Jeff and I arose at 3:00 am and drove into town to pick up my travel companion, Deb Hirt at 4:00. Then we drove to the OKC airport. Jeff drove home, and Deb and I stood in a long line to check our baggage for our 6:25 flight. Southwest had booked three flights too close together so there were long lines both inside the terminal and outside at the Sky Cap’s desk, but the Sky Cap handled everyone efficiently, moving those on the 6:00 flight to the front of the line and then those on the 6:15 flight so we just had time to go through security and board our plane. I, at 76, with a hip replacement and a heart implant was whisked through security quickly, but security took a long time with Deb because she was wearing steel-toed work shoes, a wide belt with a buckle, had things in her pockets, and was carrying her computer and a computer Book as well as her camera. She claimed that she had not flown in 20 years. Finally they released her, Deb re-dressed, and we had just enough time to catch our flight to Denver.
This flight was fine, but our flight from Denver to Tucson was weird. A drunk girl/woman named A.D. I think, collapsed into the aisle seat next to me, threw a bag of her things on my feet, and immediately began her "like" sad life history in "like" a high giggly voice: anorexic, alcoholic, abused as a child, her brother had recently died, going to visit her father whom she had not seen in awhile, etc. She was drunk, ordered several drinks and spilled a little of each on herself and some on me. Nonetheless, she and Deb declared themselves instant “soulmates” and talked on and on over me in the center seat. At one point I said, “Would you two like to sit together?” but both laughed as though I had made a joke. A.D. pulled a blanket from her overflowing bag at my feet and later pulled a stuffed toy lamb from this bag, declaring it her “therapy animal.” I was glad she hadn’t tried to bring a real lamb aboard! After we landed, she approached us again at the baggage carousel. She was with an older man her father had sent to pick her up. It was obvious to me that this man did not like A.D. or this chauffeuring duty. He could not meet our eyes. When Deb started to give A.D. our location in Tucson, I nudged her and, thank heavens, she kept quiet.
After several false starts, we summoned the Thrifty shuttle and were taken to off-airport Thrifty Car Rental where we had reserved a SUV. The Thrifty employee was rude and tried to get us to pay a $30 per day insurance rate. I declined telling him that I had my own insurance. Pushing the point, he said that without his insurance, if the car was damaged, they would consider it totaled and I would have to pay the price of a new car. I still declined, knowing (or hoping) that the State Farm car insurance that I’ve had for 58 years covered rental cars. We simply did not have an additional $420 to spend. The employee gave us the keys to a white 2017 Nissen Rogue and told us to be on our way . . . but we had not checked the car for prior damage. The guy pooh-poohed this and said that Thrifty inspected its own cars. We insisted, and he eventually gave us an inspection form. We checked off every scratch and dent on the well-used vehicle.
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| Sunshine House Airbnb |
Finally, we loaded our things into the car and programmed my phone’s AI to direct us to Sunshine House, our Airbnb in Tucson. (Deb has only a simple flip phone.) We were greeted by Amanda Graham and her husband Nate McDonald. Nate, the Nursery Manager of Desert Survivors, and Amanda, a traveler and a rep for a food company gave us a warm welcome, as did their dog Mabel and their cat June. The two—married for only six months—had been in the Airbnb business for only five of those months, but were getting rave reviews and a steady succession of occupants.
We unloaded our gear, set up the room, and then immediately set my phone's AI on the trail of the Audubon Mason Center. I was not prepared for such instant birding and arrived at the saguaro-studded desert center without water or a hat. Duh! The kind volunteer at the Center gave me a bottle of water and directed me to a shady table from which I could see the bird feeders and the Gambel’s Quail, House Finches, Gila woodpeckers, Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, and Least Goldfinches coming to them. |
| Saguaro Cactus Forest |
Cactus wrens were plentiful and loud everywhere we went in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. At the Mason Center I saw my first one in a saguaro nest cavity, its slightly decurved bill sticking from the cactus like a big thorn. Gila Woodpeckers and Gilded Flickers drill the original holes in saguaro cacti. Cactus wrens sometimes nest in these pre-drilled holes or build a nest in a cholla or yucca so that the nest is protected by the prickly cactus spines. Interestingly, cactus wrens form permanent pair bonds, and the pairs defend a territory where they live throughout the year. These our largest wrens, ordinarily eat insects--ants, beetles, grasshoppers, and wasps--and occasionally snack on seeds and fruits. A true bird of the desert, cactus wrens obtain almost all of their water from the foods they eat and rarely drink from open water.
Near me was a hummingbird feeder that was frequented by a Broad-billed Hummingbird. These birds are spectacularly iridescent and bright, flashing turquoise and green and having red bills with black tips. Deb got a photo similar to the one at left later at the Paton Center, I believe.  |
| Zone-tailed Hawk, top; Turkey Vulture, bottom |
Deb had disappeared to take photos, so I enjoyed talking with the Center’s volunteer, a woman in her 40s who told me of a Tucson Audubon 7:00 am Wednesday morning bird walk at Sweetwater Wetlands. While talking with the woman, a Zone-tailed Hawk flew over. These dark, tropical hawks just reach the southwestern United States in Arizona. They camouflage themselves by soaring with and mimicking turkey vultures, They even hold their wings in a dihedral like the vultures do. It is thought that the zone-tails hang with the vultures because birds, mammals, and lizards are not afraid of turkey vultures so the hawk, that preys on these living creatures, can take them by surprise. Though Deb and I examined every group of turkey vultures, this was the only Zone-tailed Hawk seen over our two-week trip.
After the Mason Center, we returned to our Airbnb, cleaned up, and then programmed my phone’s AI to take us to the nearest Whole Foods. It was only 2.5 miles east on Speedway and we were conveniently located just east of Speedway Blvd. Here I bought fixings for peanut butter and dried cranberry sandwiches, some sliced almonds to go with the cranberries on my morning oatmeal, spaghetti sauce, and two gallon jugs of water to keep in the car. Amanda had left pasta and a jar of three-cheese spaghetti sauce for an easy first meal, but Deb is gluten free (no wheat) and I am lactose intolerant (no cheese). Fortunately, I had brought lactose-free cheese and rice crackers with me for snacks plus some gluten-free pasta for Deb.
Back at the Airbnb we wondered how Amanda expected us to prepare a pasta meal with only a microwave, but then we searched the kitchen a bit and discovered an Ikea electric stove top. After reading the directions we managed to cook the pasta and heat the sauce for a quick (tasteless) meal before falling into bed and setting the alarm for 3:00 --really 1:00 am our OK time as Arizona is in the Mountain Time zone and does not observe Daylight Savings.
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