Arizona Sonora Desert Museum and Saguaro National Park

January 13, 2011 Gilbert Ray Campground.
We got up early...well sorta, to prepare for our visit to The Arizona Senora Desert Museum. After all, this was the reason we were staying at Gilbert Ray Campground. So after walking the dogs, we jumped in the Jeep and headed off for the museum a short drive away.

McCain Loop enroute to AZ Senora Desert Museum

Approach to the entrance

After paying the $14.50 each entrance fee we scanned the brochure map of the museum and were amazed at the size and all that it had to offer. We had thought this would be a 2-3 hr. visit.

Joyce at the entrance and the outside paths behind her.

There were outdoor pathways all through the museum/zoo. There were enclosed aviaries and animal exhibits to include a bear, mountain lion, wolf and other desert animals scattered through out.

Shady concrete path

Along the path I found these Saguaro Cacti growing out from the shelter of a tree. This is typical of young Saguaros which eventually out live their tree shelter.

Saguaro Cacti and shelter tree

One of the loops in the museum/zoo is a desert loop with spectacular views.

We stopped to witness a Harris Hawk demonstration. The park had four of these magnificent hawks soaring over the small crowd that had gathered and resting on the tops of saguaros. This one landed near me in a dead saguaro.

Harris Hawk perched in dead Saguaro

We believe The Arizona Senora Desert Museum was well worth the visit and the fee. We thoroughly enjoyed it. After about 6 hours, we left the museum/zoo and drove another mile or so to Saguaro National Park. We had actually driven through a portion of the park on Sandario Road when we were initially traveling to the campground. 

We stopped at the visitor center and checked it out. It was nice with the typical souvenirs and some nice desert displays. We stayed for a short slide show on "The Voices of The Desert". The visitor center was certainly less than impressive after having toured The Arizona Senora Desert Museum. If we had planned to hike or park our vehicle in the Saguaro National Park, then we would have been required to obtain a pass at a cost of $10 if we didn't have our volunteer parks pass.

It was getting late so we didn't have time to do anything more than drive through a portion of the park. Its actually no different than where we are staying within Tucson Mountain Park. Plenty of saguaro cacti of various shapes and sizes.

It was a beautiful day and the weather certainly cooperated with sunny skies and temps in the low 60's. By the time we got back to Maggie and Rico, we were tired from all the walking and standing so they got only short walks!

We had been conserving water at our campsite working off the approximately 20 gallons I had in the 80 gallon tank of the fifth wheel. So far we were doing good and I wouldn't have to stretch a couple of hoses to put more water in the tank. Sponge baths were in order tonight! Tomorrow we hoped to get an early start and head for Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Tucson Mtn. Park, Gilbert Ray Campground, Tucson

January 12, 2011 Gilbert Ray Campground.
We got up early today as it was time to move from Usery Mountain Regional Park to our new destination Tucson Mountain Park and the Gilbert Ray Campground. We pulled out of our site by 9:30 and were on the road after stopping at the dump station by 10:00. The weather was cool but sunny warming from the low 50's to the upper 60's.

View Larger Map

The trip consisted of interstate travel and then some two lane roads as we traveled west of Tucson. We followed the directions provided on the Gilbert Ray Campground website. The road into the park was full of dips and narrowed dramatically inside the park. We came to this park for the purpose of visiting The Saguaro National Park and the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum.

After traveling 124 miles we arrived @ 12:30 at the entrance to the campground, there were no attendants but a self-pay kiosk. The posted instructions stated to find a campsite and then return to the kiosk to pay for the site. Each RV site is $20 a night for electric only. We discovered that only loops H and C were open. However, there were no signs indicating the larger loop A was closed. So naturally we took off for loop A only to have to turn around in the dump station at the back of the campground. Subsequently we checked out loop H and C before settling on site 114 in Loop H. The sites have 30 amp electric only. We must fill our water tank in our rig and work off our pump for water. I always carry about 20 gallons in the tank so we will start off with that amount. There is a water spicket close enough to our site that I can use to fill our tank if needed.

Site H114

We pulled as far back as we could into our site. I decided to keep the truck hitched to the fifth wheel as we would only be staying for two nights. Staying hitched will give me a time advantage for making an early departure. We plan to head for Las Cruces from here and that will be a long drive for us at nearly 300 miles.

I used the Bigfoot Levelers in the manual mode to level the rig as much as possible without lifting too hard on the rear of the truck.

View out our back window.

Gilbert Ray Campground is about 13 miles west of Tucson near the Tucson Mountains. So, it's a considerable drive into town. However, we don't plan on visiting the city on this trip. As you may recall we visited Tucson last June. President Obama arrived in Tucson today for the commemoration on the "Tragedy in Tucson". Our hearts and prayers are with the fallen, injured and the families affected. 

Tomorrow should be a busy day.