Tucson AZ and more

The sun has set here in the Sonoran Desert and our visit is winding down to the end.  We leave Tucson on Friday early am driving to Phoenix where we will stay with friends and then our flight leaves Saturday afternoon.  We have thoroughly enjoyed soaking up the sun, absorbing a ton of Vitamin D and listening to the wildlife as they go through their day.  Time freedom is sure on their side and the more I think about how FREE the wildlife is the more I desire that time freedom to go, do and enjoy life.

We have visited the Sonoran Desert Museum several times as we bought a membership last May when we were here.  The museum is an outdoor museum and is very educational.  The raptor free flight is really nice as well as the other demonstrations they offer.  The aquarium is new this year which showcases many native fish, etc.  
The photo above is a great horned owl during the raptor free flight demonstration.  

Tohono Chul Park is a beautiful park right in northern Tucson offering miles of hiking trails through different areas of desert flora and fauna.  

Tucson Botanical Gardens is another very beautiful place to visit right in the city of Tucson.  You can enjoy all sorts of gardens including cactuses from all over the world and also other plants plus a butterfly enclosure until May 1st.  They raise the butterflys and then bring them in to the enclosure.  The extreme heat in the summer prevents the butterfly enclosure to remain open during the summer months.  

We took a hike in the Saguaro National Park where we saw many unusually shaped saguaro cacti.  Miles and miles of hiking trails are available for those who want to hike into the higher elevations in the park for a beautiful view of the valley below.  

Luminosa, our home away from home during our visit, is a beautiful place to hang our hat for a few weeks.  Highly recommend this beautiful casita.  Cynthia and Allan are wonderful hosts and Luminosa has all the amenities of home.  We enjoy cooking our own meals and visit Whole Foods Market in Tucson for groceries.   Incredible savings and healthier choices are enjoyed by hubby and myself when we cook our own meals.

Arizona - arrival 2013

Hello from Luminosa near Tucson, our home away from home in the sunny, warm, desert.  We arrived Denver on time this morning about 0630 but found out our flight did not leave at 0845 but at 1015 am, however, after we boarded the Canadair jet to fly from Denver to Phoenix, the pilot advised that the airplane had a scratch on it that may need attention.  So we waited almost an hour past our departure time for maintenance to take a look at the scratch and to approve the pilot to take off.  We had made lunch plans with our friends, Darlene Ward Kiteley, Ursula Huber and Connie McDanel.  These three ladies did not know each other but they all live within 10 or so miles of each other in and around Sun City West, AZ.  The plans were made to meet at Rosies Italian Cafe which was an excellent choice after we finally got there.  When we parked the Kia rental car we could not get the key out of the ignition so I went into the restaurant, met everyone including Darlene's husband and Connie had driven a Kia and came out and showed us how to get the key out of the ignition.  What in the world is the reason for locking the key in the ignition especially when the car is stopped and in park?
The food was excellent and the service was great and we even met Rosie, the owner and cook.  I had portabello ravioli which came with a salad and two honey buns which were delicious.  Others had sandwiches and pizza and a large salad which looked delicious and the prices were not bad at all.
I want to tell you a little bit about our lunch buddies.  Darlene grew up in the neighborhood living across the street from us in Troy, OH.  She was in college when I started high school so we only knew each other in passing.  She did not run the neighborhood with the rest of us.  I found her on Facebook a few years ago and last year was the first time we met again after close to 45 years or so.  She met with us in Phoenix along with two of my classmates who live in the Phoenix area.  It was so nice to catch up with her.  We met Ursula on a small boat wildlife cruise in Prince William Sound in Alaska two summers ago and found out she lives in Sun City West in the winter and works at Portage Glacier in the summer in Alaska.  She is a wonderful friend and she truly enjoys life.  Connie has been a friend for 5 years and she and her husband, Michael, are colleagues in our Young Living essential oil business organization.  They are both wonderful leaders and teachers and, in fact, Connie was a teacher and Michael was a pilot in the Air Force.  They both retired to share wellness, purpose and abundance with others.  We all thoroughly enjoyed our lunch and now there are new friends who will continue to enjoy friendships.
We left Phoenix about 230 or so driving 106 miles south to Tucson where we purchased groceries at Whole Foods Market.  Finally made it to Luminosa about 7pm or so.  We are all unpacked for the next two weeks.
Here are photos of me and Darlene and her husband and me and Ursula.  Photos of us and Connie will be taken the end of next week when we drive to Phoenix and stay with Connie and Michael prior to leaving AZ.

