The colors of the sunset and moonrise tonight were stunning.
Love these views over the Sonora Desert.
Friday, March 20, 2020
The Fantastic Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, 11/05/2019
The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum is one of the most-visited museums in Arizona. Focusing on the natural history and evolution of animals and plant life of the Sonora Desert, it features a zoo, botanical garden, art gallery, and natural habitats on 98 acres. This is our second visit...the first was in November, 2014.
We arrived around 1:30 pm and made our way to the Raptor Free Flight program scheduled for 2 pm (there is also one at 10 am each day). This is a large place and you will need the map to find your way to all of the exhibits/programs.
The Raptor Free Flight program is located in the southern portion of the museum on the Desert Loop Trail. Along the way we passed this red fox taking an afternoon nap in his habitat; and, these eastern collared lizards enjoying some afternoon delight.
The trail provides lovely views of the Sonora Desert.
Visitors line up in a designated area to see the raptor show. It is narrated by a woman who is very knowledgeable about the birds of prey that are seen.
None of the birds are tethered, but trainers place food and treats in trees in the area to attract them. The first raptor was a peregrine falcon. This amazing bird can fly 240 mph and can capture prey in flight. Wow!
This barn owl was a real showman!
Harris hawks, unlike most birds of prey, hunt together. The alpha bird is the one at the top in the 3rd photo. All birds in the group defer to her. When there is a kill, she gets the first bite.
At the Streamside Habitat we saw many frogs like the one below; and, a roadrunner, too!
This western diamond-backed rattlesnake was putting on a show for us.
We made a quick stop at the Packrat Playhouse. It was so hot on the day we visited, that this was a nice respite. It is basically an inside playground and we grabbed a cold drink.
The cactus garden was awesome! I have come to love the plant life of the Sonoran desert (even though I am a Pennsylvania girl that loves the lush forests there, too!)
Along the Riparian Corridor are the river otters. After an absence of about 100 years, the river otter has been successfully reintroduced to Arizona.
Don’t miss the Hummingbird Aviary. There were so many of them (although I did not get good photos…)
The butterfly garden is nearby.
The Warden Aquarium has garden eels (grow to be 16”), seahorses, sea snakes, pufferfish and more.
In the Mountain Woodland area we saw mule deer, Mexican gray wolves, and a mountain lion.
The views of the desert are gorgeous here.
There are many, many more exhibits, shops, etc., to explore here. Be sure to allow yourself 3+ hours for a visit. After some souvenir shopping, we headed home for dinner with our friends. This was the first visit for Liz and Mike to the museum.
We highly recommend a visit to this unique place! Admission is $21.95/seniors and $24.95/adults. I think it’s pretty pricey, but, honestly, this place is worth it. For additional information about the museum, go to
www.desertmuseum.org.
Monday, March 16, 2020
Fun at Old Tucson Studios, 11/03/2019
Old Tucson Studies is a movie studio and theme park located west of Tucson and only about 10 miles from Justin’s Diamond J RV Park (where we are staying).
Built in 1939 for the movie, Arizona (1940), it was designed to be a replica of Tucson in the 1860s. The crew built 50 buildings in 40 days…and many are still standing! Buildings were added with each new movie filmed here. Over 200 movies were filmed here as well as 30+ TV movies/series. Go to the Old Tucson post on Wikipedia for a full list of them.
It was opened to the public in 1960 as a theme park but filming of movies continued. A fire (1995) destroyed numerous buildings, old costumes and film memorabilia. Reconstruction efforts took two years and Old Tucson was re-opened in 1997. In 2011, new movie-quality sets were built and old ones restored to the pre-fire days.
Many of the set buildings are used as stores (when there is no filming); others maintain the décor of the period they were represent or are used for park performances.
The map of the park and a performance schedule for the day is provided at the entrance. There are historic tours, dance hall shows, gunfights on the street, a Hollywood stunt demonstration and more! We thought these were really fun, so be sure to check the performance times and locations when you arrive.
Check out this armored stagecoach. And one way to get a tour of the park is with a stagecoach ride.
We headed to the Grand Palace for a dance hall show shortly after we arrived. You can enjoy drinks and snacks when you are here, too.
We wandered around the park checking out the many movie-set structures: Sheriff’s Office (interior had a jail, etc.), old mine, and more.
This courthouse has been in many films, but the judge must be a newcomer (ha ha).
Visitors lined the street to see the law vs outlaw gunfight. These guys put on a great show!
Our friends, Liz and Mike, spent the day with us here. It would not be much fun to be held in one of these portable jail cells!
We caught a second show at the Grand Palace. It featured the same performers but was a different presentation.
The Hollywood Stunt Demonstration was my personal favorite. There was: Old West street fighting, treachery in the bell tower, and a TNT explosion, too!
Here's Mike talking with the performers. They were great!
This gallows scene has appeared in many movies…do you recognize it?
In the NW corner of the park is the infamous Reno Locomotive. Built in 1872, it has appeared in nearly 100 movies and TV programs (Rawhide, Twilight Zone, Joe Kidd, Tombstone, and more).
John wishes he had been born in the Old West! He would have fit right in.
This church (Crooked Creek Chapel, 1844) and cemetery have been used in many shows. The water tower in the Sonoran Desert can be seen for miles.
This is where the TV series, High Chaparrel, was filmed. Do you recognize the scene?
The hotel and schoolhouse were also featured prominently in many films.
As we were leaving Old Tucson, we came upon this lovely carousel. We didn’t go for a ride, but enjoyed seeing the kids who did.
If you like the Old West (like we do) and the many movie and TV shows about it, you will enjoy a visit to Old Tucson! There are a few places to buy food or drinks; we had lunch at Jack’s BBQ. A good time was had by all!
Admission is $19.95/>12 years old; $10.95/ages 4-11; free/>4. For additional information including days/hours of operation and upcoming events, go to www.oldtucson.com.
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