Travelin' Road Show: 03/26/13

YOU LOOKIN' AT ME??? WELCOME TO THE DESERT!!

One of our 2 favourite photos of the day

Arizona - Senora Desert Museum

Desert fanatic turned loose!!!!

The second of 2 Favourite photo's of the day... Derek with his Nikon

Yo Liz!!

Desert view through Mesquite wood trellis

What a fabulous day. We were up a little late but made the hour drive to the Desert Museum. WOW!! We thought we were in for a day of wandering around finding out interesting information about the area. We were blown away with how

prickly pear cacti

much we would be fascinated by the desert!! From the huge variety of Cacti and their uses, to the raptor flights, to the humming birds, to the animals (Javelinas, Lizards, coyotes, ocelots, K rats, prairie dogs, and the list goes on. Janice has discovered that she has a fascination with cacti... who knew!!!! (although it could be because tequila is made from a cacti plant! (The blue Agave)). On a beautiful sunny day we spent 5 hours totally engrossed with this massive area that has become a 'classroom' for those of us that knew so little about the life of the desert. If you ever come to Tucson.. do not miss this one. It seems that they have cordoned off a few acres, left it untouched except for a few dirt paths and some hard pathways, so we felt safe wandering through the untouched desert without the fear of rattle snakes etc which are so prevalent here (even though Janice managed to fall backward into a prickly bush, much to her embarrassment and Derek's amusement, as he picked the little thorns out of her skin and t-shirt)

awwww.... love hummingbirds

Cute little hummingbird

Look like daisies .. desert flowers

Colours of the desert

Just the numbers and different shapes and sized of Cacti was amazing. The docents (experts) that walk around the area, and do some formal walking tours around, are very informative and helpful, and at times amusing. One said that rattlers are usually not interested in biting you... but there does seem to be an interesting positive correlation between snake bites and young beer drinking men with tattoos!! This proved itself later when another docent mentioned that she had a rattler on her patio last week, that didn't seem to want to leave, so she had to call the fire department to come and remove it. A young man in the group with tattoos and a beer gut asked her why she didn't just grab a stick and flip it off the patio. Enough said!!

Weird looking cacti

We took a little picnic lunch with us, so we weren't tempted to buy more restaurant food (although after Janice's fall in the bushes Derek settled her down with an ice-cream on the terrace for being brave!!) (echos of dentist visits as a kid when Mum would buy us an ice cream afterward for being brave having cavities filled with no freezing).

Red tailed hawk ready to take off

A Javelina... related to Hippo's not pigs

Red Tailed Hawk (I think!)

Back to the desert.... If you ever consider visiting this area of the U.S.... do not hesitate. We have been here over 3 weeks and there is still so much to see and do. We will not see it all before we leave next week. The weather is predictable, although we have heard tales that it was unusually cold this January/February, including a very rare, but short lived, snow fall. Certainly March has been the best weather we have experienced. It is hot but not too hot during the day - high 70's and 80's mostly, and cool at night... going down to the 50's. No heating and very little air conditioning needed. On top of the weather, the surroundings are phenomenal. Mountains, desert, great cycling, walking, hiking and trips up mountains that have panoramic views that a camera just cannot do justice to.