Gem Show is On!

Laramar, a precious stone only found in  Dominican Republic. Seems it's all here in Tucson--biggest selection ever.

Tieras. . .hundreds of them. For all those lovely princesses.

Petrified wood!

Catved birds, carved out of rock! Quartz, obsidian, Onyx, whatever. Amazing detail.

Gem stones, slabs, rocks, fossils, beads, jewelry, mountings, Cabots, and on and on and on!

 We only went to two venues this afternoon. There are tons of venues all over town and will continue for two more weeks.

Out and About

For as long as we have lived in Tucson we have heard about this antique wagon museum. Never bothered to go until now. It's connected to the Tucson Rodeo and houses the wagons that are horse drawn in the Rodeo Parade every year. Well, to our delight it is so much more than that! It has a lot of old wagons and coaches that are really neat but there is so much more there. It's a Tucson History museum extraordinar!  Lots of exhibits to explore.  We had a lot of fun checking it all out. We happened to hit a day that there was live music and other vendors there also.

Even a "Bat-mobile" was on display--just today. I asked if it was street legal and he assured me it was--they drive it here. There were originally over 40 of them, now only 17 left by various owners across the country. Just for the fun of it.

Also learned some trivia --First Private airport in the nation was built on this property in 1914.

These pics from a walk thru Sweetwater Park. An illusive Wilson's Snipe and then a Road Runner who was so engrossed in hunting his prey that he walked amazingly close to us!

granddaughter brag post!!

Congratulations to Lia. She traveled to Lancaster, Pennsylvania for an Archery Competition. Two day event--"2025 Easton Collegiate and Youth Trophy Tournament." 

"Recurve Cub Female Division"

"Another Bull's-eye!" She finished 4th overall for 2-day event--She did great.

That's my girl!!!

We think she is coming to Phoenix for a tournament in April. If she does, we will certainly be there!

Sandhill Cranes wintering at Whitewater Draw, Az

Home Stuff

Came home to cold weather --well, cold for Tucson. In fact freeze warnings. I covered several sensitive cactus in my yard. This is my neighbor's --she protects her cactus in style! I use rags.

Great Saturday morning for a hike in Sweetwater Preserve. Chilly but lots of sun in the Sugharo desert.

Then we cleaned carpets. Rented the machine and got to work. Took a while to figure out the trick to this machine but went pretty fast. Job well done.

Fort Stockton to Deming

A night in Fort Stockton, Texas --out in the middle of West Texas, another town rooted in rich history of building the West

We had lots of cloudy days while on the Texas coast but traveling west across the state, the temperatures warmed up and sun broke out and stayed there. Hearing aboutp snow, ice, blizzard conditions moving across the country but we are missing all of that. In fact we are so thankful for all the trouble free driving, all the way to Pennsylvania and back. In fact, driving across the "open spaces" of West Texas, New Mexico we have lots of time to reflect on what a blessing--and how fun--this holiday trip has been. And precious time with our family!

Tonight in Deming, New Mexico. But we stopped for a couple of hours in Las Cruces area to village of Mesilla. Walked around the historic city plaza, checked out a few galleries and shops and happened upon this pottery shop and studio. Fun to talk to artist (actually the wife half of the artists). Was fun to find a Tucson artist that I recognized represented in their shop, which led to conversation about their own former years living and working in Tucson.

       We will be up early in the morning to bomb home. We are both ready to be there!

San Antonio tonight

Short drive to San Antonio. Had the afternoon to visit a couple of historic missions, then headed downtown and checked into a hotel overlooking the River Walk. 

Can't come to San Antonio without a visit to the Alamo and refresh our memories about the famous day in 1834 when Santa Ana's Mexican troups totally destroyed the Texas volunteers at the Alamo which fueled the flames for Texas independence. And the larger than life myths that remain to this day.

And the River Walk. . .

Happy New Year!!

New Year's birding in Port Aransas, Texas

Whooping Cranes!!! This is where they winter, right here on the Texas coast. Went to search for them in a wildlife preserve with no luck but today serendipitously found them right along the road!!

They are very large birds, so much bigger than the Sandhill Cranes we are familiar with.

Shore birds in abundance. Black Necked Stilts

Ducks galore--Shovler and Green Winged Teal

Up close to Tricolored Heron 

Could not figure out what these guys were--until one raised his head. They are Avocets, all sleeping with their heads tucked under their wings.

This is "Big Tree", a Southern Live Oak that is estimated to be over a thousand years old on the coast near Goose Island State Park. It's has survived hurricanes, fires, droughts and floods for a very long time! The circumference exceeds 35 feet.

Happy New Year!!