On Sunday, we packed our bags so to speak and on Monday morning headed out of Yuma on our way to our next destination – Tucson. It was an uneventful trip of 220 miles, just the way we like our travel days. There is not a whole lot of anything between Yuma and Tucson. We passed some cattle farms, irrigated alfalfa fields, and a giant solar power plant – that was about it.
We had read at least a couple of blogs lately that were raving about the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson. It also rates as Tucson’s number one attraction on TripAdvisor. So off we went there on Tuesday. First, we traveled through the west unit of the Saguaro National Park. We had seen many saguaros in southern Arizona but this was the first place where we saw a “forest” of them.
The Desert Museum (https://www.desertmuseum.org/) is a property of about a hundred acres that is part museum, part zoo, and part gardens. We very much enjoyed our visit as there were a number of “firsts” for us as shown in the pictures below:
A beautiful Mountain Lion
Javelinas
A hummingbird in her nest
The Fairy Duster plant. Back at Quartzite, our friend Mark Nemeth of the Escapees organization shared with us some very special mead (honey wine) from honey where the bees had feasted solely on the Fairy Dusty plant. It was an amazing taste treat with an aftertaste very similar to maple syrup so we were pleased to see the plant that produced the pollen for this honey.
A Silver Fox
A Tarantula
A Mexican Wolf
And, the ears of a bat
If you are ever in the Tucson area, it is a place very well worth visiting.
Loved the desert museum. Almost went there today but too far a drive from Mesa.
ReplyDeleteWe enjoyed the museum too, thanks for the revisit:)
ReplyDeleteHey, I remember those "bat ears". Glad you enjoyed the museum. We really liked it as well.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fun day - I like the lion shot.
ReplyDeleteJust saw your Tucson entry. If you are still in Tucson when I (Bev) get back (I'm getting in late on March 12) maybe we could meet up at Barrio Brewing or a pub of your choice. We'll be in Tucson for a week after the 12th, then we're headed toward Texas. Loved your Desert Museum photos.
ReplyDeleteWe are here mainly for a bit of service work and will be heading north before the end of the week. If Jim wants to catch up for a beer, give us a call at 313-300-4953. We are likely headed to Barrio tonight.
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