Winter in Tucson

I've been lazy in terms of not posting anything in a while, but we've been busy!  Here's what we've been up to in the last couple months!!!  These first pics are from early February when it snowed in the mountains and almost snowed in town, which apparently was a REALLY big deal to the Tucsonans... lots of people reportedly drove up the mountain in their pick-up trucks and loaded their beds with snow so they could drive it back down and show their kids, who have never seen snow :)  

Adriane came to visit in mid-February; here she is hiking in the Catalina Foothills!  We basically vegged out a lot and sat by the pool, although we did catch a drag queen show and took a shopping trip to Nogales, Mexico one day :)  We were tempted to bring a few puppies back from Mexico with us...but we were strong and resisted!

In early March, Kenny and I headed up to Mesa, AZ to catch a spring training game against the AZ Diamondbacks!  Unfortunately the Cubbies got slaughtered...but it was a beautiful day and we ate lots of bad stadium food.

Just a few miles from our apt in Tucson there's a kick-ass street we found one day while running errands...I just had to document its existence!

My Mom & Dad came to visit in March, and we saw more on their visit than in our entire time here thus far!  We went to the Pima Air & Space Museum, the Kartchner Caverns down in Benson, AZ,  the Sonora Desert Museum,  the Saguaro National Park, Sabino Canyon, the San Xavier Mission, & the Catalina State Park!  They also went and checked out the South American butterfly exhibit at the Tucson Botanical Gardens.  We were all pretty worn out by the end of their visit!  This first pic is a little red wolf at the Sonora Desert Museum:

Also at the Desert Museum, this bobcat just posed so nicely for me:

Fat little groundhog sunning himself:

The San Xavier Mission is beautiful, dubbed the "Dove of the Desert".   It's just south of Tucson on the San Xavier Indian Reservation.  It's currently undergoing massive renovation to restore both the interior and exterior.  The Native Americans there set up tents just outside of the mission and sell frybread drenched in honey and powdered sugar.  Awesome.

 

Kenny and Zoey snuggling in our temporary sleeping quarters while Mom & Dad visited:

Mom & Dad are ready to hike down Sabino Canyon, almost 2.5 miles back to the parking lot!  (I have no idea why this is underlined, and for the life of me, I can't fix it)

And here they are catching the sunset at Gates Pass!

Yay for family visits!  We were sad to see them go.  Next up: our trip to Ireland!!!  I will definitely take lots of pics and post them as soon as we get back!  Our time in Tucson is almost done; it seems we'll be heading to either Seattle or Chicago next...but we're holding out hope to return home to Madison, if jobs miraculously appear there!

Take care,

Meredith

Exploring Tucson!

We've been busy!  First of all, the craziest thing about living here in Tucson is all the animals they have wandering around...I saw these bobcats right outside our window (not ocelots as I am informed by my vet siblings).  I have also heard the coyotes howling in the middle of the night on the golf course behind our apt.  It does make me sad, though, since this most likely indicates they are being pushed out of their homes...

Next, we visited Sabino Canyon on the NE side of Tucson and hiked up Bear Canyon to the 7 Falls area.  So beautiful, the 6+ mile hike was worth it!

Lastly, we visited the Tucson Botanical Gardens and checked out the African butterfly exhibit.  I could have filled up my memory card just with these butterflies; they were stunning.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Yes, I am a beautiful butterfly...A Bug's Life, anyone?  The big fat caterpillar, Heimlich?  All right, I'm out.  Time for Superbowl Sunday!!!

XOXO,

Mere

Welcome to my Blog!!!

Thanks for reading this...it means you love me, and I love you too!  I totally stole this idea from my BFF and NSLP Becky (thanks Bec!) because I know how much I love reading her blogs and getting to see what's going on in her world from time to time even though we're in different states!!!  I thought this would be better than Facebook cuz lots of my friends and family aren't on that site.  So I will try and update this often, since now is an exciting time for us and there's lots going on!  Here are some recent pics of Mike, Adriane, and us at the Harlem Globetrotters Game- thanks Mom & Dad for the tickets!:

  I am quite proud of this giant cupcake I made with the mold that Corry (a superb baker and sister-in-law) bought me for Christmas!  I love Williams-Sonoma!

On to Tucson!  Most of you know that Kenny and I decided to leave the frigid city of Madison, which we love, for 3 months so I could take a travel nursing assignment in sunny Tucson, AZ!  We love it so far- today hit 80 degrees!  

Main living area

Our bedroom

View from our patio

We went to the coolest place the other day- the AZ-Sonora Desert Museum, which is actually more like a zoo.  They had javelinas (like pigs), coyotes, snakes, scorpions, iguanas, mountain lions, ocelots, big horn sheep, and lots of other little critters and creepy-crawlies that I don't really want to think about...my fav is the pic I got of the hummingbird in their aviary...they're so fast and little they amaze me!

Just a very cool saguaro cactus

Beautiful view from the entrance of the museum

Fabricated example of the caves in this region

Another gorgeous view

Crazy little iguana

Agave cactus

This hummingbird let me get about a foot away

Big horn sheep

On our way home from the museum, we stopped at some of the "scenic outlook" spots to rock-climb and see the sunset!  Got a few great photos.

One last thing, since I am a foody...as evidenced by my waistline :)   We went to this great little French bistro called Ghini's Cafe and had an amazing breakfast...check out my apple-rum and chocolate crepes!

Ok, thanks for reading...I promise the next blogs won't be so long...just had a lot to show you this time!  Happy January!

Hugs,

Meredith