Arizona 2013

Happy Monday everyone,

We left Anchorage at 1130 Sunday night arriving in Denver at 630 am Monday and now we are about to leave for Phoenix at 0915 am arriving Phoenix at 1030.  Meeting friends for lunch at Rosies Italian Cafe in Sun City West at 1130.  I hope we make it but it not they will wait for us.  It is a 37 mile drive northwest of the Sky Harbor Airport.  Sitting in airports is rather interesting as I wonder where everyone is coming or going.  I take a look around the gate area where we are to see who will be flying with us on this flight to Phoenix and everyone looks ok to me.  We enjoyed a Mexican scrambled egg, potatoe, onion, and chicken bowl with medium salsa for breakfast at the Denver airport.  Hey I did not take a photo of that meal.  Oh well....plenty more meals and photo ops during the next few weeks.  
We have never been here in Denver airport which is really large.  One can get alot of walking done in this airport walking or running from gate to gate.  The sun is out with a few clouds in the sky but not sure what the temperature is...no snow on the tarmac so it is totally different than Anchorage airport.  We received 5+ inches of snow on Sunday during the day so I am glad I wore my hiking boots to the airport.

The Saguaros are Sweet

The giant Saguaro is an icon of the American southwest and so are beautiful sunsets. Together these two icons make a beautiful image. My camera has been able to capture this image several times this past week and I have one more chance to get my best sunset image yet. Saturday we drove across Tucson to Saguaro National Park East enjoying a 6 mile drive through the park. We noticed there were not nearly as many saguaro cacti in this park as there are in Saguaro Park West just down the road and around the corner about 6 miles from the casita where we are staying. The reason is there have been several freezes in that area and freezing weather does a number on the saguaro. In fact, the saguaro which have ridges around the cactus show signs of damage including freezing temperatures. The most important factors for growth is water and mild temperatures. The cacti can hold 70% water in the inner reeds which run through the plant from bottom to top and live on this water for a long time until the summer and winter rains. Many of these cacti can live 150-200 years and at 10 years old may only be 1.5 inches tall. Some saguaro can grow 40-60 feet tall and have up to 25 arms. We counted 13 arms which was a record that we saw. The root system extends 4-6 inches deep but as wide as it is tall. The main tap root can extend more than 2 feet. The seeds of the flowers on the top of the cactus are carried by birds, deposited under the trees where the birds roost and then the seeds germinate and little off white puff ball type things (much like cotton balls) start growing using the shade of the other tree as protection. We saw many of these new saguaro plants and as they grow the shade tree and the saguaro either co-exist or one of them wins the race and the other one dies off.

As I write this blog, the Superbowl is on and the evening light here in the Tucson area is waning and my camera is on the tripod awaiting a spectacular sunset like we experienced last night. The most beautiful part of the sunset was during our drive across Tucson back to the casita. The entire sky was red, orange, yellow and beautiful and, of course, the drive back did not provide a good place to pull over and capture the images of the sunset. Too many wires, buildings, towers, etc in the way so tonight the sky is a little cloudy and we could have a most spectacular sunset and I am ready.

We have a piece of chicken, pizza sauce, flat bread, sliced tomatoes, salad, and an apple to eat before we leave. Two eggs for the morning breakfast and possible leftover pizza as well. We are sad to leave this gorgeous area but we are planning a visit in April/May 2012 and probably for several weeks but we will see. At least we will reserve a week here in the casita during the cactus blooming season. We highly recommend this great place to stay - so much better than a motel or even a bed and breakfast and very reasonable. If you want information on the rental, just let us know.

Tucson Studios and evening hike

Today we decided to visit Tucson Studios which is no more than 7 miles from our casita where we are staying. This is the place where many western movies and TV shows were filmed. John Wayne, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Maureen Ohara, Clint Eastwood, Gene Wilder, Harrison Ford and Ricky Nelson are just a few of the actors and actresses who walked around the set of Old Tucson Studios. It really is a great place to visit and we highly recommend it. It takes a better part of a day because there is so much to see and shows are scheduled throughout the day. The train takes you around the 3 mile perimeter of the grounds and is included in the entry fee along with all the shows. The stage coach ride is $3.00 which lasts for about 20 minutes. Make sure you also take the 20 minute guided walking tour which is very informative. We watched the shoot out, the cancan show, and the comedy action show in front of the Alamo facade. That show is hilarious and I have a ton of action images if you want to see them. The pizza we had was also very good.

