One of our most special stops along the way was in St David, Arizona, which is about 40 miles east of Tucson. Not only were we able to view the beauty of the area, I was able to reunite with my cousin, Cindy, whom I hadn't seen for 30 years! We also had the privilege of meeting her wonderful husband, Jim, who we had never met in person! Although 30 years had passed, the closeness Cindy and I felt as children, came back instantly! We vowed not to allow another long time pass before we see each other again!!!!!!
Jim and Cindy have a beautiful home on 4 acres of desert property. Desert gardens abound on their acreage, due to Cindy's green thumb and knowledge of flowers and plants. We were able to bring our 5th wheel onto the property and hook-up to water and electricity, and we had the most magnificent view from our back window of desert plants and mountains! It was the perfect campground! We can understand why Jim and Cindy love their home and the peacefulness of the desert!
The 4 days we spent with Jim and Cindy went by fast! Lots of great sightseeing and activities. The first day was long, but great. We started out at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, which was mostly outdoors, and showcased the animals and plants of the desert in their natural setting. The museum had mountain lions, javelinas (wild boar), a hummingbird house where the hummingbirds flew around you, and 2 miles of desert trails where flowers, cactus, and other plants could be viewed. Finally, we saw our first Saguaro cactus, which is the tall cactus with the arms coming out. They only grow in certain parts of Arizona.
Our evening adventure was spectacular! Cindy had surprised Jim for his birthday with tickets to the "Kitt Peak National Observatory", which is operated by an Association of Universities, (including Michigan State) and the National Science Foundation. They perform research in astronomy. We were lucky to be included! The observatory has 26 telescopes, which are the most telescopes in one observatory in the world. We had to drive 12 miles up a mountain and were at an elevation of 7000 ft! To our surprise, we were told that when we left, we wouldn't be able to use our headlights for the first mile down the mountain, and that we would have to drive down caravan style, with only our parking lights on, so the white light would not disturb the ongoing data from the working telescopes! It was 11:30p when we left, so you can imagine how dark it was up there with no city lights showing!!!!! What we saw while up there was unimaginable! We started with a magnificent sunset over the moutains, lessons viewing stars and planets with the naked eye, binoculars, and using a star chart, and then took turns looking at objects through one of the large telescopes. Among the objects we observed were the moon and it's craters, a star cluster made up of millions of stars, a dying star (Circular Nebulla), two galaxies merging together, and Saturn with it's rings. It was thrilling! Oh, by the way, we did survive the drive down the mountain! I let Art drive and closed my eyes!
Two other memorable adventures while in Arizona, were trips to Tombstone and the Kartchner Caverns. Tombstone was a neat town with stage coaches traveling the main streets and volunteers dressed in the costumes of the old West. We had a drink at "Big Nose Kate's Saloon", and as you can see from the picture, Cindy and I had a good time!!!! The Kartchner Caverns are one of only 2 "live" caves in the world. They were discovered about 34 years ago, and the park is trying to preserve the growth of the caves by maintaining the internal humidity, unlike other caves that are just open to the outside atmosphere. Thus, they are considered "live". Only small groups are allowed to visit with a guide, and there are special refrigerator-type doors that are open and closed as groups pass to help preserve the humidity in the caves. They were a beautiful sight!
While visiting Cindy and Jim, we enjoyed meeting Cindy's stepmother, Ann, who is a wonderful women. She was married to my Uncle Norm for almost 40 years until he unfortunately passed away last year. He was an interesting man, and we had fun catching up on their lives and reminiscing with her!
Jim and Cindy showed us a nest with 4 eggs that was built in one of their flowering cacti. Before we left, the eggs hatched, and while looking at them, Art made what he thought was a bird noise. It must have been close, because the baby birds immediately sat up with their mouths open! Didn't know Art had such great talent! We got a great picture out of it.
When it was time to move on, we hated to leave, but hope we will be able to return. Thanks, Jim and Cindy for such a memorable time!!!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment