March 16th

The first thing on our agenda for today was to go to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, so after we all got up, showered, and ate some breakfast, we were on our way. We made a pitstop on our way to the museum, at Gates Pass Trailhead, to take a short hike and take in the sights from the mountainside. It was here that I had my one shining moment, as I decided to jump from a rock down onto the trail below, as it was just too big of a step to take normally. Unfortunately for me, I must have landed on some smaller rocks (or I am just too old to be doing this kind of activity any longer), and I lost my balance. When I did, I fell back, slamming my back into the rock that I had leapt from. Fortunately for me, although my back was a little sore and a little bruised, it was no worse for wear. It was my big toe, however, that would turn out to be the worse injury, as I am 99% sure that I broke it. Walking became a chore, it swelled up, and turned black and blue. Great way to spend a vacation!

Gates Pass Trailhead
	Some views of the mountains from Gates Pass Trailhead...



	Jayden on the mountain...
	...giving a thumbs up!
	Jay waving from high above the rest of us.
	A couple looks from the mountain...

	Drew and Tara posing for Tara's selfie photo (see the results here and here).
	Some more pictures from the mountainside...




	Tara on the mountain...
	...having her "King of the World" moment!
	A look from inside of a building on the mountain.
	Tara inside the building.
	A couple more pictures from the mountain...


	Tara and Drew's selfie shot...

	Tara on the mountain side.
	Tara's picture of Rodney taking a picture.

Once I limped my way down the mountain, we finished our drive to the museum. Once we arrived, we started our way along the trail, only I wasn’t making very good progress, as I was slowing down the rest of the group. Gail, Tara, and Jayden went back to the entrance to see about renting a wheelchair for me, while Jerry, Drew, and I waited along the trail. They didn’t come back with a wheelchair, however… they brought me a full-on scooter! We spent the majority of our day exploring the museum (which wasn’t a typical museum, but rather an outdoor tour of the desert, though there were indoor exhibits that were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic). We even ate lunch at the museum, eating pizza, chicken strips, and quesadillas from the museum’s quick service restaurant.

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
	The flags of Mexico, the United States of America, and Arizon flying outside of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
	A look at the Sonoran Desert...
	...and the Recortado Mesa in the Tucson Mountains.
	Another view from inside the museum.
	A white-tailed deer in the museum.
	A cougar that was looking for shade...
	...before eventually settling down on the rocks.
	A lizard hanging out on a wall.
	A wolf enjoying the shade...
	...while another walks nearby...
	...looking for some food.
	Another look at the mountains.
	Drew, Rodney, Tara, and Jayden posing for a picture.
	Gail, Jerry, and Tara walking through the museum.
	Some javelinas (or collared peccarys) enjoying the shade.
	A chuckwalla sunning itself on a rock.
	Drew taking in the view.
	A couple shots of the Tucson Mountains...

	Tara and Gail taking a moment to rest their feet.
	A look at the mountains through the vegetation.
	A dasylirion wheeleri standing tall.
	Two roads diverged in a wood, and I... I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.
	Totem pole cactus.
	Violet prickly pear...

	Rainbow hedgehog... or as Drew calls them, ground dildos.
	Wooly jacket prickly pear...

	Candelabra aloe.
	Pine cone cactus.
	Moonlight cactus all over the ground.
	Drew, Jayden, and Tara walking past some saguaro.
	A bighorn sheep peeking through the brush.
	Some fish in a pond.
	A Joshua tree.
	Jayden posing in a turtle shell.
	A black-bellied whistling duck.
	A partridge (sans pear tree)...

	A squirrel.
	Another view of the mountains.
	A spiny-fruit.
	A couple shots of a bighorn sheep...

	A female bighorn.
	Another shot of the mountains...
	...and another picture of the bighorn.
	A hummingbird in a nest.
	A broad-billed hummingbird.
	An Allen's hummingbird...

	A candelabra aloe.
	A California pipevine swallowtail butterfly.
	The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

Tucson Drive
	Some of the mountains we drove past on our drive...