We left there about 3 pm and drove to the picnic area in the Saguaro National Park West where we joined a sunset hike at 3:30 pm with a ranger. We hiked 3 1/2 miles and enjoyed the sunset at the Valley View overlook. What a great place to get sunset photos. We learned quite a bit about the flora and fauna of the desert and walked up and down hills and through a dry wash area. There is so little surface water but if you dig down about 8 inches or so you do start hitting water so the animals wallow in the dirt until they reach a cool, moist area. This is in the dry washes where the water runs when it rains. There has been so little winter rain that a lot of the trees and bushes are still dead looking and they are concerned about the spring flowering plants and cactus. Last year this time the desert was just starting the bloom. The ranger said it looked like photos in the Arizona Highways magazine with all the beautiful blooms.

The blooms that we have seen on the barrel cactuses are remnants from last year. Next year we plan on visiting in mid April to catch the spring blooming season.

Our week's visit ends in two more days and we will be very sad to return to Alaska. This is a great place to live and we see why so many snowbirds come to this area. The ranger who led our hike is a retired ranger who works at different parks throughout the year. He has worked the last two winters in Saguaro National Park and in the summer he works at Glacier National Park. What a great life he has. He stays in his RV during the winter and has a house up in Montana for the summer months.

Saguaro and more

What a great day we had today visiting the International Wildlife Museum and driving through the Saguaro National Park West. It was a beautiful sunny day with NO clouds in the sky but still cool and when the wind blew it was a very cool breeze. The wildlife museum is very nice and the animals were very well displayed. Here is the some info I found about the museum: Founded in 1988, the museum highlights over 400 species of insects, mammals and birds from around the globe. Some of the collections are more than 100 years old and all the animals found at the museum were donated by various government agencies, wildlife rehabilitation centers, captive breeding programs, zoos and individuals.

We then went to Saguaro National Park West visitor center where I bought a t-shirt with advice from a saguaro on it. We then walked the cactus garden trail and drove the 6 mile loop stopping and taking photos of the very unique one-of-a-kind cactuses. As you can see by some of the photos, they each have a character of their own. We signed up for a 3 1/2 hour hike on Friday at 3:30 pm where we will look for signs of wildlife as we hike with the ranger and wait for the sunset. The sunsets here are gorgeous and where we are staying there is NO light pollution so the night sky really puts on a great show.

Wed we visited Tombstone and enjoyed the trolley ride, a visit to Boothill cemetery, the Bird Cage and the museum inside the courthouse. We also went to the Rose Tree museum where we found the world's largest rosebush in the courtyard. It is over 120 years old and takes up over 8600 square feet in an overhead trellis with a base that looks like a twisted tree trunk. It was sent from Scotland in 1885, planted against a wooden shed and it knocked over the shed. Then the trellis was built as it grew. It has millions of white blooms during the spring and summer months.

We had dinner at a friend's house in Sierra Vista who moved three years ago from OH. Thank you Bev, Tom and Logan for your kind hospitality and a great meal.

We have thoroughly enjoyed cooking our own meals here in the casita and we even did a load of laundry tonight. This will be an annual event for us until we decide to spend our winters down here. We highly recommend a visit to this area.

