Exploring a Wee Bit of Arizona

It's been almost two weeks since we returned from our  trip to Arizona, so don't you think it's about time to post some photos of our time there? For the first couple of days we stayed in Tempe and had fun exploring that area and visiting our long time friends from San Diego who now live in Paradise Valley . Then we headed to Tucson which isn't far from where my sister and another friend from college are spending part of the winter.

First we went to Tubac, a place with lots of interesting history.  We had great fun learning all about chocolate and watching how it used to be made. That gray stone was heated and it's brown from all the chocolate that was removed from the seed by grinding with an instrument that looked like a stone rolling pin.  Lots of samples were enjoyed as well as some drinks made from ancient recipes.  We also had a fun discussion with a docent about spinning wheels.

Another interesting spot Was the San Xavier del Bac Mission which is south of Tucson. It's one of 23 founded by Father Kino many, many years ago and still going strong today. It's beautiful! Isn't it amazing when you think it was built 300 years ago without our modern machines?

The altar was very ornate as was the domed ceiling.

We also enjoyed a fun evening with my sorority sister and her husband.

Probably my favorite spot we visited was the Desert Museum, also near Tucson. First we watched the raptors free flying. 

 And then we strolled around the grounds, enjoying all the interesting exhibits.

We saw javelinas and later heard that Jane and Ted had eight or more just like this one run past their patio one evening!  (This guy below also strolled by their patio on another evening.)

We loved the humming bird exhibit at the museum, too, and were excited to see this fellow in another area. Do you recognize him?

On our last day , we went to the Phoenix Botanical Garden which was also very interesting. The part I liked best was a trail through a typical village of long ago.

I was intrigued to learn that Pima cotton originated in Arizona and was grown first by the native people that lived in the area. If you look closely, you can see the white puffs of cotton waiting to be picked.

It was a whole lot cooler in this dwelling!

We'd probably find cooking in this kitchen quite a challenge, not to mention finding the food to cook!

Here's DH reveling in the sunshine and his temporary wheels.  It was a fun reminder of his first long ago Mustang that wasn't a convertible.  We had a great ten days, but it's good to be home, too.