We came into Phoenix on Friday and drove down to Tucson just in time to eat dinner. We stayed at the JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort & Spa. It was a beautiful resort, nestled in a mountain and surrounding a golf course.

 

On Sunday before we picked my parents up at the Phoenix airport, we went to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, which was a combination of a zoo, an outdoor nature center, and a museum. The highlight of the day was a raptor free flight demonstration, where a number of birds of prey flew out in the open over our heads and near the path we were on.

Tucson Area

Our resort in Tucson, including the deer that would come out on the golf course fairway every evening

A winter storm warning was in effect on Saturday night, with forecasts of up to 1/2” of snow predicted. We head out to the Desert Museum and went through a mountain pass where the cacti were covered in snow. We stopped and took pictures along with everyone else, because this only occurred about once a decade.

The Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum outside of Tucson is a combination zoo, botanical garden, and natural history museum. When we arrived, we immediately went to the Raptor Free Flight show, which included a number of birds of prey.

Chihuahuan raven

Gray Hawk

Great Horned Owl

Ferruginous Hawk

Prairie Falcon

Desert Fox

Javelina

Bobcats

Rattlesnake

Quail

Mountain Lion

Prickly pear and other cactus species were prominent throughout the museum

2/25/11—3/6/11