An ocelot asleep in his den
An ocelot asleep in his den
These things drive Polly banana's!!
These things drive Polly banana’s!!
A mutated...I mean crested Saguaro
A mutated…I mean Crested Saguaro
One of the impressive enclosures
One of the impressive enclosures
Prarie Dog
Prarie Dog
Astrophytum Myriostigma...don't ask me??!!
Astrophytum Myriostigma…indeed!
Demo of traditional Mesquite grinding
Demo of traditional Mesquite grinding
The Mexican Wolf...what a beauty!
The Mexican Wolf…what a beauty she is!
A local species of Margarita
A local-dwelling Margarita
Species Polly Relaxus...pooped doggie after a hard day in the RV
Species Polly Relaxus…pooped doggie after a hard day in the RV

We LOooVE Comments, So Please Do

  1. Glad you made it to the Desert Museum–we’d included it in the “stuff” we sent you a while back. Hope you made it into the hummingbird enclosure–that’s pretty magical all on its own! Happy trails…

    • Yup, that’s where I got my hummingbird pic. Very nice place to hang and see the hummingbirds. Even a few nests there right now.
      Nina

  2. Love the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum as well. We were there 10 years ago but like you I think it’s one of best zoos I’ve seen.

    I’ve always loved your photography, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a posting about what kind of camera equipment you use nor your editing software. Inquiring minds want to know….

    • I wrote a few posts on my photo equipment a while back, but I’m happy to divulge. The vast majority of my shots are taken with a point-and-shoot Canon S100. For detail work (e.g. the animal shots in this post in particular) I use my “big camera” the Nikon D7000. I have 2 lenses for that one, a 50mm and 18-200mm. For up-close pics (e.g. the bee shot) I use extention tubes on my 50mm lens. They’re really cool and I wrote about them here:

      Capturing The Perfect Shot -> Cheap Macro

      As for post-processing I’m a Photoshop girl. Always have been 🙂

      Nina

  3. Yes, we really loved that place as well, particularly the plants and the humming bird aviary. Had a rattle snake cross our path right near the museum building!

  4. We are in Phoenix now and will be going down that way in a few days so this will be on my list. Like you, I do not like zoos, so if you like this one I will give it a try. I also wanted to know if you knew of any boondocking sites near Wickenburg. Since we just came from our first Boondocking Rally we feel the need to do it again and we wanted to be near Congress. I enjoy reading your posts and know that you are off the grid most of the time.

  5. It’s not easy getting good images of a native Margarita in pristine condition. Well done!

    Franklin “Whitey” Jackson was VERY excited to see us last night. I think it’s such a relief for him to not be living a secret life. I’m a community dog! And I don’t care who knows it! He can just accept our kibble without commitments.

    • Indeed. The native Margaritas don’t often linger around long enough for a shot. This one disappeared only moments later.

      And I’m happy for Whitey. He obviously came along just to train you and now he’s back to his regular job 🙂

      Nina

  6. The Desert Museum was one of the highlights of our trip to Tucson just before Christmas. That was one of the reasons we stayed at GilRay.

    And it’s interesting to see your take on places that I have just recently visited.

    • Yup, Gilbert Ray is definitely the closest spot to stay. We found a pretty decent boondocking spot just a few miles further down (plus it’s dog-friendly!)
      Nina

  7. Hello: We visited the Sonora Desert Museum in the 80’s. To this day I remember it as being a wonderful place. Glad to hear it is still as great as I remember it being.

    • It’s very well-kept and well maintained. I think they’ve done a good job of keeping it natural yet current and modern.
      Nina

  8. I am in love with all things Arizona…so to find your blog has been a gift to me! I have been to all the places you mention, so it’s a wonderful recall of great memories. Thanks for being willing to work on keeping this going. I’m happier than a pig in…….umm…..corn mash. 🙂

    • Glad you like the posts! We’re digging our winter here in AZ. Should be here in SE for at least another month so lots more AZ goodness coming.
      Nina

    • Good!! There are actually a TON of other really neat places to visit in Tucson including the Pima Air Museum, Mission San Xavier Del Bac, Titan Missile Museum, Bioshpere 2 etc. The Tucson Passport that I wrote about above gives access to many of these places at a discount.
      Nina

  9. We aren’t zoo folks either but really enjoyed this attraction. Sorry to hear that you weren’t able to catch the Raptors in Flight. It was a great program. Great photos as always Nina. 🙂

    • I remember you guys did a whirlwind of sightseeing here…AND hiking! I’m going to have to refer back to your blog for places to go when we come back to the area.
      Nina

    • Well I’m happy to hear we’re not the only ones who missed it 🙂 It IS a good reason to come back!
      Nina

    • We didn’t make it to the Mission this time around. It was one of the many thing “on the list” that we didn’t get round to. A good reason to come back.
      Nina

  10. We really enjoyed the museum, as well. Missed that crested! But did see the one outside the entrance.

    Sounds like life continues to treat you well:)

    We will blog again soon. We had no data in Valley of Fire.

    • Looking forward to your blog posts. Valley of Fire and that whole area is potentially on our list to go later this year.
      Nina

  11. Couldn’t agree with you more about the zoo thing. But this Museum looks like a wonderful stop. Thanks for sharing it so we could add to our list of things to look for out West!

    • No dogs allowed. We left doggie in the rig and took a quick trip. I think we were gone 2 hours in all since we were quite close.

      Nina

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