Today is our 56th wedding Anniversary!

Went out to Star Pass Marriott for a nice breakfast buffet to celebrate our wedding Anniversary. Will says that if you amortized the cost over 56 years, it was pretty cheap?!?!

Totally worth it!  . . .the breakfast . . .AND the life together, every minute of it!

Cabin #7.

A short two night stay at Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon for a little getaway and maybe mark our wedding anniversary coming up this weekend. We are only a couple of hours from home but it's another world here. We come here often to bird the canyon but it is extra special to be here overnight and experience the sights and sounds of the nightlife.

Of course we hiked early when the canyon is just waking up.

Enjoyed endless time on our cabin deck overlooking the canyon watching what showed up. Like this flock of wild turkeys that paid noine to us!

The main Lodge and gift shop has a major open yard with feeders of all sorts so we sit there  and watch for whoever shows up.

We have our own hummingbird feeder on our deck and after dark we were memorized watching the bats. They silently emptied that feeder in record time. They can't hover like the Hummers can but they constantly hit and run and then return. 

several species of Hummers got their share during the day.

Evidence of creatures of the night climbed onto the bumper of the jeep. . .I am thinking it was a Ringtail (which I would have loved to have seen!) but have to investigate to prove. We heard owls calling, watched the worst full moon come up, and named some familiar constallations in the stars. 

Now why is it seem so appropriate to see a vulture sillouetted on a dead branch??

Glowing Pumpkins

Went with friends, Carol and Andy and Charlotte to Tohonto Chul Gardens to the "Glowing Pumpkins" evening event going on now thru Halloween. It's still September but this fun garden lighting exhibit is sure to be a family hit for the fall season. They boast that the outdoor walk-through event features over 5000 hand carved pumpkins. Well, they aren't real pumpkins but they look like it and are really incredible. Fun evening.

Backyard

This is my pride and joy, a Tombstone Rose that just bloomed it's head off every April/May. It's 20 some years old, grew from a tiny shoot when we first moved to Tucson and always thrived with very little care. . .until this summer's brutal heat did it in. Dispite being on irrigation it was dead when we got home .

Big job cutting it down this morning. My hope is that it will come back and sprout again from the roots. Looks pretty sad right now!

Taking advantage of "cooler" morning to fix his bike after our little mishap in Wyoming where it broke loose from bike rack and back of tow car and drug down hiway. Amazingly hung on and frame not bent. Just needed new tire. Mirror and odometer also broke off. He is getting ready for another "Tour de Tucson" bike ride the weekend before Thanksgiving.

That feeder is on my kitchen window and now getting wonderful close up looks as hummingbirds come in for a drink. Depending on the time of day and lighting, sometimes they can't see me watching them. Endless delight.

This Harris Hawk was recent visitor to neighborhood. Song birds gone in a flash! Wish he'd take out a few more rodents. 

Sunset and Canyon views

A big red sunset tonight in our back yard. Don't know why tonight was so brilliant but it was eye catching to say the least.

It is still uncomfortably hot these days but we aren't getting the triple digits anymore--although it's still close. At least the nights are cooling off now so that we can actually open the house up at night. And nice for early morning walks.

  This morning we went a little farther for our morning walk and went to Madera Canyon for a birding hike. Birds were not very cooperative but the hike was awesome.  

Can see all the way to the desert floor.

Mornong sun on a magnificent Arizona Sycamore.

Catching up with the family

School started for Lia and Aeri. First day picture as they head off for the new year. Lia is in 7th grade and Aeri is a 4th grader now.

  And that's their new house behind them! They finally moved in after months and months of remodel/redo. New neighborhood, new town, same school. Now instead of driving 25 minutes to get the girls to school each day, it's 8 mins. They now live in Haworth, New Jersey. 

I grabbed this picture off of Aeri's Instagram. She had a "photo shoot" earlier this year and she showed up in an ad for Banza food products. (I never heard of the brand, either) But that is her happy smile--wonder if those waffles are really that good!

Now, Stephanie is in Hong Kong. She will be there for this next school year as a Visiting Professor at Hong Kong China University. She will be teaching and continuing her academic research.  She arrived in HK just over a week ago so she is just settling in so haven't heard much about it yet, but she did send this picture of the view out her kitchen window. Classic Hong Kong and harbor view.

Reynard holding down the fort in Bloomington. Also overseeing the redo of their new house in Bloomington! And his job at U I of course.

Maya Court

First thing we noticed coming home is our "new" road! The short part of Hardy Road that leads to our neighborhood and Maya Court was redone!  It has needed to be resurfaced for years and now the county finally stepped up! I should have a before picture to remind myself of the ruts and potholes!

Our neighbor's Mexican Bird of Paradise is in full bloom and fills my view from my kitchen window!  Great view first thing in the morning!

A few late blooming cactus. I have a couple of these barrel cactus in our back yard and they will stick around a while yet!  I did lose a couple of plantings because of intense heat here this summer, even though they were on a drip irrigation. Oh well, chance to try something new! Of course, cactus hung in just fine.

Home

Left Flagstaff as the sun was coming up and shining on distant cliffs.

260+ miles to home. Didn't think much about our house or Tucson all the time we were traveling until we actually start to cross Arizona.  Now am anxious to be home. (Except all the unpacking)

Comimg through Phoenix 

That is Picacho Peak! A familiar landmark that tells me we have 30 miles to go.

  Home by noon. Everything on good order. Is going to take a while to savor the summer we had together. We will be busy now getting back into our life in the neighborhood!  

 

On the way to Tucson

Last night's Supermoon full moon was still visible when we left the campground this morning. First of two days heading directly home.

Left the mountains with the heat on. Once we dropped out of high elevation, it wasn't long and we had air conditioning going.  But turned out to be a pleasant, partly cloudy day perfect for traveling. The Arizona heat will come later, no doubt.

Passed through "Four Corners" area. Moved from Ute Indian Reservation in Colorado and directly onto Navajo Nation which takes up large part of northeast Arizona--plus practically a quarter of the state of New Mexico.

Arizona

Love traveling and watching the landscape pass by.  Some of the landforms are identified on the map--this one Church Rock.

And "Elephant Legs." Works for me.

Coming up to Flagstaff with San Francisco peaks in the distance. We will stay here tonight and bomb home tomorrow.

We stopped just north of Flagstaff at a National Monument campground. Sunset Crater NM is a overlooked gem. Lovely little campground near Sunset cinder cone volcano that erupted about 1000 years ago--and still looks fresh!