ARIZONA QUICKIE

Each year we try to plan a trip around watching our San Francisco Giants play in another city. Their schedule & ours didn't allow for a longer trip this year but we did manage a "quickie" to Phoenix & Tucson for a few days to take in a baseball game among other sightseeing.

Fourteen years ago we visited part of Saguaro National Park near Tucson & planned to tour the recently opened Kartchner Caverns but to our dismay the tours were all sold out at the popular attraction. Both attractions were on our list for this getaway.

This photo in Saguaro National Park shows the three primary cactus plants - the tall, stately saguaro in the background; the cholla cactus in the middle & the prickly pear in the foreground.

Some of the thousands of saguaro cactus. They can grow to 50 feet tall & live to be over 150 years.

No two saguaro seem to be alike. The arms grow at all angles & sizes.

The cholla cactus seem to almost glow in the light. They say do not get close because the thorns will stick into you skin & are difficult to remove. We didn't for sure!

Some detail on the saguaro. If I remember correctly it takes about 30 years before a saguaro grows the "nubs" which will become arms in the next 100 years.

A barrel cactus. The blooms on top were at the end of their life span. Normally the cactus bloom between February & early September. We were a little late but it was still beautiful.

When Darrin lived in El Paso for a year, he enjoyed the ocotillo. He cut several stalks & kept them in a vase in his apartment. I took this photo & texted him, "Remember this?" He immediately replied, "Ocotillo!"

Most of the prickly pear cactus was done producing its fruit but we found a few that still had prickly pears on them.

I moved around to put the sun directly behind the top tip of this saguaro.

We lucked out on the weather since the temperatures were only in the mid to high 80s when it could have been well over 100 degrees. Here are a few creatures we encountered along the trails in Saguaro National Park. 

Lizards were everywhere. We saw several different varieties & all of them did a good job of camouflaging themselves in the desert landscapes.

This little cottontail rabbit stayed put for some good photo ops.

We wondered how this bird didn't hurt his feet perched on top of a saguaro cactus. This is Lou's photo since mine wasn't quite as clear.

Kartchner Caverns doesn't allow any photography inside the cave. BUT we had a delightful surprise! One of the two men who discovered the cave in 1974 was in attendance on our tour! Gary Tenen shared his insights with us regarding his first forays into the cave & their efforts to preserve it. These men kept their find a secret to protect the cavern until a deal was made with Arizona State Parks to keep the cave in its "living" state while conducting tours for the public. 

Just to the right of this photo is where Gary Tenen & his partner, Randy Tufts, found the entrance to Kartchner Caverns.

In contrast a couple hours later we visited Colossal Cave just a few miles away. It is no longer "living" & was decimated by people who either didn't know better or didn't care. When a cave is actively growing, it can take thousands of years to add just a couple inches to the formations.

 

Look at the broken stalactites. Our guide told us how many years ago people would enter Colossal Cave with sledge hammers & break off stalactites for souvenirs. It was accepted practice to take pieces of the cave. Of course, this destroyed the formations which took thousands or even millions of years to form. It is sickening to think how people destroy our beautiful natural resources. Thank goodness for those who are working hard to protect these incredible places.

Another formation in Colossal Cave that is no longer growing.

We dined at El Charro Mexican Cafe in Tucson. It was established in 1922 & has been continuously operated by the same family ever since. Lou saw it on Travel Channel so we decided to check it out - good food & half price margaritas! 

I'm not sure how this all happened but I seem to have been to more air museums in my life time than I ever would have imagined or needed to see! Actually I know exactly how it all came about - having an ex-husband, son & current partner who all love airplanes & flying! The Pima Air & Space Museum (and Aircraft Boneyard) in Tucson were next on our itinerary.

There were 6 or 7 hangers filled with various aircraft as well as another 150 outside. I'm not even going to attempt to tell you what these are - I figure if you are an airplane geek, you'll know what they are & if you aren't, you don't care.

I do know what this is from all my airshow days & air museums - it is a P-51 Mustang. I passed up a chance to ride in one owned & flown by Russ Francis (former 49ers tight end) 30 years ago. Air aficionados were upset with me but I figured if we crashed the headline would read, "Russ Francis & Unidentified Woman Killed in Plane Crash".

The Boneyard houses hundreds of aircraft. Many of them are being stored in case they ever need to be pressed back into service. Hundreds more are earmarked for parts or to be destroyed.

I loved the crazy paint jobs on some of the display aircraft. You can click on any of these photos to view a larger shot.

The final night of our four day quick trip we headed to Chase Field in Phoenix for a game between our Giants & the Arizona Diamondbacks. We picked the right game - this one we won easily but the next night we lost big!

Chase Field in Phoenix is another beautiful ball park. We still enjoy the games even though, unfortunately, our Giants are lousy this year. We have the worst record in baseball & are working hard to not lose 100 games. 

The stadium has a retractable roof which they opened to take advantage of the mild nighttime weather.It seems that the past 25 years have produced some state of the art downtown baseball venues. 

Our infielders chatted as they waited for the results of a challenge replay by the umpires. The Giants went on to win the game 9-2. It was fun to win a game easily for a change. We sat next to some D-Backs fans who were friendly & nice.

 

This was my 17th Major League Baseball stadium in which I have watched a ball game.

Having explored many Frank Lloyd Wright designed buildings on previous trips to Arizona, Lou found a few more to see before our flight this morning. AND there are still several more for our next visit!

The Frank Lloyd Wright designed Gammage Auditorium on the campus of Arizona State in Tempe.

The back of the Gammage Auditorium. 

These flowers were growing outside the auditorium. As always, I have no idea what they are but they were striking.

First Christian Church in Phoenix. This church was built from plans designed by Frank Lloyd Wright many years after his death. The office people were happy to let us in to see the facility.

The interior of the sanctuary. Many liberties have been taken with FLW's design. They guessed that he wouldn't have been too happy at the changes to his plans.

The clouds created a gorgeous background to the tower of the First Christian Church.