Tucson January - Sweetwater Wetlands

Gary and I drive up to Christopher Columbus Park with our bikes and take the Loop bike trail over to Sweetwater Wetlands

The Wetlands are a 3.5 mile ride - we park the bikes and take a walk

There are a few ducks around

We see a group of people watching something intently and I ask if they are looking at a bird.  A gentlemen tells us to go around the corner and there is a Bobcat

 He slowly wanders off just as my camera battery dies.  He caught a duck shortly after that

We go back a week later, this time with our Kayaks as our friend Beth has never kayaked and wanted to try.  We want to test out the kayak rack from the old truck on the new one before we leave so we cart them up to Christopher Columbus Park along with our bikes for a little triathalon

 We ride over to Sweetwater Wetlands

See some ducks

 

Walking around the grounds, we hope to catch another glimpse of the Bobcat

I think I see the Bobcat!

 Nope - just the resident Kitty Cat

Time to Kayak

Beth makes it out after a minor mishap

 I think she has the hang of it!

 We glide past the ducks

Gary waves hi from the shore

All good things must come to an end

A fun triathalon - Bike / Hike / Paddle

Tucson - January - Art Museum

The first full weekend of the month, Bank of America Visa card owners get free entry in to the Museum of Art.  I had heard that they had completely redone it and that the new exhibit was awesome, so we checked it out.

Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted all of the pictures on my camera but still had some shots on my phone, albeit not the best.

The main exhibit is Dress Matters

This hat is made entirely out of hat pins

Masks

A really cool clay piece

and outside some nice sculptures

We also get access to the historic buildings.  First stop is the J. Knox Corbett House, Mission Revival style architecture built in 1907

Gary and I can picture ourselves in this house

Arts and Crafts furniture

and collections of everyday household items

Next is Casa Cordova, one of the oldest buildings in Tucson

It is an example of a Sonoran row house, a common building style in the late nineteenth century

It is also home to the seasonal exhibition El Nacimiento.

An elaborate diorama of the birth and life of Christ

Tucson - January - Glass Blowing

Start out the New Year with a glass blowing class at the Sonoran Glass School.  There was a 2 for 1 in the Tucson Passport Book.

Beth volunteered me to go first.  That's one hot oven - about 2000 degrees

The molten glass is formed

and then blown into

and shaped

Flattening the base

It's Beth's turn

 They must sit in a kiln and cool of for a couple of days.  

We pick up the finished tumblers!