The Agnew Family aboard the "Dog House"

One of the items on the list of things to do in Tucson is to visit the Center for Creative Photography on the University of Arizona campus. This of course was somewhere Ed wanted to go especially when he read that they displayed some of Ansel Adams work. Well, it was a good idea but the center was under renovation and only a few photographs were on display — happily some of them were Ansel Adams.

As most of the day was left we decided to head to the Arizona - Sonora Desert Museum. People in the site next to us in Yuma had told us we should not miss this museum — they were right. The drive to the museum was through some desert mountains — it was interesting to see a forest of Saguaro (tall cacti sometimes with arms) on the mountainside the same as we see pine trees in the Rockies. The museum was a little pricey but very well done. They showed all aspects of the desert: caves with bats, water and mineral, the mountain woodlands with the trees, bears, mountain lions and goats; the desert grassland with wolves, deer, prairie dogs, owls and snakes; and the desert itself with cacti, coyotes, and javelina (similar to a wild pig but it’s not a pig). There was also a walk-in aviary, a hummingbird garden with many hummingbirds, a cactus garden, an area with beaver and otter (they would have lived in the area before it dried up and became a desert) and a desert garden.


a forest of Saguaro, they start to grown their arms when they are over 50 years old



various desert plants




And colourful birds


big horn sheep


Gambel's quail


One of many humming birds




a very laid back lizard