Desert Museum Tucson AZ

Ken and I spent 4 1/2 hours today at the Desert Museum in Tucson, AZ. What a great place to learn about the desert, wildlife and the history of the desert. The exhibits are designed to fit into the surrounding desert landscape and the rocks in the exhibits are molded to look just like the real thing. Gravel and rock walkways lead to different types of desert flora and fauna and wildlife exhibits. The weather today started out very nice, then the clouds rolled in, the wind started and the temperatures dropped which prompted me to put on my Alaskan winter hat and a coat. Some folks even had gloves on as they walked around the museum grounds. We attended a Harris Hawk flying demonstration and learned how these hawks are trained to fly when released from their cages around the crowd and land on gloved hands of their trainers to get food. This all happens out in the wild and they can fly away if they so choose but they do not. As it was windy, it took all their energy to fly and even land. We then came home (approximately 7 miles from the museum) and made pizza on nana bread and ate salad. We are getting ready to enjoy a small scoop of almond ice cream. We have shopped at Whole Foods Market which is an awesome store with great organic and fresh foods. It is so nice to be able to cook fresh food while on vacation instead of eating in restaurants. We cook at home and really enjoy trying new recipes. We made a potato frittata this morning which was absolutely delicious. Tomorrow we are driving 70 miles to Tombstone to meet a friend from OH who moved to Sierra Vista AZ about 4 years ago. Watch for more blogs and photos Wed or Thurs.

Our trip to Tucson

Hello, Yeah I know it has been a super long time since I have entered a post on here but I plan on doing a lot more blogs. What a great way to share your life. We are in Tucson AZ for a week and our trip started out at 0151 am Sat June 29th - well sort of. We arrived very early at the Anchorage airport after having dinner with great friends in Anchorage and sat and waited for the US Air gate to open at 10 pm. We then checked our luggage, went through security with no issues and proceeded to the gate after we searched the entire airport for a place to purchase an economical salad. We found a great salad at an awesome price at Quiznos. WOW, airport food is very expensive but then I knew that already. Finally we were able to board the big bird and the longer we sat in the airplane after the door was shut my mind told me there was a problem and sure enough the captain came on the loudspeaker system and told us there was a hydraulic issue and the mechanics were working on it. Two hours later we disembarked and were given a card with an 888 number to call for other arrangements or we could wait in line at the US Air ticket counter after getting our luggage to make other arrangements which is what I chose to do but after standing in line for 45 minutes I got out the trusty cell phone (Thank GOD for those things in emergencies) and made contact with Carol who kept putting me on hold to call US Air..I then found out she works for a travel company who is contracted to take reservations for the airline but did not have direct contact with the airline. GO FIGURE. She kept telling me there was a flight at 0151 and it is now 430 am Sat in Anchorage and I kept telling her I knew that but due to the broken airplane we were standing in line at the ticket counter trying to make other arrangements. After 4 of these conversations I finally made it clear to her (she spoke very good English, too) that it was well past 0151 am and that flight 149 was canceled. She told me there was a flight at 0600 Sat morning but AK Airlines was closed so I asked her what about Sunday and she told me about the flight at 0151 am and I told her to book us for that one so we went home and then had to call Enterprise to cancel our car for Sat and to pick it up on Sunday. Now here is an economics lesson - if you own a business in a city hosting a huge event like the international gem and mineral show in Tucson raise your rates because there will be a ton of tourists and, well, you could probably retire early or go broke. That is exactly what all the car rental places did this week. Rates are now doubled and tripled and we are victims of circumstance. After talking to a few people, I finally gave up and went to bed but kept our original reservations. After sleeping for about 4 hours, I got up with a fresh mind and called Enterprise, US Air, and Expedia and finally decided that if we terminated our flight in Phoenix and rented a car and drove the two hours to Tucson we would save a couple of hundred of not more dollars on the car rental. I also knew that we would have to pay for a house for one night that we could not use in Tucson but the owner graciously told us if we could extend our trip she would let us stay until the 7th instead of leaving on the 5th of February - well the light bulb went off in my head and I decided to extend our trip if US Air would pay for the change. After five phone calls to US Air the last person told me I would have to make those changes at the ticket counter in Anchorage so off we went about 10 pm Sat to the airport again, luggage in tow, freezing our rears off as it was 16 degrees and we were dressed for warm weather - no winter coats or boots. Parking in the airport employee parking lot is a great benefit of working at the airport (free parking) but you gotta walk a distance to get to the terminal.

We went to the ticket counter and explained our dilemma to the gate agent and she had to get her supervisor to approve the changes and thanks to a wonderful gal we were able to not only get seats together on the new flight (exit row) but extend our trip to the 7th of Feb arriving home at midnight and we were also able to get bulkhead seats on the return trip. WOW it certainly does pay to be a nice frustrated customer as I have been learning recently.

