Desert Museum - Tucson Feb 2014

We picked up friends Kirk and Susan at the Tucson International Airport on Friday.  They flew in from Oklahoma City to join us for the weekend.  Pam and I hadn't been to this airport for years and were quite impressed.

Parking was right across the street from the terminal and couldn't have been easier.

Inside, we had a few minutes to wait and I was very impressed.

They had a waiting area for people complete with an overhead monitor so you could see your party getting close to the meeting area.  And nearby was a coffee shop in case you had a bit of a wait.  Then near the baggage area and front door was a ticket payment machine so you could take care of it without having to line up and pay outside the parking lot.

Way to go Tucson!  Well done.

We saw our friends on the monitor as they deplaned and walked down the hallway to Baggage Claim.

We got their bags, snapped a photo and were off!

We stopped near the Desert Museum for some sandwiches at a picnic area.

A couple of miles later, we found a parking place and started through the Desert Museum.

The Desert Museum started out in the 1950's and they have kept expanding and improving it.  It is over 21 acres with 2 miles of walking paths, 16 gardens, 1200 native plant species and 56,000 individual plants.

We were there 3 years ago and it was just as spectacular this time.

We took off in a counter-clock wise direction of the grounds past the 'Ancient Arizona' display. By the Earth Sciences Center we went through the underground cave with an aquarium.

Then we headed for the mountain lion and the black bear area.

Not too close...

And we also saw some deer and took advantage of the great views from an overlook down over the desert.

And a big horn sheep enjoying the day

The museum has over 500 volunteers and we saw quite a few.  They do a great job make it more enjoyable for the rest of us.

Then we made it over to the 2:00 PM program called 'Raptors in Flight'.  This was worth the price of admission.  First the barnyard owl

The the peregrines

And the Harris hawk.  They were another highlight of the day!

There was a bit of a breeze and it just magnified their soaring above our heads.

Next we made our way over to the Riparian Corridor and saw some more birds in the aviary.

We capped off our time at the museum with a cup of coffee on the back porch of one of the cafes.

It was a perfect afternoon at the Desert Museum!

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...