Wow! What a neat day unlike any other so far on the trip. Yes, we visited a pretty epic museum, The Sonoran Desert Museum, but this time the crew saw artifacts and animals so different than anywhere else in the country. The 98 acre Desert Museum is a fusion experience: zoo, botanical garden, art gallery, natural history museum, and aquarium all in one place!
We started our morning excursion into the reptile and amphibian exhibit, seeing tarantula, scorpion, snakes, frogs, and the like. Most of the guys thought this stuff was awesome, while almost every girl could be heard shrieking, "ewwwwww" and "ahhhhh," in a more scared and creeped out way. The interactive parts of the museum kept them all entertained; petting snakes, coloring, participating in the interactive exhibits, racing, and even walking through caves with real live bats living in them!
Students were intrigued by the caves and the ancient Arizona exhibits. They became paleontologists digging for fossils, mining for minerals, and then got to walk through a zoo-like environment, seeing mountain lion, bobcat, ocelots, big horn sheep, and hummingbird. They enjoyed the footprint stamps turned temporary tattoos along the path indicating animal tracks such as the prairie dog, vulture, and bear. As usual, this group thoroughly enjoyed the snacks, thirst-quenching drinks, and socialization at the gift shop, which ended our time at this unique museum.
Mountain Lion photbombing!!
Clarence drove us through hills upon hills of cacti, some 30-40 feet tall! The Saguaro National Park is home to the giant saguaro cacti, the universal symbol of the American west. When we returned to our home away from home, the group was given free time all afternoon. Some enjoyed the tennis courts of the facility, others finished laundry, while most of the group enjoyed one of the three pools on the property, as well as poolside food and beverage service.
Mother Nature sure has tested us at a few stops, once in Montana, and now here during monsoon season of the southwest. The storm rolled in almost on schedule; precisely at 6pm, the time of our planned outdoor pool party! The kids were flexible and although soaked, they enjoyed lasagna, salad, bread and ice cream sundaes in a dry dining hall.
We capped off the day in Tucson with some nighttime swimming. The rain and lightning moved south, and the kiddos had so much fun relaxing in the hot tub, playing with pool noodles, water basketball, and best of all; just being kids. Today marks the official four week mark of when this grand adventure began, and in just 5 short days we will be home to see our loved ones. Tomorrow we hit Texas and by Tuesday we'll be in New Orleans! Time truly flies when you're having fun!
No comments:
Post a Comment