Well, we are here in AZ and have thoroughly enjoyed the drive down to Tucson and the casita is absolutely gorgeous on 5.2 acres of desert land with cacti all around and surrounded by mountains on the horizon. The owners, Al and Cynthia, are wonderful, friendly people and very helpful as well. They live about 300 feet away in a larger house but built this casita for themselves for the future so it is very nice. It is about 600 square feet and all open complete with a very nice bathroom and laundry room and cement patio around the complete house with table, chairs, lounge chairs and a barbecue. What a beautiful day it is this morning as I sit here enjoying nice music and waiting for breakfast to be served - love my hubby who LOVES to cook. We went to Whole Foods Market (wish there was one in Anchorage) and bought groceries for a few days when we arrived in Tucson and found out it was right across the street from the Safeway where the shooting occurred involving Senator Giffords.

This just may be a yearly event for us until we retire. Bookmark the blog as I intend to share our experiences daily with you.

Ancient Medicine...now the best

Ancient medicine includes essential oils and aromatics and were some of the most highly prized natural medicines in the world. References to all sorts of oils appear in many historical drawings and in the Bible. Many essential oils reverse aging by providing antioxidants that protect tissues and organs from free radicals caused by pollutants, chemicals, and other harmful ingredients. Free radicals have been substantiated as a major cause of aging. Gary Young, founder of Young Living in 1984, has done extensive research and has found all of this to be true. Essential oils are steam distilled from the leaves, flowers, roots and bark of plants. Essential oils are the blood of the plant and just like human blood are full of oxygen which carries nutrients to the plants. When humans use essential oils the oxygen carries the therapeutic properties of that oil directly to the source of the affected area in the body and the oil works with the body to heal itself. Total brain antioxidant levels naturally occur with age. Thyme essential oil has been found to slow the decline of these antioxidants. Just think, as an 80 year old you could have the same brain chemistry of a 20 year old. Clove oil exhibits antitumoral and other DNA protectant effects thus protecting the body against cancer. Overeating can also be a cause of aging. By restricting caloric intake, studies have shown that increases blood levels of growth hormones which increases longevity and postponement of disease. In ancient times, people ate only what was provided by the land which prohibited them from overeating like so many people do today. Especially with the buffets and fast food restaurants, people tend to overeat and eat the wrong types of foods. It looks so delicious and smells so good our bodies demand the food whether it is good for us or not. People in northern Pakistan are known for their longevity and the near absence of degenerative diseases. Their diet is high in potassium and low in sodium. Apricots, barley, millet and buckwhear the the main staples of this group of people. Also, the water they drink is mineral-rich with a pH of 8.5 which is very good.

Homer Eagles

WOW! What a week spent in Homer, AK photographing eagles with our friends from Maryland, Fred and Bobbie, who also LOVE to photograph eagles. Well over 1500 images from the week and I hope to post a few on this blog for you to enjoy. Eagles are such wonderful birds, very large here in AK, and as Bobbie said, the higher the latitude the bigger the birds. I do believe that is true. The eagle lady, Jean Keene, passed away in January but her helper Steve is still feeding them until the end of March. Hundreds come for the daily morning feeding and enjoy the whole herring that is thrown for them. Many of them catch the fish on the fly and some fight for it on the snow covered beach. Others are brave and land on the fencing around the table Steve uses to open the boxes. Jean and Steve both have a close relationship with these eagles. They fly so close you can hear their wings as they fly overhead. Friday was a very windy day with waves over 10 feet and the eagles had trouble flying. In fact, I could not even hardly get my car door open let alone walk to a good shooting spot. I hope you enjoy some of my photos. Highly recommend a trip to AK in the winter as there is such beauty with the pristine, white stuff all over the ground and mountains.

My Family

I just wanted to share my wonderful family with you. We are proud parents of our son, Matthew Shane Zirkle, and he is married to a wonderful woman named Tosha. She has a 12 year old son, Tiger, and her sister, Toya also lives close by with her 6 year old daughter, Asya. We live in Eagle River in a beautiful split level home at the base of the Chugach mountains. We will soon be doing major construction adding on a second level addition enlarging the home another 1400 square feet and completing the in-law quarters which will be our new 1-bedroom apartment. Take a look at the photos of my beautiful family and home.

