Nature calls.....

Tucson,  AZ

Friday was a beautiful day - high 60's.    Leonard and I, along with two other NOMADS couples, decided this would be a good day to see the Tucson Botanical Gardens.   

The garden sits on 5 1/2 acres in the heart of Tucson.  It was originally the home of Bernice and Rutger Porter, dating to the 1920's.  They built their home from adobe bricks made on the property.

Paul and Mary Lou Stark from NY
Jim and Janet Fagerland from ND
and Leonard and Phyllis

An attraction of the garden is the Tropical Greenhouse.  From October to April it is filled with tropical butterflies.   When you enter you go through two doors separated by a small room so that none can escape.  When you exit you are checked over by an attendant and also exit through two doors.

One butterfly, a Blue Morpho from Central America, landed on Janet's neck.  We were afraid to touch it so called an attendant.  The poor thing had it's foot caught in her jacket.

We all went to Chilli's for lunch.    Len and I then drove back up into the mountains to the west Saguaro National Park. 

It was Len's 62nd birthday so he was eligible to get his National Golden Age Park Pass.  To get that pass you must shown identification and pay the $10 fee.  This pass gives you admittance to Federal Recreation Lands that include U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Reclamation.   The pass is a lifetime pass.   All persons in your car are included in the free admittance.   Quite a deal!  We got his pass at the Visitor Center. (I've had mine for years, won't say how many).

Still up in the mountains and not far from the National Park is the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.  We wish we had gotten there earlier as we got there a  little after 3 and it closes at 5.  It is well worth the $14.50 per person admission.

Most of the museum is outside.  Can not imagine walking it when the temps hit 90's and above.  There are also inside displays of reptiles, fish, gems, hummingbirds.

The deer, wolf and javalina were in the park roaming freely in large fenced areas.  This woodpecker was busy trying to pull something from the ground.  I got up really close to him before he flew off.

Outside is a Desert Loop Trail a 1/2 mile walk with views of the surrounding valleys. a cactus garden, a Riparian corridor, a desert garden, pollination garden and various other interesting attractions.

What a great day except for the scary moments for me.   We took a route up into the mountains that cautioned narrow, winding road.   EEK!   It was not only narrow and winding but steep and sometimes close to the sides which were REALLY steep down.