Tucson - Part 1

Now that we are in Tucson (actually the northwestern suburb of Marana), we have settled into a slower pace than when we were traveling to get to Arizona.  There are many trips to Wal-Mart for groceries, more eating at home instead of restaurants and regular cleaning of the living space along with a few maintenance and upgrade projects.

When we stopped in Van Horn, TX; Bibi took a picture of a bird and none of us could identify and it is hard to see clearly in the picture due to the camouflage.  After arriving here in Marana, we saw this bird walking in front of the coach.  Lo and behold, it is a roadrunner and comparing to the picture from Van Horn, we have determined Bibi had the first sighting of a roadrunner on this adventure.

Van Horn, TX bird (roadrunner)

Tucson, AZ bird (roadrunner)

This is our first day at the RV park and in addition to seeing this roadrunner, I saw two coyotes trotting across the field adjacent to the park along with doves, sparrows and hummingbirds.  This is quite the impressive display of nature, right out our front windshield.  As I am writing this, I am looking out the front window again and see two roadrunners and two dozen or so doves.  What a great place to call home for the next month.  Wildlife and city life co-exist here in a nice valley surrounded by mountains.

After some cleaning, resting and acclimation to the area, we decide to visit one of the national parks close to us.  It is named Saguaro National Park.  Pronunciation is “suh-wah-ro”.  The park is so named due to the environment it is designated to protect.  Namely the Saquaro Cactus that once grew abundantly in the region but due to development and farming is now not so prolific.  These are the tall, majestic cactus seen in movies with arms reaching toward the sky.  The pictures below do not do justice to what you actually see in the park.

There are cacti on the side of the mountains too!

Notice the three on top of the mountain, looks like 3 crosses.

Here is a little better look at the crosses.

The formal name of the cactus is Carnegiea gigantean.  It is named for Andrew Carnegie which is a fact I was not aware of before this visit.  They are mainly found in southern California, Arizona and northern Mexico in the desert regions.  They can grow up to 50 feet tall and live for over 200 years.  However they are very slow growing.  It would take about 95 to 100 years for one to reach 15 feet and start to produce its first arm.  When in the area, it is wise to visit the park to learn about all of the vegetation and animals in the desert environment and how they depend upon each other to survive and grow.

We found a local church right outside the RV park and went to services the first Sunday we were here.  The people are very friendly and accustomed to temporary worshipers in the form of snowbirds that come and go.  It is very small congregation and the average age of the membership is older with very few young people.  Please pray for this church to prosper and grow as they try to be the beacon of light in this community.  They need additional people and funds to continue and survive.

We had our own Super Bowl Party that evening and it was good with BBQ Chicken sliders, dips, chips and of course the correct team won.  You just nearly always have to pull for the underdog when you do not have a dog in the hunt.  It was good to just be with friends enjoying a good time and food on our first Sunday in Tucson.

We will post another update in a few days.  Today is cleaning day and I have been drafted to help.