Desert Touring (Benson, AZ)

Still catching up on our Tourist Moments....  Before we left Benson, we visited the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.  Big mistake!  Between Spring Break and warm weather, not to mention, a Friday, the place was hopping....and they don't even have a single bunny or jackalope.  Even some of the employees commented this had been their busiest day in quite awhile.

Since we were already there, we decided we might as well brave the crowds and enjoy ourselves.  The highlight of our visit was the Hummingbird Aviary.  Hummingbirds were buzzing all around us.  Adults and children were quietly walking around in awe of the little guys.

very neat looking nest

It was so cool to have several different hummingbirds buzz our heads and go between people.  Sometimes pausing between people as if to say "funny, this wall wasn't here before".

Costa's Hummingbird

There was another bird aviary with a lot of doves and a few different birds, but it did not compare to the Hummingbird Aviary.

Am I feeling blue?

We checked out the Cat Canyon with Bobcats, Mountain Lion, and Ocelot.  Of course, on a hot afternoon,  they were not moving around too much.  The Mountain Lion was belly up in a deep sleep next to the window while the bobcats were bathing themselves in the shade.  At least, we got to see them.

Peek-a-boo

We did not stick around for the Raptor Free Flight since we figured we would not get a good spot for viewing on such a busy day.

Kestral

I was framed!  I'm breaking out!

After spending a winter with 320 acres filled with wildlife, the Desert Museum did not seem all that appealing to us.  The best part of walking in the woods was the anticipation of meeting something along the way and if it was a bird or an animal we had not seen before....well, that was just an extra bonus for us.

Saguaro National Park

The Saguaro National Park is actually located in two areas.  One is on the west side of Tucson near the Desert Museum and the other is on the east side of Tucson near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.  We have visited both now and we agree the east side was a lot nicer, but the west side had wonderful vista views of the valley below with Saguaro cactus stretching out for miles in of us.

Okay, caught up on Benson.  Yea!

On the Cutting Board

I finished the last two rabbit mug rugs and they are now listed on Etsy.

I'm giving my fingers a little rest from working the needle through layers of Steam-A-Seam2 adhesive, so I thought I would practice some different embroidery stitches on the Snowman collection.

 And practice my applique techniques on an Art Nouveau wall hanging.

I'll start working on the Uncle Sam mug rugs soon.  Got to get them done before the 4th of July!