So let’s get right to it with those venomous critters! After a delightful breakfast served by Chef Green we headed off to ride the Loop out to Oro Valley. And what did we see, right off the bat in the parking lot
Makes you sit up straight on that bike and really watch the path! The 9 miles out seemed oddly tough to both of us. We speculated on tire inflation and old tired legs as the cause but didn’t reach any firm conclusion. Wasn’t a big concern anyway as the scenery was just delightful.
When we turned around and headed back, we started to fly! There must have been one of the sneaky invisible inclines on the way out; what a treat on the way back! That was our last ride on the Loop. We have thoroughly enjoyed it although there does seem to be a rather puzzling greetings custom. On our first ride, I said “Good Morning” to a cyclist that we were passing and she very clearly responded “Good Afternoon”. I checked my watch and it was 12:20 so I figured fair enough, she’s more on top of things than I am! Today I said “Good Morning” to a passing cyclist with great confidence that I was firmly in the AM hours and he replied “Good Evening”! WTF! Is this some sort of weird game the locals play on the Loop? We’ll never know as it’s on to Sedona for us tomorrow.
We headed off to the Sonora Desert Museum after our ride, hoping to make the 2PM Raptor Show. Some of you reading this blog will know who was hoping to make the Raptor show and who was secretly hoping we would be struck by lightening on the way 🙂 We did a quick clothing change in a Gates Pass bathroom and made it to the museum around 1:30. That meant no time for lunch as we had to hustle to let those raptors swoop over our heads. Swoop they did and I will leave it to Tom to fill in with pictures. I was trying to remain as still and unobtrusive as possible during the show. Next up was a delicious ice cream cone and cookie lunch – hope this is not becoming a habit!
The museum is 96 acres and mostly outdoors.Wildlife viewing was great. Katie, a couple of your favorites are in here and Maggie, please take note of what the prarie dogs are eating
Saw some new varieties and some, now, old favorites in the cactus garden
The museum closed at 5 and we wanted to catch a sunset behind the mountains so we hurried off for a quick dinner.
Tinys didn’t look like much from the outside, but inside we feasted on delicious big burgers, onion rings, and slaw. Ok, maybe this is not a food day to be proud of but we did have kale in our breakfast eggs!
Caught the tail end of sunset. What a wonderful ending to our last day in Tucson (at least for this visit).
