Today was another travel day as we wound our way back to the Bone Yard. We enjoyed our visit to Sierra Vista but it’s always good to get home, right?
Diane plotted the longest return route, one that took us to Patagonia State Park. We stopped briefly at the village of Patagonia, read Heritage signs, then drove to the lake. It was a very nice drive through the surrounding residential. The weather was awesome. There were trees all around us, most of the time, but the trees dwindled when we got closer to the lake and geology was more interesting.
In the park, we drove to the marina because the first public area wasn’t dog friendly. The marina was wide open, and they had picnic tables for us to eat our lunch.
Max had a good time scaring the ducks that dared venture anywhere near us. I think he was surprised to see them fly away.
We had lunch at that table -really yummy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, green grapes and cinnamon cake. We enjoyed the peaceful solitude of the lake.
The trip to the Bone Yard was surprisingly quick and we were happy to have made it before the sun went down. I took Max for his normal walk around the park while Diane started emptying the car. It’s amazing how much “stuff” one can accumulate in a few short days.
Once the car was empty we spent some time on our little patio. There was a nice breeze and it was great just sitting there doing nothing.
Too soon it was necessary for us to contemplate supper. I ate the other 2/3’s of Diane’s chicken burrito and she ate what remained of her catfish and rice meal at Thuy’s. We both had great meals.
I ate oatmeal again this morning and it was good. This may become a habit. One of my good ones.
Our first stop of the day was a visit toFort Huachuca, or Kombucha for Diane, to see what it was about. It’s an enormous Army base in Sierra Vista and it’s one of the nicest bases we’ve been on in a long time. I took a lot of photos as we drove around the base because there were trees. The base housing units look pretty nice. Many of the ones we saw appeared to be empty.
One thing stood out for us was that none landscaping for any of the buildings involved tons of rocks. Davis-Monthan AFB is nothing but rocks for yards, but Fort Huachuca has actual grass yards. They were brown, but they were grass. There are also tall trees on the base.
One of the reasons for the different kind of landscaping is probably the altitude difference. It’s about 2,000 higher than the Bone Yard. Yeah. That’s it. The elevation.
Turns out there’s an RV park on the base which has reasonable rates and is very nice. We took a look see and really liked it. It’s well away from the main base in a very quiet corner. I took Max for a walk and encountered Paul, an Army guy. He said he’s been staying the winters in Fort Huachuca for the past 3 years. We got along nicely, and he let it be known that if we’re there in the next few weeks, for the Army vs. Navy game, he’s going to give me some s**t. He was an officer, too. What a guy. I really liked him.
From Fort Huachuca, we drove to Bisbee for the day. It’s only about 20 miles away and is a mile high city. Diane labeled this trip a “Foodie Day” on the calendar because Bisbee has a lot of places to eat. It’s a town built in Tombstone Canyon near the Copper Queen Mine which is the reason there’s a town.
Before lunch we stopped at the Visitor center for the Copper Queen Mine so this was really our first look at what the town might be like. The visitor center was also the place where excursions into the mine begin. I wandered around outside and saw the vehicle that takes people on the mine tour. It’s a very narrow-gauge rail track about 18″ wide. The vehicle people ride on are the same one’s used by the miners before it closed in 1975. We didn’t take the tour because we’re not fond of delving into large holes in the ground. We’d rather stay outside and just look around, which we did.
The visitor center was also a very large gift shop featuring mostly geological items. They also had a movie about how copper is mined and the entire process of making sheets of copper for making everything copper is used for. It was very interesting.
Getting to lunch required a drive almost all the way through town. It’s a curvy road through the canyon with buildings growing up the banks on both sides. It’s quite an amazing town. When we found Thuy’s Noodle Shop, there was parking right in front which was awesome because the town is narrow, and parking is sparse.
The restaurant is small, but they had outside tables which worked for us because we had Max along. Many places won’t let 4-legged animals inside, only the 2-legged animals are allowed. We didn’t see any of those today. Sitting on the patio was nice until the food showed up and the flies were waiting. They were a nuisance, but not terrible. The big thrill was when an enormous wasp landed on the table in front of Diane, and she darted away at least two feet, while I broke a chop stick killing it. All the other patrons were well entertained. I’m really glad Diane didn’t get stung.
