We are on our sixth Hay Arizona Adventure (HAA), and it did not disappoint.
First, of course, Cooper is not quite sure what all the ruckus is. He knows that we are packing, but really, he just wants to play ball.
And if he can’t play ball, he needs to be right in the middle of what we seem to be doing. Right now, we are packing snacks. Can I have one too?
Now, we are ready to drop off Cooper as we head out. Oh, such a sweet sorrow.
I have to give Coopy one last hug. I’ll miss the little guy!
Now, Daddy, great job packing the car. We are so excited for our drive because we can get Circle K cinnamon coffee.
We arrived a Kartchner around lunch time (it’s about 1 hour south of Tucson).
I have been wanting to check out these caves for a year or so It’s a hidden treasure we have in Arizona.
Our tour began at 1:45, and with Covid, there were only about 7 of us; a nice intimate group. We would learn about in 1974 how Gary (not sure of his last name) discovered these caves in college. He brought in his friend Randy, and convinced a science teacher, James Kartchner, to purchase this area. Now, there are miracles under our ground which are living rock formations. We couldn’t bring our cameras with us, but I do have a few pics.
We learned about soda straw rocks which grow at about an inch every 1000 years.
The massive amount of living rock underground is truly miraculous.
The white in the rock is calcium and the red is bits of iron. The humidity in the cave is about 95% which makes the growth possible. We learned that the stalactite (are hanging from above) and stalagmites (are growing erect from the ground). We also learned that the bats come to live in the cave when it is warmer, so there were none in at this time. They will come in and have their babies in the summer months.
Tatum, Doug, and I hung on every word of our 90-minute tour! The beauty of God’s creation.
We arrived at our hotel, Start Pass Golf Suites, in Tucson later on that day.
We were ready to just chill in our room a bit, but alas…our room was not really a sweet suite. It was more sour, but we made the best of it.
After a good Chipotle take out dinner and some fun convo, we fell asleep fast!
When we woke up in the morning, the gym was closed, so we walked up the hill and discovered a hiking trail!
We brought our camera with us, and right there, a Gila woodpecker greeted us in the tree.
Ok, now we are ready!
The views were glorious.
And the saguaros were plenty.
Even though we live in the desert, it still is beautiful to be in it. God’s creation is all around is. We even spotted a pack of coyotes traveling down the hill. They were hunting for some wabbits (or roadrunners) I’m pretty sure.
Tot enjoyed exploring all the wonders.
When we got back, we got ready to explore Tucson. The library was closed, but we found it to be quite pretty.
Later, we peaked in a room outside the art museum, and found it was a little hidden gem.
This is the kind of place that makes water look pretty. So all we got was a cappucino and a fruit cup. With whip of course.
But they did have this board game. I was so glad because Tot has been asking for it, and now we have cured her of this want.
The rest of the day, we swam, ate, and chilled. It was a perfect end to our Tucson HAA adventure.
At night, we had more take out. Ugh…it’s the best we could do. BUT, we played a game, talked riddles and jokes and laughed. Did this mean there were no hiccups?
Well, The thing about the Tot? She sings her emotions. She sings when she wants to communicate something to us. She sings when she wants to get out her frustrations, emotions, or thoughts. It is her form of communication. So, she wanted to apologize and justify some unlovely behavior. And she did. Eloquently in song. I love her heart.
We left early the next morning to get the Coopy and celebrate Valentine’s Day. More to come.
I love my Hay family. Thank you for the adventure. May they continue!