Christmas in Arizona…

Christmas in Arizona…

Merry Christmas from sunny Arizona.  My Christmas wish for you is that you don’t have too much snow to shovel! 

(I just checked the blog and it looks like my pictures shuffled around somehow...bear with me and just enjoy...they might not be in all the right places!)

Friends from Castlegar, Helene and Jim, arrived in Green Valley, which is about 20 km north of us, just a few days ago.  We were able to get together with them yesterday and spent a wonderful day at the Sonora Desert Museum.  The Desert Museum is not the kind of museum you might expect however, but is an acreage in the middle of the desert with a variety of animals, displays, gardens, and events to see.  Just as we arrived, something called “A Free Flight” was just beginning so we hurried down to see it.  It was all about raptors.  It started with an owl that had been trained to fly from perch to perch while its caretaker told us all about how they exist in the desert wilderness.  Next came the peregrine falcon.  Peregrines have been clocked at over 250 miles per hour in a downward swoop and are the fastest animals on the planet.  They were pretty amazing.  After that four hawks of some kind came on display.  They were pretty amazing.  The birds found some kind of little animal near where we were watching and all four of them swooped down on top of it in a group hunting display…it was amazing to watch them.  Lastly the grey hawk was set in flight and flew from perch to perch again quite proudly displaying himself to us.  We really enjoyed the whole event.

After watching the raptor show, we walked around to the Javalina (said Havaleena).  I’ve been waiting to see one of these wild piggies since we got down to Arizona.  They do come into the RV park from time to time but only at night so all I’ve seen are tracks.  They are on average about 55 pounds so are not terribly large.  The normally travel in family groups and are quite thick skinned with dense, wirey hair.  Interesting animals.

The coyotes were next…there were a pair of them…one lazily sleeping under a bush and the other was pacing back and forth.  They were sure nice looking animals with thick healthy coats.  Legend calls them “God’s dogs”…kind of a nice idea.

What desert would be complete without the big fellow pictured here…rattlers are all over the place down here in the summer.  Actually, one of the folks who was moving their RV out of the park and went to disconnect their water found a baby rattler in the water well.  Luckily they saw it before anyone stuck their hand down inside the well and got bit.

There was a display of animals found near water…the main feature was a whole bunch of frogs in a little pond.

Next we came to Cat Canyon…now this was really interesting.  They had a beautiful little Ocelot who was very elusive and didn’t allow me to take a decent picture of him.  What I did see of him was beautiful though.  The bobcats were much more cooperative.  They were laying in the shade relaxing as only cats can.  They were really beautiful.

Tom got a really good shot of this desert big horned sheep looking right up at him.  The sheep look a lot like the big horns we see up at Spray Lake but are a little bit browner in colour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This goofy duck was in one of the bird aviaries we went through…a beautiful green parrot let me take a picture of him.  Cardinals and other native birds were flying around too but it was hard to get a picture of them as they didn’t sit still too long or were deep in the bushy trees.

The hummingbird aviary was one of the highlights of the whole trip.  They were buzzing all around us and we were lucky to catch some of them sitting on branches waiting for their picture to be taken.  This fellow had a lovely bright crimson head and green back.  I fell in love with him!

As well as these little beauties, we saw plenty of cactus and plants that were actually flowering. 

This owl was perched on one of the caretaker’s arms.  Owls amaze me with their large heads and relatively small bodies.  This one, with his long legs and wings reminds me of a cartoon character wearing a long overcoat.

 

 

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed this little tour through the Desert Museum.  It really was a great experience!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 

 

 

 

Almost Christmas…in Arizona…

This past week started in Tucson rather than in the RV Park we’re staying at.  We had to take our fifth wheel in to have it looked at and a few things on it adjusted or fixed.  It all turned out just fine but we did have to stay overnight in Tucson in order to get everything done.  That made us appreciate the quiet country feel of the park we are in for the winter.  We did get to park beside our very own orange tree while staying overnight…that was kind of cool.  We also went to the Christmas Street Fair in Tucson.  It was really interesting to see all of the different arts and crafts that people had for sale.  There was some entertainment including school groups singing and playing their instruments and there were lots of food booths…mostly Mexican food or Southern BBQ…mmmmm!  As you can see in the pictures, Tie-dyed t-shirts seem to be an “in” thing down here…reminds me of my hippie days…I’m starting to feel right at home!

After getting the fifth wheel back to Amado, where we’re staying, and getting settled again, it did feel like we were home.  There are lots of people in the park who we’ve become acquainted with and a few that we’ve made good friends with.  One couple is from a little town in Alberta where they own a farm and she also runs a fabric store that specializes in quilt material.  She’s a wonderful quilter and though I admire the end product, I just don’t need another hobby!  I’ve been busy with my watercolours but haven’t created a masterpiece yet…might have to change to coloured pencils for that…ha, ha.  If we stay here through the spring I might be able to take a few classes in Tubac…would really love to do that!

We’ve seen some lovely sunsets and sunrises here in Arizona.  I was trying to be creative here and got down on my hands and knees to get this agave cactus in front of the pink sky.  Tom bought me a wonderful new camera for Christmas and I love taking pictures with it.  It’s got a 100 times zoom on it that is fabulous.  Now when I see a bird or animal off in the distance I can get close enough to it to get a picture of the flea on its nose if I want.  It’s also got a function where I can take multiple pictures with one click which will be good for photographing animals…I’ll get a good picture even if the animal moves in the first shot.  Another incredible function of this camera is its ability to take panoramic photos.  I set the function, then hold the button down as I move the camera across the scene I want to photograph.  It is really neat!

