Going someplace warm is harder to do since we buy our airline tickets using points we've accumulated on our Southwest card. Southwest Airlines only flies in the continental U.S. Some January vacations have been big successes, but a couple have been less than we expected. Not that they were duds or we would have wished we hadn't done them, just that they weren't what we expected. For instance, who would have anticipated running into a week of rain in Death Valley, CA, that turned into a blizzard as we drove out of it? Or who would have expected Tucson, AZ to be in the middle of a cold spell in January? It was ironic that as we left here on Monday, the weather was warm and in the 60's (!), but as we flew into Tucson, it was cold and in the 30's.
But that's ok, we still had a good time and the weather got warmer as the week progressed. Besides, the sun was shining brightly and the sky was a brilliant blue the whole time we were there. That alone was worth the trip, because when we got back we discovered that it had been gray and gloomy here all week.
So we scheduled 2 days for travel and 3 days for exploring Tucson. We managed to cross off another National Park from our "bucket list," as well as fit in quite a few other things.
Our flight out of Philadelphia was delayed on Monday due to fog. We actually didn't leave until 12:15 pm which caused us to miss our connecting flight in Chicago. And that caused us to get into Tucson pretty late. It was a looooong flight and I was exhausted. When we got to our hotel, I lost no time in getting ready for bed. Andy mentioned that there was a puddle in the bathroom, then went out to the car to check on something. While he was gone, I got into my pj's and into bed. When he got back, he said, "We're moving to another room." Ugh! I was so cozy under the covers and just wanted to get to sleep, but I packed everything up again, put my coat on over my pj's and went to the other room.
After a very good night's sleep, we started Tuesday off ready for the day's adventure. Our first stop was Biosphere 2. This was a man made, all indoor experiment. Eight people lived in this biosphere for 2 years, taking nothing in or out of it in all that time. We toured with a guide and about 20 other people and learned some interesting things about this experiment. It is still operational today as a learning and experiment center, but under the University of Arizona.
Doesn't it look other-worldly?
This is their jungle. It was 100% humidity in there, very stuffy, but authentically like a jungle.
We spent the morning at Biosphere, then left for our next adventure, Catalina State Park. State parks are usually as rewarding as national parks, and this one was no exception. We saw lots of saguaro cactus plants with very nice hiking trails. It was cold, but sunny and very blue sky.
Saguaro (pronounced: sah-WAH-row - the "g" is silent)
This particular cactus is huge as you can see by us standing next to it. They can live to be up to 200 years old. They don't grow branches until they're around 50 years old. And they're home to all kinds of desert birds. It's a very interesting plant and we learned many fascinating facts about it:
1. The saguaro blossom is Arizona's state flower.
2. Saguaros must start life under a tree or shrub to protect them from drying out and be hidden from herbivores. Saguaros often outlive their "nurse" plants.
3. Saguaros grow slowly. In the most favorable conditions it may take 35 years for a plant to reach 6 feet; more commonly it takes 47-67 years.
4. Saguaros can grow to 50 feet tall and are the largest of the cactus family in the U.S. (though not in the world).
5. Saguaro tissue may be 85% water; a large plant may weigh 8 tons or more!
6. Saguaro branches always grow upward. Occasionally frost or snow will freeze the tissue at the base of a limb and damage it, and the weight of the branch pulls it down. If the branch survives, the growing tip will turn upward again.
The Saguaro National Park is part of the Sonoran Desert which extends from Mexico through Arizona and includes the southeastern tip of California. This desert is unique, though, in that it has 2 "rainy" seasons. It is still pretty arid, but the plants that grow here are perfectly suited to the arid climate. And there are some streams here and there. It was easy to cross them at this time of year, but I'm sure when it rains, those rocks are covered and it would be impossible to hike this trail then.
