The AMAZING Desert Museum - Tucson's BEST attraction

We heard the Desert Museum is the best in the west, which makes you curious; but experiencing it makes you want to bring the world here... especially kids!  Clearly any child would learn beyond measure, without even knowing it amidst their fun.  It's a huge adventure with garden after garden, a zoo with natural habitats, and many inviting interactive exhibits.  You can dig for fossils, go underground to see how critters live there, or go underwater to visit beaver, otters and fish. 

I couldn't get myself out of the Earth Science section, with minerals that had me drooling and mystified by their local history. It's the first time I saw big chunks of minerals displayed as they might have looked when discovered in the country rock.  Pictured are Wulfenite and Mimetite (the yellow crystals) and Vanadanite (reddish).

The blue of course is Malachite (found near Bisbee, Arizona).  The Vanadinite was found in the  Superstition Mountains.  It's part of one of the finest collections of regional minerals and gemstones found anywhere!  But the limestone cave trumped them all with its running water, pools full of crayfish, and inviting exhibits that explain the formation of caves and the earth itself.  They made the speleothems out of a foam base, and then carved and painted it.  Most people think they are in a real cave with real decorations when they enter.  Fun.

I was excited to see how many of the cacti I could now name in the cactus garden (after my fine walk with Ed the Naturalist).  I was just admiring the displays when sure enough... despite my precautions, a cactus got me again!  By now I had even more tricks for dealing with the pointy hitchhikers (click here).  People who harvest cacti or hike around cactus plants are bound to get stung from time to time, but I still felt pricked on.

It was time to look at safer exhibits, like the giant ram that kept eyeing me.

The exhibits re-create the natural landscape of the Sonoran Desert Region so realistically you find yourself eye-to-eye with mountain lions, prairie dogs, Gila monsters, and rattle snakes. Within the Museum grounds, you get to see more than 300 animal species and 1,200 kinds of plants. There are almost 2 miles of paths traversing 21 acres of beautifully alive desert.  I lost Bob in the maze.  Maybe the mountain lions got him!  The video clip shows just how vicious this pair of cougars could be.

My guess is this is a Guilded Flicker, or maybe the state bird...a cactus wren...not a woodpecker.  But then the only bird I actually know is the robin.  I need more lessons from Naturalist Ed.

If you visit this fine museum give yourself some hours to take it in and you'll be rewarded with some insight into the abundant, complex, and varied life in the area.  A careful exploration helps put this special and rich environment in a much better context... beyond consumption tourism. Photo ops are tremendous.

Read more: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/Arizona/Tucson-750502/Things_To_Do-Tucson-Arizona_Sonora_Desert_Museum-BR-1.html#ixzz1kR8oxTL6

HAM Radio - Necessity or just another Toy?

What do you do when you lose your job?  Why take a week off and spend it at exotically exciting Oscar Scherer State Park.  Bob takes a break from the job hunt and relaxes with his YASU-FT-817 Ultra Compact Transceiver that transmits from 70 cm to 160 meters in wave length.  It covers 95% of the ham radio bands.  The little red box in the clip is a linear amplifier.  It takes the 5 watts from the radio and increases the power of the radio to 300 watts.  After using it for about a half hour Bob talked with Belgium, the UK, Maine and Texas on a little, tiny antenna....all from our camp site among the palms.  What an exciting hobby!   And if there's ever an emergency and all phones are out, Bob can still communicate with his radio.  What a useful hobby!

I have other things to do...like riding the Legacy Bike Trail from one end to the other, making sure I said "Hi" to everyone I met...including a Florida Panther!  At the end of this post is a little movie that has a map of the trail.  The north end of the trail is little used...except for "highwaymen"... or cougars or mountain lions, as we call them out west.  He slunk across the trail without even a glance in my direction.  This is a great ride for seeing wildlife.  We also spent a bit of time investigating Osprey Lake for fish.   It was loaded with fish!.... fingerlings.

Oh, and of course we made the obligatory request for a camphost position.  This campground has more hosts per square foot than any park we've visited.  We found you have to work yourself in as a host at least a year in advance.

 

There were 4 hosts in a row in this section!  Pat and Tony are from Canada, near Ottawa, and got a camp hosting job much like we did.  They were at Bahia Honda when a couple couldn't get down to The Keys to host.  Pat had already been networking, so a volunteer coordinator recommended her.  Now she enjoys Oscar Scherer and The Keys while ignoring Canadian winters.