Thursday, Feb 24th - The Past Two Weeks...

I have had no time to blog! Between doing, planning, food shopping, food prep, eating the food, locating the brochure or map that we currently need in the ever growing collection of travel info we are amassing, downloading photos from my camera, phone, and Bob’s camera to my laptop (and rarely even looking at them!), keeping a log of everything we do, throwing in an occasional trip to a laundromat - if there is a minute to spare, I like to unwind with my Kindle.

We dawdled in the Tucson area for almost 2 months and were in the Phoenix area for about 2 1/2 weeks (kosher restaurants, kosher frozen yogurt!)

Then with less than a month to go before we needed to be back in Jersey, we were trying to cram everything else we would like to do into the remaining short time.

Here are some pictures of what we did in the last two weeks:

Sedona

A hot air balloon almost landed on us at our campsite

Oak Creek Canyon and Flagstaff

The Grand Canyon

Marble Canyon and Lee’s Ferry
The day we left the Grand Canyon for Lee’s Ferry the wind picked up and there was a rare sandstorm. Tumbleweeds and garbage gusted across the road, and I was expecting cows or houses to follow at any moment. We had to struggle to open or close the van doors against the wind. Visibility was poor and the light was weirdly dim. We got a fine coating of sand on our skin and on everything in Our V, and grit in our teeth.

On the drive

A patch of clear sky

The Vermillion Cliffs and Marble Canyon

Condors! circling above Marble Canyon

Condor #3 coming in for a landing

Lee’s Ferry. Pioneers and their wagons were ferried across the Colorado River here. Impossible to imagine how the wagons made it down the cliffs on one side and up the cliffs on the other.  Sand is still suspended in the air.

A private group loading up for a 30 day trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. They are bringing everything they need for the full 30 days. Between the remnants of the sandstorm, the high winds, the rain coming later this evening, the freezing temps forecasted for the rest of the week, and the lateness of the day in getting going, they are not off to an auspicious start. I hope they are OK.

Page

Lower Antelope Canyon

Horseshoe Bend

What remains of Lake Powell. All the bleached rock used to be underwater.

The Beehive Loop Trail

Today we started on our way home, and after almost 3 months, have left Arizona.

My next post will be what we did today on our drive from Page to where we are now and will be through Shabbos - Santa Rosa Lake St Park. NM.

There is No Such Thing as Bad Weather, Just Bad Clothing

Page, Arizona. Today, Wed Feb 23rd.

Goldfinches in a Zoom Meeting

Photo taken at Madera Canyon, AZ.

We have finally left the Tucson area and are heading towards Phoenix. Currently at Picacho State Park, AZ.

Though we keep forgetting its name and call it either Pistachio or Pikachu.

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Our Google Timeline for 2021!

This is our Google Timeline for 2021. It contains parts of the 3 trips that we named:

Covid Winter (Down the Mississippi River - winter 2020-2021. (Little did we know this was going to be Covid Winter #1))

SpringSummer2021 (Out West)

Winter2021-2022 (Michigan, Southwest)

Traveling has kept us sane during these crazy times. Or what passes as sane for us. 

Why I Love Tucson #2 - Birds!

Full disclosure - Some of these photos are from areas 1½ to 2 hrs southeast of Tucson.

We were at Chiricahua National Monument, at the lowest point on the Echo Canyon Loop Trail, when we stopped to eat lunch.

Now normally, I never feed wildlife. But this Spotted Towhee demanded, absolutely demanded! to be fed.

The bird hopped right over to me and berated me very vocally until I gave it a few seeds from the bread of my sandwich. And then demanded more!

I mentioned the Merlin bird app in a previous post. I tried it for the first time here. It recognizes birds by their bird calls! And is amazingly fast doing so. That is how I knew this was an Spotted Towhee.

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This was at the Cochise Stronghold Campground.

Mexican Bluebirds and Acorn Woodpeckers have learned from experience that when people are at a picnic table, there is food to be had. As soon as we sat down, the bluebirds and woodpeckers began to gather. I expected them all to burst out in song. It was like being in a Disney movie. 

Or Hitchcock.

Thank you Merlin for identifying these birds!

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These photos are from Catalina State Park, in North Tucson

One morning I went on an organized birdwatching walk. (Bob slept in.)

Out here in Southern Arizona, it is usually chilly first thing in the morning, but when the sun gets going, the temperature goes up quickly. However, this turned out to be an overcast day, and it stayed chilly the whole time.

Here are some blurry photos of some of the birds (Phainopepla, Northern Flickers, and Gila Woodpecker) that we saw.

Gila Woodpecker	Northern Flicker	Phainopepla

The birders got really excited about two Long Eared Owls. You will have to take their word for it that this is one of them.

This is what I got excited about - two Great Horned Owls. And we were really close to them, not like the other birds. They were worth getting up as early as I did for this birdwatching walk.

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Some more random birds

Roadrunner and puffed up Roadrunner

Some more

 

Why I Love Tucson - Tucson is Surrounded by Mountains

We have been in the Tucson area for over a month and are still going strong.

Here are some of the reasons why I love Tucson: