http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from North America , United States , Arizona , Tucson en-us Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:15:44 +0000 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:15:44 +0000 In what has become a bit of a tradition with us Melisse and I are once again spending the holidays with our good friends Kay and Gary at their beautiful home in the Sonoran Desert outside Tucson Arizona. Melisse and Kay have a close friendship dating back to when they both worked at Chase Studio in southern Missouri. Kay has since started her own studio with her husband Gary. So once again frie http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-463573.html What a fun day After leaving the ghostly city of Lordsburg we drove a little bit 'till kartchner Caverns State Park httpazstateparks.comParksKACA and we went to see inside the caverns stalactites stalagmites soda straw etc etc... very nice. There were 3 caves inside the cavern and each one has different shapes and colors. Very warm and humid. All those cones were amazing. The kids lo http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-462218.html Monday we drove over to Bryce canyon. Itrsquos was a good 2 hrs from Cedar city mind you we took the scenic route. Found a little Indian shop on the way into the Park bought some cool ornaments. Once at the visitor centre we watched the movie bought some postcards and had lunch. As we have missed the peak season by a week the shuttle service has now stopped. So we got to do a self guided t http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-448481.html The winter in Mexico is in the final stages before departure. Right now we are in Tucson Arizona. The weather is perfect. Hot during the day and cools right off at night. We arrived home from Mexico last Spring April 9th. I almost immediately went back to work and Larry proceeded to get himself healthy. He arrived home from Mexico very short of breath. Left it for a while but finally went http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-447989.html Set of at 600 for the 450 miles drive across the desert to Tucson in an attempt to get some of the journey completed in cool conditions. This also meant we got to see Marble Canyon and Vermilion Cliffs changing colour as the sun rose. Luckily by midday when the temperatures were up in the 40s we had made it into the mountains and pine forests where it was slightly cooler. After lunch in a l http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-446785.html We are now in delightful Tucson having a few days break whilst Namibia our trusty BMW has some TLC including a big service and new tires after bringing us 10000 kilometers. From Glacier National Park Montana via going to the sun road then Yellowstone Grand Teton and the magnificent bear tooth highway in Wyoming we continued south through Logan Pass into Salt Lake City. We then did the b http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-444107.html Not a lot to report today. I woke up had a snack two cups of coffee a shower and got on the bike.... I stopped in New Mexico to visit a friend and then wound up in Tucson as night fell... I was in the groove and could have ridden longer. As it was I logged 775 miles today.I am glad I stopped. I explored Tucson as I lived here in ...1976... the apt is now a parking garage and no body lI know lives http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-436675.html Home sweet home. God I hate that saying. But it is. Yes I live here in case you didn't get the amazingly subtle hints. Where to start. Well as far as attractions and sight seeing you should head to A Mountain and the Desert Museum. A Mountain is an U of A tradition. It's cool to see. The Desert Museum is for animal lovers and people who want to see animals they don't often see. It's like your http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-434998.html Greetings guns 'n ammo fansWe started our journey through the US with the antics of the Alaskan Machine Gun Association so it seems fitting that we should leave the place with one final display of the instrumentation of mayhem and death courtesy of 'The Boneyard' or the Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Group AMARG as it is properly known.Located in Tucson's South East quarter this is a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-431947.html So out from Cody and the Rodeo and a dry day to Vernal. More stunning scenary that changes frequently with tiered rock outcrops all at thirty degrees to the horizon looking like huge slices of cake lakes and resevoirs canyons and gorges of terracotta rock. Vernal is another one horse town but the local council obviously decided to spend the entire budget on flowers. A properly hot 38.5 http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-431140.html Nothing serious though. Just a 10 mph job in some deep sand. Most importantly the bike was unmarked. That's the good thing about sand it doesn't ruin the bike. But if there hadn't been any sand we wouldn't have fallen off. There's a philosophical conundrum in there somewhere.We were on a dirt road through Monument Valley having spent a couple of absolutely superb days crisscrossing the a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-430310.html Someone not to forget http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-429740.html This is it One week and off to Italy for the next three months I am so excited I can hardly stand it but I know my short time left preparing will pass too quickly. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-429315.html Imagine going to visit your son or daughter while they are attending college at the University of Arizona you could be spending nights in history Relax at an inn that is in the middle of all the history surrounding Tucson Arizona and that offers a history lesson within its own walls. You can enjoy a learning experience yourself while paying for your son or daughterrsquos education. Tucson http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-427590.html European Tour 2009 August 13 We arrive at Frankfurt airport. Travel to Asbach. Unpack and repack for our first road trip. Leave for Rodagau Germany for pow wow August 1416. We'll participate in the pow wow and promote our trading post Sacred Grounds Trading Post the only nativeowned authentic trading post in Tucson. Can I blatantly selfpromote commerce on a blog in the hopes that a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-422727.html I'm a virgin blogger...hoping to create an interesting chronicle of our second European Tour. These tours enable me to have a different view of the world than the typical touristadventurer which I've been several times in my life. Together with my husband we will be traveling to pow wows throughout Germany ... and even to Greece. Europe has a subculture of Native American pow wow enthusiasts http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-422386.html In the springtime the desert comes to life Surprisingly many animals and plants hibernate throughout the winter even here in the Sonoran Desert. It seems as though one day the ground is brown and barren and the next day the cacti are in full brightly vivid bloom and the earth is teeming with life. A boring drive down the streets turns into a thrill as you oooh and aaaaah at the splashes of co http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-421525.html Ken got up around 630 and went down to the lobby to get some coffee. He said it tasted dreadful. We have an expresso machine in our RV so we are spoiled with good coffee. If it isnrsquot good wersquod rather not have any. He went out to the RV to see if the freezer was still cold. The bag of ice we had in there had just started to melt. The chicken was still frozen. The items in the refrige http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-420067.html We should be leaving in about an hour.....just need to finish my coffee take a shower. I really enjoy taking my time in the morning when I don't have to go to work. Our drive to Cottonwood should only take about 3 hours so we don't need to rush. It's supposed to be 110 in Tucson this weekend...it should be a little cooler up north..hopefully http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-416462.html Ken and I are leaving on an 11 day RV trip Wednesday July 8th. I will be blogging as much of the trip as possible. We will be going to the following places Cottonwood AZ near Sedona the North Rim of the Grand Canyon Lake Powell Durango Colorado then heading home. It's our longest trip in the RV and hope you enjoy our adventures. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-414833.html