Jerry & Gail had originally planned to spend time in the afternoon at Old Tucson, but by the time we finished it was too late to really consider entering (it was closing about an hour after), so we just decided to do a drive by so we could see it. Before heading home, we also stopped at the Mission San Xavier del Bac, a Christian mission founded in 1692. Although the original mission was destroyed in 1770 during an apache raid, the building that stands today was built between 1783 and 1797, making it the oldest European structure in Arizona. Although we would have like to go inside the church itself, it too was closed thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak. That left us only able to explore the grounds outside of the building. Beside the mission building was a hill with a cross on top of it, which Tara, Drew, Jayden, and I decided to explore. There was a small “altar” type spot up there, but not much else. There was a food vendor operating in the parking lot, so of course we had to give it a try! We got a fried pan bread (which was similar to an elephant ear) that we all shared.

Once we finished our snack, we left the mission to head back to Jerry & Gail’s for the night. We ended up eating leftovers for dinner – there was plenty of taco stuff left over from the night before, as well as some ribs and chicken that Gail had already made. After our long day, it was soon time to call it a night.

Mission San Xavier del Bac
	The Mission San Xavier del Bac.
	A cross on a hill near the mission.
	A closer look at the Mission San Xavier del Bac.
	One of the lion statues on the hill with the cross.
	Both of the lion statues.
	A wider view of the Mission San Xavier del Bac.
	A view of the mountains from the hill.
	Another view of the mountains...
	...and another view of the mountain statue.
	A roadrunner.

Gates Pass Trailhead

Some views of the mountains from Gates Pass Trailhead...

Jayden on the mountain...

...giving a thumbs up!

Jay waving from high above the rest of us.

A couple looks from the mountain...

Drew and Tara posing for Tara's selfie photo (see the results here and here).

Some more pictures from the mountainside...

Tara on the mountain...

...having her "King of the World" moment!

A look from inside of a building on the mountain.

Tara inside the building.

A couple more pictures from the mountain...

Tara and Drew's selfie shot...

Tara on the mountain side.

Tara's picture of Rodney taking a picture.

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

The flags of Mexico, the United States of America, and Arizon flying outside of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

A look at the Sonoran Desert...

...and the Recortado Mesa in the Tucson Mountains.

Another view from inside the museum.

A white-tailed deer in the museum.

A cougar that was looking for shade...

...before eventually settling down on the rocks.

A lizard hanging out on a wall.

A wolf enjoying the shade...

...while another walks nearby...

...looking for some food.

Another look at the mountains.

Drew, Rodney, Tara, and Jayden posing for a picture.

Gail, Jerry, and Tara walking through the museum.

Some javelinas (or collared peccarys) enjoying the shade.

A chuckwalla sunning itself on a rock.

Drew taking in the view.

A couple shots of the Tucson Mountains...

Tara and Gail taking a moment to rest their feet.

A look at the mountains through the vegetation.

A dasylirion wheeleri standing tall.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I...

Totem pole cactus.

Violet prickly pear...

Rainbow hedgehog... or as Drew calls them, ground dildos.

Wooly jacket prickly pear...

Candelabra aloe.

Pine cone cactus.

Moonlight cactus all over the ground.

Drew, Jayden, and Tara walking past some saguaro.

A bighorn sheep peeking through the brush.

Some fish in a pond.

A Joshua tree.

Jayden posing in a turtle shell.

A black-bellied whistling duck.

A partridge (sans pear tree)...

A squirrel.

Another view of the mountains.

A spiny-fruit.

A couple shots of a bighorn sheep...

A female bighorn.

Another shot of the mountains...

...and another picture of the bighorn.

A hummingbird in a nest.

A broad-billed hummingbird.

An Allen's hummingbird...

A candelabra aloe.

A California pipevine swallowtail butterfly.

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

Tucson Drive

Some of the mountains we drove past on our drive...

Mission San Xavier del Bac

The Mission San Xavier del Bac.

A cross on a hill near the mission.

A closer look at the Mission San Xavier del Bac.

One of the lion statues on the hill with the cross.

Both of the lion statues.

A wider view of the Mission San Xavier del Bac.

A view of the mountains from the hill.

Another view of the mountains...

...and another view of the mountain statue.

A roadrunner.