How was your weekend?

I hope ya'll had a wonderful weekend!  We sure did!  We decided to head to Arizona for a long weekend of camping and visiting with our daughter who moved there last year for grad school.

We packed our camping trailer and brought our furry kiddos with us for a weekend of fun!

Salsa always loves to go bye-bye!  And, she loves her boots!  They protect her feet from hot pavement and keep stickers from getting stuck in the fur and between her toes.  That makes it so we don't have to spend long amounts of time picking stickers out with tweezers!  We've done that!  It's not fun for her or us!  Here she is happily resting by the trailer after a walk...with her boots on.  Such a cutie!

Our daughter spent the entire weekend with us camping.  We loved that!  And, so did Salsa!  She's always happy to have everyone together.  And, she cherishes every bit of time and attention she gets with our daughter.  Just look at that smile...

Our cat, Penelope, is becoming a great traveler!  I'm so proud of her!  And, she loved the warm weather on this trip.  She's so often cold.  So, this trip was great for her.  It was for us too.  It's been a bit chilly at home.  Especially for my hubby who works down by the beach where it's been cold, damp, and gray.  It was great to thaw out!

The campground was surprisingly uncrowded for a holiday weekend.  That was nice!  It was quiet and made it better for seeing wildlife.  And, we saw a lot of wildlife this weekend!  One of the first things we noticed when we got there was hundreds of tiny Arizona Round Tailed Ground Squirrels!  They were everywhere!  They're super tiny...about the size of a little chipmunk.  They're really cute!

We saw a couple of coyotes and we heard packs of them every night.

We were hoping to see Javelina and we were lucky to see two of them on an evening bike ride.  Unfortunately, they ran away so fast that I didn't get any pictures.  We didn't see any more of them the rest of the weekend.  But, we did hear them at night a couple of times.

We saw a mountain lion one evening.  At least, that's what it looked like.  And, the rangers said one had been spotted and reported the week before.  It was crouching down in the grasses a couple hundred feet from the road.  I only had my cell phone with me for pictures.  I snapped a couple and tried zooming in for a better look.  The pics were super blurry but the coloring and ears looked like it was a mountain lion rather than a bobcat.  I've never seen one before and figured I never would.  So, this was a little exciting.  It was a little scary.  And, it was also a little sad because being that close to people is unusual and could mean something is wrong with it or it could end up needing to be moved or something if it keeps going that close.  I'm hoping for the best...that this was just unusual and that it will stay away from now on.

There were a lot of birds....Roadrunners, doves, bright red birds, tiny birds....and lots of pretty singing.  There were lots of quail too.  They're SO plump compared to the ones near our home.  We saw this one watching out for his flock in the riverbed.  It's a little blurry because he was far away.

As always, I was on the lookout for wildflowers.  I found some beauties!  Check out the blooms on this cactus.  Gorgeous!

There were lots of these on big bushes/trees...

The weather was quite warm in the afternoons.  But, the early mornings were nice and cool and we made sure to get out to enjoy it.  We went on a couple of bike rides along part of "The Loop".  It's a series of connecting bike paths along riverbeds and roads that run through and around Tucson.  It's very impressive!  I love riding and walking on The Loop because there are no cars and the views and wildlife are a lot of fun to see along the way.  The Loop is very popular and busy.  I wish we had such a thing where we live!  This is my daughter riding onto one of the bridges that crosses over the river...

There was a little surprise along the portion of The Loop that we rode on....a little labyrinth.  Of course, we had to walk it both days that we rode by.

Our daughter has gotten into archery and had just gotten a new bow.  We went with her to a range to see her shoot.  We also tried shooting.  It's surprisingly different than my husband and I ever would have imagined!  It takes a lot of strength and it's quite complicated!  Hubby loved it.  I'm not sure yet if I like it or not.  Here's hubby shooting alongside our daughter.  I love this picture!

We ate at camp most of the time.  But, we did go out a couple of times for lunch.  We tried a new-to-us restaurant one day.  It had great reviews and their website sounded like it was great.  We drove up and it looked like a dive!  But, it's popular and we couldn't even get a parking spot the first time we tried to go there.  The next day, we went right after they opened and had no trouble getting a parking spot.  It was very good!  It's called Tacos Y Tequila.  And, that's just about all they sell is tacos and drinks.  The tacos are interesting, unique, and delicious!  Their house margaritas were quite good too!

