Oro Valley Halls-Thursday/Friday

Thursday, the 9th, we headed from Mesa to Oro Valley to spend time with Scott and Chantel and Scarlett and James.  

First we enjoyed the 90 minute drive through the desert of Arizona.  It was beautiful if you like wildflowers and cacti---and as you know, I do....and also historical markers....

Story of "Bear Down"--University of Arizona slogan

This one was huge!!!

The sky was amazing as well and Jena told me to take a picture for the blog!

The variety of the cacti was amazing...

Finally we got to their house in time for a quick tour and visit before the kids got home from school.  It was a simple thing, but I loved walking to the bus stop and waiting for them to get off the bus. Scarlett saw me and came running----being a grandmother is the best! James joined us but he was a bit more calm and "cool".

Scarlett doing tricks for us

It was our first visit to their house since their house fire last March which required them to be out of their house for 6 months. Most of the work was due to smoke damage not actually flames which only burned one small section of an outside wall.  However, due to lack of appropriate barriers smoke went through much of the ceiling joints between the first and second floor.  It was a big job but their house is lovely now.

Scarlett and James building

The kids still had school on Friday, so we took the day to explore Tucson.  We had never been into Tucson during our prior visits to Oro Valley, which is a northern suburb.

First the Tucson Temple---

Aren't the clouds amazing in this photo...

There were so many different cacti in the grounds of the temple, it could have seemed like a botanical garden.  So different and beautiful.

Heading off to our next location, we spotted this sign-- "Leading Left Turn Arrow" We had to look it up to learn what it was.  It means that the light will have a green turn arrow when you can turn as opposed to a blinking yellow and yielding to traffic to make the turn."

We headed to southwest Tucson to see one of the older historical building in the area.  This is the San Xavier del Bac Mission is located.  Built in the the 1700s and then restored during the early 1900s, it provided a place to worship (and is still an active church with daily Mass) and also to provide care to the local native peoples who lived in that area throughout the years. 

They didn't have money to complete the dome
on the right tower and during reconstruction it was decided
to honor that by not adding a dome.

Nice to enjoy some warm dry weather
after our long Utah winter

More cacti

The whole building had this draining system to allow water to flow off the flat roof.  They were painted red which made them a feature in additional to meeting an important need.

A look inside the chapel

We bought Indian Tacos from a local vendor...the bread part was especially delicious!

A road runner jumped up near us while we ate...I think he was waiting for leftovers.

Next we headed up to eastern Tucson to a state park to enjoy a walk through a cacti garden-- On our way, we noticed that the mile markers were in km instead of miles....

Sabino Canyon Recreation Area

It was a pretty day for a nature hike.

During the nature walk, they had markers which talked about the different types of cacti and other types of desert plants and the role they played in the ecosystem.  It is so interested to be reminded how tightly connected we all are in the place we call earth.  Each of these plants fill a role in the whole system and matters.

A piece of art

We headed back to the house to spend some family time with everyone which included a delicious dinner at the TukTuk Thai---which was AMAZING!  I had curry and it left an amazing taste in my mouth for a few hours...and the memory even longer.  We will try to go there again for sure.

We then headed for a miniature golf game under the lights and watching Scarlett and James do some video games before heading back home.  Busy but great day.

Family and road trips--a great combination.