The Southwest - Winter 2007 Tucson - Desert Museum
Val says.....
Before we even entered the Desert Museum, we were greeted by a resident Barn Owl. This beautiful raptor, being held by a museum docent, calmly surveyed the curious humans gathering around him. After admiring the owl and taking several photos, we entered the museum.
The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a one-of-a-kind zoo, museum, and botanical garden located about 12 miles north west of Tucson, Arizona, via a scenic desert landscape, over a mountain pass and down into a Sonoran Desert valley. Walking along the almost two miles of paths through about 21 acres of desert the visitor can see many species of animals and plants native to the Sonoran Desert region, which includes parts of Arizona and California, as well as the states of Sonora and Baja California in Mexico.
The desert environment includes many different habitats, each with its own compliment of animals and plants. In the mountain woodland areas can be found mountain lions, black bears, white-tailed deer, bighorn sheep, and the Mexican wolf. The desert grasslands are home to prairie dogs, coyote, and javelina. The canyons may harbour bobcats, ocelots, and more mountain lions, while the riparian (stream-side) corridors include beavers, otters, and coati as well as fish and amphibians. Many varieties of birds makes their homes in the desert such as hawks, owls, golden eagles, song birds, and hummingbirds. It is also possible to see some wild animals such as the chipmunk we observed as he sat on top of a barrel cactus and devoured one of its fruits.
In addition to the animal habitats and displays, there are several desert gardens to enjoy, such as the cactus garden, the pollination gardens, and many magnificent saguaro.
The museum also includes exhibits of snakes, lizards, spiders and scorpions; all safely housed behind glass. In the same area the Arizona wildflower models should not be missed.
For those interested in the earth sciences, there is a limestone cave which explains the formation of caves and of the earth itself. This exhibit includes stalagmites, stalactites, pools and salamanders. Also in this area is an excellent collection of regional minerals and gemstones.
We enjoyed our half-day visit to the Desert Museum, but, as with most of our stops, we could have used more time for Lou to photograph and I would have explored some of the exhibits that we had to by-pass.