The dish on the left is Beef PHO and the one on the right is a pork salad. These are actually two meal choices so you can probably say I over ordered a little. But I ate almost all of it. One thing for sure, to Diane’s delight, I got my share of protein today. Vegetables too. I’m sorry I don’t have a picture of Diane’s catfish. She said it had an orange flavor to it, and she liked it a lot.
After lunch we went down the hill to Patisserie Jacqui for a couple of their world class croissants, but it was closed. So, we won’t have world class croissants tomorrow. Dang.
Next, we tried to get dessert at Pussycat Gelato. It was closed, too. So, only 1 of 3 locations were available for our use. Thankfully, lunch was good.
After missing out on dessert, we headed back to Sierra Vista. As we made our final pass through the town, Max saw a cat run across the street. He was sitting in his throne on the console between our seats and launched his little self almost out the passenger window. He only made it halfway because Diane grabbed one hind leg, and I grabbed the rest of him. We managed to get him back inside, but I about broke Diane’s shoulder in the process. He was going to get that cat, by golly. It was pretty exciting. We can only assume that chasing cats was something to do with his past.
Once back in Sierra Vista we stopped at a DQ where I got Diane a Peanut Buster Parfait and myself a chocolate malt. Then we returned to the hotel for our last night.
We closed up the RV for the next few days and took a trip to Sierra Vista. The ultimate goal is Tombstone, AZ but that’s going to wait until tomorrow. Today was just a travel day – get where we’re going and nothing else even though the trip only took a couple of hours. That’s a hard rule, set in stone. No sightseeing on a travel day.
Before we left, we talked with the neighbors and gave them our phone numbers, “just in case” something happened. That also gave Laurie time to talk with Max. With the two of them, it’s a mutual admiration society. Max is a healer which is good because Laurie has leukemia. Max is good for her. They are good for each other.
We’re in a Hampton Inn here in Sierra Vista. It has a real shower that we’re going to use every day. Maybe twice. Each. Might even wash Max. Once we got our “stuff” to our room, Diane went in search of a Goodwill to get a swimming suit. This place has a small pool and a hot tub which Diane thinks might unkink her left shoulder and neck muscles. Going to a Goodwill, or thrift store at a new destination does not violate the travel day rule, in case you were wondering.
Max thinks the room is great because the bed is low enough that he can jump on the bed. In the RV he needs help. I’ll bet he could make it if he gave it a valid try, but he seems to be just fine letting one of us pick him up.
Our next-door neighbors at the Bone Yard live in Sierra Vista and let us know that the temps here run about 10 degrees cooler than Tucson. That would be because of the higher altitude, I suspect. Tucson runs around 2,700 feet above sea level, and Sierra Vista is right around 4,600 feet.
Diane returned around 1630 with 2 swimming suits and 2 dog toys. Max loves his toys.
Diane said there’s a Papa John’s Pizza joint just across from the hotel. She checked her Google Maps and discovered it’s only 600 feet away, on the other side of a very busy 4-lane highway. There are no crosswalks within a mile either direction so the only way to safely get there was to drive Diane’s car.
Yes, it’s Diane’s, not mine, so I don’t get to drive it very much. When I do it’s always a scary feeling because I’m afraid I’ll do something wrong. Heaven knows I have plenty of other opportunities to screw stuff up.
When I went to get the pizza, Diane made it clear that I needed to get a salad, too. Unfortunately, Papa John’s doesn’t have side salads. Diane told me that Dominos did. So, after ordering the pizza I did a search for the nearest Dominos. It was a couple of miles away. Since I had to wait 15-20 minutes for the pizza, I had plenty of time to make that quick trip to the other pizza joint.
When I got there, I was told that it would take 15-20 minutes for the salad. That confused me a little bit, but I stepped back and waited. There was a display in the waiting area listing orders by name and mine was at the top. I figured someone would call me, but they didn’t. So, I went back to the order counter and asked if my name was on the list or was it a mistake that my name was in first place. The girl did a frantic search of the pizzas waiting for delivery and didn’t see my name, so I told her, again, that I was only getting a salad, no pizza. I truly believe that I was the first person to enter that pizza joint who ordered just a salad. She was on automatic with the “15-20 minutes” wait. When she realized that I was an exception to the norm, she ran to the back and got my pre-packaged salad. That’s kinda what I expected right after I paid for it.
With my salad in hand, I returned to Papa John’s for the pizza. It was done so I didn’t have to wait. Back at the hotel I stopped to get more napkins in the breakfast area and discovered a table full of baby cans of soda that would go well with the pizza. Pretty cool.
