Arizona - Sonora Desert Museum

I spent the day yesterday at the Sonora Desert Museum and Chet spent the day at doggie day care 1/4 mile down the road from my RV park. I had a grand day walking the desert trails and Chet had a fun time at day care.

The Sonora Desert Museum is more than just a museum. It is a zoo, natural history museum and botanical garden, all in one place. There are a couple miles of trails where you can see animals and plants. A highlight of the day was watching two free-flight shows with birds. We watched and learned about ravens, owls, falcons and hawks as they flew around overhead and landed near the trainers. Most of the birds that fly in the free-flight show are rescued and being with and fed by humans is the only life they have known. They are free to fly away, but don't.

Mammals that were awake and moving about were: deer, mountain lion, black bear, raccoon, ocelot, javelinas and a colony of prairie dogs. There were snakes, scorpions, spiders to see in replicas of their natural habitat. One of the learning displays explained how the fake boulders are made. There were covered netted areas to view a variety of birds and a separate area to view hummingbirds.

The museum provides sheltered areas with benches and drinking fountains along the trails that people can use to rest and get out of the sun. Sunscreen (spf 30) dispensers were in the restrooms.

A link for more information about the Sonora Desert Museum is: http://www.desertmuseum.org/