Desert Adventures!

This weekend we visited the Sonoran Desert Museum. It's kind of a zoo and a botanical garden and a museum rolled into one. There were native desert animals in habitats, but you might run into wild life just out and about because, well, you are in the middle of the Sonoran Desert.

We started seeing wild animals right away! Actually, we started observing these critters before we even left our apartment. Look what we found right next to our apartment building:

Don't worry. We were about to climb in the car and drive off if it became hostile.

We have more unusual neighbors than we originally thought. Let's add Mr. Javalina to the list that includes dozens of hares and a pack of coyotes that howl in the middle of the night.

Here are some of the fun exhibits we saw:

A fox in her hidey-hole. And me.

Lee and the Black Bear.

Can you spot the coolest snake you've ever seen? He's camouflaged pretty well!

There was a lovely humming bird habitat. From certain angles his neck looks red, other angles it looks black.

Taking a rest on a giant tortoise.

It was much easier to climb in these shell things as a child...

The Aviary had some very friendly birds!

This little guy let us get really close.

A huge falcon we got to "interact" with.

Lee, a docent, and an American Kestrel (sparrow hawk)

No glass betwixt me and this diamond back! I am told we were "out of striking distance" though.

We'll take you exploring this fun little spot if you come visit us! You might even get to see some of these fantastic specimens running about on their own. I'm hoping I don't run into Mr. 3 foot Diamond Back any where but the Sonoran Desert Museum.

Disney Animals

Disney princesses get a lot of credit for their inexplicable ability to communicate with forest critters and vermin. Snow White won over birds, deer, tortoises, and squirrels with her squirrely little voice; Sleeping Beauty charmed whole flocks, even got an owl to dance with her; Cinderella had a bunch of rats...mice...probably lice as well. But, with the exception of Jasmine, the critters that befriend the heroine are lame sauce compared to the villain's animal sidekicks.

Iago the parrot can talk, to impressions, and make jokes. Maleficent's raven is crafty enough to find Sleeping Beauty when hordes of monsters and magic fail. I'd take that raven over all those chirping nitwits any day!

Ariel had a chubby flounder fish, Ursula got two creep-tacular eels. Flotsam and Jetsam could eat Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle for breakfast!

Though, honestly, the villains of The Rescuers films have the most awesome evil sidekicks. Madame Medusa has TWO GARGANTUAN ALLIGATORS. Alligators that do her bidding. I cannot even fathom that level of awesome!

However cool the alligators are, the poacher from Rescuers Down Under has the most hilariously crafty and disloyal monitor lizard in the universe. I would become a Disney villain if it meant I could hang out with Joanna the Goanna. She is the best animal character ever created.

Arizonian Labor Day

We spent our Labor Day at The Kitt Peak National Observatory. I don't know if you know this, but Astronomy is kind of a big deal down here. Tucson has city ordinances to limit light pollution, there aren't really street lights...yeah. Kitt Peak is a bit of a drive west of Tucson, but it was worth it to be at a high enough elevation to be out of the heat. Only 70 degrees! The National Observatory is a couple dozen large telescopes on a mountain top on a reservation. Apparently the local tribe was persuaded that the best way to honor the heavens was to built an observatory on their sacred tribal land. We got a guided tour of the solar telescope, and we walked ourselves around the 4 meter telescope, the largest on on the mountain. We enjoyed the scenery and the visitors center. Sadly, it was cloudy so none of the telescopes were being used. It would have been fun to see astronomers in their natural habitat! We took a few snapshots, ate all the snacks out of our cooler bag, and headed home. Nice way to spend a morning/afternoon.

You can see several domes in the distance, each one an enormous telescope.

Lee and the largest telescope. The 4 meter measurement refers to the size of the lens in the dome.

An awesome view of the "Belly Button of the World."

The solar telescope. That angled ramp is only the top half of the shaft, it's mostly underground. It has a big track in it so the lens can be adjusted. It looks like the beginning of the worlds largest, scariest roller coaster. For giants.

Sorry, no profile shots. I'll let you guess how grossly huge this growth on my abdomen has become. Suffice it to say, bending over is the worst and I'm really starting to waddle now.