I had to do a balancing act with the salad, pizza, plates, forks and sodas all the way to the room on the 3rd floor. Then that long walk down the hall to a room far from the elevator. Everything went well all that way then I had to get my wallet out for the door key and lost everything on the floor. Nifty.
Diane opened the door to let me in just as I was gathering everything up.
It was the first time either of us had eaten a Papa John’s pizza and it was really good. The sodas I dropped exploded a little when we opened them so that was exciting. A good way to end the day.
This was Diane’s selection for us to visit today. The GPS predicted it would take us about 45 minutes to make the 20+ mile trip, but it seemed longer. It wasn’t unpleasant, just long. Max said so.
The facility at the end of our ride was the Sun City Community Center which lives on a golf course. Without being able to see any of the fairways, I knew this was true because the building was surrounded by golf carts. Not all of them had golf clubs attached, but enough of them did to validate my suspicions …
One of the fairways was just over the trees in front of the carts. I know this is true because I walked over there and looked.
Just behind me from where I took this picture, was some sort of game field but I have no idea what kind of game it might be.
Instead of a game thing, it might have just been a design element for the grounds. The area is surrounded with BBQ pits, benches, and small parking spots for the golf carts. Perhaps one of you can provide info on what this is for. My first thought was some form of bocce ball. If I’m right, I’ll be surprised.
The inside of the community center was jammed with tables surrounded by people. All the crafts were made by the people selling the products and there was some really beautiful stuff. There was also some skeptical stuff just to keep things even, I guess.
My favorite was a display of cards and framed watercolor paintings by Lori Nalewicki. On the end of her table was one of a javelina that I recognized. I’d seen the same one at the Saguaro National Park West gift shop. She confirmed that her stuff shows up in a lot of places. Her art is whimsical and just the way I like it.
Diane loves birds and couldn’t leave without getting the one to the right of the donkey.
On the back Lori wrote the name: “Birds, a Bee, and a Melody”. It’s very simple and meaningful. At this time, she has no idea where it’s going to hang. I say that, but I didn’t ask. I’m just guessing.
For some reason she had me take a picture of this. I don’t know what it is, but she liked it. But not for $400.00.
On the way back to town we encountered an opportunity to visit another craft sale. We were in Oro Valley, and this isn’t far from that. When we got to the venues, they were all just packing up to go home but one lady helped Diane get a few Christmas decorations. On the way back to the main road we got a great view of the western edge of the Catalina Mountains. Pretty dramatic.
This is the left edge of the mountains we can see from the RV park. Even though this is called the “foothills”, the elevation is about the same as the Air Force Base we’re living on.
That’s it for today. Now all I have to do is figure out what to eat for dinner. I’m thinking I’ll have another salad because there’s one avocado I need to eat before it turns black.
This day took us to the Desert Skies United Methodist Church, which is far, far away from the location of our currently chosen domicile. Actually, it’s only 12 miles and 23 minutes away. The GPS took us through uncharted territory on the way so that was nice. We’ve been traveling around the area almost daily, so the roads are becoming familiar, so it was nice to go to a place where the roads were not familiar. We’re almost to the point where we could be dropped pretty much anywhere in the town by helicopter, and we could find our way home. That’s just a working theory at this point. We’ll probably never know if it’s really true.
We found the church easily, and we quickly discovered that it’s a large, well-attended church. The first clue was that we parked in one of the first spots we saw when we drove into the parking lot, then had to walk 1/4 mile to the church and the area where the flea market was being held. I didn’t measure it, but we could have parked much nearer to the action if we’d known how to get around in the large parking lot. It’s not one large area, but small pockets of parking spots linked to the main building by a winding lane and paths through a forest of native trees, plants and cacti.
Once we navigated the correct route, we were in the midst of the largest private flea market we’ve ever seen. All of the parking lot near the church proper was covered with very organized tables covered with small items, and segregated areas of appliances, furniture, and anything else too large for a table. It was amazing.
Diane found all kinds of stuff that she wished she could have snapped up for gifts, but our current living conditions aren’t conducive to hoarding so she withheld her desires and kept her wallet in her purse. Most of the time.
The prices were very reasonable, so it was a challenge.
Need cookbooks? They had a bunch of them.
It only took us a couple of hours to look at most of the things on display. Diane found 3 small items that she couldn’t live without, so we paid for them ($7 total) and went looking for the car. That’s not true. We sat Diane down on a handy bench near the front access to the church, then Max and I went looking for the car. I drove it back to pick her up. Then we went looking for lunch.
