Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

---

On September 23rd Kim and I took a nice side trip to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. There are wonderful exhibits explaining the plants, animals and geology of Arizona and the Sonora Desert. The museum is located in the mountains on the west side of Tucson. We drove through Saguaro National Park on the way....what breathtaking scenery. The back roads were very challenging to drive....curvy, swervy, and narrow. And did I mention NO guard rails? YIKES!

Even though this is called a Museum....that's a little misleading. It's an outside 'living' museum with live animal exhibits in their natural habitat, hiking trails with cactus gardens....not very much of it is inside. We saw everything from hummingbirds to big horn sheep. We hiked around about 80% of the entire park which is pretty impressive in 100 degree heat with direct sunlight. (I have the sunburn to prove this!) LOL.

So we REALLY looked like tourists today....cameras out and snapping at every turn. Each exhibit and each view seemed to outdo the last. The natural beauty of Arizona cannot be explained really....you have to experience it for yourself to truly understand. Kim and I tried our best to take photos that give you a taste of what we saw...but feel we were inadequate compared to actually being there. Enjoy our photos....words alone cannot convey what we saw.

---

Photos

View from Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
Kim took this photo of the mountains in the distance. Notice the hiking trails in the foreground. The farthest mountain range visible is actually in Mexico....about 60 miles away.

Inside Limestone Cave
Kim took this photo in a limestone cave exhibit at the museum.

Relaxed Squirrel
This little guy was layed out in the middle of the hiking path having a mid-morning snack. He hardly paid us any attention.

Cactus with a surprise
Kim took this picture of the cactus and when we looked at the picture later noticed a butterfly had wandered through just at the right moment.

Hummingbird Close Up
I was lucky enough to sneak up on this little guy. He was kind enough to pose for me.

Cactus Flower Close Up
Extreme close up of a cactus flower.

Saguaros and Mountain
Yet another view of mountains and saguaros.

You Don't See This Everyday
Kim and I couldn't help but chuckle at this sign. We are a loooonnnng way from Indiana. :)

Saguaro National Park
Saguaro National Park on the way home from Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

Comments

[Darlene Z]

wow
hey guys looks like you are having a fine trip. AZ looks wonderful.