Death Valley

 

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

Old Borax mine 

 Badwater Basin: 282 ft. below sea level. 

 

Dante's View of Badwater Basin

Large, shallow basin of evaporated water--extremely salty 

 

Artist's Palette

 Red Rock Castle

 Zabrinskie Point



Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, October 2016



Although almost everyone in Green Valley has seen javalinas multiple times we had to go to New Mexico before we caught sight of any.

Short hike to cliff dwellings.

People of the Mogollon culture built and inhabited homes in these natural cave north of what is now Silver City. They lived here from somewhere around the 1280's to the early 1300's.  No one really knows why they left.











 

Entrance to three of the seven caves.
 



It is thought that no more than 8-10 families occupied the caves at any one time.









The seventh cave was uninhabited probably because in was hard to get to.

 

Trip to San Diego

 View from Cabrillo Nat. Monument at Point Loma

 

Hotel de Coronado (grounds to beach and hotel)

 

     Great Zoo

       
  Bird of Paradise

 

 

Happy Valentine's Day 2015

 

The guys provided the surprise dessert.  They came through in flying colors---individual brownie cupcakes and vanilla bean gelato with a dash of Irish Cream.  Yummy!  Center piece compliments of Linda.

Family Fun, January 2015

We had a great time with Mary and Steve and Cindy in spite of the rain. 

 

Forty Two Years of Pure Bliss

Trip up Mt. Hopkins to the Whipple Observatory

The Fred Lawrence Observatory on Mt. Hopkins (in the background) is the largest field installation of the Smithsonian Astrological Observatory outside of their main site in Cambridge, MA. 

Closer view of the largest telescope housing. Bill and cousin Chuck Willie discussing high level astrological stuff.

Lunch spot 

  View of Green Valley and nearby copper mines.

 

We rode the bus ten miles up the mountain on this windy road, some of it unpaved, but gorgeous views all the way up.

View of Mexico in the background.



 One set of telescopes on the way to the top.

 

MMT telescope on top of the mountain--8550 ft elevation.