I found a place named Ziggy’s on Google and the name appealed to me because we once had a little poodle named Ziggy. We had him for 18 years. They had a few tables outside so we could take Max with us. Diane had a patty melt and I had a Ziggy burger. Both came with two 1/4-pound beef patties which is a lot more than we normally eat. Well, more than Diane eats, anyway. She asked for one patty on the side so she could give it to Max for his lunch. I ate both of mine which I’m sure doesn’t surprise many of you who know me. For some odd reason I’m blessed with the ability to eat an enormous amount of food. I may have mentioned this previously. If so, please forgive me for repeating myself.
After lunch we drove randomly for a while just looking at the area and found our way home like magic. It was a good trip and a good day.
Once home I took Max for his normal after lunch walk and he wore himself out, so he took a nap with his lamb.
1015 – My appointment was scheduled for 1100 and I was asked to be there by 1030. That meant we’d have to leave home no later than 1015 to make it on time. We knew that was true because we did a test run yesterday to make sure. As it turned out, timing on Tucson streets in the afternoon are not at all like the reality of Tucson streets in the morning. So, we were between 1-2 minutes late.
The early check in process involved registration into the Houghton Hospital system. My test was ordered by the VA Hospital, but they couldn’t get to it in a reasonable amount of time, so they sent me to a private hospital off the reservation. It was a good decision because Houghton got me an appointment within 3 days.
After checking in with the receptionist, I waited until 1111 before they finally called me into reservation room #2. The registration person told me her name, but I don’t remember it. I do remember that the tech assigned to do the testing was Vanessa. I didn’t get to see her until about 30 minutes after the registration was complete. The delay, I was told, was related some difficulty with surgery. That’s all I know.
Vanessa took me back to her testing room somewhere deep into the innards of the main floor. Once in the room she told me to strip, which I did. All the way down to my belt, as directed. All she needed access to was my chest, where my heart lives. Then I laid down on the table, on my left side with my left arm under the pillow supporting my head. That was comfortable for about 20 seconds before my left arm started making noise in my head about the pain. My left arm and shoulder aren’t my favorite body parts for that reason.
We talked throughout the test that took about 30 minutes. I was surprised I was allowed to speak but she said it was OK. So, I learned that she was an Air Force Brat who grew up in Ohio after her dad left the Air Force. She graduated from Ohio State which was evident because of the red and gray stocking hat she was wearing. Kind of odd for Tucson, I thought, but she looked good in it. She said her boyfriend also graduated from Ohio and said they went to Pittsburgh to see the Ohio vs. Pitt football game recently. It was a “hectic 3 days”, in her words. She’s not a football fan. Being from Oregon, I had to point out that I’m a fan of the Ducks who knocked Ohio out of the #1 spot on the NCAA ratings list. She was OK with that.
Diane, by the way, dropped me at the front door of the hospital then parked in a spot nearby. I knew that because she texted me. She could have come inside but was OK sitting in the car, waiting for me.
When I was done with the test, I was released into the wild without having to gather any papers regarding the service provided. So, I walked out and reconnected with Diane. She was glad to see me even though I had been gone long enough that she didn’t recognize me right away.
She gave me a choice. Home, or Lunch. I voted for lunch. She picked two places near each other about 30 minutes away. Oddly enough, they were close to the VA Hospital. We drove to the first one, parked, and entered expecting a good lunch. But we were totally ignored at the order window, so we left and found #2 about 3 blocks up the street. It was Rollie’s Mexican Food.
At Rollie’s were greeted with open arms and it smelled great. Diane had an order of rolled tacos and I had my routine burrito. Diane loved hers and mine was OK, and it was really big.
We ate it all, then went back to free Max from his jail. He needed a walk.
When we got home, Max was actually up, walking around. That’s rare. He’s usually laying in the driver’s seat so he can look us in the eye without raising his head letting us know he wasn’t happy about being left alone. This time he was showing his happiness about our return. He came all the way down the stairs but didn’t leave the bus. He came back up the stairs with me and stayed really close until I adorned him with his harness and attached the leash. Then he was happy.
We took the promised long walk then returned home so I could rest. It’s been a busy day.
Yes, that’s a real mountain. I looked it up and know it’s true. To prove it, we packed a couple of sandwiches and took a drive in that direction. It’s only about 20 miles away and we can see it from our home in space 261.
