What a tremendous time we had today exploring Tucson - The Desert Zoo (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum) , Sabino Canyon and Mt Lemmon! A huge day but fabulous!
Lots cyclists and triathletes out doing the hard miles on the bikes - challenging rides over Park Pass and Mt Lemmon - but they all looked like they were enjoying it - especially those on the way down!
The Desert Museum
We loved the zoo which featured animals and plants native to the Sonoran Desert region. We explored and enjoyed the 2 miles of paths traversing 21 acres of beautiful desert. It was a natural history museum as well as a botanical garden - perfect! It is situated in the Saguaro National Park.
Have a look.........
Meet the creatures of the desert......
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| Rock Squirrel |
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| Desert parrot |
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| Desert Turkey |
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| Kestrel |
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| Mexican Wolf - Lobo |
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| Mountain Lion |
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| White- tailed Deer |
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| Rattlesnake |
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Praire Dog
Cute! |
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Hummingbird.
Nesting in the Saguaro |
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Ocelot.
Very shy! |
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Grey fox.
Liked the beach towels to lie on - spoilt! |
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Raccoon.
He was also shy! |
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| Bobcats |
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| Raptor - Grey Hawk |
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| Grey Hawk |
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| Horned Owl |
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| Horned Owl |
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| Javils |
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| Praire Dog |
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Water bird.
Yes they do have some water in the desert! |
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Black Bear.
Having a lovely sleep! And a Black bear can be brown!
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| Mountain Lion |
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| Spiny- tailed iguana |
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Hummingbird chick in its nest.
The adult Hummingbirds were hard to photograph because they move so fast and
don't stay in one spot for long. They are very tiny and their wings go 100 mph!
They are very important for the pollination of the desert plants. |
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| A Bighorn |
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| Desert Quail |
Have a look at the strangely beautiful desert vegetation..... and if you can have a lush, healthy desert then this is one!!!
Stunning Sabino Canyon - a desert oasis.
The canyon is in the Santa Catalina Mountains to the east of Tucson and is part of the Coronado National Forest. A shuttle bus takes you on a 45 minute narrated round trip of the canyon - very interesting and informative. We disembarked at the top of the canyon and walked back the 4.5 miles, enjoying our commune with nature - awesome nature!!!
Have a look......
And Mt Lemmon!..... awesome! The panoramic views of Tucson and the geological formations took your breath away!
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This is the road up Mt Lemmon that the cyclists and triathletes do as a training session! and it
is up and up all the way! Coming down??....well!!!!???? Scarey!? Fun!? Thrilling!?
There were a lot of them doing it! |
The athletes! Can't imagine what it must be like to ride all the way up Mt Lemmon! - pain!
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