Madera Canyon, Arizona April 2024

 Madera Canyon, Arizona April 2024

The Santa Rita Mountains is part of the Coronado National Forest, elevation 5,000 feet. We were able to use our National Park pass for our admission in the park. It is 13 miles from Green Valley Arizona and 25 miles from Tucson. There is lodging in the park, the Santa Rita Lodge is where you can rent cabins and they have a wellness center. It is a perfect place to stay close to some great birdwatching. 

One of the many hummingbirds we saw at Madera Canyon.  

The Santa Rita Gift shop, was also selling coffee and delicious blueberry muffins.  A nice treat for the early morning birdwatchers like us.

The bird feeders set up at the Santa Rita Lodge, they had a great seating area for the bird lovers.

A view of the mountains from the parking lot. 

This lush canyon is home to a wide variety of plants and animals. It is a hotspot listed on Ebird, attracting birdwatchers from around the world. It is home to 250 bird species, including 15 hummingbird species.

We hiked a part of the Madera Creek trail, crossing the bridge and walking past the Amphitheater. We followed the creek for awhile. Looking for the birds and any wildlife. 

Spring is a good time to enjoy hiking in Madera Canyon. Beside the birds we saw, a few deer were seen off the trail. 

If you are ever in the area, I highly suggest a visit to Madera Canyon. 

Thanks for visiting! Take care, have a great day!  

" We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Horseshoe Bend, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Horseshoe Bend, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Page Arizona

We visited Horseshoe Bend early morning as we were leaving the city of Page Arizona. It is a 1.5 mile roundtrip hike to see the overlook. Some of this area is on the Navajo Nation, we paid for the parking to the City of Page. There are restrooms available on the parking lot. The Horseshoe Bend overlooks the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon National Park is only 9 miles downstream. 

Thanks for visiting! Take care, have a great day!  

" We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Arizona April 20-29th, 2024

 Arizona 20-29th, 2024

On April 20 hubby and I flew from Baltimore-Washington Airport to Phoenix Arizona, it was a fly-drive trip. Arriving in Phoenix we picked up our rental car and drove 6 hours to Page Arizona for the start of our vacation. Thinking back on this it was a mistake to fly for 5 plus hours and then drive for another 6 hours with little to eat.  April 21st, our first full day in Page, we had reservations for the Upper Antelope Canyon tour. Hubby had a low blood sugar episode before he could eat breakfast. He was fine after the EMT's, hotel worker Suzie and a guest who was a nurse checked him over and the orange juice was very helpful. So, I ended going on the tour and hubby stayed back at the hotel resting. 

We reserved a Navajo guided tour through the slot canyon called Upper Antelope Canyon 

It was nice they refunded my hubby's ticket price since he could not make the tour.  It was upsetting since it was a highlight of the vacation for me and hubby. Below are some photos from the tour, the tour was only a total of 3/4 mile walk.

The Carl Hayden Visitor Center, Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam

If rafting on the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon National Park is just 16 miles below the tailwaters of the Glen Canyon Dam. It does take longer to drive the 141 miles from Glen Canyon Dam to the Grand Canyon NP. 

Carl Hayden Visitor Center, Page Arizona. 

Colorado River

Glen Canyon Dam Bridge

Thanks for visiting! Take care, have a great day!  

" We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Grace Bay, Turks and Caicos, Nov 2023

 Grace Bay, Turks and Caicos, November 5-9th 2023

Hubby and I enjoyed a short getaway to Turks and Caicos. It is a British territory, close to the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic. The Turks Islands consist of 8 major islands and many smaller islands inhabited. The US dollar is used and they drive on the left side of the road like the UK. We stayed at a beach resort located in the Grace Bay area of the island of Providenciales.  

Hubby loves to snorkel and there is some great snorkeling right off the beach at Grace Bay. 

Nothing soothes the soul like a day by the ocean.

Life is short, take the beach trip. 

We had beautiful weather and saw some great sunrises and sunsets. 

Every day we saw at least two Green Herons hanging around the pool area, I think they had feast on the tiny lizards we saw running around. 

I liked watching the parasailing from my beach chair.  

An ocean breeze puts a mind at ease.

Another sunset at the beach.  

"May every sunrise hold more promise and every sunset hold more peace."

Thanks for visiting! Take care, have a great day!  

Museum of Shenandoah Valley, Winchester Virginia

Museum of Shenandoah Valley, Winchester Virginia

On Aug 30th-31st we went on an overnight getaway to Winchester Virginia. Our main reason was to see the Sean Kenney's Nature Connects exhibit happening at the Museum of Shenandoah Valley. Nature Connects is an exhibit of Lego sculptures. The life size and even larger critters made from Legos were amazing to see. 

1. The museum was a little walk away from the gardens. 

The artist Sean Kenney, created the Lego sculptures.

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird made of Legos was beautiful and well done. 

The Monarch butterfly Lego sculpture was a beauty too. 

The Bamboo forest and Asian Garden with tea house and water features was pretty. 

The Glen Burnie House gardens had a beautiful rose garden, perennial garden and a vegetable garden.

There is a sculpture stroll with a sundial, various sculptures and statues. 

The Glen Burnie House

This was a fun and different outing from our usual nature and birdwatching outings. The next morning after checking out of our Winchester Hotel we headed to the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah Nat'l Park and continued our drive home.

Kilkenny & Glendalough, Ireland 2023

Kilkenny & Glendalough, Ireland 2023

May 16th, our last morning was spent in Kilkenny before the drive back to Dublin. We didn't head right back to Dublin, we stopped in Glendalough for a few hours for some sightseeing. 

Before our tour started off again, we had time to walk around Kilkenny in the morning. A walk along the river and around the Kilkenny Castle grounds and park. 

A view of the river, next to the Kilkenny Castle wall. 

We didn't have time for the Kilkenny Castle tour, but we did walk around outside. 

By 11 am we were back on the road heading to Glendalough located in the County Wicklow.  The Wicklow National Park and Glendalough known as the Valley of Two Lakes.  Also accessible is the Monastic City. At the Monastic City we saw the Gateway and St Kevin's church, the cathedral ruins and the beautiful round tower. 

The early Christian Monastic settlement was founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century and from this developed the 'Monastic City'.

The City consists of the monastic remains, the most impressive is the Round Tower.

The Gateway to the Monastic City

I like this heart shaped carving around the bench. 

There are various hiking trails in the park, the green trail takes you to the lakes.

Upper Lake, one of the two lakes in Glendalough.

" We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone." unknown

I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!