After this hike, we still had a lot of daylight left, so we drove to see the San Xavier Mission. It looks like a white dove sitting out there in the desert. The mission was built for the Indians by Franciscans in the 1700s and is one of the finest examples of Spanish mission architecture in the U.S. It is a beautiful building, inside and out. Our inside pictures didn't turn out and are unusable, but it was very detailed and ornate with statues, icons and beautiful art work.
On Wednesday, we started our day by going to the western section of Saguaro National Park. The park is actually in 2 parts, on either side of the city of Tucson. When we got to the park, I couldn't find my senior pass, so we bought another one. It was a compliment to my ego that I had to show id to prove I was old enough to have a senior pass! The pass is only $10 and will then get you into any national park the rest of your life (if you don't lose the pass!). Usually admission to each individual park is $20, so it's quite a deal! Sometime it pays to be old!!!
We watched a slide show about the park with beautiful pictures and interesting dialog. One phrase that really stuck out to us was: "The desert is you and you are the desert!" Huh? We didn't really do anything else there that day, but drove on to the Desert Museum. That was definitely worth the price of admission (no, that was not a national park so my senior pass could not be used there). We explored this museum for about 4 hours. There were many trails that went by different displays.
There was a hummingbird house (look closely)
a cat canyon (pumas, bobcats, mountain lions),
Mountain Goats,
prairie dog city, javelinas, coyotes, etc.
We sat in on a demonstration/lecture on a gila monster and a rattlesnake - very well done.
And a free flight raptor demonstration was done with a gray hawk, barn owl and 4 Harris hawks. Those birds were incredibly accurate and a joy to watch in action.
This museum occupies 40 acres and every inch is interesting. It was more like an oasis than a desert, although the plants were certainly suited to desert living and unusual to what we are used to in the east.
From there we stopped in at Old Tucson studios, but decided not to stay and explore. It seemed like it would have been a museum of old movie sets with lots of John Wayne and cowboy memorabilia. We were more interested in the outdoors and nature this trip.
There was still time left in the day so our last stop of the day was at the International Wildlife Museum. Now that was a very interesting museum to explore. Different rooms were devoted to various parts of the world with animals from all over the world. They were stuffed: hippos, rhinos, giraffes, alligators, bears, all kinds and varieties of deer, moose, caribou, etc. - all life size. We didn't take any pictures in there. I don't know why!
One more day and a lot to fit in...Tombstone, Arizona! It was about a 45 minute drive to Tombstone from Tucson, but we had heard it was well worth going to see. So off we went. That is a town with a colorful history. Nearly every house was a museum. We took a trolley ride and the driver/tour guide was very knowledgeable of the town and its history. Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was a booming mining town which drew all kinds of interesting characters. It was a decadent, wicked city that drew all kinds of lawlessness. Our tour guide told us a story of one man who shot his wife, then shot another man because he wanted that man's wife, which he then married. I doubt that second wife had much to say about it for fear of being shot herself! The Earp brothers and Doc Holliday were famous law men in Tombstone and several movies were made about them and their gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Not all was bad about the town, though. One of the houses we walked through had been owned by a family who boasts the world's largest rose tree. It started out as a tiny slip from Scotland in 1885. It was planted in a young couple's yard and continued to grow. The husband built supports for the bush until today it spreads over 8,000 square feet of supports and continues to grow larger each year.
We were able to take in a "show" as part of our trolley tour. Three actors acting like good guys and bad guys.
That was fun and we could have stayed in Tombstone all day. There was more to see and do, but we still wanted to go back to Saguaro National Park before heading home the next day.
We drove the 8 mile loop through the park, then got out and hiked another loop trail. The weather was finally warm - nearly 60 - a beautiful day.
This is a funny picture. It not only gives good perspective to how big these cacti are, but looks like it's growing out of my head! How do you like my hat?
God's creation is so amazing. It's hard to understand how the park workers can talk about the diversity and marvels of the surrounding environment, then attribute it all to evolution. Just once I'd like to hear one of them say: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth!"
It was a wonderful time away, enjoying a break from work and the routine of life and soaking in God's wonderful world.
