside to read, I packed it in after about 15 minutes and returned to the RV to finish my book.

By the way, we're discussing the possibility of staying here until after Christmas. Still thinking about it but we like the park, the price is good, we like the area so why move?

After I posted we noticed that it looked like there would be a nice sunset tonight so away we went to Saguaro National Park for photos. Here's the sunset:

And here's the moonrise:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. So Happy Thanksgiving to all our U.S. friends. Since we had our Canadian Thanksgiving early in October, we can now have another one! So maybe I'll make stuffing today but don't think we'll have any turkey as I made a huge meatloaf yesterday. Maybe on the weekend.

We had a rain shower overnight so I had to get up to close the windows. But I woke up to a beautiful sunshiny day and 58F (14C) ! I did part of my walk in the desert this morning. I saw three jackrabbits, at least I think they were. I couldn't get close enough to them to verify but they were a lot bigger than cottontails. Below is a cholla cactus also known as teddy bear cactus since it looks soft and fuzzy but beware it's not! If you get too close it's little barbs will jump onto you and get into your skin. Not nice!

We started out today to go to SuperWalmart and Dollar Tree. We found them both and I picked up a few things at Dollar Tree but SuperWalmart was very busy so we stopped at Food City and I picked up a few things we needed today. I'll try SuperWalmart tomorrow probably. We also went to the San Xavier Mission which as you can see is under construction. It as under construction two years ago when we were here and has apparently been under construction since 1989.

From there we drove north on Kinney Rd and into Saguaro National Park. We stopped at the Visitor Center, drove through their campground ($20/night for electric only) and took some photos throughout the park.



When we got home I immediately took myself outside to my lawn chair where I spent the next couple of hours relaxing.

We were thinking about all of you at home in Ontario getting snow. Our high today got to be 81F (27C).

Here's a photo of the bracelet I made yesterday - desert colors!

Our First Day in Tucson (AZ)

We slept with the windows open last night. I can't remember the last time that happened. Granted early this morning I had to turn on my electric blanket but it was still great to have that option!

When I got up shortly after 7:00 a.m. it was already 50F (10C). Been a long time for that too! I walked around the park as well as around the park next door. Looks like I'll have to extend my walks into the desert in the mornings to get in my half hour walk/run. The park isn't that big.

I spent most of the day sitting outside reading and making a bracelet. Several times I walked down to the office area but no one was there. I couldn't get an answer on the phone either. Mid afternoon I walked down and finally someone was there so I paid up for a week - $77.00 - great price! I asked about getting mail and he said that was fine and we can also wash the RV! Now we just have to get the energy up to do that. He also said we could move to the back row backing on the desert if we wanted to. Things are pretty lax around here. I like it! I think we'll stay where we are for this week and maybe move back there next week. Sure would be nice to have this view from our window.

I went for a short walk in the desert this afternoon and took a couple of photos. One I think is a Gila Woodpecker. He was sitting on top of a saguaro cactus and didn't move as I walked all around the cactus trying to get a photo of him. Unfortunately the cactus was probably 20 feet tall so this is a cropped photo so it's not great!


It turned cloudy later this afternoon but we still had a bit of a sunset. I didn't go out to take any photos of it though.