Arizona Quilts

Hi All,

We met up with Roberta & Elliot at a hotel in Tucson before they move into their rented house. Today we went to the Arizona History Museum. The regular exhibits were fascinating but the special exhibit of Arizona quilts was extraordinary.

Downtown Tucson

Arizona Cacti

Desert & Mountains

Hopi Indian Dance

Arizona Sunset

San Xavier Mission

These beautiful quilts reminded us of our friend and former Lowell neighbor Suzanne Knapp.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Tumacacori Luminarias

Hi All,

A Christmas eve tradition at Tumacacori Mission is to adorn the church and mission grounds with Luminarias (candles in bags). After a wonderful pot-luck supper with the Sonoita Creek volunteers, we joined thousands of other visitors at Tumacacori.

Walled entryway lined with candles

Church walls and dome

Flowered cross on the altar

Inside one luminaria

The grounds were covered with candles, 2,500 on all. Staff and volunteers spent hours placing then lighting all of them.

After the tour, we had hot chocolate and home made cookies. Volunteers made 250 dozen cookies!!!

It was a wonderful event and we got to see many of the staff and volunteers with whom we had worked.

Merry Christmas to all our Christian friends and family.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Twilight Cruise

Hi All,

We worked in the Visitor Center today and led two boat tours on the lake. It was great fun.

Late afternoon we went on the Twilight tour with two other volunteers.

Bruce and Virginia led this tour

Sandy & Carl enjoying the cruise as the only passengers

Late afternoon sun on the hills

The end of Deep Cove

Kind of a cloudy sunset but pretty none the less.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

We are still here

Hi All,

The world did not end today and Carl found this beautiful photo of Orion rising over the Mayan temple at Chichen Itza on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. 

Speaking of the end of the world, this Mayan temple is in the area where the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs landed.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

617-435-8502

Overlook Trail

Hi All,

This afternoon we hiked the Overlook Trail for great views of Patagonia Lake and Sonoita Creek Natural Area.

The 0.75 mile trail gains 335 feet for great views

Here's a look at the trail with Mt Wrightson on the horizon.

From the top we could see the entire 2.5 mile long lake. The small rectangle on the left is the spillway. The straight section above that and to the right is the dam.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Lights

Hi All,

We are still having a great time at Sonoita Creek.

The recent end of Hannukah had our menorah full with one candle for each of the eight days plus the "shamos" used to light all the other candles

Speaking of lights, here is a recent image from the APOD(Astronomy Photo Of the Day) web site. The earth at night from space gives a fascinating look at population distributions. 

Happy Holidays to all.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

617-435-8502

Not Complaining but . . .

Hi All,

We are having a great time coming up to speed with our bird walks and visitor center responsibilities at Sonoita Creek. 

Except for one rainy day at Tumacacori, every day here in south AZ has been clear, sunny and warm. Today we had rain, sleet and snow in the nearby mountains.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

4th Ave Street Fair

Hi All,

Sandy had read about this huge arts and craft fair that takes over 4th Ave in Tucson so we went to check it out.

From the parking garage, the fair stretches out of sight.

This is a rare photo of Sandy shopping for jewelry.

Pet owners check this out-Hats for dogs being modeled.

Big crowds and activities for kids. The tower in the back is a climbing wall

Here's an easy intersection to remember.

Another rare sighting

Tucson Police have a motorhome too!
They call it a Mobile Command Post

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Sonoita Creek

Hi All,

Last Wednesday we moved about 30 miles from Tumacacori National Historic Park to Sonoita Creek State Natural Area at Patagonia Lake State Park. It's a beautiful place with a great group of volunteers.

A lovely campsite

With beautiful sunsets

Saturday was our first shift in the Visitor Center

Greeting guests

And going on the birding boat tours

Being on the lake, watching the birds and soaking up the scenery; this will be our "job" for the next two months.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Mirror Lab Tour

Hi All,

Today we toured the Stewart Observatory Mirror Lab at the University of Arizona. This facility casts and polishes huge mirrors (8.4 meters or 27.5 feet in diameter) for astronomical telescopes.

It starts with 45,000 pounds of special boro-silicate glass from Japan

The glass is melted at 2130 degrees F in this huge furnace that spins at 7 RPM. As it spins, the molten glass "sloshes" to the edges, creating a concave surface, very close to the parabolic shape needed for the telescope. It takes over a month to melt the glass, spin the mirror then slowly cool the glass.

Once the cast glass blank cools, it is polished on this huge machine. The guy standing on the mirror is in his socks. This mirror is for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.

At another polishing station, this mirror is being worked on. This will be part of a seven mirror Giant Magellan Telescope being built in Chile. The effective diameter of this telescope will be over 72 feet! With all this light gathering power, this telescope will explore the very edges of the universe.

In case you wondered where the university found room for all of this immense machinery, it is housed under the grandstand of the Arizona football stadium.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Fiesta de Tumacacori

Hi All,

Our last work days at Tumacacori were for the big Fiesta, a multicultural celebration that includes craft and food booths, hourly entertainment, kids activity and more. Close to 3,000 people attended.

We were on duty from 6:15 AM to 5:30 PM, directing traffic, greeting and counting visitors and working shifts in the Visitor Center. Sandy also spent time working with the kids and Carl gave tours of the mission. 

It was a long, fun, tiring weekend.

Ready to Greet Visitors

Border Protection Mounted Patrol

The Little est Photographer

Plenty of Peppers

Park Superintendent Bob Love chatting with visitors

Tumacacori Church

Staff and Volunteers after two day Fiesta.

Wednesday we move about 50 miles east to volunteer for two months at Sonoita Creek State Natural Area.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

San Rafael Valley Ranch

Hi All,

Today we went on a tour of the San Rafael Valley Ranch with volunteers from Sonoita Creek State Natural Area where we will be volunteering next month. This state owned property is currently closed to the public due, primarily, to its proximity to the border and associated drug and illegal alien activity.

The 1900 ranch house is an outstanding example of territorial architecture

The adjacent barn and shop

Wood stove in kitchen

Poster from one of many Hollywood movies filmed here

Very photogenic old farm implements

Drill press in workshop

Fox spotted sleeping in rafters

At its peak, this ranch had 17,000 head of cattle!

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone