More Sonora Desert Museum

If you think that a "museum" is an "inside job"- you need to come here. The Sonoran Desert Museum. You get your ticket and pass through the gate. You were outside in the desert when you got that ticket and you are outside again as soon as you are through the gate. Before you is a vast and spectacular piece of desert that has been "upgraded" into what is most assuredly a rare collection of desert goodies- 300 animal species and 1200 different plant varieties on 21 acres with two miles of paths to stroll- a desert museum! Last time we were here, we enjoyed it enough to want to come back. This time we did a few of the same things, but also took in a few sites we'd missed before. The raptor show was a do-again for sure...and this time, during the flight of the family of Harris Hawks, a small bird made the big mistake of thinking he could travel through the designated spot for the demonstration of free flying hunters without notice. I am sure he would rethink his decision given the chance. But this was a fatal mistake for the little guy. It seems he was delicious and for those of us who had never seen a family of hawks that hunts together, this was a most amazing bonus.

In the cat canyon, we found a beautiful ocelot and a pair of bob cats basking in the heat of the midday- we hadn't been able to locate them on our previous visit. The coyote territory remains to be checked off our list for another time. We walked the perimeter but those coy little critters must have been napping in a den down below somewhere.

Here's a look at some of the shots from today's visit to the desert museum: