Oh…. what a beautiful Sunset

Our time isn’t always going & seeing things. Some of it is relaxing & enjoying the desert & the many people we have met along the way. Last evening was one of those quiet days. We have seen many beautiful Sunsets in Washington. One of our loves is the sunsets @ the beach. But I do need to show you all the sunset we just saw last eve.

These first few pix are of the area were staying. We are enjoying it in that there has been less wind. It’s a small area compared to Imperial Dam & Quartzsite. There are a few old time guys here & this tent with palm branches. A young couple are staying in it. Mike & Sandy have a spot up on the hill & look out over the area. We can’t get up there because of a big rise in the road up & were too long & could damage something on the underside of Motor Home.  We walk up there past “the Castaways” tent in the afternoon & visit.  

This first Pix looked like a bird to me. The rest of the pix are in sequence of the sunset. While we sat there & watched the sky there was an Owl that was hooting & eventually Flew out over us down to the desert below. I had the dogs on leash & right by us. Don’t think Hooty would be happy with a Papillion.  

 

That’s all for tonight. Hugs Sandy & Steve…on the road with Rhythm & Yoda  

Sonora desert Museum

Spent a lazy weekend. The guys went to Camping World. Sandy & I went to a bead store & Wally World.

Today we went to the Desert Museum. It’s a Zoo, natural history museum & botanical garden, all in one place. Not much to say but will post some pix of the things we saw. It was a good visit. got there early enough to see the animals. Today was a warm one 88.

Az. state bird & the nest they make.

 

2 different Owl’s, the drown one is the great horned owl & the chipmunks blend in with the rocks   

The Hummingbirds. A mom in the nest .

 

some of the plants. There are over 100 species of cactus & other plants there. This Crested Saguaro cactus is rear There were 3 in this park.   

The Guys Day out

On Friday the 20th the guys (Steve & Mike) went to the Chandler, Az.  area to Firebird Speedway. They went to a N.H.R.A. Drag Race. It had been several yrs. since Mike had been to a race & Steve had never been to this kind of Race. Steve took ear plugs. Guess they get very noisy. They left @ 9 & didn’t get home till 10pm. It was a 2hr drive from where we are in Tucson.  They had a great day. Sandy B. & I had a good quiet day sitting out in the shade beading.

Steve chose most of the pix I added a couple extra. I thought a couple of cars were fun & the track cleaner needed some photo time too. 

    

A look at Biosphere 2

Yesterday 2/19/2009 we thought we could do a trip to The Biosphere & Mt. Lemmon. But the trip to the Biosphere took most of the day. We have herd people say that it wasn’t worth the trip but we enjoyed it. It’s an amazing look @ earth science & today is being used & managed by the University of Arizona. Not sure we would have paid $40 to go see it but we have a Tucson pass book so it was only $20.  

There is no public money being used for this project. It was all built with private money. Located off Oracle Road (Hwy-77) at mile post 96.5 20 minutes north on Tucson & 90 minutes south of Phoenix. Click on the Pix to see bigger.

  

The tour started in the area of the kitchen used by the first group of people 4 men & 4 women (non married) they lived in this controlled environment for 2 yrs & 20 minutes. There was another small group that lived in the Biosphere for 6 months. We then entered into the Tropical Savannah that was so humid it was next to impossible to get pix as your lenses & glasses fogged up. Next stop the desert.

Next stop the Ocean.They trucked in 1 million Gallons of Ocean water from San Diego in Milk trucks to have pure Ocean water for the environment.

 

The tropical Rain Forest

 

The basement that makes it all work. Wonder if this is what it looks like deep in the earth??

Then there is the lungs. There are 2 big round domes. They now think it could all have been ok with just 1 dome.There is a big huge rubber balloon type membrane inside the dome with a large mettle disk that goes up & down with the heat & cold outside. You really need to be there to see this.

 

The outside.

 

The woman giving the tour gave 2 things we might like to google one was Mangrove restorations & Waste Water Garden The later having to do with septic type systems. And the book The Human Experiment by Jane Poynter.

To read more about the Biosphere 2 you can go http://www.B2science.org