That’s it. the one with the snow on it. The news told us that during the rainstorm we had a couple days ago the mountain got 5-8″ of snow. Yup. Right here in Tucson. Well, not in, but nearby.
Diane had the mountain on our list of places to go and today seemed like the one, so we went. On our way out of the back gate, we saw a meeting of the minds warming their tiny little feet on the powerlines.
Since today is Get Out and Vote Day, we thought perhaps they were discussing what life might be like with a new president. Then I saw the lone bird below the others and thought maybe this was choir practice and the loner was the leader. Perhaps he was tutoring the alto/tenor section when we drove by. We didn’t have time to stop and listen because we had a destination.
On the way up the very curvy road, we were fascinated by the rock formations.
As we neared the top, around the 8,000′ level, we encountered snow. We got out to investigate and to see what Max thought about it.
He wasn’t sure about it at first, then he did some zoomies as far as his leash would allow. He had fun and seemed to be fascinated with the white stuff but got over it quickly.
Diane was attempting to get Max still for his photo op.
Just below this area is a village of many cabins and a cabin hotel. The cabins were quite impressive as was the hotel that lined the street.
This next photo is looking out into the valley to where all the Tucsonians live.
Here’s a snap of the information provided for one of the stops. It came out pretty good, showing the very crooked road we took today.
On the way down we ran into a little bit of snow, and I asked Max if he’d like to stop and take a walk. This is what he gave us …
I took that as a “nope”.
When we got back to the saguaro cactus fields, we were amazed at how these guys can grow in such desolate conditions. Pretty amazing.
As soon as we got back to the RV, I took Max for his walk, because he was such a good little guy, and took another photo of the airplanes that live on the other side of the fence from the RV park.
Now it’s time for Max’s evening walk. I’ll see you tomorrow.
When I got up this morning, (0600) it was 46 degrees. It’s not the first time that’s happened since we’ve been here. That puts a different spin on my understanding of what “snowbird” means. The weather people even had long talks about 6-8″ of snow on Mt. Lemmon yesterday. That caused me to do a little research that revealed Mt. Lemmon is only 20 miles from us. It’s even on Diane’s hit list of places to visit. I think she changed her mind yesterday.
This isn’t the Arizona we heard about while shivering next to the fireplace in Oregon at this time of year. Instead, here we sit in the middle of a valley where the sun shines 300 days of the year shivering in our booties. There’s hope for a change in the weather, though, because looking out the window I see that all the clouds are gone, and the sun is shining brightly. When Max wakes up, we’re going to go stand in it.
IN all fairness, Mr. Lemmon is 9,159 feet high, and they have a ski resort up there. So, I suspect they expect the snow. I just wish they’d let me know so I could have packed a few parkas.
It’s 0707 now and I’ve managed to make enough noise to wake Diane which was a good thing. She knows where the electric heaters are. I looked but didn’t want to make too much noise which turns out to be a waste of time. She knew what I was doing. Now we have a little electric fireplace up and running and it’s getting warm inside. I may survive.
I had to drag Max off the bed, away from his cozy spot. The heaters were under the bed so it was necessary that he get up. Now he’s making his alternate cozy spot on his fuzzy pillow in the driver’s chair while he waits for me to finish breakfast. I envy his ability to go for many hours without having to urinate. I think 2 hours is my limit. He can last for 8.
Here’s something you may like. It’s a 46+ minute video taken by someone who took the Bus Tour Through the Bone Yard in 2016. Sadly, they don’t do this any more.
After the day warmed up, we cleaned our house. All the windows were opened, we vacuumed, and scrubbed carpets. The results are very satisfying. We figure we should probably do this at least once a month. We’ll see how that works out.
I have no photos taken today so I’ll share an old one with you as I depart.
After breakfast Diane drove us back to the Last Outpost in Old Tucson to swap the shirt I mentioned yesterday. While she bartered with the store manager, Max and I wandered around the parking lot. The last time we were here I found a crisp $5 bill just lying there on the ground. That’s almost as good as finding a heads-up penny. We didn’t find any more during our walk. We were about halfway across the parking lot when Diane came out of the store. Since we were the only ones in the parking lot, I turned Max loose and told him to go get Mom.
He took off like the wind and got to her just in time for Diane to open the car door. He didn’t hesitate about jumping in. There was no way he was going to be left behind. That, and he loves to ride in the car.
