Miscellaneous Stuff in Tucson

We were at Walmart the other day and saw this Range Rover towing a small travel trailer.  The trailer did not have air conditioning.  Note the diamond plate on the hood of the car and the roof rack.  It’s so you can walk on the hood of the vehicle and the roof rack. The driver is from Germany – he’s a police officer.  Once in their career they’re allowed to take off a year without pay.  He shipped the vehicle and the trailer to the US.  Customs gave him some static at the entry port because they felt that his engine was too polluting, but they let him pass.  He’s spending six months in the US and then six months in Canada.  Then he’ll go back to work.



Allergy season is upon us in the Old Pueblo.  We’ve made it through round one with the trees that have the yellow balls. 



Now we’re in the blooming Palo Verde stage.  There’s one more bloom after that, and then the steeenking yellow tree bloom will be done.  We also have the blooming yellow bushes, I’m not sure when they quit.  That’s pollen on the ground in a parking lot.



The trichocereus  in the park are beginning their bloom.  They are, as always, just lovely.



Hedgehog cactus.



Yesterday we had the carpets cleaned.  The guy used more fluid than the last time he was here.  It took a long time to dry.  Marco is coming Saturday to wash and wax the bus.  It’s really dirty.  Given the amount of wind blown dust around here, nothing stays clean.



We rode up the Santa Cruz trail this morning.  This is one thing we saw.  It’s a Western Diamondback Rattler.  He was cold and not moving at all, so we rode around him and wished him a good day.



Construction of the Caterpillar regional HQ is proceeding.  You can see the building off to the right.  I’m really curious as to what they are going to do with all of the desert they have excavated and scraped.  If you look to the left of the white truck, you can see a layer of the old land fill they are digging up.  All of that debris is being moved to another land fill.



We stopped at the Sweetwater Wetlands to see how the grasses are recovering from the annual burning.  They set them on fire to control mosquitoes.  It really messes with air quality when they do that.  The grass looks better, but it’s still a little crispy.  It’s a pretty area.  The city originally wanted to close the park, but fortunately they did not.  The birders would have been really upset to lose it.  Now they keep water in the basin, and the ducks fly in.  It’s part of the water reclamation system, which is very extensive in the city.



Other than this paltry offering, I have nothing else to report.