We discovered that they don't have speed bumps in Arizona...they have speed cushions and speed humps.
These pictures are all out of order and I'm tired of trying to fix them. I'll just write about them as they come up.
The following pictures were taken at Saguaro National Park near Tucson. I fell in love with Saguaro cacti. They are amazingly beautiful and so interesting. I never realized how old they are and how long it takes them to grow. Their first "arm" doesn't grow until they are 75 years old. I also learned that a "nurse tree" in the Sonoran Desert is very different than a "nurse log" in the Pacific Northwest. A young saguaro must spend the first years of its life under the protection of the Palo Verde tree in order to reach adulthood. The saguaro will live much longer than a Palo Verde tree. After the tree dies, the cactus keeps growing. The Palo Verde trees are beautiful tree with green bark and yellow flowers.
Here are a few pictures of the beautiful houses and plants growing around my aunt and uncle's home in Phoenix...
Nothing is better than a fresh citrus fruit picked from a tree. Yummy!!
At first, I thought this ocotillo (I hoped I spelled that right) plant was kind of ugly, but after seeing it over and over, I decided I really like it.
We learned that a woodpecker or flicker makes holes in the saguaro and other animals take advantage of the holes. There is a "boot" behind each hole which makes a perfect nest. I now understand the kid's book "Cactus Hotel."
The hill behind my aunt and uncle's house...
I loved watching all the hummingbirds who were frequent visitors.
Rachel had fun at a Diamondback game with her grandpa and cousins while grandma and I went to the zoo with the younger kids.
Erin and this baboon became friends.
The kids rode camels.
Don't I have cute nephews!
The cacti were in bloom. It was absolutely beautiful everywhere we went.
One of the highlights of our trip was the Chihuly glass at the Desert Botanical Gardens.
Montezuma's Castle....
Slide rock...very fun...very cold water....
View from the top of the hill behind my aunt and uncle's home...
pecan pie made from fresh pecans...
Temples from our little temple tour....
We were so excited to see the dress rehearsal of the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant. It was so well done. What a fabulous dramatization of the life of our Savior.
The pageant was the last night of our trip. We literally left the pageant and drove straight to the airport. The following pictures were from the beginning of our trip. Definitely out of order.
This Mountain is seriously a National Park? I have never seen such a boring National Park as the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. I guess after miles and miles of boring desert they had to make a national park out of the only mountain in the area? Strange.
We loved Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.
Erin Joy just had to buy a stuffed animal as her souvenir of course. This raccoon was eventually joined by a stuffed owl and both stuffed animals accompanied her everywhere. She is still sleeping with them every night (along with about 50 other stuffed animals...)
Pancho Villa state park....
Old Tucson....these pictures were taken the same day as the Saguaro National Park pictures at the beginning of this post. Definitely out of order....
Old Tucson was so fun and very interesting. Over 300 movies and 700 TV episodes have been filmed here and it is still being used as a movie set. Old Tucson was definitely a favorite of my children.
We loved our stage coach ride.
The kids love the few carnival-type rides.
Panning for "gold" was a lot of fun.
Spring break was so fun! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for all the fun memories you helped us create in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