We enjoyed lots of relaxing, reading, knitting, and, most of all, being together!  It was such an awesome weekend!

Road Trip, Day Two - Tucson / Las Cruces / El Paso

The second day of our trip started early at the Hacienda del Sol in Tucson, Arizona.  I woke up before five and was excited for the sun to come up so I could take more photos.  Then, I realized I could try to get some sunrise photos.  It was too early for pictures but I was too excited to go back to sleep.

So, I did a little early morning knitting.  I love the windows in our room!

There was a cozy chair next to this one.  It was perfect!

This time of the morning is magical.  The light quickly changes

 and the wildlife slowly starts making noises as it wakes for the day.

The doves seem to enjoy sitting on top of huge Saguaro cactus.

I just wonder how they could without being hurt by the large thorns!

The sunrise was beautiful and the moon was still out.  So pretty!

We saw a small red bird feasting on fruit at the top of this cactus...

His beak was covered in juicy fruit and seeds.

This cactus had fruit on it that looked like little pineapples.

I've never seen blossoms on this type of cactus....until now.

This cactus is in a pot in one of the courtyards.

It looks like it has a soft white coating and the little needles look so delicate.

I love the bright red blossoms (?).

The Desert Bird of Paradise were in full bloom all over town.

Here are some at the Hacienda del Sol.

Such gorgeous, intense color!  I love these!

Pink Cactus!  There are lots of these across the desert.

I wonder if they're always pink or just at this time of year.

I've seen these before but I can't remember what the plant is called.

I love the soft, furry, little seeds.  So cute!

More pink!

Pop of red!

Saguaro Cactus are amazing!  Whenever we travel into Arizona,

it's exciting when we start seeing them.  They look like they're waving, "hello"!

 They have such a tough skin on the outside.

The rows of thorns are interesting.

I never realized they had fruit on the top until this trip when we saw that bird feasting on it.

The desert is filled with so much beauty and so many interesting things.

Two more cactus blossom photos!

Yellow!

After our early morning photo walk, we packed up and headed out on the road.

Next stop...Lac Cruces, New Mexico at the historic Old Mesilla.

It was hot and we were hungry.  So, I didn't take a lot of photos.

Here's one of the few I took...an old church at the north end of the Mesilla. 

We had hoped to eat at a restaurant we ate at years ago that was fabulous!
But, we walked into where we thought it was and no one came to help us.
So, we ate at La Posta.  There were lots of things to look at inside.
This is in the room we ate in.  There was an aviary in the center room of the building.
It smelled awful!  Luckily, it didn't smell in the restaurant.  And, we were so hungry that we just needed to eat and didn't know where to else to go to get food quick enough.
The food was ok and fueled us up again but I wouldn't recommend this restaurant.

There are a few shops in the same building.  One has lots of pretty jewelry.
We each bought a cute bracelet there.  We love all the colors and the pretty wood clasps.
My daughter's is has a larger clasp and mine is smaller.
With all the different colors, they'll go with lots of things.

The restroom was gorgeous!

The door was huge, beautiful, and looked old...

On our way back to the car, we stopped in a couple shops.
One had some beautiful Old Gringo western boots (my favorite brand).
I fell in love!  I just wish I could afford them!

Aren't they gorgeous?!

A little more boot love!

Then, we were off to El Paso for our next stay.
My daughter was on a mission there to hit the western boot outlet stores and SHOP!
She's very happy as she found two beautiful pairs of boots and got quite a deal.
I just wish there was an Old Gringo outlet!!!

Ok....enough blogging for now.  Time hit the road again!

Road Trip, Day 1 - Tucson

The summer road trip my daughter and I have been planning for months has begun.

We left early last Sunday morning for the start of our three week adventure.

First stop...Tucson, Arizona.

We stayed at the historic and beautiful, Hacienda del Sol.

It began in 1929 as a retreat for girls of elite families.  In 1948, it became a guest ranch that was visited by many famous Hollywood stars.  And, in 1995, it became what it is today.

