Catalina Camping Capers

It's mid January, and we are once again camping out at Catalina State Park.   Only this year, the weather is much warmer and the days have been in the mid-70's while other parts of the country are suffering snowstorms and cold, bitter weather.  

 This is the view from our site.  Great weather, great views and being surrounded by family and friends.  We are richly blessed!

Every year we come up with something new to make.  This year, Jerry and Sandy made "Jerry's Big Bubbas" where everything except the kitchen sink is loaded on to a baked potato.  Trust me, after eating the stuffed potato, I was stuffed.

 Norm is being followed by Molly, hoping she gets a bite of the potato.

 And here we are again at the same table the next morning, gobbling down the bacon, eggs, toast and hash browns.  For some reason, everything tastes better when eating al fresco.

Eating again?  Yep, but this time we are enjoying the peach/blueberry cobbler that Jerry made in his cast iron Dutch oven.  Our nephew, Greg, his wife Lori and daughter Cassidy joined us that night for supper and dessert.

 The dogs were waiting for a bite but I don't think anyone was willing to share with either Sammy or Molly.

 To work off the calories we did a lot of walking, hiking and biking.  Thank goodness there are a lot of great trails in the park.

Jerry's daughter, Melissa, holds on to her son, Owen as he struggles to get free.  He was tired and near the end of his rope at this point.  It's always fun dealing with a cranky two year old!

Is this some kind of Dagwood sandwich?  No, it's just McKenna,Lauren and Cassidy being pulled back by Lori!

 The competition is fierce when we play Cornhole.  Sandy demonstrates her unusual stance, but I don't know if she got the bag in the hole or not.

Good grief!  It's time to eat again!  Norm cuts the turkey while Don and Sherry hold on to it.  This year, we had 25 people for Saturday dinner, which consisted of ham, turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole,gravy, cranberries, corn, rolls and two desserts.  Needless to say, no one went away hungry.

Time to pray before we eat. And yes, I did put down the camera to join in.

Notice anything odd about this picture?  Is it cold outside or warm?  You sure couldn't tell by the way some of us were dressed. Nellie had on long pants and a sweater, Jannie had on her sweats, while Don and Norm are in shorts and short sleeves!  

For the second year in a row, we had a picture taken of the ladies who graduated from Flowing Wells.  From the left is Sandy Bollmeier White, Sherry Lynn MacFarlane, me, Doris Bollmeier Sherwood and Nellie Hanson Galloway.

Pictures taken, we all head back to rejoin the rest of the group.

We had no busboy to clean off the tables, but Sammy took care of that for us.  I guess we didn't get all that turkey juice completely cleaned off!

Tohono Chul

Ever since I read Queen of the Night book by J.A. Jance, I have wanted to visit Tohono Chul Botanical Gardens.  I finally got my wish when we stayed out at Catalina State Park again this year.  Tohono Chul is about a 10 minute drive from the park, so we opted for a ladies afternoon out.  The guys were glad they weren't invited and stayed behind to do "manly things".

The garden has numerous metal sculptures located in different spots along the way.  The one I like the best was this huge metal horse surrounded by a circular stone wall and cacti.

What's going on here?  Doris is oblivious to the fact that is Sandy looking under the tail end of the horse and Sherry standing at attention!

 I cuddled right up to him, safe in the knowledge that I wouldn't be bitten or sneezed on!

Even at this time of the year, walking around the garden was enjoyable.  The original house was built in the 1940's or 50's and was occupied by different families.  In 1985 , the house and land were formally dedicated as Tohono Chul Park.

This was one huge horned toad sculpture! 

Sandy, Sherry and Doris look over the twisted shape of the tree that made its way across the boulder before shooting upwards.

 If you want ideas for your backyard, this is the place to visit.  Numerous nooks and crannies lend themselves to small private gardens along the way.

The sign said this was a sculpture of a mule deer, but the face sure looks more like an aardvark.  See what I mean?  Maybe the artist was thinking of both animals when he started in on this project.

Several times we had to stop and look at the map to find where we were at.  I think it was Sandy who figured it out and got us back on the path to the entrance.

Of course, for us ladies, no visit is complete with a stop at the gift shop!  If the guys had been along with us, they would have been sitting outside while we browsed and gabbed and then browsed and gabbed some more.

The Healing Garden

After touring the botanical garden at Tohono Chul, Doris took us to the Christina Taylor Green Healing Garden, located at St. Odelia's Catholic church in Northwest Tucson.  Sherry and Doris watched while Sandy too a picture of the stone donated in Gary's memory.

Christina was only 9 years old when she was killed in the mass shooting nearby just 3 years ago this January.  The shooting also took the lives of others and wounded many, including Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords

The stone was donated by Ray and Elaine Guenette, neighbors and close friends of both Doris and Gary.  In 3 more days, it will be one year since the Lord called him home.  Gary, you are missed, not only by Doris, but your family and many friends that you touched along the way.

Catalina Critters

On most Saturdays, Catalina State Park hosts a wildlife exhibit (weather permitting).  A bunch of us went by car or on bikes to look at what was on display.  Below, Doris and Lori along with our great nieces view some of the snakes in the cages. 

One volunteer was wearing a snake bracelet, something you will NEVER see on me!

One of the aquariums had a 5 foot Diamondback rattlesnake.  Just looking at him gave me chills.  Ugh!  He was all "rattled" so to speak and his tail was shaking.  Even with the glass, I didn't get too close.

This is what you see when you look down a Gila Monster's mouth. I couldn't tell if his tonsils were there or not.  There were at least 3 Gila Monsters in an enclosure, roaming around to their heart's content.  This one had taken refuge in a small hollowed out log and when the volunteer tried to push him out, he protested.  I heard one volunteer state that a man had been bitten by one of these critters, and they had to amputate his thumb since the Gila Monster is a protected species!  

At least the black coach whips weren't poisonous, but I still wouldn't want one in my back yard.

Lori, who is married to my nephew, Greg Mott, was the only one brave enough to hold one of the non poisonous snakes.  The volunteer told us some of the smaller ones will even attack rattlesnakes because they are immune to the venom.  

And last, but not least, is a book everyone should have..........."Who Pooped in the Sonoran Desert?"   After all, when you are out in the desert you sure want to know what kind of poop to avoid stepping on!