Hello from Tucson!

[Gabby]

We're enjoying Tucson. It's rather "cool" by local standards -- lower 80s.

We had a rather eventful flight. Our 45 minute connection disappeared when the plane had to de-ice in Denver (where the plane flew in from) and again in Detroit. We had less than 5 minutes to run through the airport to catch the flight. There were 10 of us and the flight attendants said they'd only hold the flight if one of us made it before the door shut. Thank goodness Tommy is fast! Miracle of all miracles -- our luggage made it, too. Charlie was fine on the flight (his anxiety was held in check). The plane had Direct TV. Where was that when my kids were 2?

We're right on the trailhead to the Ventana Canyon and we made it on an hour up/hour back hike yesterday. We saw a 5 foot snake and a gila monster in addition to lots and lots of lizards. Charlie did great spotting creatures. Today, we went to the Sonora Desert Museum (which is really a zoo). Pretty cool.


I'm in the business center now. All the male Gabby family members needed a nap after two busy days! I'm going to go sit on the porch and listen to birds chirp.

Hope everyone is staying warm and dry. I'll "see" you all soon!

[Virgo6]

Hope you and the family enjoy a much needed vacation. Sounds like fun.
Have a great time and takes lots of pictures. :)

[patchiepoopoo]

Glad you got there safely Gabby.
Enoy your time away.

[frawniemae]

OOh a vacation!! I LOVE those things!! :thumb: Have a great time!

[Gabby]

Thought I'd share some photos of the vacation.

That's Charlie w/a Puma at the Sonoran Desert Museum. We were happy NOT to see one of these on any of our hikes!

[Gabby]

Here's the canyon where our condo was located (foot of the mountain). This is about as far "up" as the boys could handle on Easter Morning.

[Gabby]

Charlie at 9000 feet. This was a mountain hike through a gorge. Those of you who know me know that edges are NOT my favorite thing. This hike was pretty nerve wracking!

[Gabby]

Virgo let me know that the pics weren't showing...hopefully I fixed it. :) Let me know if I didn't! :crazy:

[Virgo6]

They are perfect now Gab. It looks gorgeous there. Love Charlie's grin. We will have to get out that way some time. Thanks for sharing.

[pocket]

Looks like quite a trek! Have fun and take more pictures.

My kids bounced everywhere...I'd have been a nervous wreck, too.

[Slitter]

Love the pics, Gabby. :) Charlie apparently didn't inherit your fear of edges. It looks like a beautiful spot.

[Gabby]

Looks like quite a trek! Have fun and take more pictures.

My kids bounced everywhere...I'd have been a nervous wreck, too.

We took a lot of pics! MrGabby has them on a photosharing site...PM me if you want the link. :)

I can't believe that Charlie -- who is afraid of everything and is a top-notch worrier -- doesn't see anything wrong with climbing out on a rock over a deep cliff! :eek: I got wobbly kneed and couldn't look. I kept my head down (looking for snakes!) and trudged up the mountain!

I would absolutely recommend Tucson for a trip. Lots to do and see.

[frawniemae]

Looks like a great vacation! I love hiking throught he mountains. Where exactly did y'all go?

[Gabby]

Tucson, AZ is surrounded by four mountain ranges. We were in the Catalina Foothills region. Specifically, we were in the Ventana Canyon. We also hiked Mt Lemmon and the Sabino Canyon. Mt Lemmon had severe fire damage from 2004 wildfires and Sabino was flooded last summer. Both of those disasters made for some interesting hiking (Sabino's upper regions weren't accessible).

[frawniemae]

Thanks for the info:)...we're always looking for new places to explore! (even tho we still have a lot of places still in Texas we haven't seen)

[WOODTURNER]

...And the birds! They are in a huge cage--so big you don't even know you are in a cage--and hummers and Lazuli Buntings and many birds and groundlings one doesn't see of an ordinary afternoon. Hiking also brings sightings of Mexican birds--somehow more brightly colored than we are used to. Scarlet Tanagers, and birds of prey, many different types of humming birds, lots of flycatchers.

Glad you all had the privilege of taking it all in.

[Fuel]

I had some fun with photoshop over lunch.

Org. image;
http://www.samshelley.com/photos/charlie1.jpg

Edited image;
http://www.samshelley.com/photos/charlie2.jpg

[frawniemae]

Looks good Fuel!

[Gabby]

What a cute boy!

Guess what he (finally) learned to do: ride a two-wheeler! He's having a blast being "free!" He spent yesterday at the pond in our neighborhood observing the frogs.

[Virgo6]

Nice job! You could change the colors Fuel, but not that cute toothless grin!