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| Way Cool! |
The spankings continue (Thank you new deck). I'm now up 5-zip, but ever cautious against the wily one. After what has become our normal routine. (Judy up before dawn to knit, read and welcome the day; me up before eight; coffee, oatmeal, and a game), we took a nice twenty mile loop around the area. The Tucson valley is flat, most of the roads are new, the surrounding mountains are beautiful, the wind was wispy, the traffic was light, so all in all, our ride was very enjoyable. The only angst we had was about three miles out when we realized we had forgotten the pannier, which held all of our repair gear. Thankfully, our unpreparedness didn't bite us like a poisonous Gila Monster. Our friends, David and Ginny Kral, picked us up around eleven, and we headed out to the desert museum. It is a natural desert setting carved into part zoo, part display, part eco-education. It's very cool and easily Tucson's most popular tourist destination. On the way to the museum, we drove through the Sonora Desert, which is chock full of Saguaro Cacti (Among other things). It's is quite beautiful, and I'm told it's even more beautiful in the spring when the desert flowers are blooming. On the way out, we saw a large peloton (Twenty riders all in the same team shirt and a team car following) of bicyclists clipping along at about thirty miles per hour. I wasn't prepared with the camera, so I missed them, but clearly they were training for serious riding. I couldn't quite get the team name either, but their colors reminded me of Astana. The highlight of our desert museum experience was the raptor show at 2 P.M. Handlers let out birds of prey, which flew over a large crowd of about seventy people just above everyone's heads. There was an owl, a Peregrine falcon, a family of Harris hawks, and an endangered Gray Hawk. Scattered midst the brush and cacti were handlers who placed little treats on limbs. The birds swooped over our heads and landed on the limbs for a little snack. Then they were off. All the while, one of the rangers kept up a running commentary on the hunting habits and flying characteristics of the birds. She was enthusiastic, and she also plugged conservation any chance she got. Since she had the microphone, she had a lot of chances. I stood there thinking. Ain't America great! A kid could dream of growing up to be a falconer for the State of Arizona. What a life! We also saw caged Foxes, Big Horn Sheep, Mountain Lions, Rattle Snakes, Beaver, Bear, Birds, and desert plants of all kinds. The only living thing out there we didn't see that was advertised were the javelinas (Pigs). They lay low during the heat of the day, and we couldn't quite see them in the shade. It was a good visit as far as zoo experiences go. The best part was driving back into Tucson through the Saguaro forest. These cactus are not quite as thick as a pine forest, but there are enough of them poking up out of the desert to create an impressive scene. Some of them are quite huge, which is astounding, considering the fact that they may be as old as four hundred years. We had dinner at a sandwich shop called "Beyond Bread". My camera battery was dead (Poor planning), so I didn't get pictures of the huge sandwiches made with fresh bread and health conscious ingredients. It's a good local spot. Tucson has three outlets. Right now, the Bunny and I are relaxing in Frac. We spent about an hour trying to figure out our path north through California, but our heads started hurting after a while, so we quit before we lost sight of the fact that life is good, especially today.
In Pima County, they grow excellent cotton. Where we're staying most of the land is irrigated and producing.
Quite funny.
An older version of the Airstream.
The forest of cacti is simply awesome.
According to this lady, the first thing to do if a Gila Monster bites you is get it to let go. Really?
It would cost you about 100,000 dollars to pay for the snake antidote. Double pain. First the bite, then the bite.
Art shot number one of the day.
Art shot number two.
I wish the camera could capture the true panorama. Nonetheless, a nice day in the desert.
Ginny Kral.
The Bunny.
Me and the crowd waiting for the raptor show to begin.
A rare Gray Hawk. They are daytime hunters.
A tiny little owl. He was squawking the whole time.
Just one of the several bird trainers sprinkled around the watching point. It was very fun to have the birds land so close to us. At one point two Harris Hawks land on this girls arm.
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