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Arizona View
One of the views from Sabino Canyon March 2—March came in like a lamb with beautiful weather. I had today off, so we drove to Tucson to Sabino Canyon. The Canyon is a state park at the foot of Mt. Lemmon. It has all kinds of flora and fauna in it and due to it's three mile length, is very popular with hikers and bikers. As we got into the park and were buying our trolley tickets, we saw one of the park rangers offering food to a pair of gorgeous cardinals. They would come and eat out of his hand. Unfortunately, I missed getting a picture of that, but did get one of the birds in the cactus.
We rode the trolley up the mountain to the last stop where I decided to walk back down. I haven't been getting much exercise lately and it seemed to be the best way to get some good pictures. The Sabino River runs along side the trolley road and often crossed it. Yes, I mean literally crosses it. Because it is early spring, the run-off from the mountains makes it high and it floods the road in several places. I had to take off my sandals and wade through
Mr. and Mrs Cardinals
These cardinals would eat out of the ranger's hand and stayed around the park office. it. In a couple of places it was very swift and I found it hard to keep my balance. It was fun, though. Joy and Dan couldn't believe I walked the whole three miles back!
I think Sabino Canyon has almost as many saguaro as the national park! They seem to literally grow out of the rocks in some places. Others grow near the river. I found it odd to see cactus growing near water. It seems like an oxymoron to me. There are also cottonwood trees and some birch. All were leafless this time of year. The canyon is really beautiful and is a great place to hike, sight-see or picnic.
March 4—We went with a group from the RV park to have lunch at the Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa. I had called Bruce, my friend in Mesa that I stayed with last year when I broke my elbow, but he wasn't able to meet us there. This pizza place is something else. It has a huge organ that comes up out of the floor! The organist plays a concert while everyone eats pizza. He can play just about anything and takes requests. The picture I've
Barrel Cactus
One of the many varieties of cactus. The spines are red when they are new. included is off a postcard. I didn't think they would let me take pictures, so I didn't take my camera! My mistake! Anyway, the organ is a Wurlitzer and one of the largest in the world. It is finished with ebony and real gold leaf. It has 276 keys, 975 controls and almost 6000 pipes, only some of which you can see in the picture. The concert was outstanding and the pizza wasn't bad either!
After the lunch, we drove to Larry's house, so Joy and Dan could meet him. I had called earlier and made arrangements. If you remember from last year, Larry is Arnie's nephew with whom I stayed for awhile. He is doing fine and had a big date this evening, so we just chatted awhile and left him to finish getting ready.
Cali—Mommy brought a big box home from work and set it up under the back window. Now I can lay on it and really watch the action in the back. I also like to play hide and seek with it. I can turn it over and get under it and Mommy can't find me, hee-hee. I also like to chew on it. Flooded Road
Wading the Sabino River going across the road. Cardboard tastes pretty good! Anyway, I like my box. Mommy is pretty good to me, even if she won't let me go outside anymore Note: I did try to take her outside with harness and leash and she ran away from me, hiding in the cactus!)
March 9-11—We traveled to Yuma to participate in an RV rally. Joy said she'd never been to one and of course, neither have I, so off we went. While driving on I-8, Dan told us that in one spot the east-bound traffic road goes in under the west-bound traffic road. In other words, the interstate crosses itself. This is pretty rare and I thought the fact and seeing it was pretty interesting.
The rally was put on by the editor and owner of The Gypsy Journal, a newspaper for Rvers. They guy who does all this writes a couple of blogs and articles for his newspaper. He used to be a reporter and newspaper editor and is an excellent writer and speaker. We shopped the vendors, attended some of the training sessions and met a lot of people! It was held across the road from an airbase and we saw (and heard)
some pretty sophisticated planes and helicopters. My brother-in-law, Dan, who know his planes, says that these were F-15 Tomcats. They were so loud coming over the rally area, the speakers had to wait until they were past. They are not only loud, but fast. They can land vertically which is very unusual. The helicopter in the picture is an Osprey. Those are made by Bell Helicopters in Arlington, TX.
When not at the rally, we did some sightseeing around Yuma. I've often read about the Yuma Territorial Prison (both in fiction and non-fiction books). It has quite a history in the Old West. Arizona made the prison and area around it a state park some time ago. Now with budget crises in the state they have threatened to close several parks, the prison being one of them. The citizens of the area were holding a big fund-raising event there in order to save it, so we couldn't get in. I just took some pictures outside, one photo of a costumed person. We heard later on the news that they had raised enough to keep it open. Good job, Yuma!!!
March 27—We learned just in time that the poppies
Organ Stop Pizza
Picture on a postcard of the organ with all its pipes, percussions etc. Be sure to click on the picture to get a larger view. were blooming at Picacho Peak. This is something that people come from all over to see. Of course, we went zooming back to the park again and got to see the poppies. They were not quite as abundant as some past years, but still beautiful. Picacho was another state park scheduled to close, but action from the locals got it taken off the to-be-closed list. I'm glad, because it really is a lovely park, especially with the different flowers that bloom.
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Unbelievable pictures you have there.
You walked the three miles back? You put me to shame! Organ Stop Pizza is now on my must list. If I ever get near that place, you can be sure I'll check it out. That picture is amazing. All the pictures you included at the end are simply stunning. They are wonderful.