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And what a week it was, Pt. 3
Dec. 10th, 2001 07:16 pmFun stuff we did
I'm not sure how it is that I never quite noticed just how impatient my father is. All week, we had to be going, or doing, or on our way somewhere. Now, me, I'm frequently quite content to sit quietly with a book or my stitching and just enjoy being in a different place. Not so my father. Even with a good book to read he always wants to be going going going.
So, our days in Tucson generally consisted of a morning visit to my grandfather, and activity, and afternoon visit, and then back to Peggy's to have dinner and put the Widget to bed. And while we were in Roswell, we did something every single day, which was also fun.
Our first day in Tucson, we went to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, which is a wonderful combination of Natural History museum and zoo of indigenous animals. I'd been there before, but not in years, and enjoyed myself immensely again. The next day, we took a drive up Mt. Lemmon on the Catalina Highway. It's a steep, twisty road up the side of the mountain. It's high enough that you go from Sonoran desert climate to a pine forest by the time you reach the top. It's high enough at the top that they regularly get snow, enough that there's a ski slope up there. On the way there are beautiful vistas, and well as some amazing rock formations. Most amazing to me were all the folks we saw bicycling to the top. Ooof.
That even was off to Roswell, to arrive early on Monday morning. On Monday we got a driving tour of Roswell, then went out to the Bitter Lake Wildlife Refuge. It's home to thousands of birds, who make New Mexico their winter home. As we were relaxing out there, we saw many, many of the birds returning from foraging during the day to roost in the refuge for the evening. There were birds everywhere, and it was quite breathtaking!
Tuesday, we went off to the mountain town of Ruidoso, a ski town that's sprung up a lot of fun shops and a good wander-through downtown area. We ate lunch at a place that didn't look promising, but had the best chicken-fried steak I've ever eaten (YUM!). There was even a stitching store, where, to my great joy, I found a piece by a New Mexico artist, that I doubt very much I could have found in MA. I love going to small stitching stores in other parts of the country because they almost always have stuff you can't find anywhere else. It's another needlepoint canvas, so I've committed myself to at least one more needlepoint project. They had a model of the piece as stitched by the artist (this is a hand-painted canvas, so the canvas itself is a mini-work of art), and she had done SO many interesting things with her stitches instead of just straight basket-weave. I'm so inspired to try and do something creative now. We saw some other great shops, and Widget loved getting rolled around in her stroller.
On Wednesday, our last day in Roswell, we finally got to the UFO Museum. I can honestly say that I have never seen a museum that was manufactured out of nothing. It was fun, but it was a good thing it was also free. We wandered around downtown Roswell, had lunch at on of Kate's favorite restaurants, and went into her favorite antique store. It was one of those multi-vendor mall-type spaces, which I adore as well. I picked up a very cute half finished quilt top from the 40's (I think- I'm not sure exactly how old it was, but the washing instructions including the information to not run it though a wringer, so....)
Then we set off back for Tucson that evening. Thursday, we didn't do much when we got back. Widget claimed an almost three hour nap, and I joined her for most of it. Friday, though, we went to the Tucson Zoo. Although it was a small zoo, it was very well constructed and laid out. Widget was entranced by the giraffes, which were very active and close to the fence while we were there, and by an ostrich, and the rhinos as well. I was captivated by two tiger cubs (kittens?). They were about 8 months old, and just fantastic. They were playing very close to the fence, and posed for some pictures that I really really hope come out well.
Then, finally, we were off to Phoenix, to stay at a hotel close to the airport for our flight home early in the morning. The trip home was uneventful, except for Widget taking a header out of her stroller and scaring me, and herself, half to death. As fun as the trip was, it feels good to be home.
I'm not sure how it is that I never quite noticed just how impatient my father is. All week, we had to be going, or doing, or on our way somewhere. Now, me, I'm frequently quite content to sit quietly with a book or my stitching and just enjoy being in a different place. Not so my father. Even with a good book to read he always wants to be going going going.
So, our days in Tucson generally consisted of a morning visit to my grandfather, and activity, and afternoon visit, and then back to Peggy's to have dinner and put the Widget to bed. And while we were in Roswell, we did something every single day, which was also fun.
Our first day in Tucson, we went to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, which is a wonderful combination of Natural History museum and zoo of indigenous animals. I'd been there before, but not in years, and enjoyed myself immensely again. The next day, we took a drive up Mt. Lemmon on the Catalina Highway. It's a steep, twisty road up the side of the mountain. It's high enough that you go from Sonoran desert climate to a pine forest by the time you reach the top. It's high enough at the top that they regularly get snow, enough that there's a ski slope up there. On the way there are beautiful vistas, and well as some amazing rock formations. Most amazing to me were all the folks we saw bicycling to the top. Ooof.
That even was off to Roswell, to arrive early on Monday morning. On Monday we got a driving tour of Roswell, then went out to the Bitter Lake Wildlife Refuge. It's home to thousands of birds, who make New Mexico their winter home. As we were relaxing out there, we saw many, many of the birds returning from foraging during the day to roost in the refuge for the evening. There were birds everywhere, and it was quite breathtaking!
Tuesday, we went off to the mountain town of Ruidoso, a ski town that's sprung up a lot of fun shops and a good wander-through downtown area. We ate lunch at a place that didn't look promising, but had the best chicken-fried steak I've ever eaten (YUM!). There was even a stitching store, where, to my great joy, I found a piece by a New Mexico artist, that I doubt very much I could have found in MA. I love going to small stitching stores in other parts of the country because they almost always have stuff you can't find anywhere else. It's another needlepoint canvas, so I've committed myself to at least one more needlepoint project. They had a model of the piece as stitched by the artist (this is a hand-painted canvas, so the canvas itself is a mini-work of art), and she had done SO many interesting things with her stitches instead of just straight basket-weave. I'm so inspired to try and do something creative now. We saw some other great shops, and Widget loved getting rolled around in her stroller.
On Wednesday, our last day in Roswell, we finally got to the UFO Museum. I can honestly say that I have never seen a museum that was manufactured out of nothing. It was fun, but it was a good thing it was also free. We wandered around downtown Roswell, had lunch at on of Kate's favorite restaurants, and went into her favorite antique store. It was one of those multi-vendor mall-type spaces, which I adore as well. I picked up a very cute half finished quilt top from the 40's (I think- I'm not sure exactly how old it was, but the washing instructions including the information to not run it though a wringer, so....)
Then we set off back for Tucson that evening. Thursday, we didn't do much when we got back. Widget claimed an almost three hour nap, and I joined her for most of it. Friday, though, we went to the Tucson Zoo. Although it was a small zoo, it was very well constructed and laid out. Widget was entranced by the giraffes, which were very active and close to the fence while we were there, and by an ostrich, and the rhinos as well. I was captivated by two tiger cubs (kittens?). They were about 8 months old, and just fantastic. They were playing very close to the fence, and posed for some pictures that I really really hope come out well.
Then, finally, we were off to Phoenix, to stay at a hotel close to the airport for our flight home early in the morning. The trip home was uneventful, except for Widget taking a header out of her stroller and scaring me, and herself, half to death. As fun as the trip was, it feels good to be home.