TUCSON, ARIZONA

Jett’s Wild Flight: Saguaro National Park

By: Jett Lillie, 3/2/23

As we entered Saguaro National Park we saw gigantic Cacti! We read that the Seguaro Cacti don’t start getting arms until they are 65-70 years old! And that they can get up to 50 feet tall and 200 years old. Amazing! This cactus "grew in peace!"

We also saw big hills and valleys (…You’re the God of the hills and valleys, You’re the God of the hills… Oops sorry, got distracted with that great worship song!)

Anyways, there were so many people inside the visitor center! We got our Jr Ranger booklets and then worked on them outside in the nice sunshine. We earned our 85th badge!

My sister went to paint a cactus while we watched the Park Video and went on a hike.

On the hike, I saw a cactus that wanted to hug, so I acted like I was going to hug it back.

The cacti came in so many shapes and sizes. I just love cacti!

FYI: No people or cacti were harmed in this hug!

Jaycie’s Bunny Hoppin’ News: Colossal Cave!

By: Jaycie Lillie, 3/3/23

This cave has many Mexican Bats. You could smell it when you walked in. Yuck! The first humans in the cave were the Hohokam Native Americans. They believed it was a passage to the underworld. They used the cave for religious purposes.

The bats migrate to Mexico in winter, but they started to come back in early spring. We saw one or two. I think it was the same one twice.

The crystal forest was a lot of stalactites that looked like an upside down pinetree forest.

Sullivan Lick had discovered the cave and he owned a hotel 2 miles away. He would tell his guests to come to the cave and take artifacts with them. All the stalactites were snaped off at the bottom. A lot of the formations were touched and destroyed.

There was a large drip stone. This cave was a dry cave. It was barely slowly growing.

Frank Schmitt took a tour from Sullivan Lick and was horrified at all the vandalism and destruction he saw. He bought the cave and started his own tours. When Roosevelt they made the CCC, they came & installed a light system and paved pathway.

The cave was 70 degrees and 40 percent humidity. The only thing that changes is the humidity. The temperature is always consistent.

There was a bottomless pit! It was not really a bottomless pit. They just said that because people would throw money in there and trash.

It was a cool cave and fun even though it was stinky.

Jules’ Journal: Our Arizona Peeps!

By: Julianne Lillie, 3/1/23 – 3/3/23

On our way from Sedona, AZ to Tucson, AZ we stopped through Scottsdale, AZ to have lunch with some of our good friends, Scott & Amy Wood. They treated us to a nice lunch out at White Chocolate Grill and it was so great to catch up with them!

Once we arrived and set up at our campground in Tucson, AZ we headed over to Jason’s cousin, Kevin Lillie’s house. It was so much fun to hang out with Kevin & Anne at their home. They introduced us to raclette eating… it’s a grill in the center of the table where everyone can grill their own food together at the table.

Anne had bell peppers, mushrooms, mini potatoes, tomatoes, asparagus, Onions, sliced bread, shrimp, sausage, & steak we could grill. And then there were cheeses we could also melt and drizzle over things or mix with green chiles for an extra spice. It was delicious!

After dinner Kevin showed us around his workshop where he builds fighting robots. Jett even got to test drive his little bot.

Then while the boys watch some of Kevin’s battle bot fights on TV, us girls talked about art, books, and girl things. I think the kids could’ve just stayed all night… or even moved in with them! Ha! We thoroughly enjoyed the visit!

The following day after our exploration day at Saguaro National Park we were able to visit my Aunt Suzy and see her new house in Tucson, AZ. She had us over for dinner and cooked us yummy comfort food – pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans, and hot rolls! It was delicious! And then we made plans to visit the Sonoran-Arizona Desert Museum the following day with her and her friend, Kelvin.

After our morning cave tour at Colossal Cave, we met up with Suzy & Kelvin at the Desert Museum around 1:00pm. This place was incredible!!! It like a glorified Animal Zoo/Sanctuary mixed with a botanical garden & Art Gallery!

We first saw a live animal show which featured the Macaw, Barn Owl, Crested Cara Cara, and the cutest little bull snake you’ve ever seen! It was neat to see those animals up close and personal!

We then went into the Hummingbird Sanctuary which is like a Butterfly House experience, only with Hummingbirds instead. So, they were flying and darting all around us. We got some to pause while eating nectar so we could photograph them.

Then we strolled through the Bird Sanctuary and caught a glimpse of White Doves, Arizona Quails, Aztec Quails, and Whistling Ducks… who yes, really whistled! We saw a few others that we couldn’t identify.

We then walked through the beautiful Cacti Gardens which was so interesting.

I never knew there were so many types of cacti – just about in every shape and size you could imagine!

Here's a purple colored prickly pear:

And this one is a Saguaro Cactus that is "crested." It is a mutation that occurs as the Cactus is growing. It's pretty gnarly looking!

Some of them looked like they belonged in a Dr. Suess book!

There were even some smaller ones that were starting to flower!

We then continued on a saw Bighorn sheep, an elusive ocelot (who never let me take a good a picture of him), and a Bobcat who proudly caught a wild squirrel!

It was wild… it’s like this bobcat’s instincts took over and he caught the squirrel tightly clenched in his jaw, but he just kept parading around with it. We learned from others that this had been going on for hours. . It’s like he didn’t know what to do next with it… like he was waiting on his keeper to come skin it for him so he could eat. Ha ha! He was fun to watch!

We then hiked the long loop trail and came across some Javelinas (or peccaries). They are like hairy wild hogs. (Apparently these things are a big nuisance in subdivisions as they love to tip over trashcans and eat your trash. Yuck!)

And we also snuck up on a coyote taking a nap on a rock. Jett tried to wake it up with his best coyote imitation, but it didn’t work. Then Aunt Suzy said, “No, they sound more like this.” And she proceeded of doing her best coyote imitation which perked up his ears and woke him up. And then someone started howling which caused our coyote friend to howl back. So then we were all howling together! It was pretty hilarious… Jaycie’s video captured it all.

It was wild! Now Suzy is known as the “Coyote Whisperer!”

Then we saw the Mountain Lion was out. We watched as she cleaned herself and gave us a good look at her giant paw!

Then we finally made it to my favorite part – the reptiles!

So many rattlesnakes! Apparently Arizona has 14 different types of rattlesnakes and they had about 8 represented here in cages. They also had a brightly colored red & black Arizona Kingsnake which I had never seen that pattern on a Kingsnake before! So cool! They also had a really mean looking Pit Viper!

Diamondback Rattlesnake:

Pit Viper:

They also had a Gila monster that is the only venomous lizard in Northern America!

We then saw some gorgeous succulents as we headed over to the Art Galleries.

The art was pretty amazing, also!

Jaycie’s favorite art pieces were the Bunnies!

My favorite were these painted Stop Signs. I didn't realize they were stop signs until I took a photo. The "STOP" isn't as obvious in person.

And Jett’s favorite was the painting of the Road Runner on the Road Closed sign. If only he had $8,000 he could’ve taken it home! LOL!

After that we shopped for our souvenirs and then said our goodbyes to Suzy & Kelvin. We had a fabulous day learning about all the diverse life & seeing all the natural beauty within the Sonoran Desert! God never ceases to amaze me with his creativity and beauty!

We then headed back to the RV to have leftovers (courtesy of Suzy), do laundry, and prep for a LONG travel day to San Diego, California the next day! Golden State, here we come!