March 2012

Greetings!

When we last Buzzed you, we were in Tucson beginning a nice long stay in a favorite RV park on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. That sojourn is now coming to an end, but we have reminded ourselves why we keep coming back to Tucson. During this visit, business and pleasure have taken us to all four compass points: from the serene eastern cactus lands at the base of the Rincon Mountains to the small but real range called the Tucson Mountains in the west, and from the very feet of the towering, jagged Santa Catalina Mountains in the north to the flat land in the south where Davis-Monthan Landing Field was established in 1925. Counting on our fingers, we concluded that this was our 10^th year coming to this city in the Sonoran Desert, and if the March luck of the Irish (and Welsh) is with us, there will be more trips in the future to this winter temptress called Tucson, Arizona.

Wish You Were Here

The only thing better than visiting a first class nature park like the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum is going as the guest of a kind and knowledgeable Museum Member. Such was our good fortune when our friend Linda Wert took us on a field trip to a place described in its brochure as “a world-renowned zoo, natural history museum and botanical garden, all in one place.” Armed with sunscreen, hats, snacks and a camera, we joined the many others museum visitors who decided it was the perfect day for an outdoor adventure. As we made our way from the rapidly filling parking lot to the entrance beneath the wide museum sign, we were met by a staff member with a huge barn owl perched on his arm. Folks asked lots of questions about the owl, but the owl, of course, only had one – “Who? Who?”

Under blue sky and hot sun, we strolled along meandering paths both paved and gravel to enjoy sweeping desert vistas, cactus varieties ranging from tall and majestic to short and pudgy, newly blossomed flowers of gold, purple, orange, white, pink and magenta, and special habitat areas displaying bear, wolf, javalina, puma, prairie dog and deer. The critters tended to be napping in shady nooks but we got glimpses of most of them.

 One of the highlights was the Raptor Free Flight show where several museum birds are flown out in the open, sometimes high and distant, sometimes diving and brushing the heads of thrilled onlookers. The Chihuahuan Ravens, Grey Hawk, Great Horned Owl, Prairie Falcon, and Ferruginous Hawk all returned to their gloved handlers on cue for tasty quail tidbits, but the Red-Tailed Hawk had other plans, riding the desert thermals up and up until he was nearly out of sight. The young staff in their earth-toned khaki clothing did not seem too concerned. The birds are too smart to give up the free room, board and water provided by the museum.

The hawk was still soaring when we left to see the limestone cave, mineral display and a special hummingbird enclosure with tiny birds sitting on their marshmallow-sized nests. According to Linda, the eggs in those nests are the size of those miniature breath mints called Tic Tacs – just one of the many things we learned during our terrific excursion to the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum.

Life on the Road

As more and more of our contemporaries approach retirement, we note an increasing curiosity about undertaking (no, not “undertakers” - well, maybe that, too) travel adventures similar to ours. There are many considerations to weigh when comparing the various methods of seeing the United States: Car or RV vs motorcycle or bicycle, tent camping or trailer vs hotel or motel, restaurants or room service vs picnics or travel cooking. Keeping in mind the obvious practicalities regarding your pocketbook and the contents therein, it all boils down to what makes you most satisfied, physically and mentally. If you operate best with daily showers, lavish meals and a perfect bed, you might have to sacrifice the smell of bacon and wood smoke on a cool, campfire morning. If you desire the spontaneity of going wherever you want whenever you want, you might avoid getting the biggest, most deluxe RV. Many magnificent wonders of nature offer nearby motels, but not all. A road trip by fuel-efficient car is cheaper than driving an RV, but you’ll need a place to spend the night. So many considerations! Our own choice with the VW bus then the small RV is for adventure over comfort, flexibility over certainty, and long term, low-budget travel  instead of brief, expensive vacations. Our advice to you? Know yourself and understand what really makes you happy, take a trial run before changing your lifestyle, and if you only pack one thing, make it your sense of humor! Good luck. 

Coffee Chat

We found ourselves pondering a comment heard on the TV show “The Mentalist” regarding wealthy and influential people versus the meek and humble: “At the end of the game, the king and the pawn go back into the same box.”

Did you know…

We picked up a pocket UV (“black”) light to see what the local minerals would reveal in the dark. During a nighttime investigation, not only did some seemingly boring white rocks shine pink or orange under our purple beam, we also got a glowing reaction from many things in our RV – toothpaste, sneaker soles, plastic water bottle, engine additive, upholstery buttons, and ukulele fret markers. Yup, lots of things shine in black light, but there was one object we were glad not to find. Apparently scorpions glow in the dark under UV light. Meeting these particular arachnids is something we are happy to leave out of our desert experience.

 Sonoran Spring