We've made it to Arizona at last

After the long drive across Texas and New Mexico, we finally made it to Arizona. What an interest trip down I-10 to watch the landscape change from sub-tropical forests and white sand beaches near Pensacola to bald-cypress swamps in Louisiana, to oak-covered prairies in Texas, to grasslands of the Chihuahua desert in New Mexico, and finally to see those saguaros of the Sonoran Desert in Arizona.

Our sunrise view of the Baboquivari Mountains and Kitt Peak

Our first night back in the State of Arizona was at our old stomping grounds of Tucson Mountain Park, where we stayed in two stints last winter. We will hang out in the Sonoran Desert to stay warm through a series of storms bashing California and northern Arizona and then migrate north to Sedona after the holidays.

This is what happens when a monkey plays with a cholla

Being back in the desert, it was a good time to remind Hilina about the changes in the vegetation. But, despite being under 3 years old, she has vivid memories of Arizona from last year. She already remembered several things before we brought them up. We took her to the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum the next morning and she was practically leading me around to the various animals and things to see there.

Here is your "Where's Waldo" image
Click on the image and then find the wildlife in this image

While no rain has fallen since we arrived back in Tucson, you can tell the skies are unsteady. But, it has definitely made for some beautiful sunsets and cloud formations.

By the way, I still have a few posts to offer about Texas, which I will get to after the holidays. But, rather than have you think we are still back there, I went ahead and let you know we have moved west.