White Dove of the Desert (Benson, AZ)

We spent one fine day driving south of Tucson on Hwy. 19.

I have been wanting to see the "White Dove of the Desert" - the Mission San Xavier del Bac.

A National Historic Landmark founded in 1692 by Father Eusebio Kino.  The Catholic church we visit today was finished in 1797.  I can see this place has been lovingly maintained.

I found this door handle on the outside was made into a snake very interesting.  The handle inside this door was even more interesting with a snake and a mouse.  I tried to get a photo, but it was too dark.

The church still holds mass and ministers to the local parishioners.  I love the scalloped backings on the pews/benches.  They show wear from years of people's hands sliding across them.

I love the shape and murals of this ceiling.

The building is the oldest intact European structure in Arizona.

Inside we can view the original statuary and mural paintings.  Absolutely gorgeous work  There's so much detail it would take me several days just to view all the artwork.

Outside the church, there were a few vendors selling food.  It has been a long time since we have had a good Indian Taco.

This is just as good as it looks with fresh veggies, green chili and beans....yum!  The bread was crispy but not filled with oil.

There were several friendly dogs wandering around the area.  This one was taking a moment to rest before he started begging again.

 

Dan had quite a few friends while eating his taco.  You should have seen the birds that were lined up on the seat near him.  "Come on, Mister!  Throw us some bread!"

We also had several of these little gopher? ground dog? watching us.  This one stood in the same spot the whole time we were eating.  I don't think he was begging....just keeping his eye on us.

On The Cutting Board

With more bad weather, I got started on three quilt bindings.  Oh, the bottom purple one is for my granddaughter's quilt!  I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  I have one and a half borders left to quilt.  Doing freestyle design - should I put a flower here or a leaf? - has been a lot more fun that the straight line quilting.

I also quilted the two small quilts on my machine.  I just need to add the binding and they will be done! 

Well, I hear the projects calling my name.....

Happy Quilting!

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!