Less than five weeks to go

It's hard to realize that we'll be leaving this 80 degree desert in five weeks.  Some snowbirds stay for one month, some two, and we enjoy three months here.  The only thing we really can't do here is take strolls in the evening because it gets dark by 6:30.  And I mean dark!  There are no street lights where we live and if you don't know where you're going, you'll never find it.  So evenings we are a bit housebound.

                        

                     

Some views of the beloved Saguaros while on a hike deep in Catalina State Park.  I know the men on the hike were hoping to see a rattlesnake, but I was not.  Now that it's 80 degrees, and warmer, this is the time to watch out for rattlers!

Last Round of Company

Yesterday was a crazy, whirlwind day of visiting Sedona, the Grand Canyon, and Montezuma's Castle and home by 9:30 pm.  And somewhere along the way a huge nail/bolt got imbedded in my tire.  Luckily we didn't even notice until the next day and we were able to get home safely.

The Grand Canyon was extremely windy and cool.  Cloudiness prevented a full view of fantastic color, but it was still spectacular.  Sedona was equally gorgeous.

Approaching the Devil's Bridge in Sedona.

Montezuma's Castle.

My best photo of a Jackrabbit yet!  We were able to show our guests this really unique animal and he was nice enough to pose for us for quite a while.

Next Round of Company

We've been spending the last few days with our California friends relaxing and doing some hiking.  Yesterday we explored the Chiricahua National Monument which is about 140 miles from our house, in the southeast corner of AZ.

All these neat formations were made millions of years ago due to a volcanic eruption and the ash.  On the Echo Canyon Park trail we were able to get quite close to these fellows.

This was a great 6 mile hike because there were lots of pine trees and shade and it was not too hot at all.  Probably 10 degrees cooler than in Tucson.  We also drove to the Cochise Stronghold, but it turned out just to be a sign in the road.  Nothing worth photographing.

Ventana Canyon Hike

Whew, this was a thigh burner!  It was only six miles, round trip, but there was a lot of elevation gain.  This is a beautiful hike and our reward were the Maiden Pools stopping point for lunch.  The water was ice cold which felt great since our temps are now, unseasonably, in the low 80s.  Really too hot for much hiking.

View overlooking Tucson.

Nighttime Activities

                       

The Cinema Club here hosts movies every Tuesday in the DesertView theater.  This was our first time going to a movie here and it turned out to be quite fun.  We saw The Martian and loved it.  But you have to realize, this being a place for predominantly people over 75, we were just watching a DVD projected on the fairly large screen.  And the english subtitles were on for the english speaking movie.  Hearing problems, I imagine.  Still, a fun night.

                           

The monthly Bingo night.  This time we had 238 players, so you can imagine that my hopes of winning were low.  By the time we are on the 11th, and last, game my eyes start getting buggy.  One of our friends who sat with us did win the Blackout - $150.  We have one more chance which will be next month's night.

Typical Crazy Things You Do in AZ

Put your arms in the wings of a vulture and wear a vulture head at the Desert Museum.

Pose next to cactus.

Pose next to more cactus.

Desert Museum Animals

Great day for photographing the animals at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum.  Still one of our favorite places to visit, though it's just over an hour's drive from our house.

Great Horned Owl.  Always a favorite.

Hummingbird in the hummingbird aviary.  So cute!

Masses of frogs.

Cactus Wren, the state bird.

Holly and Dave at the museum.

Our Second Guest of the Season

Dave's sister arrived on Wednesday and flew into Tucson International.  What I love about this airport is that while you are waiting to pick up people you can watch them walk down the hallway without them knowing it.  There is a TV screen so you can see who is about to walk into the waiting area.  I don't really understand the purpose of this, but it's fun for me.

Then we whisked Holly off to see the Asarco Copper Mine for a tour.  Quite interesting and it was a nice bus ride that got us up close and personal to the workings of this mine.  My favorite part were the grounds where there were zillions of these rodents running around.  Ground squirrel? Small Prairie Dog?  We don't know.

Pottery is taking over

This is only about 1/3 of the batch of pieces that I got out of the kiln today.  Now the arduous task of glazing each one will take me a few weeks.  There is going to be a craft sale on March 12 and I am working towards having enough good pieces to have a booth.  Dave said he will help be a salesman at the event.

Today there was a Club and Activities Fair to lure new members to join.  I helped out at the Hiking Club table and met quite a few new people - some even from Oregon.  It's interesting when fairly old, shakey looking people inquire about the hikes.  I probably shouldn't, but I immediately tell them about the easy "D" level hikes.  Looks can be deceiving around here.

                          

My favorite club was the English Country Dancers.  Here are their members at their table enticing people to join.  I guess wearing those hats is the big draw.