Jared and Shaylee Visit

This month we were lucky enough to have a visit from Jared and Shaylee. They traveled down from Utah and we wanted to show them the sights of Tucson. Here we are at the Trail Dust Town Wild West Stunt Show. They shot hand guns, shot guns, and there was even a large explosion at one point. Jordan thought it was awesome and loved having the ear muffs on.



Here is the cast for the Wild West Stunt Show. We went on a Monday, so there was our group and two other couples. We thought that is might be a little weird not having much of an audience, but they got us all involved in the act and we had a ton of fun! 

This is another part of the "Trail Dust Town." This is a place where you get a feel for what the "Old West" was like. Here is a picture of Jordan and Dad looking at a place you can pan for gold. 

The Trail Dust Town had a fun shooting alley as well. When you shot a target things moved or made sound. Jordan loved it!

Here are the sharp-shooters having a great time. Jordan thought it was neat to shoot a big gun like Daddy and Jared was lights out with his gun.

Here we are in front of the shooting alley on a mechanical horse. Jordan called him Bulls-eye from the Toys movies. Natalie saw Jordan on the horse and just had to have her turn as well.

As part of  Jared and Shaylee's trip to Tucson we went out to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. On our way we stopped at the Saguaro National Park to see the sights. Here is a picture out the back of the visitor's center. It is amazing how many saguaro cactus are on this hillside. (Interestingly, the 'g' is silent in saguaro. It is pronounced sa' uaro.  You know someone is from out-of-town when they say it wrong.)



Here is a little closer shot of the famous saguaro cactus. Even though they look like a bunch of sticks, there are enough of them that they are difficult to see through. Here are some interesting facts about the saguaro cactus:

1. They grow very slow. A ten year old cactus might only be 1.5 inches tall.
2. They can live to be 150-200 years old under the right conditions. The ones you are seeing in the pictures about have been there since the before the land was broken.
3. They live exclusively in the Sonoran desert.
4. They can grow between 40-60 feet tall
5. When rain is plentiful a Saguaro is fully hydrated it can range between 3200-4800 pounds.
6. Even though they are very tall, their roots are only 4-6 inches deep. They extend out about as far as the cactus is tall. There is a single taproot that goes about 6 feet down to collect water from the ground.
7. Depending on how much water they absorb, they can shrink or swell 20-25 percent over the course of a year.
8. The saguaro cactus serves as a hotel for many birds. Apparently they can push through the spines and carve out little homes.

Here is a nice picture of Jared and Shaylee at the Saguaro National Park Visitor's Center.

At the Desert Museum they had a really fun un-tethered Raptor Free-Flight demonstration. There were a couple of areas where you could watch the birds fly around and we picked the highest one. The birds were amazing! Part of the show involved a family of  Harris Hawks which are shown in the picture above. We got right next to the helper (shown holding the bird) and we could actually hear the birds as they came in to perch on her hand. It turns out they lure them up to this spot with raw meat, yum! 

Jordan and Natalie got a little bored watching the birds fly around, so here we are going up and down stairs! I always find it interesting that the things that interest grown ups (like birds flying so close they look like they will hit you in the head!) and the things that interest kids (going up and down stairs) are so different.

Here is a sampling of animals in the desert museum. We refer to is as a desert zoo because of all the animals that they present. From upper left and moving clockwise there is a seahorse, mountain lion (yes, there are lots of these in the area), a black bear (these too up on Mount Lemmon), an interesting fish, and black tailed prairie dog. Even though there is not much water in southern Arizona, the Sonoran Desert goes until the Sea of Cortez (in the Gulf of California), hence the fish.

Here is Jordan loving watching the prairie dogs. It turns out that the museum worker fed these little guys right as we were watching them so they really put on a show for us. They are the cutest little guys, especially when they sat on their rear legs and ate their food. Think animal with the biggest belly in the world with small arms, feet, and head. They were hilarious to watch!

Part of the museum tour was a walk to see Javelina, Coyotes, and desert plants. These two spots were on the way. Natalie loved exploring this new place.

Here we are with two tired kids at the end of the day. They found where the museum's strollers were and wanted rides. Actually, Jordan found them and got pushed by Daddy. Not to be outdone, Natalie wanted in on the action as well!

On our way back home, we stopped at the top of Gates Pass to take some pictures. Here is a nice one of Jared and Preston. Notice the matching beards...

Here is a nice picture towards Avra Valley taken from the top of the pass. Avra Valley is the next valley to the west from Tucson.

We successfully wiped out or kids after a day of fun and adventure. They had lots of fun and really enjoyed spending time with their aunt and uncle. We really appreciated Jared and Shaylee taking the time to come down and visit us so far away from their home in Utah. Thanks for the fun!