To wrap up my blog posts about Tucson I would be remiss if I didn’t mention two of my favorite things about the area. The first is spending time with a good friend. I have mentioned Annette in previous posts, we first met a year ago (wow time flies) when I was working for Arizona State Parks.
“There’s nothing like a really loyal, dependable, good friend. Nothing.” Jennifer Aniston
Desert Trails RV park where I stayed was just down the street from where Annette was living just outside of Tucson. Even though her work schedule was grueling (7 days a week and long days) we carved out time to hang out in the mornings for coffee and some evening dinners. While I was there Annette adopted a new family member, a beautiful black and white 2 year old Australian Shepard whom she named Reva.
“A dog will teach you unconditional love. If you can have that in your life, things won’t be too bad.” Robert Wagner
The four of us (Annette, Reva, Cory & I) pioneered some great trails right out her back door and into Tucson Mountain Park. The first hike taught us all about desert hazards when Reva managed to get up close and personal with a cholla cactus. Lesson for the day was ALWAYS carry tweezers when hiking in the desert. Tweezers and a comb have now taken up permanent residence in my daypack. Reva was certainly a trooper while the two of us plucked the spines out of her paw and muzzle.
Another hazard of desert living are the critters that live there with you. Coyotes are frequently heard yapping to each other, birds, rabbits, squirrels, snakes and the unique desert inhabitant the javelina. These critters while lots of fun to watch and listen for are not especially welcome on your porch. So at Annette’s place it was time for a little fence building around the house.
“There is no substitute for hard work.” Thomas A. Edison
There is certainly a sense of accomplishment in doing a job and seeing the results of your work. Building fence is perfect for achieving this sense of accomplishment and taking part in this work with a good friend was great fun.
Cory proved to be a great supervisor as the sun was setting on our fence building efforts.
“In this case we’re building a corner to stretch a fence and hang a gate. It had a real purpose in the ranch here. I needed to do this. But at the same time, it made a beautiful structure.” Bruce Nauman
And that brings me to the second of my favorite things about my stay in Tucson – the spectacular sunsets over the desert.
“There’s never one sunrise the same or one sunset the same.” Carlos Santana
And it is true that no one is the same, sharing just a few photos here……..
“I always say that the times in my life when I’ve been happiest are the times when I’ve seen, like, a sunset.” Chris Evans
Beautiful photos.
Love your photos and stories. Keep sharing.
Never get tired of sunrise/sunset photos, absolutely stunning! Thanks for sharing and caring ( ;
Great blog. I love the way you place the photos.