U.S. Route 66 - The Main Street of America

U.S. Route 66 was establised in 1926. It originially ran from Chicago to Los Angeles. Route 66 was a major path of migrants who went west, especially during the dust bowl days. People doing business along the route became prosperous because of the popularity of the highway. The route through AZ is now a National Scenic Byway.

Our next stop was The Petrified National Forest and The Painted Desert. We spent the night at the Root 66 RV Park in Sun Valley, AZ. No place could be more remiscent of the old highway. You could camp with full hookups and buy yourself a piece of petrified wood by the pound.

All along the highway were many places to stop and shop.

Saguaro NP- AZ Sonoran Desert Museum-Mark Visits

After finishing up with LOW on Friday about noon Kim Mark & I decided to check out the Desert Museum.

Located only about 15 minutes from Tucson, the Museum was a real treat, exposing us to many aspects of the desert and surrounding area in the natural environment. Interpretive exhibits, films and guides were around every corner providing a great opportunity to learn more about this unique part of our planet.

http://www.desertmuseum.org/ http://www.nps.gov/sagu/

Just the drive over the nearby mountains provided insite into what was to come. The spectacular Saguaro "forest" in this area is unique, and unlike anything else I've seen. I had been to Phoenix many times for Honeywell, but the size and numbers of cacti these do not begin to compare with this area.

It was obvious from the overall plantlife and numbers that the Tucson area must get considerably more rainfall than surrounding areas.

First stop at the museum was the reptile area...hey this is great, we can look at these venomous creatures without danger of being bit!

Of course, the reptiles were housed in part of the "dark cave area"....I guess we just never grow up, we crawled around in there with the kids for quite some time. I thought we'd lost Mark, but one scream about a snake being loose in there produced a quick exit!

And reptiles aren't the only creatures living within the Museum. How often do you get to come face-to-face with a codi mundi?

Another surprise was the enormous height of some of the saguaros. Best I could tell, some reached as high as 35 feet. They say these giants don't start growing their first "arm" until 50 years old, so I guess the big ones have been around for hundreds of years...

After dropping Mark off at the Tucson Airport on Saturday, we joined our friends Alan & Michele on a hike in the Eastern section of the Park (Tucson is literally surrounded on both sides by the Saguaro National Park!). This side of the park gets even more rainfall, as evidenced by the amount of green plants and the huge amounts of flowers!

Alan & Michele hike this area twice a week, with a local group of friends. Pretty neat to have this kind of National Park environment 10 minutes from your house!

Another interesting aspect of the area is the contrast between the living and the dead. Most striking is the strange knarled look that the Saguaro trunk takes on after the cactus has died, and all that is left is this ghostly skeleton of that once beautiful plant.

As we ambled along, I couldn't help but notice the many small flowers in bloom on this side...a definite contrast to the plant growth on the West.

Well, as they say in show business, we save the best for last. Every now & then, us amateur photographers catch the late evening light at just the right angle, and something magical happens. So I'll close with one of those shots for you to enjoy....

Tucson - Life on Wheels Conference

As full-timers we decided to attend LOW (Life on Wheels) to learn a bit more about this lifestyle and all it has to offer. They do a great job with the classes, and the tips & knowledge you pick up from other attendees over the few days of being there together is invaluable.
http://www.lifeonwheels.com/

The second evening was "open house" allowing all to take a look at some of the various types of rigs that others including many of the instructors had chosen for their "home". Being for Louisiana, that provided the perfect excuse for cooking a triple-batch jambalaya right there in the back lot for all to smell & enjoy! With Cajun & Zydeco music in the background it was quite a feast....enjoyed by all, including our friendly canine neighbor...

Speaking of Cajun music and Louisiana, we had two nice surprises while here. Mark, my youngest Son flew out for a few days (it was Spring Break for LSU), and...some new Zydeco-loving friends I had met in Lafayette, LA back in January, Alan & Michele, live right there in Tucson and were able to join us for the cookout!

Mark enjoyed exploring the nearby UA campus on bicycle while we were in class on Thursday.

Friday afternoon, the three of us headed west of the city to the Sonora Desert Museum, which is located within the Saguaro National Park. The city is blessed to be sitting between two beautiful mountain ranges that encompass the Park on both sides! But That's a story for the next post!

Madera Pass & Madera Canyon

Our plan was to spend a single night at Madera Canyon to do some birding before moving on to Life on Wheels conference in Tucson. Kim insisted we could save some time by cutting across the mountains through the "pass road".

I guess I should have known better when we approached all the warning signs, about being narrow and dropoffs. We get on this 4wd trail and it starts sleeting & snowing....which is AMAZING! since we just left short-sleeve weather a few hours before in Tombstone!

The road is very narrow, winding around the mountains with 100 to 400 foot shear drops off to my left. After what felt like hours, we arrive at the Canyon, only to be greeted by more snow and ice.

It was pretty certain that no birding was to be had at the site, so after attempting (unsucessfully) to back our trailer up the steep, icey campsite we decided to just move on to Tucson....

Tombstone - The Town too Tough to Die!

Well that's what the town motto is, and I guess it's true. The would be gold mine town of the 1800's that's best known for the famous gunfight between the Earp brothers and the "Clanton-Cowboy" gang is till there today....as a major tourist attraction!

We were able to overlook the "commercial" aspects of the place and enjoy the rustic flavor....

most interesting was the visit to Boot Hill Graveyard, well the famous still lie!

for those interested in learning more about the shootout at the OK Corral, watch the 1993 Kirt Russell movie "Tombstone", we did the night before.....

Oh, and remember to allways pack your .44

Whitewater Draw AZ

What a great tip from Reed & Elaine, new birding friends we met on the backpack in the Chiricahuas! The major attraction here is the enormous quantity of Sandhill Cranes that visit every year in Feb & Mar. These magnificant birds began arriving around 1PM in large flocks soaring gracefully in towards the far end of the shallow desert lake.

Each group, wave after wave, filling the clear blue sky with silhouettes and the continual sounds of their haunting railing.

A midafternoon stroll around the lake revealed the site played host to many smaller and familiar feathered friends......of course, the many smaller prey bring in the big hawks...........

Then on the far end of a group of willows we discover the Barn Owl roost. The area was "off limits", but a quick count from the outside of the thicket puts the numbers near a couple dozen.

Walking back towards our trailer later in the afternoon, I stopped under a large shelter to get a moment's break from fierce winds, looked up and discovered a pair of penetrating eyes in the dark confines of the canopy's upper bracing. A closer look through the binoculars confirmed another majestic owl ..... the Great Horned!

As the sun sank low into the western sky, graceful wings of the last few Sandhills danced across distant mountains....

finally leaving only the massive rocks bathed by the soft light of a desert dusk.....

The winds continued to howl well into the night, shaking the trailer and bringing with them a brisk twenty-five degree awakening. The view to the East at sunrise this morning was a pure delight!