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Sunday, January 28, 2018

Clarke, Brenda and the Arizona Desert Museum

Dear Family and Friends,

A highlight of our trip was being able to see Clarke and Brenda again.  Clarke and Brenda live in Green Valley, about a 40 minute drive south of Tucson.  They lived in Cuenca for several years and moved back to the U.S. about 3 or 4 years ago.

Clarke had a blog about Cuenca life while they were in Cuenca and if you read it, you know what a fun loving guy he is.

They invited us for breakfast last week.  We had a wonderful visit and were so happy to see them so healthy and happy.

Picture of Clarke and Chuck

Clarke, Brenda and Chuck

Yesterday, we went to the Arizona Desert Museum with Audrey, Carol and her husband, Frank.

I am so glad this was on our "to do" list.  It is an amazing place. The museum is all about the flora and fauna of the desert. I was amazed by all the life that exists in such an arid place. 

Just look at these pictures:

saguaro cactus

cholla cactus, it looks like a it would be soft but those little needles are very stiff and sharp.

We visited the hummingbird aviary.  Such a wonderful exhibit.  A great chance to photograph these little critters up close.

costa's hummingbird


female black chinned hummingbird


another Costa's hummingbird


Frank, Audrey and Carol enjoying the aviary.


a beautiful agave 


The second aviary we went into housed other birds of the desert.  This is a female cardinal.


and this is a stellar's jay


I thought this guy was a statue at first because he was standing so still. This big horn sheep was enjoying the warm Arizona sunshine.

A new animal for me, this is a coati.


An early blooming cactus.


A walking trail through the cactus garden.

The raptor demonstration was fun to watch.  Here is a raven getting a bit of a treat from the handler.


A great horned owl

Sisters:  Audrey and Carol enjoying the show.


Here is a close up view of a cactus.  

This lady has a burrowing owl.

On the way home, Audrey took us on a drive over Gates Pass. 


An incredible view of the desert floor from Gates Pass.

We have had an incredible time with family and friends in Arizona.

Because of the magic of scheduling when you want your blog posts to publish, as you are reading this post, Chuck and I are en route to India.

I will take lots of pictures, but I am not taking a computer with me so I will have to wait for our return, in March, to share them.

Love,
Nancy


3 comments:

  1. Nice weather in the desert. Beautiful photos. Have a safe journey to India, I'm looking forward to reading all about it.

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    1. Peter, as I am reading your comment, we are in Vancouver, BC, waiting for our boarding. We are flying Air Canada non stop to Dehli. I have the camera charged and ready. I am very excited.

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