The Desert Museum

Thanks to free passes and a strong recommendation from cousin Bryce, we visited the Sanora Desert Museum in Tucson (right next to the national park, so it worked out perfect). It is part zoo, part geological museum, part botanical gardens...a truly special place and such a worthwhile stop (despite the blazing heat). We loved seeing all the varieties of flowering cactuses (which we learned only bloom for one day and then the flower dies), as usual Jonas loved chasing lizards, it was neat seeing all the animals, BUT our absolute favorite part was the humming bird aviary! I never knew there were so many colors/breeds. And they were buzzing past our ears, hovering nearby, a few times we had to duck quickly as they whizzed by our heads. It was magical! As a treat, we cooled down with ice cream & prickly pear punch afterwards (the punch is made with juice from the cactus fruit).