Weekend Getaway

We had a long weekend getaway last week. Visiting Dad and Patty in the Arizona desert meant fun days full of activity, perfect weather, great food and new terrain! We played miniature golf in Phoenix. We attended the Arizona Opry and an after-hours zoo event at the Phoenix Zoo. We visited the Desert Museum, Saguaro National Park, and an Ostrich Ranch. In between outings, Aden swam at the park pool.

Convinced a desert lizard would make an awesome pet, Aden was determined to find one to bring home to Minnesota... Fortunately for us, his search was not successful. Here he is giving it a great try....
The zoo event featured lots of hands-on animal experiences. Here Aden meets a Chuckwalla.
It was a beautiful day for the Desert Museum. We learned about plants, gemstones, topography and animals of the desert. Aden dug for dinosaur bones in the children's area.
We also visited the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch where we fed goats, ostriches, deer, donkeys and lorikeets. They told us at the gate that the ostriches were crazy, and they were right! Aden only tried to feed them by hand once, as their pecking was a little unnerving. Also intense were the lorikeets, but this is why they were also a highlight of the trip! They love their nectar and they weren't shy about seeking it out!Patty, Aden and Dad prepare to feed the ostriches.



Three days flew by so fast! I didn't take a lot of time just to wander around photographing nature and places, but here are the few images I did capture that weren't family vacation-related! :)

Seeing a hummingbird in real life was so cool. Seeing a nest full of babies with the mother zooming in to feed them was even more awesome!

View of the mountains outside Tucson at the Desert Museum.

Hummingbird feeding - I can't believe I captured this - they are so quick that it is difficult to get them in focus!!
It's hard to believe that just the weekend before we were tubing on the sledding hill! Almost all our snow disappeared while we were gone.