There is a lovely little church in Amado.  It is called the Assumption of Mary Catholic Church.  It is quite old and very Mexican in style.

Yesterday we went to Mexico.  Nogales is a border town spreading north on the US side and south on the Mexican side.  When you walk across into Mexico, you do simply that…walk across.  You don’t show a passport or anything…you simply go across.  It’s a much different story coming back into the US.  We stood in line for an hour and a half waiting our turn to show our passport and then be sent through.  It was a good opportunity though to meet and chat with the people in front and back of us in the line-up.  Two young guys in front of us worked in the copper mines around Tucson.  The people in back of us were Mexican going to do Christmas shopping in the US.  They had the most beautiful little girl and she played happily the whole time we stood in line.

Because the town is split in half between countries, they have built this huge steel fence between the Mexican side and the US side.  It’s pretty intimidating to see but I guess there are people who try to climb and cross it on a daily basis.  You’ll notice a tower to the left side of the picture that has video cameras, etc., scanning the border.

We had a wonderful lunch in Nogales and wandered around town for a while.  I got my picture taken with this poor old burro.  His name is Renegade and he’s old enough now that they don’t let anyone sit on his back.  He just stands there and people feed him and pet him all day long…guess it’s not such a bad life. 

I bought a new pair of glasses…saved $600 over the cost I was quoted in Canada…that’s pretty good.  Tom got a tooth fixed and we were quite impressed with the dentist.  He was a young guy, trained in the US, who set up shop in Mexico.  His equipment was state of the art and he was honest about the work Tom needed done.  We thought he’d need a root canal and crown but the dentist took x-rays, ground out the old filling which was broken, and re-filled it.  He said he couldn’t see a nerve or anything to indicate the need for further work.  That was awesome because often they will try to do work that is not needed just so they can charge you for it.  Tom paid $40 for the exam and the work…again, saving hundreds off the Canadian or US price.

Nogales is a town of Pharmacies, Dentists and Opticians.  Some parts of it are modern and nice and some are run down and dirty.  While Tom was getting his dental work done I walked all around the downtown core and never once did I feel uncomfortable or afraid of anything.  Like any town there are good and bad people…I didn’t run into any bad ones in Nogales.

Back at the RV park the activities have been keeping us pretty busy.  I go to water aerobics every day for an hour.  They’ve got a great salt water pool and a hot tub on site.  There have been a couple of get-togethers…pot luck or chili feeds, etc.  There are various card games and golfing events if you want to take part.  You can be as busy here as you want to be or just relax and do nothing if you want. 

I'd like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.  We're going to try to get to see as many of you as we can in our travels this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fiesta Time!

Fiesta Time!

 

adobe bricks made by the children

This past weekend was quite a bit of fun.  We went down to Tumacacori (Too-muh-KAH-ko-ri) to a Fiesta!  There were about twenty or so booths set up selling food, handicrafts and other items, and quite a few activities especially for kids as well as information about the area.  The National Park Service set up about a dozen booths for kids to do hands on activities such as making adobe bricks or creating petroglyphs.  It was quite a bit of fun to watch them.  There was a group of people from Mexico who were dressed in Aztec costume and performed a variety of dances for us.  They were very colourful and fun to watch.  After they finished their performance, another group came on and played some traditional music as well.  One fellow had an instrument that looked like a cheese grater that he rubbed a metal piece along…quite interesting.

Tumacacori is where the mission that I talked about in the last blog is located.  It is quite a beautiful old building.  There was an annex where the Jesuits/Franciscans stored grain and other foods…lovely old pots lined the room.  We took some pictures of the interior of the church but it was quite dark.

On the way back from seeing the Mission we walked past the place where kids were dressing up like Juan Bautista De Anza and having pictures taken.  This little girl was absolutely adorable.

After we left Tumacacori, we went to Tubac for the Festival of Luminaries.  The Luminaries are simply tea light candles placed in a paper bag.  They then line the streets and roof-tops with them.  The result is really quite beautiful.  There was a group singing Christmas Carols and they did a great job of it.  After we watched them we found a horse-drawn wagon and went for a ride around the town looking at all of the lights.  It was really a lot of fun.  We even managed to get a few of the other folks on the wagon to sing Christmas Carols with us!  We had a wonderful night!

Between the RV Park and Tubac there is a Border Patrol check point.  There are quite a few of them but this seems to be the biggest.  We talked with one officer who said there are about a thousand Mexicans a day who try to cross the border.  The check points are on all roads and highways in this area. 

Yesterday we took a drive out into the desert and must have seen a dozen different places where there were border patrols either on horses or in trucks…we crossed four different check points as well. 

 

We saw some awesome cactus and scenery yesterday

too.  The saguaro cactus are all over the place around Tucson.  I was reading about them and it takes between 75 and 100 years before a saguaro cactus will get its first arm.  Hard to believe they are so old.  There are a few that have some sort of deformity that creates a cock’s comb look to them.  They are fairly rare but we managed to find one.  Some of the barrel cactus are also interesting.

 

It’s a lovely warm day today and we are enjoying the weather thoroughly.  Tomorrow we are going into Tucson so I thought I’d get the blog out early.  Here’s a picture in case you forgot what I look like.  I’m dressed up like De Anza but I’m afraid I’m not as cute as that little girl on the previous page!…also, Oso and Tom relaxing in their favourite places in the fifth wheel!