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.