Next, we drove to Mission San Xavier to get a refrigerator magnet, something we forgot to do during our last visit. I walked around the mountain adjacent to the mission while Diane bought me a tiny saguaro cactus. We hope it grows from its tiny state to a magnificent remembrance of this area.
Max and I climbed the hill adjacent to the Mission proper. It’s not very tall but gives one a nice view of the valley in all directions. This was the best view. The mission is like a massive jewel in the wilderness.
Looking the other way, you can see the “mountain” Max and I climbed.
Diane needs to print the AAA Trip Tiks she’s working on for our return trip to civilization, so we decided to get a small printer so she can study the routes. The first likely place to get one was the Base Exchange (BX). So, that’s where we went first. They had slim pickings and didn’t have the one I thought would be best. So, we drove to Costco and found just the right one.
I’m so happy Diane likes doing that because I’m much better at traveling as a silent observer instead of all that front end stuff necessary to make the trip pleasant. She’s a stellar planner and makes the trip easy on me since I’m the bus driver. We no longer feel the need to get from Point A to Point B the quickest way possible. Now we go from Point A to Point Z and visit all the places in between. It’s much more relaxing.
After Costco, we drove home in time for supper. Max didn’t care that he’d been home alone after lunch. He spied on our neighbors and ran to them and was rewarded with treats. Those are way better than supper. Our neighbors are Patricia and Laurie, Mother and Daughter. They dressed up for Halloween.
Awesome neighbors and they love Max, too.
We watched a little Dish TV then streamed “White Collar” on Netflix, but it wasn’t buffering well. Lots of pauses at night so we discussed, again, getting our own hotspot. I know I can get one from Verizon, but I’d like to do it through AT&T since we already have service with them. Should get a break because of that. Perhaps you remember I tried doing that in California, but it didn’t work out. I’m going to try again. I’m sure you will be holding your breath waiting for the results so I’ll report back as quickly as I can.
Guess what! As you may have guessed, Saguaro NP West looks a lot like Saguaro NP East. So, they are essentially the same but different. The West version seems to have way more saguaro cacti sprouting on it’s portion of the Sonoran Desert. I think that’s true. Yeah, pretty sure. If someone determines that I’m wrong, I’ll deny it. I can do that because I’ve decided to be a politician in the near future, and it seems to be OK if they are not completely accurate when they speak.
We drove through entire forests of incredible saguaros on the way to our destination, but we stopped by Old Tucson first, which is a few miles before the park. Turns out that Old Tucson was closed, except for the Last Outpost. So, while I walked Max around the enormous, empty, parking lot, Diane bought us each T-shirts to commemorate the event. Later, when we got home, Diane discovered that she got an XL for me. She meant to get an M, but the XL was on the hangar. So, we need to go back tomorrow to trade the XL for an M.
From the trinket store we drove straight to the park without mishap. The park visitor’s center is surrounded by millions of saguaros, so it was a good place to put this national park. The variety of shapes is amazing, and they are all unique.
Even Max was interested.
There are many hiking trails throughout the park but those are not for us. We limit our walking from the car to a bathroom and perhaps a gift shop. The exception on this trip was our stop at the Desert Museum.
Museums interest us and we try to visit them when we can, so we stopped at this one. Diane didn’t want to go in so she found a parking spot in the shade, which was amazing, where she and Max could wait for my return.
I went to the entry to see what it was all about and found these brass figures of javelinas.
They stand mostly in the sun all day long so that pink piece of paper you can see on the big one is a warning that says “HOT”. I wanted to make sure that was true, so I touched it. It was.
Then I got to the entrance and saw this sign:
That’s when I turned and went back to the car. Diane and Max were surprised to see me so soon but understood when I explained that there’s no way I was paying $29.95 to enter a museum that was going to close in about 30 minutes. I wouldn’t pay it even if it was going to be open for the next 30 hours. They were on my side. So, we left.
As Diane was pulling out of the parking lot I spied this beauty and convinced her to stop and let me out for a few seconds. We had seen pictures of this kind of saguaro but could not see any in all the fields we viewed. Then there was this one right in plain view.
You have to admit that this is a very stunning cactus. Now one I talked with could explain to me what causes some of them to grow like this. That’s OK. I can live with the mystery. Our stop here was amazing even though neither of us went into the museum.
Then we went home. That’s part of Tucson in the distance.
Temporary Sanity ... 