I've been excited about this stop and it didn't disappoint.  The staff were professional and nice, room was clean and charming, and the property was gorgeous.  It was a visual treat with photo opportunities everywhere we looked.  We probably could have stayed for days just to take photos.

Here are a few...

This is the main entrance that leads into a lovely courtyard area...

This is the same one but looking out...

Here's another view looking out from farther inside...

This is the courtyard area the sidewalk leads to.

There's a fountain, several seating areas, and a great view looking west.

It also leads to two restaurants and the pool area.

Here's the lobby and seating area.

The sun was streaming in and the southwest decor was beautiful.

There were Santos on ledges by the fireplace.  I like Santos.

They're so interesting and cool.  Here are a few...

Here's a closer view of the fireplace area and a seating area next to it.

There were several seating areas in this large room.  This one is my favorite.

I love the cozy corner it's in, the lovely window and the adorable and inviting chairs.

Aren't they cute?  I love the style, the color, and

the flowers painted along the bottom.  It's comfy too!

They have an easel set up in that corner.  There's a pad of paper on it and pastels

for guests to use if they're feeling a little creative.  My daughter couldn't resist!

Off the main lobby was an old library.  The walls were lined with shelves and they were filled with old books.  A very large table went down the center of the room.  

The beams on the ceiling were carved with vines and flowers.

The original rooms were built in a square around a center courtyard.

There are hallways on two sides that lead to the rooms.  There are seating areas along each of them.

Across from the rooms and seating areas are arched windows looking out into the courtyard.

I love how the windows are lined in a beautiful blue with tiles along the bottom ledge.

There are old light fixtures between the windows.  They provide soft, warm lighting at night.

Here's the courtyard seen through the windows...

This is the other hall.  The walls are lined with pictures from

when it was a retreat/school for girls.  They're interesting to look at.

Here's another view looking back from where I took the above photo.

Our room was on this wing.  Our room windows faced the east which was perfect to see the sunrise.

I forgot to take photos before we loaded all of our stuff in the room.

So, to see photos of the historic rooms, click HERE.

I love this bench!

Along the walls were little niches.  Each one had something in it.

This was one of the my favorites.  I like the pop of orange and the colorful figurine.

One wing of the main building was open to the courtyard.

It had more niches and some colorful painting on the walls.

There were pretty little surprises all around.  Like tile wall hangings...

I like how they framed this cute quail tile with blue paint in a nice, curvy design.

Some of the outside doors were framed with curvy blue designs too.

But, they also had flowers.  So pretty and whimsical.

Here's one of the hacienda rooms on the property with it's own outdoor seating area.

It had some pretty tiles in the wall...

There was an interesting air vent built into the wall with native plant material.

There are little tiles set here and there in the walkways around the property.

Here's one of them...

Some of the outdoor walkways and patios were made with old,

rustic blocks stamped with "Mexico".

Here's another hacienda.  I like the logs used as posts for the porch.

There were seating areas tucked in here and there among the native plants.

Here's one of them.  We liked the little fireplace and the old cart used as a coffee table.

If you click on the picture, it should get larger for a better/closer view.

There were a few fountains too.  This one was outside of our room window.

I like the colorful seating area next to it.

It was hot that day and we enjoyed a dip in the pool.  The pool is on the west side and is bright and sunny in the afternoon.  We went back in the morning to get some photos.

It's funny how it gets deep so fast...from three to six feet and then dropping to 10.

Below the pool is a jacuzzi area...

Above the pool is one of the restaurants.  They had live music in both restaurants that evening.

One had classical guitar and the other had a blues trio.

They had a garden in the back.  Looks like it was enclosed to protect it from critters.

I think I read that they use the fresh veggies in their restaurants.

The Hacienda del Sol was located north of town and near Mount Lemon.

The views of the mountain were gorgeous and we were high above town for great views of the city.

We loved staying here and wouldn't hesitate to stay again.

Maybe I'll even have time to enjoy their spa or go horseback riding next time!

I got some wonderful photos of some of the gardens and the native plants and flowers.

And, we got up early and went out with our cameras to capture the sunrise.

I'll post those next time. We've got to hit the road again.  I'll post again as soon as I can.