Winter in Alaska

For those of you who read my blogs and enjoy winter, you really should think about visiting Alaska in the winter. There are so many wonderful outdoor activities and trails for skiing, skijoring, snowshoeing, etc. The snowmachines are out in full force on the mountainsides and the ice climbers enjoy the massive amount of ice to climb along the cliffs. We have about 2 feet of snow at this writing and, yes, we had a white Christmas which is normal in this part of the world. Enjoy my photos and I appreciate your comments.

Southwest Utah

Our Elderhostel tour of Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyon (north rim) was absolutely fabulous. Elderhostel is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing exceptional learning opportunities at a remarkable value. This is our first Elderhostel tour and it will NOT be our last. The lodging, food, fun and fellowship and instruction was outstanding. We began our tour in St George, Utah where we stayed at College Inn for the night and then boarded a large bus (15 in our group) for Zion Canyon. Zion is comprised cliffs and towers, canyons and waterfalls providing a scene that is absolutely beautiful. When the sun rises or sets the red cliffs glow with oranges and firey reds creating a dramatic lighting effect. Photographers LOVE this type of lighting with shadows falling down the rock walls creating more of a dramatic effect.

Southwest Utah is a Fabulous place to visit

Ken and I just returned from our Elderhostel photo tour of southwestern Utah and, my oh my, what beautiful artwork in the form of rainbow hues of rock. I will post a blog and some photos this week so keep checking this blog for those images and story.

Homer AK

Where in the heck is Homer, AK you ask? Well it sits at the end of the 4 1/2 mile spit off the southern coast of Alaska and is as far south as you can drive in AK. It is an artsy community with galleries encompassing all sorts of locally made crafts. There are wonderful restaurants and lots of different types of lodging to accommodate any type of traveler. We just spent 5 days there at the Homer Spit Campground where we walked the beach several times finding all sorts of interesting creatures, foliage, rocks, and shells.
Our trip to Katmai to photograph the brown bears was canceled due to high gale force winds and rain and, in fact, the daily trips were canceled all week because of the weather. Hopefully we can reschedule for next summer with Emerald Air. Take a look at the photos posted with this blog and see what we saw.

Alaska has so much wilderness, over 3 million acres, to be exact. Wildlife abounds around every corner in the form of bear, moose, caribou, mountain goat, whales, puffins, eagles, otters, porcupine, and many other wonderful animals. There is so much opportunity to connect to wildlife and the rugged wilderness unlike many other areas in the lower 48. Everyone we have encountered have thoroughly enjoyed their visit and will return again to explore more wilderness. If you are a camper, you can stake out your tent anywhere you wish or park your RV along a bubbling brook or river and watch the world go by. If you enjoy water activities and boats, you can take a variety of cruises to view glaciers up close and personal and wildlife as it appears along the way. Bush pilots will take you to see bears and to remote fishing camps. Many bus trips are offered as well as train rides to various parts of the largest state in the USA. The State of Alaska is often shown as a very small area on weather maps and more often than not in the wrong area of the world. I had one person ask me how I liked living on a postage size piece of land and after I explained to her how big the state actually is she was shocked. Alaska is 1/5 the size of the USA. Certain glaciers are bigger than the State of Delaware. Millions of acres are preserved by the state and federal governments as park land. In fact, Denali offers hikers and backpackers the whole park to explore. There are NO trails and NO fences and they encourage you to explore anywhere in the park. What a great way to explore nature.

Have you ever thought about visiting Alaska? Seen videos or photos of the last frontier and wish you were there? Well, I just moved up to Alaska in April 2007 followed by my husband in Sept of 2007 and we are thoroughly enjoying our new home state. We live with our son and his wife and her 12 year old son in their rec room right now until our in-law quarters are completed. I work for DHL in Anchorage and hubby is semi-retired working as a manager of a campground 5 days a week in the summer and for the Anchorage school district as a substitute teacher's assistant during the school year. We just recently visited Denali National Park and enjoyed the trip so much we intend to make it a yearly event taking friends from the lower 48 with us. We both highly recommend the 90 mile bus trip and the flight seeing tour of Mt McKinley and the flight out to the Denali Natl Park airstrip. What a glorious flight we had and were able to capture the beauty of the mountain and surrounding peaks, the braided rivers and some wildlife during this trip. Look for the slideshow on this blog and take a look at what we saw.