THE LONGHORN GRILL

On the way to Tubac, we stopped at Amado to have lunch at the Longhorn Grill. We questioned the wisdom of entering, when we saw the front door, since you walk through the mouth of a skeleton of a steers head.

It actually was nice inside.

Whenever there are Hispanics around, you're sure to see a picture or statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, but we never have seen her mixed in with pictures of Mexican cowboys!

I had to include a picture of Don's horn dog.

It was a challenge-even for Mulert! The hot dog was really big.

The entrance had a large ocotillo to the left in the picture-the flowers were pretty.

At the base of the ocotillo was a prickly pear with very delicate flowers.

Another interesting place!

YESTERDAY'S ROAD TRIP

We were afraid you might be getting bored with all the building and flowers lately, so you were part of the excuse to take a road trip. We drove down south of Tucson to Tubac. On the way you pass a huge copper mine that goes on for miles. The camera just doesn't capture the different colors.

Tubac is a little village of artists and craftsmen who sell their wares in the many shops.

I was looking for pottery.

We both got a chuckle from this fence made of ocotillo cactus plants. This is normal, but this one had a few branches that decided to grow and bloom.

FRUIT AND FLOWERS

As you walk around the park, you see many interesting things. The Barrel cactus has fruit at this time of year.

The Bird of Paradise plant by the office is beautiful.

Here's a closeup.

This Prickly Pear is blooming.

There are Red Yuccas everywhere.

Here's a closeup of a Palo Verde tree in bloom.

Lots of color in the neighborhood.

TREES OR BUSHES

Here's two examples of flowering bushes that also come as trees. This is a Bottle Brush tree in bloom down the street from us.

A closeup.

As a bush.

Another example is the Oleander. This year they were hit pretty hard when we had a "freeze". You'd swear they were all dead. The guys cut them way back, and they looked dead until the last couple weeks, when they suddenly started getting leaves from the bottom. Now they're starting to bloom. Here's a bush in our yard.

They come in pink, a rose color and white. Here are a few trees by one of the card rooms.

Here's a closeup.

It's amazing that they "came back to life"!

TINTED WINDOWS

Here in the desert, it's important to protect your cabinets, furniture and even your eyes, by having your windows tinted. They're finding that the two worst side effects from the sun are skin cancers and eye destruction such as cataracts. This should help protect us and our belongings through the summer months. We chose the copper color of mylar which comes in rolls. First they wash the windows with baby shampoo mixed with water. Then they apply dry glue and then the piece of mylar. As they put it on, you can see the difference, but after it's on, you can't see it. It cuts down on the glare, it's harder to see in during the day and so far we're happy!

FURTHER UP THE MOUNTAINS

For those of you who have never been to the Sonoran Desert, you probably don't realize the importance of the Saguaro cactus. They only grow in this desert and only at certain elevations. When it rains, they soak up the water in their accordian shaped skins. They remain as one pole for the first 50 years or so, and then start growing arms that grow toward the sun. The inside is like a skeleton, and you can pick that part up in the desert. The Indians have eaten their fruit for years. They bloom in late April to June. Each blossom is white with a yellow center, and blooms two hours after sunset until mid afternoon the next day. They are propped up to save them, even in the middle of nowhere. They are cherished by everyone in the area. You can see them standing proudly in some of these pictures. Many mountain ranges. One more lovely drive.

TRIP TO THE MOUNTAINS

Last Wednesday, we took a drive up in the mountains, and went through Fountain Hills on the way up. This is an up-scale suburb of Phoenix-most everything is new and landscaped nicely. There are many huge homes along the way. They tuck them in the hillside. And more. I think the flowers are a type of agaves. My guess would be that these very old Saguaros had the stores built around them, since it's illegal to remove a live Saguaro. It's quite a place!