Gilbert Ray County Park and the Desert Museum – March 8, 2013

Gilbert Ray County Park and the Desert Museum – March 8, 2013

I woke up to rain and wind, good for the desert, not so good for hiking. I packed up and decided to add water before I left but when I turned on the hose, water sprayed out like a fountain. I unscrewed and screwed the connection and then realized that it was missing a washer. Too late, I was soaked now and there was no way I was going to root around in the back of the pick up for a little teeny washer. Off I headed towards Tucson and soon I left the dense black clouds behind and reached sunshine. Highway 10 was busy already even though it was early on Saturday morning. I stopped to wash the desert dust off the pickup and trailer and reached the campground in about an hour and a half. The lady at the registration desk took a while to find me a site because she said she wanted me to have a good one.  I loved it right away, the quietness, the nice sized sites, and the wild assortment of cactuses marching up the surrounding hills/mountains. The fee was $20.00 per night and included electricity.

 Rain coming down at the campsite

I had barely settled in when the storm started to catch up with me and the rain came down again. I decided that it would be a good time to visit the Desert Museum which is less than three miles from the campsite. Admission is $14.00 and most of the exhibits are outside with paved trails. It’s incredibly well designed and you can’t really see other display areas until you get there. Highlights for me included the hummingbirds, cougars, and raptor flights. The gift shop is also very nice with lots of interesting books, lovely jewellery, gifts, keepsakes, clothing, and videos.

 Even big cats need a scratch now and then

 King of the cliffs

 Brother and sister

The raptor flights were really great to see, they fly with no tethers right overhead. A sudden rain squall sent almost everyone running for cover in the middle of the show so that was unfortunate but good business for the coffee shop. I met some horticulturalists there from California and enjoyed a nice hot mocha that warmed me up enough so that I could head back outside even though I was pretty soaked. All together I was there for about four hours, and enjoyed it immensely.

When I got back to the campsite, a rainbow came out after the rain. And tonight the coyotes are singing close by.