Where are you dragging us?

The lyrics go like this,

          “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone”

          I submit for your approval, an additional thought,

          “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til you find it.”

          Do you ever look out the window of the airliner as you cruise at 33,000 feet, peer down, and wonder what life is like in that little town that you just passed over? I do it all the time. I also wonder if someone else is doing the same as they pass over regions and towns that I’ve lived in. I imaginarily say to them, “Come visit here! There’s tons to do, we have magnificent trails, great local museums, wonderful restaurants, and many ways to enjoy your particular form of the arts. You just don’t know that it exists.”

          Cases in point, The Arizona Desert Museum and Saguaro National Park. Both of these entities are located in the Sonoran Desert, which stretches from  southern California to just east of Tucson and then south into Mexico.

          Biodiverse? How about more species of bees are here than anywhere on the planet? Or let’s take the Saguaro Cactus.

          This is the preeminent symbol of the West, even though it grows only here. You’ll remember this cactus. It was made famous in many movies and the quintessential cigarette commercial, Marlboro and the ‘Marlboro Man’ using the theme music from the ‘Magnificent Seven’ movie soundtrack. (Listen to Erik Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops for the best version) It’s a classic.

          The Arizona Desert Museum was founded in 1954, a great year, because that was the year I was founded too! 😊 Anyway, this place is nothing short of enchanting. The common thought of the desert, that there is nothing out there except rocks and sand, could not be further from the truth and it is a good thing that there is a place like this to illustrate the incredible flora and fauna that exists in what most would consider a void.

          It is a relatively short drive from Tucson, way out on a windy road that has you wondering, ‘where are they taking me’?

          Well, the answer is simple, you are going out into the middle of,               “The Desert”!

          Nestled on the westward-facing side of a hill, you really can’t see it as you drive up. The buildings that house some of the exhibits, galleries, (More on that later) and essential services are woven so nicely into the landscape that they are not intrusive in any way. The whole place reminded me of Disneyland. Not because of any aspect of the amusement or boisterous atmosphere of there, but because they have managed to discreetly separate all of their outdoor exhibits so well, that you really don’t know that they are relatively close to each other. Similar to the way that Adventureland backs up to Frontierland and when in one, you don’t even know that the other one exists. It is an art form that takes forethought and planning to say the least.

          Some of the exhibits are, a butterfly garden, hummingbird enclosure, underground burrow displays, prairie dogs, the obvious reptiles, and the not-so-obvious stingray touch tank.

          Stingrays?

          In the desert?

          I wondered this and I was prepared to be disappointed that they had ‘sold out’ and had a random exhibit just for the fun of it, when I was gently reminded of my geography.

          Of course! the Sea of Cortez (or Gulf of California) runs right up into this region because the Sonora Desert leaps across it and covers a great deal of Baja California. In theory they could have had a whale tank with California Gray whales and Humpbacks because they winter and breed there. But that would probably be stretching it, but not by much!

          There are some wildlife exhibits also, and depending on the time of day, and season, you may be able to spy some of these denizens of the desert. The museum takes great pride in their role with these inhabitants. Most are there because they are in some sort of rehabilitation due to accidents, etc. and are no longer suited survive in the wild. Others are rotated in and out, being repatriated to the open spaces when their ‘Time’ is up.

           I was going to just post photos of these critters and tell you that they were obtained at incredible expense of both life and limb, climbing to elevations great and roaming deserts wild in order to capture such magnificent animals with my camera but decided that you all would know that there’s no way that I’d be able to climb to 9000’ feet or tromp that many miles into the desert and be stealthy enough to acquire such photos.

          But here they are anyway, it’s just me and my cell-phone camera walking around the Arizona Desert Museum.

          I mentioned before about the galleries. One in particular, the Iron wood Gallery, has a series of art classes that look to be both interesting and very well attended. The particular exhibit that is there presently is one using the medium of Scratchboard. This technique uses a white board covered with India ink that the artist ‘scratches’ away with various scraping tools. The finished product is breathtaking. There was one of a Bobcat that had I not known better, I would have tried to touch its fur, it was so realistic!

          After the museum, we went on a hike in Saguaro National Park located in, yup, you guessed it, the middle of the desert.

          It wasn’t a long hike, only 18 miles or so.

          Actually, it was 1.8 miles, what a difference a decimal point makes! Our goal was to get  a photo of Paula with her new best friend Charles the Cactus, or in Spanish, Carlos el cactus.

           He was very obliging and stood stoically still for this photo.

          Unfortunately, Paula inadvertently had a brush-up with a cactus that looks very soft, but in fact, has needles that are like porcupine quills and stick into you with microscopic barbs. It is called a Cholla, but  it is also demonically known as a, “Teddy Bear Cactus.”

          They pulled at her skin as they were removed. I would have taken some photos, but I thought that it would appear a bit opportunist of me and thought better of it. When I mentioned it, she respectfully declined to go back and have some more needles inserted into her skin.

           And I thought she was a team player!

          We’ve been here for just two days and have already found enough to do and see. There is not a doubt in my mind that if any one of you said to your respective families,

           “Let’s go to Tucson for vacation!”

That first, your comment would be met with some number of incredulities, but then, when you were getting ready to fly back home on that airliner, your family would thank you for dragging them out to,

“The Middle of the Desert.”