Saguaros and Red Rock

Tuesday December 16 2008
Tucson, AZ

Coming to Tucson was a great choice. We're in shorts and t-shirts and Flagstaff is getting hammered with snow. While we don't get to see the Grand Canyon yet, at least we're not stuck in a snow bank.

Our trip from Flagstaff was basically uneventful: a little snow, a little rain, but mostly good driving. We found the Roadrunner Hostel just on the outskirts of town and were incredibly happy. Not only is the hostel funky (but quiet with good folks running it and great waffles) but it was incedibly relaxing. That's in stark contrast the Hanoi train station of hostel we stayed at in Flagstaff. Oh well, it is all part of the journey. We stay an extra night in Tucson.



With the change in plans, we have to figure out new things to do. We head west to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and Saguaro National Park. We had heard good things about the museum but did not know what to expect. When we got there, we saw it was mroe than a giatn cactus garden. It was part zoo, part natural history museum, part environmental education center, and part playground. We saw and experienced the wide diversity of animal and plant life of the Sonoran Desert (side note: Arizona is perhaps the most biologically diverse state in the US with eight life zones from desert to alpine mountains). This included mountain lions, Mexican wolves, otters, tarantuals, rattlers, scorpions, cactus+, and javalinas. But the highlight was a raptor free flight event where the supervisors released four Harris hawks to fly over, under, and into the crowd (no injuries!). It took about 3 hours to do the whole zoo and it was well worth it.




Afterwards we went to the Saguaro National Park (the zoo is in the Park) driving tour. I hate to say it, but the NP was anti-climactic after the museum. Though not entirely true, once you've seen tens of thousands of saguaro cacti, you've seen them all. So, we looked at other things and the vistas.

After getting back to the hostel, we made a nice pasta dinner and enjoyed some wonderful company. I have to say that the Roadrunner Hostel is a definite recommendation to anyone traveling.

Tomorrow: Yuma!