Tucson Raptors

The Arizona-Sonoma Desert Museum has a wonderful raptors in flight exhibit. No cages, just free-flying birds and amazed onlookers. The raptors include a variety of owls and hawks:

This hawk flew just above my head; I was standing about three feet behind the handler. The photo was taken with a wide-angle lens and so this bird was much closer than it appears in the photo. She settled on a saguaro directly behind me.

One of the hawks took a treat to a nearby saguaro before returning soaring. At one time there were four hawks pirouetting and dazzling the crowd. On the day we attended the museum there were two raptor in flight shows. One in the morning and another in the afternoon. The morning had several owls and a red-tailed hawk. The afternoon had four hawks.

Arizona Hummingbirds

There are hummingbirds in the Tucson neighborhood, but they don't stay put for long. The Arizona-Sonoma Desert Museum was a wonderful place to view them nesting. We were able to sit on a bench and monitor a feeder. Here an attentive male looks on; the female was nesting a few feet away:

Tucson Rainbow

We took a couple of days to settle in, get to know our surroundings and meet some of the neighbors.

The day began at 50F with a wonderful rainbow and it just got better and better.

Roswell, NM 9 Degrees F

We finally had a break in schedules and headed toward Tucson. But winter was not going to loosen it's grip on us.

We left Illinois with mild weather, about 30F but as we headed toward north Texas we became aware that the weather was to change for the worse. By the time we arrived, the predictions were true and we arrived in north Texas on the tail of a really nasty storm which extended from Oklahoma in a southwesterly direction. We had an overnight reservation in Roswell, NM. But by the time we arrived the temperature was below freezing. We did have water in the inside tank of the RT210P. The exterior tank was winterized and I tossed some extra anti-freeze into the toilet and sink P-Traps for good measure.

We arrived in Roswell about 8:00pm and there was standing water in the town. We drove through and continued to our RV site.  I can hardly imagine the circumstances the next morning. Our RV site had about two inches of snow and a portion of the road at the office was a skating rink.

We did not have to retrace our steps in Roswell the next morning, and continued onward. When we arose it was 9 degrees F. The thermometer in our outside storage tray read 15F!

As we left the Roswell area the temperature continued to decrease, dropping to 0F before it began to climb.

Photos, January 22:

Photos, Roswell January 23:

Finally above freezing on January 23, Tularosa:

Arrived Tucson and sun!

Bishop Castle

Bishop Castle is located on the Greenhorn Highway 165, about 20 miles southwest of Pueblo, CO.  I'll let my video describe the castle:



I do suggest a visit to this place. The castle is a personal effort of Mr. Bishop, who, "in 1959 at the ripe old age of 15 paid four hundred and fifty dollars for a two and a half acre parcel of land enclosed on three sides by the majestic San Isabel National Forest in southern Colorado."

The castle is at an elevation of 9,000 feet, and parking is on the side of the road, so I suggest you plan on coming earlier in the day.

Mr. Bishop has toiled for decades to build this castle, so it is definitely a labor of love. It is also a work in progress. So watch your step, and avoid a nose-dive off of a parapets, many of which have no handrails.

For the timid, there are lots of places to walk while avoiding the heights.

Don't step onto any parapets:

Great Sand Dunes National Park, Part 2

Continuing the post on our Great Sand Dunes visit (part 1 was posted January 3)
After crossing Medano Creek we continued our walk to the dunes. It's important to carry water and to keep hydrated on these walks. On the windy dunes it may also be necessary to hold that hat onto one's head. During the summer, the sand temperature may reach 150F and there are thunderstorms. The National Park Service recommends morning walks. We arrived on June 17 at about noon and temperatures were mild with nary a thunderstorm in site.

I've included a link to a brief video at the conclusion of this post.

G assumed a stance "well, Norm, keep up, will you"! We were enjoying the dunes, taking photos and interacting with people.

One of the activities on the dunes is sandboarding or sandsledding. The park recommends that visitors use the boards available at the visitors center. "Sandboards and sand sleds are specifically made for sand, featuring a special design and slick bases; these work best for sliding in most conditions."

I joined a small group who were snowsledding.

Sometimes a push to start is helpful.

Some onlookers bring their favorite lawn chairs so as to get a better seat.

G remained at the base of the dunes with another onlooker and his dog; They come frequently and the dog loves to cavort in the creek.

I marveled at the dancing sand which was constantly moving. It can be relatively coarse. I'll post a brief video at the conclusion which will include this frame.

It was time to return to the creek, cross it and after a brief lunch, hit the road.

Here's the video. As usual, I left the steady cam in Hollywood: